Pattern Energy Reports First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

- Increases dividend to $0.418 per Class A common share for Q2 2017 -

SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pattern Energy Group Inc. (the "Company" or "Pattern Energy") (NASDAQ & TSX: PEGI) today announced its financial results for the 2017 first quarter.

Highlights

(Comparisons made between fiscal Q1 2017 and fiscal Q1 2016 results, unless otherwise noted)

• Proportional gigawatt hours ("GWh") sold of 2,038 GWh, up 13%
• Net cash provided by operating activities of $43.8 million, up 197%
• Cash available for distribution ("CAFD") of $45.1 million, up 10% and on track to meet full year guidance⁽¹⁾
• Net income of $2.5 million
• Adjusted EBITDA of $98.2 million, up 26%
• Revenue of $100.8 million, up 15%
• Declared a second quarter dividend of $0.418 per Class A common share or $1.672 on an annualized basis, subsequent to the end of the period, representing a 1.0% increase over the previous quarter's dividend.
• Acquired a 272 megawatt ("MW") interest in the Broadview Wind ("Broadview") power facilities and the associated independent 345 kV Western Interconnect ("Western Interconnect") transmission line from Pattern Development 1.0⁽¹⁾ for a 9.3x multiple of the five-year average CAFD⁽²⁾ starting in 2018, subsequent to the end of the quarter
• Commenced commercial operations at Broadview in late March and as such, all 18 facilities in the Company's portfolio are fully operational with a total owned capacity of 2,644 MW
• Published a white paper outlining the business model, investment thesis and phases of renewable energy development, subsequent to the end of the quarter

"Our fleet of high-quality wind assets continues to perform at a high level and production met our expectation for the quarter. As such, we are on track to achieve our CAFD target for 2017⁽²⁾," said Mike Garland, President and CEO of Pattern Energy. "With the acquisition and commencement of commercial operations at Broadview, all 18 of our projects are fully operational, providing a total owned capacity in excess of 2.6 GW. We believe significant and diverse opportunities exist to expand our portfolio on an accretive basis. Acquisitions from our identified ROFO list provide near-term opportunities to grow our CAFD per share in a manner, and at a pace, that reflects the valuation of the business and our cost of capital. The opportunity to potentially invest in the development business, through Pattern Development 2.0⁽¹⁾, offers us secure access to high-quality assets from a proven platform that can grow our CAFD per share in the medium and long-term. We believe that the outlook for renewable energy has never been better and we have the business model to deliver sustainable and growing returns for our shareholders."

(1) In December 2016, Pattern Energy Group LP ("Pattern Development 1.0"), formed Pattern Energy Group 2 LP ("Pattern Development 2.0")

(2) These forward looking measures of (a) 2017 full year cash available for distribution (CAFD) and (b) five-year average annual purchase price multiple of CAFD contribution from Broadview are non-GAAP measures that cannot be reconciled to net cash provided by operating activities as the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort primarily because of the uncertainties involved in estimating forward-looking changes in working capital balances which are added to earnings to arrive at cash provided by operations and subtracted therefrom to arrive at CAFD. A description of the adjustments to determine CAFD can be found within Item 2, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Key Metrics, of Pattern Energy's 2017 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2017.

Financial and Operating Results

Pattern Energy sold 2,038,159 megawatt hours ("MWh") of electricity on a proportional basis in the first quarter of 2017 compared to 1,801,034 MWh sold in the same period last year. The increase was primarily attributable to volume increases of 133,297 MWh from controlling interests in consolidated MWh due to less favorable wind conditions in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the current period and a 103,828 MWh increase from unconsolidated investments due to the acquisition of Armow in October 2016. Overall, production was at the Company's expectation for the first quarter compared to its long-term forecast.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $43.8 million for the first quarter of 2017 compared to $14.7 million for the same period last year. The $29.0 million improvement was primarily due to higher revenues of $10.7 million (excluding unrealized loss on energy derivative and amortization of power purchase agreements ("PPAs")), increased distributions from unconsolidated investments of $16.5 million and decreased project expense of $3.1 million. These increases were partially offset by a $4.1 million increase in operating expense.

Cash available for distribution was $45.1 million for the first quarter of 2017 compared to $41.0 million for the same period last year. The increase of $4.1 million, or approximately 10%, was primarily due to a $10.7 million increase in revenues (excluding unrealized loss on energy derivative and amortization of PPAs, a $3.1 million decrease in project expense, a $1.3 million decrease in distribution to noncontrolling interests, and a $0.9 million increase in total distributions from unconsolidated investment, as reported in operating and investing activities on the consolidated statements of cash flows. These increases were partially offset by increases in operating expense of $4.1 million, project reserve funding of $3.5 million, interest expense of $2.0 million and principal payments of $1.4 million.

Net income was $2.5 million in the first quarter of 2017, compared to a net loss of $29.0 million for the same period last year. The improvement of $31.6 million was primarily attributable to an increase in revenues of $13.2 million and decreases of $23.2 million in other expense and $3.1 million in project expense. These increases were partially offset by increases of $4.1 million in operating expense and $3.5 million in tax provision.

