Market Newsdesk

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Glatfelter Corporation (NYSE: GLT), a leading global supplier of engineered materials, today reported net income for the first three months of 2021 of $8.4 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared with $7.4 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, were $8.5 million, or $0.19 per share, compared with $10.8 million, or $0.24 per share, respectively. Adjusted earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure for which a reconciliation to the nearest GAAP-based measure is provided within this release. Consolidated net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2021 totaled $225.7 million, compared with $231.6 million for the same period in 2020. On a constant currency basis, Composite Fibers’ and Airlaid Materials’ net sales decreased by 1.4% and 18.8%, respectively.

“Glatfelter continued to deliver strong earnings in the first quarter of 2021 by effectively managing costs and driving operating efficiencies, despite a challenging market,” said Dante C. Parrini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Composite Fibers performed better than expected as volume growth in food and beverage and favorable wallcover demand improved overall product mix and asset utilization, thereby helping to drive a 6% increase in year-over-year operating profit. In Airlaid Materials, volumes were under pressure, especially in the tabletop category that was down 55% compared to last year due to the pandemic as restaurant dining remains slow to recover. We also experienced lower than anticipated demand in wipes, homecare and feminine hygiene products as customers recalibrated order levels to account for COVID-driven year-end inventory reserves. Despite the overall market volatility, both segments achieved healthy EBITDA margins in the mid-teens.”

Mr. Parrini added, “Our recently announced price increases in the Composite Fibers segment are contributing to offset the steep raw material, energy and logistics cost inflation we are experiencing. While we continue to navigate the dynamic demand conditions resulting from the pandemic, we remain very optimistic about the long-term growth prospects that our essential consumer staples portfolio has to offer as we focus on strong commercial execution to optimize performance in the near term.”

“As recently announced, the regulatory review process has concluded for our pending acquisition of Georgia-Pacific’s U.S. nonwovens business. We expect this transaction will close by mid-May, building on our growth strategy and advancing our plans to expand our U.S. footprint. We are excited to begin the integration process that we expect will enable capacity optimization, improve operational enhancements and accelerate innovation efforts to better service our customers’ growing needs, especially in the wipes category. Glatfelter is well-positioned to capture and service the growing demand in the broader health and hygiene categories as we continue to make meaningful and accretive investments to add further scale to our platforms,” concluded Mr. Parrini.

First Quarter Results

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of results on a GAAP basis to an adjusted earnings basis, a non-GAAP measure:

      (1)   Tax effect on adjustments calculated based on the incremental effective tax rate of the jurisdiction in which each adjustment originated.

      (2)   Tax impact recorded in connection with passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES”) related to provisions that modified the “net operating loss” provisions of previous law to allow certain losses to be carried back five years.

A description of each of the adjustments presented above is included later in this release.

Composite Fibers

Composite Fibers’ net sales increased $8.5 million or 6.4% in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the year-ago quarter, mainly driven by favorable currency translation of $10.3 million. Overall shipments, excluding metallized, which was restructured in the second quarter of 2020, were in-line with the first quarter of 2020.

Composite Fibers’ operating income of $16.1 million was $1.0 million higher, or approximately 6% favorable, compared to the first quarter of 2020 as a result of improved sales mix, which favorably impacted results by $1.1 million. Raw material and energy prices were $1.3 million higher than the same period last year, but mostly mitigated by improved operations of $1.2 million.

Airlaid Materials

Airlaid Materials’ net sales decreased $14.4 million in the year-over-year comparison. Shipments were 18% lower driven by continued softness in tabletop demand from delays in restaurants reopening, as well as lower shipments in the hygiene and wipes categories as customers adjusted their buying patterns following elevated year-end inventory levels maintained due to the pandemic. Currency translation was $4.2 million favorable.

Airlaid Materials’ first quarter 2021 operating income of $7.2 million was $4.8 million lower when compared to the first quarter of 2020. Lower shipping volumes unfavorably impacted earnings by $3.2 million and operations were $1.3 million unfavorable driven by lower production to manage customer demand and inventory levels. Selling price increases due to raw material pass-through provisions were more than offset by higher raw material and energy prices, reducing earnings by net $0.3 million.

