CBD anticipates utilising the new facility to commence construction on 3 MW of ready-to-go rooftop projects in Italy during the current quarter and is bolstering its supply chain to support ongoing development activity in Europe of up to 5MW per month. When fully utilised, the financing facility is sufficient to support more than A$35 million revenue per quarter. Consequently, CBD is now able to prioritise projects in its current pipeline, focusing on those with potential net contribution margins above 10%.
"This is an important milestone for CBD," explained Gerry McGowan, Managing Director of CBD. "International expansion to position CBD as a global solar developer is a key component of our long term growth strategy and builds on the experience gained in the delivery of our 8MW Thai project delivered late last year. With this financing in place, we can quickly reach critical efficient scale in Europe, where demand for solar projects is robust and off-take economics are codified and tested. This funding facility gives CBD the ability to efficiently build on its existing base in a market that is expected to continue to represent more than half of global installations this year and next"
Chardan Capital Markets, LLC ("Chardan") acted as sole placement agent for the credit facility.
CBD is Australia’s emerging leader in renewable energy, enabling the efficient use of renewable energy for utilities, businesses and households through operations in wind power, solar energy, energy storage and engineering. For its fiscal year ended 30 June 2011, CBD recorded revenue of A$164.5 million and profit after tax of A$4.8 million. CBD is one of the largest non-utility suppliers and installers of solar energy generation equipment for both large- and domestic-scale operation in Australia. Utilising its globally competitive supply chain, CBD is also currently developing and profitably installing solar projects in Europe and Southeast Asia, both directly and through joint ventures.
