Genie Energy Ltd (GNE) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to Genie Energy's first quarter 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to Brian Siegal of Hayden IR.

早上好，歡迎參加 Genie Energy 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意此事件正在被記錄。我現在將把電話轉給 Hayden IR 的 Brian Siegal。

Thank you, operator. With me today are Michael Stein, Genie Energy's CEO; and Avi Goldin, Genie Energy's CFO, who will discuss operational and financial results. Any forward-looking statements made during this conference call, whether general or specific in nature are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. These [risks] and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the reports that we file periodically with the SEC. Genie assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements we have made or may make or to update the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we forecast.

謝謝你，接線生。今天與我在一起的有 Genie Energy 執行長 Michael Stein； Genie Energy 財務長 Avi Goldin 將討論營運和財務表現。本次電話會議期間所做的任何前瞻性陳述，無論是一般性的還是具體的，都存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與這些陳述有重大差異。這些[風險]和不確定性包括但不限於我們定期向 SEC 提交的報告中討論的風險和不確定性。Genie 不承擔更新我們已經做出或可能做出的任何前瞻性陳述的義務，也沒有義務更新可能導致實際結果與我們預測的結果有重大差異的因素。

During their remarks management makes reference to adjusted EBITDA. A non-GAAP measure. Management believes that its measure of adjusted EBITDA provides useful information for both management and investors that supplement our core operating results. Our earnings release, which is posted on the Genie.com IR page includes a reconciliation of consolidated adjusted EBITDA to its nearest comparable GAAP measures. Consolidated net income and income from operations for all periods presented. In addition, adjusted EBITDA for applicable segments are reconciled in the earnings release for the respective segments, income from operations for all periods presented.

管理層在演講中提到了調整後的 EBITDA。非公認會計準則衡量標準。管理層認為，其調整後 EBITDA 指標為管理層和投資者提供了有用的信息，並補充了我們的核心經營績效。我們發佈在 Genie.com IR 頁面上的收益報告包括綜合調整後 EBITDA 與其最接近的可比較 GAAP 指標的調節表。列出的所有期間的合併淨收入和營運收入。此外，適用部門的調整後 EBITDA 會在各部門的收益發布以及所有期間的營運收入中進行調整。

I will now turn the conference over to Michael Stein, Genie's Chief Executive Officer.

我現在將會議交給 Genie 執行長 Michael Stein。

Thank you, Brian, welcome to Genie Energy's first quarter 2024 earnings call. We reported a solid quarter this morning with record first quarter revenue and gross profit. On top of our regular quarterly dividend, we repurchased 250,000 shares of common stock, which we believe is trading well below its fair value. At GRE We ended the first quarter with 365,000 customers, up about 5% and 348,000 RCEs, down about 1% respectively over the prior year.

謝謝布萊恩，歡迎參加 Genie Energy 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天早上我們報告了一個穩健的季度，第一季收入和毛利創歷史新高。除了定期季度股息外，我們還回購了 250,000 股普通股，我們認為該股的交易價格遠低於其公允價值。在 GRE，第一季結束時，我們有 365,000 名客戶，年增約 5%；RCE 數為 348,000 名，比上年同期分別下降約 1%。

Within GREW, Diversegy had another very strong quarter and at Genie Solar, we advanced several third party owned commercial projects into the construction phase, helping to drive a significant increase in segment revenue, quarterly gross profit and adjusted EBITDA year-over-year.

在GREW 中，Diversegy 又迎來了一個非常強勁的季度，在Genie Solar 中，我們將多個第三方擁有的商業項目推進到建設階段，幫助推動部門收入、季度毛利和調整後EBITDA 同比大幅增長。

We also advanced several Genie owned solar projects that are in development and added new projects to the pipeline, even as several others dropped out of our [development] plans due to lack of viability. This movement in and out of the pipeline is not uncommon for early-stage solar opportunities. We are confident that the investments we've made to enhance our team and have upgrade our operational capabilities should help us grow and optimize the pipeline while also moving existing projects through the pipeline more rapidly.

我們還推進了幾個吉尼擁有的正在開發的太陽能項目，並在管道中增加了新項目，儘管其他幾個項目由於缺乏可行性而退出了我們的[開發]計劃。對於早期太陽能機會來說，這種進出管道的情況並不罕見。我們相信，我們為增強我們的團隊和升級我們的營運能力而進行的投資將有助於我們發展和優化管道，同時也能更快地推動現有專案通過管道。

As a reminder, our solar project development strategy is intended to be a long-term value driver for the company, developing projects from site, right acquisitions through construction and into operations typically takes years. However, we are pursuing projects with robust ROI projections that we expect will provide growing recurring revenue streams to the company for years to come. Given the solid operational and financial start to the year. We remain on track to deliver $40 million to $50 million in company-wide consolidated adjusted EBITDA for 2024.