Other Financial Information

The amount of “Other and Unallocated” operating expense in the table of Segment Financial Information totaled $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2021 compared with $14.8 million in the same period a year ago. Excluding the items identified to present “adjusted earnings,” unallocated expenses for the first quarter of 2021 decreased $1.0 million compared to the first quarter of 2020.

In the first quarter of 2021, income from continuing operations totaled $15.6 million and income tax expense totaled $7.2 million. On adjusted pre-tax income of $15.5 million, income tax expense was $7.0 million in the first quarter of 2021. The comparable amounts in the same quarter of 2020 were $17.8 million and $7.0 million, respectively. The effective tax rate on adjusted earnings was 45% in the first quarter of 2021.

Balance Sheet and Other Information

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $87.4 million as of March 31, 2021, and net debt was $219.4 million compared with $213.9 million at the end of 2020. Net leverage increased nominally to 1.9 times on March 31, 2021 versus 1.8 times at December 31, 2020. (Refer to the calculation of this measure provided in the tables at the end of this release.)

Capital expenditures during the first quarter of 2021 and 2020 totaled $5.4 million and $7.0 million, respectively. Adjusted free cash flow for the first three months of 2021 was a use of $8.9 million compared with a use of $10.6 million in the same period of 2020. (Refer to the calculation of measure provided in the tables at the end of this release.)

Conference Call

As previously announced, the Company will hold a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern) to discuss its first quarter results. The Company will make available on its Investor Relations website this quarter’s earnings release and an accompanying financial presentation that includes significant financial information to be discussed on the conference call including the Company’s outlook pertaining to financial performance. Information related to the conference call is as follows:

Interested persons who wish to hear the live webcast should go to the website prior to the starting time to register and ensure any necessary audio software is installed.

Glatfelter Corporation and subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Income

(unaudited)

Segment Financial Information

(unaudited)

      (1)   The amount presented in 2020 in the Other and unallocated column includes accelerated depreciation incurred in connection with the restructuring of Composite Fibers’ Metallized operations.

Selected Financial Information

(unaudited)

Reconciliation of GAAP Financial Information to Non-GAAP Financial Information

This press release includes a measure of earnings before the effects of certain specifically identified items, which is referred to as adjusted earnings, a non-GAAP measure. The Company uses non-GAAP adjusted earnings to supplement the understanding of its consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP adjusted earnings is meant to present the financial performance of the Company’s core operations, which consist of the production and sale of composite fibers and airlaid materials. Management and the Company’s Board of Directors use non-GAAP adjusted earnings to evaluate the performance of the Company’s fundamental business in relation to prior periods and established business plans. For purposes of determining adjusted earnings, the following items are excluded:

• Strategic initiatives. These adjustments primarily reflect professional and legal fees incurred directly related to evaluating and executing certain strategic initiatives including costs associated with acquisitions and related integrations.
• Corporate headquarters relocation. These adjustments reflect costs incurred in connection with the strategic relocation of the Company’s corporate headquarters to Charlotte, NC. The costs are primarily related to employee relocation costs and exit costs at the former corporate headquarters.
• Restructuring charge – Metallized operations. This adjustment represents the charges incurred in connection with the decision to restructure a portion of the Composite Fibers segment, primarily consisting of the consolidation of our metallizing operation from Gernsbach, Germany to Caerphilly, UK. The charge in the first quarter of 2020 included a non-cash charge of $2.5 million associated with accelerated depreciation and cash severance costs totaling $3.5 million.
• Cost optimization actions. These adjustments reflect charges incurred in connection with initiatives to optimize the cost structure of the Company, including costs related to the organizational change to a functional operating model. The costs are primarily related to executive separations, other headcount reductions, professional fees, asset write-offs and certain contract termination costs. These adjustments, which have occurred at various times in the past, are irregular in timing and relate to specific identified programs to reduce or optimize the cost structure of a particular operating segment or the corporate function.
• COVID-19 incremental costs. This adjustment represents incremental cash costs incurred directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic such as mill employee incentive payments, enhanced hygiene protocols, safety and supplies, and professional fees primarily associated with the CARES Act benefit.
• Asset Impairment Charge. This adjustment represents a non-cash charge recorded to reduce the carrying amount of a tradename intangible asset of the Dresden wallcover business due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the underlying forecasted revenue stream.
• Pension settlement expenses, net. This adjustment reflects professional fees recorded in connection with the Company’s termination of its qualified pension plan and the related actions to settle all obligations to the plan’s participants. Since the pension plan was fully funded, the settlement of pension obligations did not require the use of the Company’s cash, but instead was accomplished with plan assets.
• Timberland sales and related costs. These adjustments exclude gains from the sales of timberlands as these items are not considered to be part of our core business, ongoing results of operations or cash flows. These adjustments are irregular in timing and amount and may benefit our operating results.
• Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act 2020. This adjustment reflects taxes recorded as a result of the March 27, 2020 change in U.S. tax law which, among others, allows net operating losses to be carried back five years.

