APR quits Libya as government fails to ratify contract

By Esha Vaish (Reuters) - APR Energy Plc said it would move its power-producing assets from Libya to other places, as the government has failed to ratify its contract even two months after the company first switched off power generation. Shares in the company, which rents out turbines and generators to overcome power shortages, fell as much as 16.6 percent to a record low of 146 pence. The stock has lost 50 percent of its value since APR suspended electricity generation in Libya in early November. The company did not quantify the financial impact of its decision to move the assets, but analysts told Reuters in December that the company could be missing out on $17 million of revenue for every month that power generation remained offline. APR cut its 2014 adjusted core earnings target last month, saying it would be about 500-600 basis points lower than its earlier forecast. The company said on Monday that the assets would be reassigned to other places immediately, but did not specify a location. Analysts at Liberum said they expected APR to take about 3 months to move its Libya assets. Libya accounted for about a quarter of the company's total sales of $308 million in 2013 and was instrumental in the company turning a profit that year. In June 2013, the size of the contract was increased to 450 megawatts from 250 megawatts. APR's focus on emerging markets has left it exposed to political risk in countries such as Libya, where rival governments vie for control of vast energy fields more than three years after veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown. The company's stock, which was trading at around 1000 pence when it listed in 2010, was down 7.7 percent at 161.50 pence at 1401 GMT.