提醒一下，我們的太陽能專案開發策略旨在成為公司的長期價值驅動力，從現場開發專案、透過建設和營運進行正確的收購通常需要數年時間。然而，我們正在尋求具有強勁投資回報率預測的項目，我們預計這些項目將在未來幾年為公司提供不斷增長的經常性收入流。鑑於今年的營運和財務開局穩健。我們仍有望在 2024 年實現全公司綜合調整後 EBITDA 4,000 萬至 5,000 萬美元的目標。

This range represents a significant increase from our pre-2022 normalized adjusted EBITDA range of $25 million to $30 million and includes significant ongoing investments in developing utility-scale solar projects that GRE. Our upgraded expectations reflect our expanded customer base at GRE, our pivot away from international retail and our focus on continuously enhancing our analytical and operational capabilities. Consistent with our 2024 projections, we expect to remain opportunistic with respect to potential new retail customer acquisitions, both organic and inorganic.

這一範圍較 2022 年前標準化調整後 EBITDA 範圍（2,500 萬美元至 3,000 萬美元）顯著增加，其中包括對開發 GRE 公用事業規模太陽能專案的持續大量投資。我們升級的期望反映了我們在 GRE 擴大的客戶群、我們從國際零售業轉向的重點以及我們對不斷增強分析和營運能力的關注。與我們 2024 年的預測一致，我們預計將在潛在的新零售客戶收購（有機和無機）方面保持機會主義。

This year at GRE, we will continue to move toward the completion of our Perry and Lansing solar farms, both in New York. Additionally, we expect our upgraded project development team to further expand our pipeline and move the viable projects through development process more quickly. Our Diversegy business continues to perform well. Diversegy revenue grew for the 10 straight quarter and its gross profit reached its highest level ever for the fourth consecutive quarter. Overall, we expect that Diversegy will contribute to our enhanced growth and profitability in the coming years.

今年，在 GRE，我們將繼續努力完成位於紐約的佩里和蘭辛太陽能發電場。此外，我們期望升級後的專案開發團隊能夠進一步擴大我們的管道，並更快地推動可行的專案通過開發流程。我們的多元化業務繼續表現良好。Diversegy 營收連續 10 個季度成長，毛利連續第四個季度創歷史最高水準。總體而言，我們預計 Diversegy 將有助於我們未來幾年的成長和獲利能力的提高。

To wrap up, we delivered another solid quarter allocated capital to buy back shares at what we believe are the value levels and continue to make progress in our solar business.

最後，我們又提供了一個穩定的季度分配資本，以我們認為的價值水平回購股票，並繼續在我們的太陽能業務方面取得進展。

Now I'll turn the call over to Avi for his discussion of our financial results.

現在我將把電話轉給阿維，讓他討論我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Michael, and thanks to everyone on the call for joining us this morning. My remarks today cover our financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024, throughout my remarks may discuss the quarterly results, I will compare the first quarter of 2024 the first quarter of 2023 to remove from consideration the seasonal factors that impact the results of our retail energy supply business. In that business the first quarter is typically characterized by seasonally elevated levels of per meter electricity and gas consumption as it includes the winter's peak heating months for much of our service area.

謝謝邁克爾，也感謝今天早上參加我們電話會議的所有人。我今天的演講涵蓋了截至2024 年3 月31 日的三個月的財務業績，在我的演講中可能會討論季度業績，我將比較2024 年第一季度和2023 年第一季度，以排除影響業績的季節性因素我們的零售能源供應業務。在該業務中，第一季的典型特點是每米電力和天然氣消耗水平季節性升高，因為它包括我們大部分服務區域的冬季供暖高峰月份。

Also, during my remarks, I will discuss our measure of adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure in order to provide investors with a consistent perspective on the underlying performance of our business, through these financial results were highlighted by record first quarter revenue and gross profit and solid adjusted EBITDA while returning value to our common stockholders through repurchases of our Class-B common stock as well as our quarterly dividend.

此外，在我的發言中，我將討論我們的調整後EBITDA 衡量標準，這是一種非公認會計準則衡量標準，以便為投資者提供對我們業務基本業績的一致看法，通過這些財務業績，第一季度創紀錄的收入和總收入突顯了這一點。

First quarter consolidated revenue increased 14% to $120 million from $105 million in the first quarter of last year. At GRE, first quarter revenue increased by 11% to $112 million from $101 million a year ago. The increase is driven by the growth in our meter base that Michael mentioned, as well as increased consumption per meter. The increase in kilowatt hours sold was partially offset by decreases in the average price per unit sold of both electricity and natural gas.

第一季綜合營收從去年第一季的 1.05 億美元成長 14% 至 1.2 億美元。GRE 第一季營收成長 11%，從一年前的 1.01 億美元增至 1.12 億美元。這一增長是由邁克爾提到的電錶基數的增長以及每米消耗量的增加所推動的。銷售千瓦時的成長被電力和天然氣每單位平均銷售價格的下降所部分抵消。

At our renewables segment, first quarter revenue increased by 87% to $7.2 million from $3.9 million, driven by increased sales, at Genie Solar and Diversegy at Genie Solar revenue increased largely reflecting the attainment of a number of third party commercial project development milestones in the quarter, Diversegy continues to expand its advisory and brokerage fees.