Unlike net income determined in accordance with GAAP, non-GAAP adjusted earnings does not reflect all charges and gains recorded by the Company for the applicable period and, therefore, does not present a complete picture of the Company’s results of operations for the respective period. However, non-GAAP adjusted earnings provide a measure of how the Company’s core operations are performing, which management believes is useful to investors because it allows comparison of such operations from period to period. Non-GAAP adjusted earnings should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements included in this press release which pertain to future financial and business matters are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company uses words such as “anticipates”, “believes”, “expects”, “future”, “intends”, “plans”, “targets”, and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable or uncontrollable factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in industry, business, market, and economic conditions, demand for or pricing of its products, market growth rates and currency exchange rates. In light of these risks, uncertainties and other factors, the forward-looking matters discussed in this press release may not occur and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and Glatfelter undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release. More information about these factors is contained in Glatfelter’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.glatfelter.com.

About Glatfelter

Glatfelter is a leading global supplier of engineered materials. The Company’s high-quality, innovative and customizable solutions are found in tea and single-serve coffee filtration, personal hygiene and packaging products as well as home improvement and industrial applications. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, the Company’s annualized net sales approximate $916 million with customers in over 100 countries and approximately 2,415 employees worldwide. Operations include eleven manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines. Additional information about Glatfelter may be found at www.glatfelter.com.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Endeavour Silver Corp.
(TSX: EDR, NYSE: EXK) has intersected high grade silver-gold mineralization in its 2021 exploration drill program to expand the El Curso orebody at the Guanacevi Mine in Durango State, Mexico.   The Company is currently producing from three orebodies at Guanacevi: Milache, El Curso and SCS. Exploration drilling is ongoing at El Curso and SCS (view longitudinal section here).

Highlights from the latest drill results include:

• 3.27 grams per tonne (gpt) gold and 2,753 gpt silver for 2,982 gpt silver equivalent (AgEq at an 70:1 silver:gold ratio) over a 4.1 metre (m) true width (87.0 oz per short ton (opT) AgEq over 13.5 feet (ft)), including 0.6 gpt gold and 18,752 gpt silver for 18,794 gpt AgEq over 0.3 m (548.2 opT AgEq over 1.0 ft) in drill hole UCM-48
• 4.29 gpt gold and 3,464 gpt silver for 3,764 gpt AgEq over a 2.6 m true width (109.8 opT AgEq over 8.5 feet (ft)), including 25.7 gpt gold and 19,390 gpt silver for 21,189 gpt AgEq over 0.3 m (618.0 opT AgEq over 1.0 ft) in drill hole UCM-50

Luis Castro, Vice President of Exploration, commented, “We continue to intersect excellent drill results as we step out from the current margins of the El Curso orebody. There remains an additional 100 m to drill until we connect El Curso with the Milache orebody to the west, and there is a similar gap to fill to connect El Curso with the Porvenir Cuatro orebody (previously mined) to the east.”

