Theolia Plummets in Paris Amid Mounting Losses, Erosion of Cash Position

Theolia SA, the French wind-power company that raised cash this year to avert bankruptcy, fell the most in more than nine months after reporting widening losses and a plan to seek partners to invest in projects.

Theolia slumped as much as 12 percent and was trading down 17 cents to 1.43 euros at 10:23 a.m. in Paris. The shares have dropped by more than a third since a bond restructuring plan was announced Dec. 27.

The company’s first-half net loss widened to 24.2 million euros ($31 million) from 14.1 million euros, it said in the statement today. Theolia sold 60 megawatts of capacity in Germany over the period, bringing installed capacity for its own account to 267 megawatts at the end of June from 421 megawatts the previous year.

The company’s net cash position fell to 78.6 million euros from 94.2 million euros due to investments in wind farms in Italy, Germany and France. The operating loss due to provisions over the period was 8.2 million euros compared with operating income of 2 million euros at the end of June, 2009.

Theolia in July raised 60 million euros in a rights offering, short of a 100 million-euro target. Previous management announced the plan to restructure 253 million euros of convertible bonds in a share sale to help avoid creditor protection. The wind company wants to keep some assets on its balance sheet, Chief Executive Officer Fady Khallouf said in an interview in June.

“We are focusing our efforts on the progress of pipeline projects and we plan to explore opportunities for co- investment,” he said today in the earnings statement. Theolia, based in Aix-en-Provence, is “reviewing the financing of its permitted projects with banks that have indicated their willingness to participate.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Tara Patel in Paris at tpatel2@bloomberg.net