Adjusted EBITDA was $98.2 million for the first quarter of 2017 compared to $78.1 million for the same period last year. The 26% increase was primarily due to a $10.7 million increase in revenues (excluding unrealized loss on energy derivative and amortization of PPAs), a $9.6 million increase in our proportionate share of Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated investments, and a $3.1 million decrease in project expense. These increases were partially offset by an increase to operating expense of $4.1 million.

2017 Financial Guidance

Pattern Energy is re-confirming its targeted annual cash available for distribution for 2017 within a range of $140 million to $165 million, representing an increase of 15% at the midpoint of the range, compared to cash available for distribution in 2016. As noted above, forward-looking cash available for distribution is a non-GAAP measure that cannot be reconciled to net cash provided by operating activities as the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort for the reasons stated above.

Quarterly Dividend

Pattern Energy declared an increased dividend for the second quarter 2017, payable on July 31, 2017, to holders of record on June 30, 2017 in the amount of $0.418 per Class A common share, which represents $1.672 on an annualized basis. This is a 1.0% increase from the first quarter 2017 dividend of $0.41375.

Acquisitions

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, Pattern Energy acquired a 272 MW interest in the 324 MW Broadview projects and the 35-mile 345 kV Western Interconnect transmission line from Pattern Development 1.0 for $269 million. The funding of the purchase price from Pattern Energy consisted of cash consideration of approximately $215 million from currently available liquidity and a project loan of approximately $54 million secured by Western Interconnect.

Based on the expected timing of cash flows and assuming normal wind conditions, Pattern Energy expects the CAFD contribution, after deduction of Western Interconnect financing costs, to be $18 million in 2018 and to increase approximately $2.5 million per year thereafter through 2022. This results in a five-year average CAFD of $23 million per year and a 9.3x CAFD multiple, based on the cash consideration of $215 million paid to acquire Broadview and Western Interconnect. As noted above, forward-looking five-year average and anticipated 2018 and annual cash available for distribution is a non-GAAP measure that cannot be reconciled to net cash provided by operating activities as the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort for the reasons stated above.

Broadview, which is located 30 miles north of Clovis, New Mexico, commenced commercial operations in late March. Broadview has entered into two 20-year power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison, which has a BBB+/A2 credit rating, for sale of 100 percent of its output, up to a total of 297 MW, which has been factored into the project's economics.

Acquisition Pipeline

Pattern Energy has the Right of First Offer (ROFO) on a pipeline of acquisition opportunities from Pattern Development 1.0 and Pattern Development 2.0 (together, the "Pattern Development Companies"). The identified ROFO list stands at 962 MW of total owned capacity. This list of identified ROFO projects represents a portion of the Pattern Development Companies' 5,900 MW pipeline of development projects, all of which are subject to Pattern Energy's ROFO.

Since its IPO, Pattern Energy has purchased 1,194 MW from Pattern Development 1.0 and in aggregate grown the identified ROFO list from 746 MW to a total of 2,156 MW. Below is a summary of the Identified ROFO Projects that the Company expects to acquire from the Pattern Development Companies in connection with Pattern Energy's project purchase rights:

Cash Available for Distribution and Adjusted EBITDA Non-GAAP Reconciliations

The following tables reconcile non-GAAP net cash provided by operating activities to cash available for distribution and net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA, respectively, for the periods presented (in thousands):

Conference Call and Webcast

Pattern Energy will host a conference call and webcast to discuss these results at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday May 9, 2017. Mike Garland, President and CEO, and Mike Lyon, CFO, will co-chair the call. Participants should call (888) 231-8191 or (647) 427-7450 and ask an operator for the Pattern Energy earnings call. Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the call to secure a line. A replay will be available shortly after the call. To access the replay, please dial (855) 859-2056 or (416) 849-0833 and enter access code 13895652. The replay recording will be available until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, May 30, 2017.

A live webcast of the conference call will be also available on the events page in the investor section of Pattern Energy's website at www.patternenergy.com. An archived webcast will be available for one year.

About Pattern Energy

Pattern Energy Group Inc. (Pattern Energy) is an independent power company listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market and Toronto Stock Exchange. Pattern Energy has a portfolio of 18 wind power facilities with a total owned interest of 2,644 MW in the United States, Canada and Chile that use proven, best-in-class technology. Pattern Energy's wind power facilities generate stable long-term cash flows in attractive markets and provide a solid foundation for the continued growth of the business. For more information, visit www.patternenergy.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding the ability to achieve the 2017 cash available for distribution target, the 2018 and five year average annual CAFD generated by Broadview, the ability for a potential investment in Pattern Development 2.0 to offer the Company secure access to high-quality assets to grow CAFD per share, the outlook for renewable energy and the ability of the Company's business model to deliver sustainable and growing returns for the Company's shareholders. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events, and it is possible that the results described in this press release will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of the Company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all such factors. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and any quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The risk factors and other factors noted therein could cause actual events or the Company's actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

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SOURCE Pattern Energy Group Inc.