Airtricity valued at more than €1.2bn

Wind energy player Airtricity is worth more than €1.2 billion, valuing founder and chief executive Eddie O'Connor's stake at €49 million, new figures show.

Airtricity, which is building wind farms in Ireland, the US and Europe, published its 2007 annual report yesterday. It values the company at €1.248 billion. This is more than double the €500 million it was worth in 2005.

The new figure puts a price tag of €49 million on Mr O'Connor's holding of two million shares.

The company's total issued share capital is 50.9 million units. Mr O'Connor is the biggest shareholder on the group's board.

Airtricity's biggest stakeholder is utility group, NTR plc, which holds 51 per cent of the group.

Based on the report's valuation, its stake is worth over €600 million. Private investors hold 32.9 per cent of the company through the Future Wind Partnership and an NCB nominee account. That stake is worth €400 million.

It includes a 13 per cent share that the Quinn Group sold to Airtricity's existing shareholders last year.

The firm's other big shareholder is Ecofin, the London-based company that specialises in investing in utilities such as power and water.

Its 16 per cent stake is valued at close to €200 million. Ecofin bought into Airtricity last year for €122.5 million when the group raised €250 million for wind farm development.

Ecofin's Global Utilities Hedge Fund is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

Last year, Airtricity raised €310 million in equity and €151 million in debt.

The company's valuation is based on the 383 megawatts (mw) of electricity that its operating wind farms have the capacity to generate.

That is enough electricity to power close to 230,000 homes for a year.

Airtricity is investing €1.14 billion in a wind farm in Texas in the US that will generate enough power to supply over one million homes.

The group is involved in developing other sites in the US, and has planning permission to build offshore wind farms in the UK that will generate up to 500mw of electricity, enough to supply 300,000 homes.

It had over €190 million in debt. In the 12 months ended 31st of March this year, the group had earnings before interest, tax and write offs of €13 million on revenues of €177 million.

Property plant and equipment at the year's end were worth €795 million.