“Ultimately, we anticipate that Porvenir Cuatro, El Curso and Milache will all connect to form one continuous orebody over a 1,500 m length by 400 m vertical extent. This would make it comparable to the original Porvenir Norte orebody which supported production at Guanacevi for over 14 years. The future is looking bright for Guanacevi.”

Drill results are summarized in the following table:

Silver equivalents are calculated at a ratio of 70:1 silver:gold. All widths are estimated true widths.

Qualified Person and QA/QC – Dale Mah, P.Geo., Vice President Corporate Development of Endeavour Silver, is the Qualified Person who reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. A Quality Control sampling program of reference standards, blanks and duplicates has been instituted to monitor the integrity of all assay results. All samples are split at the local field office and shipped to SGS Labs, where they are dried, crushed, split and 250 gram pulp samples are prepared for analysis. Gold is determined by fire assay with an atomic absorption (AAS) finish and silver by aqua regia digestion with ICP finish, over-limits by fire assay and gravimetric finish.

About Endeavour Silver – Endeavour Silver Corp. is a mid-tier precious metals mining company that owns and operates three high-grade, underground, silver-gold mines in Mexico. Endeavour is currently advancing the Terronera mine project towards a development decision and exploring its portfolio of exploration and development projects in Mexico and Chile to facilitate its goal to become a premier senior silver producer.  Our philosophy of corporate social integrity creates value for all stakeholders.

SOURCE Endeavour Silver Corp.

Contact Information

Galina Meleger, Director Investor Relations
Toll free: (877) 685-9775
Tel: (604) 640-4804
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.edrsilver.com

Follow Endeavour Silver on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements and information herein include but are not limited to statements regarding future prospects of the Company’s mines and projects. The Company does not intend to and does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. 

Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, production levels, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include but are not limited to the ultimate impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on operations and results, changes in production and costs guidance, national and local governments, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and Mexico; financial risks due to precious metals prices, operating or technical difficulties in mineral exploration, development and mining activities; risks and hazards of mineral exploration, development and mining; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development and risks in obtaining necessary licenses and permits,

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to: the continued exploration and mining operations, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, mining operations will operate and the mining products will be completed in accordance with management’s expectations and achieve their stated production outcomes, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. 

All amounts in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated

BROOKFIELD, News, May 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (TSX: BEP.UN; NYSE: BEP) (“Brookfield Renewable Partners”, “BEP“) today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

“We had a strong quarter, as we executed on our key priorities, including investing in growth, delivering on our corporate contracting initiatives and bolstering our liquidity,” said Connor Teskey, CEO of Brookfield Renewable. “The tailwinds for renewables are accelerating as governments and businesses around the world are intensifying their focus on decarbonization. Given our global scale, operational depth, and financial strength, we remain uniquely positioned to participate in the accelerating build out of renewables that will impact all sectors of the economy.”  

Brookfield Renewable reported FFO of $242 million or $0.38 per Unit for the three months ended March 31, 2021, a 3% increase from prior year, and $257 million or $0.40 per Unit on a normalized basis, a 21% increase from the prior year. After deducting depreciation and one-time non-cash charges, our Net loss attributable to Unitholders for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was $133 million or $0.24 per LP unit.

Highlights

• Generated FFO of $242 million, or $0.38 per unit, a 21% increase on a normalized per unit basis over the same period in the prior year;
   
• Progressed approximately 6,000 megawatts through construction and advanced stage permitting, and added nearly 4,500 megawatts to our development pipeline;
   
• We signed 29 agreements for approximately 2,300 GWh of renewable generation with corporate offtakers across all major industries and including many of the largest counterparties by market capitalization in the world;
   
• Invested or agreed to invest $1.6 billion (nearly $410 million net to Brookfield Renewable) of equity across a range of transactions, including onshore wind, offshore wind, utility scale solar, and distributed generation, in the United States, Europe, and India;
   
• Issued a $350 million perpetual green subordinated note issuance at a fixed rate of 4.625%. Our balance sheet remains robust with almost $3.4 billion of available liquidity and no meaningful near-term maturities; and
   
• Raised over $850 million (approximately $410 million net to Brookfield Renewable) from asset recycling initiatives, including the sale of mature onshore wind portfolios in Ireland and the U.S. at attractive values, returning approximately two times our invested capital.

