Winds of change for Wigton with new leadership and new ownership rules

Wigton Windarm Limited announced the appointment of Michelle Chin Lenn as its interim managing director effective next month.

The current head of the business, Earl Barrett, will demit office on March 31.

The timeline coincides with the schedule for the Jamaican government to relinquish control over the ownership structure of the renewable energy firm that was exercised through a special or golden share. Barrett’s departure is also happening at a time when Wigton is in sensitive discussions regarding procurement and financing of new equipment to replace old and worn down turbines that were the first to be commissioned by the wind farm when it launched into operation more than two decades ago.

Barrett was head of the wind farm when it was owned by the state and continued to head it for nearly five years since its divestment and listing in May 2019.

Lenn, an engineer, is currently the head of energy at Wigton following her promotion from the post of project manager last year. Director Omar Azan announced Lenn’s new remit at the annual general meeting, while congratulating Barrett for serving 14 years in that position.

“She will serve until the recruitment process for a new managing director is completed,” said Azan. “We are poised for a future that’s filled with innovation, and growth.”

Rosehill, Manchester-based Wigton generates energy from windmills. On average it saves 120,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually as part of its contribution to the green economy, said Barrett in his outgoing address at the meeting.

Currently, individual shareholding in Wigton Windfarm Limited is capped at 10 per cent of the total ordinary shares. That cap will cease to have effect after May 2024, according to information on the company’s website. The special share held through the Accountant General’s Department contains no nominal value, but grants the state certain rights. That special share will cease to have effect next month, according to company secretary Shaneek Clacken.

“The articles of the company are very clear in the treatment of the 10 per cent limit as well as the attendant share held by the accountant general of Jamaica, that will cease by virtue of the provisions of the article on 17th of April 2024,” said Clacken in response to Financial Gleaner queries at the annual general meeting last Friday.

Wigton in its prospectus for listing stated that the “sole reason” for the special share is to “lock in the regime” which limits the interest of any person in the shares to 10 per cent for a period of five years since listing. The special share has “no economic value” added the prospectus.

Wigton Windfarm is currently valued at around $12 billion on the market, which is twice the $5.5 billion value at which it entered the market.

The latest disclosures on ownership as at December indicate that, individually, the five largest shareholders own between four per cent and 10 per cent of the company. Mayberry Jamaican Equities holds 10 per cent, VM Building Society 9.87 per cent, the National Insurance Fund 6.4 per cent, ATL Group Pension Fund 5.4 per cent, and Sagicor Investments 4.4 per cent.

Earlier this month, Mayberry Group CEO Gary Peart said he expects a single largest shareholder or group of aligned shareholders to emerge with the removal of the cap. Already, on March 7, investors traded over 561 million units of Wigton shares, the most activity the stock has seen in at least two years, according to Jamaica Stock Exchange data.

The Wigton stock trades at around 40 times what it earned in the last financial year, which equates to four times the average multiple of the overall stock market. This implies that any investor looking to buy will have a long-term horizon to reap returns. That horizon can be shortened by new ventures, which increase the earnings of the company. And that’s precisely what management has been arching towards.

Wigton plans to participate in at least two new tenders for the installation of wind or solar plants that will fortify the overall national power grid. Also, Wigton and solar energy installation firm IEC Limited operate a joint venture that goes after energy installation projects. And Wigton also holds a 20 per cent stake in Flash Motors, which sells electric vehicles.

These ventures have widened the company’s revenue scope from solely wind energy generation, which now sees management considering the renaming of Wigton to reflect its broadened identity.

“The prospect of changing the name from Wigton Windfarm has been on the table for a while and at the appropriate time we will do the name change as we diversify the business,” said Barrett. “It is certainly on the agenda to look at what our new name would be as we transition into a business unit and a conglomerate.”

Wigton’s wind farm has a capacity of 62.7 MW of power amassed over three phases of development. The turbines being replaced were the first to be commissioned back in 2004 under phase one. Their capacity is 20.7MW.

Phase four has been on the table since 2016, noted Barrett.

“If we are successful, then would be considered Phase 4,” he said, referring to Wigton’s bid under the 100MW renewable capacity project that the government has tendered.

“The amount of energy depends on the location and what the grid allows. Phase four doesn’t have to be wind,” he said.

Wigton was also shortlisted in an ‘expression of interest’ from power utility Jamaica Public Service Company to replace some 300MW of aged plants. It now awaits the bid document.

“We cannot say that we will go for the 300MW, 150MW, 100MW or 50MW, because JPS will identify what they will allow each bidder to submit,” Barrett said.

Wigton Windfarm’s operational results for the year were affected by lower production due to wind availability. It led to a reduction in revenue of $1.5 billion over nine months ending December 2023, compared to $1.8 billion a year earlier. Also, profit dipped 2.6 per cent to $490 million from $504 million a year earlier.

In the long run, however, Barrett expects a changing climate to result in more wind generation due to the added heat on the earth. Most people would see this translated as more frequent violent storms, he said.

steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com