Yahoo Finance Renewables firm Opdenergy makes steady Madrid debut
By Jesús Aguado
MADRID (Reuters) - Shares in Spanish renewable company Opdenergy traded almost flat on Friday after briefly rising 0.8% on their market debut, the first listing on the Madrid Stock Exchange this year.
Opdenergy's IPO came amid a drought of initial public offerings in the United States and Europe that has dealt a blow to investment banks.
The firm, which operates solar parks and wind farms in Europe and Latin America, raised 200 million euros through the deal to fund capital expenses as it aims for capacity of around 3.3 GW of assets in operation and under construction in 2025.
About 8 million euros of the amount raised came via new shares sold to retail investors in Spain.
The company previously ditched an attempt to go public last year due to volatility in green power stocks at the time.
In its prospectus it highlighted losses in 2020, 2021 and in the first quarter of 2022, saying it "may continue to incur in negative results in the future".
The Spanish stock market supervisor CNMV also recently warned retail investors to play close attention to risks related to the company.
"We believe the risks are the same for an institutional investor as for a retail investor. We've been able to get long-term, high-quality investors," CEO Luis Cid told reporters before the market debut.
The company also warned in its prospectus of "substantial indebtedness" which limited its operational flexibility.
At end of the first quarter of 2022, net financial debt stood at 307 million euros and total assets at 644 million euros.
"Failure of executing the new financing agreements currently under negotiation may impact the development and achievement of our 2025 Target," it warned in the prospectus.
It also said that it was exposed to the risk of fluctuations in market interest rates and it "may not be able to complete projects under construction or at a pre-Construction stage in a timely and efficient manner, or at all."
At 1311 GMT, Opdenergy shares traded at 4.750 euros, the exact price set during the IPO, giving the company a valuation of 703 million euros.
($1 = 0.9815 euros)
(Additional reporting by Emma Pinedo; editing by Inti Landauro, Kirsten Donovan)