Update on Growth Initiatives

As the opportunity to invest in renewables and decarbonization expands, we continue to exercise a value-oriented approach to growing our business. We remain disciplined in focusing on opportunities that play to our strengths – where we can invest for value, leverage our operating capabilities to increase cashflow, and deploy incremental capital at attractive returns to grow our businesses over time. Recently, we executed on a number of transactions that highlight this approach.

For the past several years, we monitored the offshore wind sector, while not investing. But as the technology has grown and matured, we have become more comfortable. This quarter we closed our first investment in offshore wind, which includes a pipeline to build 3 gigawatts of capacity supported by an attractive contract structure, over the next several years. Similarly, in India, one of the largest and fastest growing renewable markets globally, we continue to grow our business following our initial investment in 2017. Having grown our capabilities in the region, we now are seeing a steady pipeline of opportunities to incrementally add to our platform at attractive returns.

Recently, we signed or closed the following transactions:

• Shepherds Flat – An 845-megawatt wind farm in Oregon that includes one of the largest repowering opportunities in the world. Once completed we expect total generation to increase by approximately 25%. We are making good progress on the repowering and are also advancing a 400-megawatt new-build development pipeline that was included in the transaction;
   
• Investment in Polenergia – A scale renewable business in Europe with an interest in a 3 gigawatt offshore wind development pipeline. We believe Polenergia has tremendous growth prospects, and we are well positioned as both a supportive operating partner and capital provider to the business;
   
• Exelon Distributed Generation (DG) – A distributed generation business, comprising 360 megawatts of operating capacity with an additional over 700 megawatts under development. We now own one of the leading distributed generation businesses in the U.S., with deep operating, development, and origination capabilities, and an almost 2,000-megawatt portfolio that generates high-quality contracted cash flows that are diversified by geography and customer; and
   
• Indian Solar Project – On the back of a relationship established through our acquisition of a portfolio of loans from a non-bank financial company at the end of 2020, we signed an agreement which gives us the right to acquire a 450-megawatt shovel ready solar project from one of the largest developers in India. The project is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year and is backed by 25-year power purchase agreements with a high-quality state utility. We expect to invest $70 million ($20 million net to Brookfield Renewable) of equity in the project and are targeting 20%+ returns.

Results from Operations

During the first quarter, we generated FFO of $242 million, or $0.38 per unit, reflecting solid performance, as our operations benefited from strong asset availability, growth, and efficiency initiatives. On a normalized basis, our per unit results were up 21% year-over-year.

With an increasingly diversified portfolio of operating assets, limited concentration risk with counterparties, and a long-term contract profile, our cash flows are highly resilient. While generation for the quarter was marginally below the long-term average, driven largely by drier conditions in New York, we expect this variability, and therefore manage our business for the long-term. Further, we are continuously diversifying the business, which increasingly mitigates exposure to any single resource, market, or counterparty and our variability becomes less and less every year.

During the quarter, our hydroelectric segment delivered FFO of $170 million. Across this portfolio, we continue to focus on securing contracts that value the uniqueness of our fleet as a generator of dispatchable clean electricity and ancillary services.

Our wind and solar segments generated a combined $158 million of FFO, as we continue to generate stable revenues from these assets and benefit from the diversification of our fleet and highly contracted cash flows with long duration power purchase agreements. There was severe winter weather in the quarter, in particular in Texas. The conditions did not have a material impact on our financial results due to our operating and power marketing capabilities which reacted to mitigate risk. We are proud of how our teams performed during these difficult times, keeping our employees safe, and our operations running.