在我們的再生能源部門，第一季的營收成長了 87%，從 390 萬美元增至 720 萬美元，這主要得益於 Genie Solar 和 Diversegy 銷售額成長的推動。諮詢和經紀費用。

Consolidated gross profit in the first quarter increased by 1.5% to $33.8 million from $33.3 million, while our gross margin decreased 340 basis points to 28.2% from 31.6%. At GRE gross profit in the first quarter decreased 1.1% to $32.2 million, reflecting a decrease in our margin on electricity sales, substantially offset by an increase in kilowatt hours sold and higher gross margin on gas sales.

第一季綜合毛利從 3,330 萬美元成長 1.5% 至 3,380 萬美元，而毛利率從 31.6% 下降 340 個基點至 28.2%。GRE第一季毛利下降1.1%至3,220萬美元，反映出我們電力銷售利潤率的下降，但被銷售千瓦時的增加和天然氣銷售毛利率的提高所抵消。

This dynamic led to an overall decline in GRE's gross margin of 350 basis points to 28.6% from 32.1%. At Genie renewables first quarter gross profit more than doubled to $1.6 million from $747,000, reflecting the contribution from Diversegy and Genie Solar businesses.

這一動態導致 GRE 毛利率整體下降 350 個基點，從 32.1% 降至 28.6%。Genie 再生能源第一季的毛利從 747,000 美元增長了一倍多，達到 160 萬美元，這反映了 Diversegy 和 Genie Solar 業務的貢獻。

Solid SG&A increased 4.1% to $22.9 million from $22 million in the first quarter 2023, due to an increased rate of customer acquisitions and higher fees paid for participation in utility purchase of receivable programs, partially offset by a decrease in corporate expense.

由於客戶獲取率增加以及參與公用事業購買應收帳款計畫所支付的費用增加，公司費用的減少部分抵銷了銷售費用和行政管理費用，從2023 年第一季的2,200 萬美元增加了4.1%，達到2290 萬美元。

Consolidating operations in the first quarter was $9.8 million compared to $11.3 million in the year ago quarter. The decrease primarily reflects the increase in SG&A and a $1 million non-cash charge for an increase in captive insurance liability. At GRE income from operations decreased to $14.2 million from $16.4 million in the year ago quarter as a result of the increased rate of investment in customer acquisitions and the decrease in electricity margins.

第一季合併業務為 980 萬美元，去年同期為 1,130 萬美元。這一減少主要反映了 SG&A 的增加以及因自保保險負債增加而產生的 100 萬美元非現金費用。由於客戶獲取投資率增加以及電力利潤率下降，GRE 的營運收入從去年同期的 1,640 萬美元下降至 1,420 萬美元。

At Genie renewables, the first quarter loss from operations narrowed to $645,000 from $1.1 million in the year ago quarter on a strong increase in gross profit. First quarter consolidated adjusted EBITDA decreased to $11.7 million from $12.4 million in the year ago quarter. Genie's earnings per share was $0.30 in the first quarter compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.54 a year earlier. Discontinued operations contributed a $0.01 loss per share in this quarter compared to a $0.12 per share positive contribution to diluted earnings per share in the year ago.

Genie 再生能源公司第一季營運虧損從去年同期的 110 萬美元收窄至 64.5 萬美元，原因是毛利強勁成長。第一季綜合調整後 EBITDA 從去年同期的 1,240 萬美元降至 1,170 萬美元。Genie 第一季每股收益為 0.30 美元，而去年同期攤薄後每股收益為 0.54 美元。終止業務本季每股虧損 0.01 美元，而去年同期則對攤薄每股收益產生每股 0.12 美元的正面貢獻。

Turning now to the balance sheet at March 31, cash, cash equivalents, long and short-term restricted cash and marketable equity securities totaled $162.4 million. Working capital was $127.2 million. As Michael mentioned, we repurchased 250,000 shares of our Class-B common stock during the quarter and returned [6.2 million] in aggregate value to our stockholders through that buyback in our regular quarterly dividend.

現在轉向 3 月 31 日的資產負債表，現金、現金等價物、長期和短期限制性現金以及可流通股本證券總計 1.624 億美元。營運資金為 1.272 億美元。正如麥可所提到的，我們在本季度回購了 250,000 股 B 類普通股，並透過定期季度股息回購向股東返還了總價值 [620 萬股]。

To wrap up, this was another solid quarter, financially highlighted by record first quarter revenue and gross profit. We remain committed to returning value to our stockholders, even as we invest significantly in long-term growth opportunities.

總而言之，這是另一個穩健的季度，財務上的亮點是創紀錄的第一季收入和毛利。即使我們大力投資長期成長機會，我們仍然致力於為股東回報價值。

Now, Operator, back to you for Q&A.

現在，接線員，回到您的問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) There are no questions in queue. This concludes today's conference and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

（操作員說明）隊列中沒有問題。今天的會議到此結束，您現在可以掛斷電話了。感謝您的參與。