VivoPower International PLC Announces Sale of Australian Solar Portfolio and Additional Solar Contract Wins

/EIN News/ -- LONDON,, Oct. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VivoPower International PLC (Nasdaq: VVPR) (“VivoPower” or the “Company”), an international solar and critical power services company, is pleased to announce that it has sold its remaining Sun Connect portfolio of 53 operating solar projects spread across five Australian states for US$1.1 million. VivoPower originally acquired the Sun Connect portfolio of 68 commercial and industrial sites totaling 1.6 MW in December 2015 and individual projects have been sold in the intervening period.  Over the life of the Company’s investment, the sale represents a 2.0x multiple of invested capital and an unlevered IRR of 20.1% before tax.

The Company would also like to announce that its Australian critical power services business, J.A. Martin Electrical Pty Limited (“J.A. Martin”), has won two additional contracts for solar farm construction worth US$3.0 million.  This represents their third and fourth major contracts for construction of solar projects in the past year and confirms that their intentional strategic shift to pursue the expanding solar EPC market in Australia is beginning to pay dividends.

“The sale of the Sun Connect solar portfolio enabled us to secure an excellent return on our original investment as well as allowing us to continue to develop and finance new small and medium-sized solar projects throughout Australia,” said Art Russell, Interim Chief Executive Officer of VivoPower. “Also, the award of these two additional solar construction contracts to J.A. Martin will continue to build their reputation and momentum in the sector. With over US$40 million of additional solar farm construction opportunities currently in their business development pipeline, we continue to believe that solar EPC represents an unprecedented opportunity for growth in J.A. Martin.”

About VivoPower

VivoPower is an international solar and critical power services business, providing critical energy infrastructure generation and distribution solutions to a diverse range of commercial and industrial customers, including the development, construction, and sale of photovoltaic solar projects.

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