Our energy transition segment generated $33 million of FFO during the quarter as our portfolio continues to grow as we assist commercial and industrial partners achieve their decarbonization goals and provide critical grid-stabilizing ancillary services and back-up capacity required to address the increasing intermittency of greener electricity grids.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

Our financial position continues to be strong. We have approximately $3.4 billion of available liquidity, our investment grade balance sheet has no meaningful near-term maturities, and approximately 90% of our financings are non-recourse to Brookfield Renewable.

We continued to take advantage of the low interest environment and executed on $3.1 billion of investment grade financings, including $350 million 4.625% fixed rate green perpetual subordinated notes. The notes have the same accounting and rating treatment as our preferred LP units.

We also continue to execute our capital recycling strategy of selling mature, de-risked or non-core assets to lower cost of capital buyers while redeploying the proceeds into higher yielding opportunities. The proceeds from these transactions will be used to fund growth opportunities executed in the quarter, as well as our robust future growth pipeline.

In April, we agreed to sell our remaining 360 megawatts of operating assets and development pipeline in Ireland, and approximately 270 megawatts of our ready to build wind assets in Scotland, for an aggregate equity value of approximately $450 million (approximately $250 million proceeds net to Brookfield Renewable). We entered the European renewable market in 2014 with the acquisition of Bord Gáis’ wind portfolio in Ireland. When we acquired this business, it was part of a state-owned utility with approximately 300 megawatts of operating wind capacity. Under our ownership, we grew the business to over 700 megawatts of total operating assets by building out the development portfolio, and we expanded the development pipeline to approximately 1,000 megawatts. Consistent with our strategy when we enter new markets, we used this investment as a steppingstone to grow our business across Europe, including the acquisition of our development pipeline in Scotland in 2015.

Today, across Europe, we have expanded our capabilities to become a fully integrated platform with extensive corporate contracting, operating and growth capabilities. Following the completion of this sale, we will have more than 300 employees and over 10,000 megawatts of operating and development assets in the region. With this sale, we will have fully exited our initial investment in Ireland, having previously sold 375 megawatts of operating assets. In aggregate, we generated 15%+ compound annual returns on this investment. These sales, which are subject to customary closing conditions, are expected to close in the second quarter.

We also signed an agreement to sell 390 megawatts of wind assets primarily in California for a total equity value of approximately $370 million (approximately $160 million proceeds net to Brookfield Renewable), generating returns of approximately two times our invested capital. Under our ownership, the facilities were substantially de-risked by completing our business plan, which included developing several of the assets, establishing long-term revenue certainty, reducing operating and maintenance costs, and optimizing the capital structure. This sale, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the third quarter.

Distribution Declaration

The next quarterly distribution in the amount of $0.30375 per LP unit, is payable on June 30, 2021 to unitholders of record as at the close of business on May 28, 2021. In conjunction with the Partnership’s distribution declaration, the Board of Directors of BEPC has declared an equivalent quarterly dividend of $0.30375 per share, also payable on June 30, 2021 to shareholders of record as at the close of business on May 28, 2021. Brookfield Renewable targets a sustainable distribution with increases targeted on average at 5% to 9% annually.

The quarterly dividends on BEP’s preferred shares and preferred LP units have also been declared.

Distribution Currency Option

The quarterly distributions payable on the BEP units and BEPC shares are declared in U.S. dollars. Unitholders who are residents in the United States will receive payment in U.S. dollars and unitholders who are residents in Canada will receive the Canadian dollar equivalent unless they request otherwise. The Canadian dollar equivalent of the quarterly distribution will be based on the Bank of Canada daily average exchange rate on the record date or, if the record date falls on a weekend or holiday, on the Bank of Canada daily average exchange rate of the preceding business day.

Registered unitholders who are residents in Canada who wish to receive a U.S. dollar distribution and registered unitholders who are residents in the United States wishing to receive the Canadian dollar distribution equivalent should contact Brookfield Renewable’s transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada, in writing at 100 University Avenue, 8th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2Y1 or by phone at 1-800-564-6253. Beneficial unitholders (i.e., those holding their units in street name with their brokerage) should contact the broker with whom their units are held.

Distribution Reinvestment Plan

Brookfield Renewable Partners maintains a Distribution Reinvestment Plan (“DRIP”) which allows holders of BEP units who are residents in Canada to acquire additional LP units by reinvesting all or a portion of their cash distributions without paying commissions. Information on the DRIP, including details on how to enroll, is available on our website at www.bep.brookfield.com/stock-and-distribution/distributions/drip.

Additional information on Brookfield Renewable’s distributions and preferred share dividends can be found on our website at www.bep.brookfield.com.

Brookfield Renewable

Brookfield Renewable operates one of the world’s largest publicly traded, pure-play renewable power platforms. Our portfolio consists of hydroelectric, wind, solar and storage facilities in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, and totals approximately 21,000 megawatts of installed capacity and an approximately 27,000 megawatts development pipeline. Brookfield Renewable is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Further information is available at https://bep.brookfield.com. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.

Brookfield Renewable is the flagship listed renewable power company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with over $600 billion of assets under management.

Please note that Brookfield Renewable’s previous audited annual and unaudited quarterly reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and securities regulators in Canada, are available on our website at https://bep.brookfield.com, on SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on SEDAR’s website at www.sedar.com. Hard copies of the annual and quarterly reports can be obtained free of charge upon request.

Quarterly Earnings Call Details

Investors, analysts and other interested parties can access Brookfield Renewable’s 2021 First Quarter Results as well as the Letter to Unitholders and Supplemental Information on Brookfield Renewable’s website at https://bep.brookfield.com.

The conference call can be accessed via webcast on May 4, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/qp22gowd or via teleconference at 1-866-688-9430 toll free in North America. If dialing from outside Canada or the U.S., please dial 1-409-216-0817 at approximately 8:50 a.m. Eastern Time. When prompted, enter the conference ID, 6528239. A recording of the teleconference can be accessed through May 11, 2021 at 1-855-859-2056, or from outside Canada and the U.S. please call 1-404-537-3406. When prompted, enter the conference ID, 6528239.

PROPORTIONATE RESULTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31

The following chart reflects the generation and summary financial figures on a proportionate basis for the three months ended March 31:

The following table reconciles the non-IFRS financial metrics to the most directly comparable IFRS measures. Net income attributable to Unitholders is reconciled to Funds From Operations and reconciled to Proportionate Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31:

The following table reconciles the per Unit non-IFRS financial metrics to the most directly comparable IFRS measures. Basic income per LP unit is reconciled to FFO per Unit, for the three months ended March 31:

1. Average LP units outstanding for the three months ended March 31, 2021 were 274.8 million (2020: 268.5 million).
2. Average units for the three months ended March 31, 2021 were  645.5 million (2020: 583.7 million), being inclusive of LP units, Redeemable/Exchangeable partnership units, general partner interest, and BEPC exchangeable shares.

BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE CORPORATION REPORTS

FIRST QUARTER 2021 RESULTS

All amounts in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated

The Board of Directors of Brookfield Renewable Corporation (“BEPC” or our “company”) (NYSE, TSX: BEPC) today has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30375 per class A exchangeable subordinate voting share of BEPC (a “Share”), payable on June 30, 2021 to shareholders of record as at the close of business on May 28, 2021. This dividend is identical in amount per share and has identical record and payment dates to the quarterly distribution announced today by BEP on BEP’s LP units.

The BEPC exchangeable shares are structured with the intention of being economically equivalent to the non-voting limited partnership units of Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (“BEP” or the “Partnership”) (NYSE, BEP; TSX: BEP.UN). We believe economic equivalence is achieved through identical dividends and distributions on the BEPC exchangeable shares and BEP’s LP units and each BEPC exchangeable share being exchangeable at the option of the holder for one BEP LP unit at any time. Given the economic equivalence, we expect that the market price of the Shares will be significantly impacted by the market price of BEP’s LP units and the combined business performance of our company and BEP as a whole. In addition to carefully considering the disclosures made in this news release in its entirety, shareholders are strongly encouraged to carefully review BEP’s continuous disclosure filings available electronically on EDGAR on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

⁽¹⁾    Non-IFRS measures. Refer to “Cautionary Statement Regarding Use of Non-IFRS Measures”.

BEPC reported FFO of $126 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to $148 million in the prior year. After deducting non-cash depreciation, our Net loss attributable to the Partnership for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was $9 million.

The following table reconciles net income (loss) attributable to Brookfield Renewable to Funds From Operations for the three ended March 31:

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities regulations. The words “will”, “intend”, “should”, “could”, “target”, “growth”, “expect”, “believe”, “plan”, derivatives thereof and other expressions which are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, or prospects and which do not relate to historical matters identify the above mentioned and other forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the quality of Brookfield Renewable’s and its subsidiaries’ businesses and our expectations regarding future cash flows and distribution growth. They include statements regarding Brookfield Renewable’s anticipated financial performance, future commissioning of assets, contracted nature of our portfolio, technology diversification, acquisition opportunities, expected completion of acquisitions and dispositions, financing and refinancing opportunities, BEPC’s ability to attract new investors as well as the future performance and prospects of BEPC and BEP, the prospects and benefits of the combination of Brookfield Renewable and TerraForm Power, including certain information regarding the combined company’s expected cash flow profile and liquidity, future energy prices and demand for electricity, economic recovery, achieving long-term average generation, project development and capital expenditure costs, energy policies, economic growth, growth potential of the renewable asset class, the future growth prospects and distribution profile of Brookfield Renewable and Brookfield Renewable’s access to capital. Although Brookfield Renewable believes that these forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, you should not place undue reliance on them, or any other forward -looking statements or information in this news release. The future performance and prospects of Brookfield Renewable are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results of Brookfield Renewable to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by the statements in this news release include (without limitation) our inability to identify sufficient investment opportunities and complete transactions, the growth of our portfolio and our inability to realize the expected benefits of our transactions or acquisitions; weather conditions and other factors which may impact generation levels at facilities; adverse outcomes with respect to outstanding, pending or future litigation; economic conditions in the jurisdictions in which Brookfield Renewable operates; ability to sell products and services under contract or into merchant energy markets; changes to government regulations, including incentives for renewable energy; ability to complete development and capital projects on time and on budget; inability to finance operations or fund future acquisitions due to the status of the capital markets; health, safety, security or environmental incidents; regulatory risks relating to the power markets in which Brookfield Renewable operates, including relating to the regulation of our assets, licensing and litigation; risks relating to internal control environment; contract counterparties not fulfilling their obligations; changes in operating expenses, including employee wages, benefits and training, governmental and public policy changes, and other risks associated with the construction, development and operation of power generating facilities. For further information on these known and unknown risks, please see “Risk Factors” included in the Form 20-F of BEP and in the Form 20-F of BEPC and other risks and factors that are described therein.

The foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. The forward -looking statements represent our views as of the date of this news release and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. While we anticipate that subsequent events and developments may cause our views to change, we disclaim any obligation to update the forward -looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. This news release is for information purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Use of Non-IFRS Measures

This news release contains references to FFO, FFO per Unit and Normalized FFO per Unit, which are not generally accepted accounting measures under IFRS and therefore may differ from definitions of FFO, FFO per Unit and Normalized FFO per Unit used by other entities. We believe that FFO, FFO per Unit and Normalized FFO per Unit are useful supplemental measures that may assist investors in assessing the financial performance and the cash anticipated to be generated by our operating portfolio. None of FFO, FFO per Unit and Normalized FFO per Unit should be considered as the sole measure of our performance and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, analysis of our financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. For a reconciliation of the non-IFRS financial measures to the most comparable IFRS financial measures, see “Part 4 – Financial Performance Review on Proportionate Information – Reconciliation of non-IFRS measures” in our interim report for the period ended March 31, 2021. Normalized FFO assumes long-term average generation in all segments except the Brazil and Colombia hydroelectric segments and uses 2020 foreign currency rates.

References to Brookfield Renewable are to Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. together with its subsidiary and operating entities unless the context reflects otherwise.