Genie Energy Ltd (GNE) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to Genie Energy’s second quarter 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to Brian Siegel of Hayden IR. Sir, you may begin.

早上好，歡迎參加 Genie Energy 的 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，正在記錄此事件。我現在會把電話轉給 Hayden IR 的 Brian Siegel。先生，您可以開始了。

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.

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。

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 filed periodically with the SEC.

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，都受到風險和不確定性的影響，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 assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements that we have made or may make or to update the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we forecast.

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 to both management and investors that supplement our core operating results.

在演講中，管理階層提到了調整後的 EBITDA（一項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。

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.

我們發佈在 genie.com IR 頁面上的收益報告包括合併調整後 EBITDA 與其最接近的可比較 GAAP 衡量標準的調整表、合併淨利潤以及所有期間的營運收入。

In addition, adjusted EBITDA for applicable segments are reconciled in the earnings release through their respective segment’s income from operations for all periods presented.

此外，適用部門的調整後 EBITDA 在收益發布中透過其各自部門所有期間的營運收入進行了調節。

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 second quarter 2024 earnings call. We reported another in a line of solid quarters this morning, despite it being a seasonally slower quarter. We increased our cash, cash equivalent, and restricted cash balance to $178 million, while paying our regular quarterly dividend and repurchasing approximately 170,000 shares of common stock, which add about six times enterprise value to adjusted EBITDA, we believe continues trading well below its fair value.

謝謝你，布萊恩。歡迎參加 Genie Energy 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。今天早上我們報告了另一個穩定的季度，儘管這是一個季節性放緩的季度。我們將現金、現金等價物和限制性現金餘額增加至1.78 億美元，同時支付定期季度股息併回購約170,000 股普通股，這使調整後EBITDA 的企業價值增加了約六倍，我們相信交易價格繼續遠低於其公平水平價值。

At GRE, we ended the second quarter with 362,000 customers and 345,000 RCEs, which were relatively flat to the first quarter, but down from a year ago when we were aggressively rebuilding our customer base. Diversegy had yet another very strong quarter with over 50% revenue growth. At Genie Solar, we recognized our first full quarter of revenue from our operating solar farms.

在 GRE，第二季末我們有 362,000 名客戶和 345,000 個 RCE，與第一季相對持平，但低於一年前我們積極重建客戶群時的水平。Diversegy 又迎來了一個非常強勁的季度，營收成長超過 50%。在吉尼太陽能 (Genie Solar)，我們確認了我們營運的太陽能發電場的第一個完整季度收入。

From a pipeline perspective, while moving forward on several projects, we subtracted a net 15 megawatts, but the number of potential projects remain the same, and we increased the amount in permitting phase to 10 megawatts. Remember that movement in and out of the pipeline is common for early-stage solar opportunities.

從管道的角度來看，在推進幾個項目的同時，我們淨減少了15兆瓦，但潛在項目的數量保持不變，並且我們將許可階段的數量增加到10兆瓦。請記住，對於早期太陽能機會來說，管道的進出是很常見的。

We also continue to make progress at our two New York state projects that are in the construction phase, and in July, we had two projects pass the seizure studies and have now moved into the permitting stage. We are confident that the investments we’ve made to enhance our team and upgrade our operational capabilities should help us grow and optimize the pipeline while also moving existing projects through the pipeline more rapidly.

我們也在紐約州的兩個處於施工階段的項目繼續取得進展，7 月份，我們有兩個項目通過了扣押研究，現已進入許可階段。我們相信，我們為增強團隊和提升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 driver of long-term value for the company. Developing projects from the 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.

提醒一下，我們的太陽能專案開發策略旨在成為公司長期價值的驅動力。開發案從獲得工地權到建設再到營運通常需要數年時間。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。

Given the solid operational and financial first half of the year, we remain on track to deliver $40 million to $50 million in consolidated adjusted EBITDA for 2024. This range represents a significant increase from our pre-2022 normalized adjusted EBITDA range of $25 million to $30 million and include significant ongoing investments in developing utility-scale solar projects at group.

鑑於今年上半年穩健的營運和財務狀況，我們仍有望在 2024 年實現 4,000 萬至 5,000 萬美元的綜合調整後 EBITDA。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，其中包括集團對開發公用事業規模太陽能專案的持續大量投資。

Consistent with our 2024 projections, we expect to remain opportunistic with respect to potential new retail customer acquisitions. For example, at GRE, we expect to see a significant increase in customers late in the third quarter as we signed a new aggregation deal.

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方面保持機會主義態度。例如，在 GRE，我們預計隨著我們簽署新的聚合協議，第三季末客戶數量將大幅增加。

We expect our diversity business to continue to perform well. Diversity revenue grew for the 11th straight quarter, and it delivered record gross profit for the 5th consecutive quarter. Overall, we expect that diversity will contribute to our enhanced growth and profitability in the coming years.

我們預計我們的多元化業務將繼續表現良好。多元化收入連續 11 個季度成長，毛利連續 5 個季度創歷史新高。總體而言，我們預計多元化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, deployed capital to buy back shares at what we believe are deep value levels and continue to make progress in our solar business.

最後，我們又實現了一個穩健的季度，部署資本以我們認為的深度價值水平回購股票，並繼續在我們的太陽能業務方面取得進展。

Now I will 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 June 30, 2024. Throughout my remarks, I will compare the results for the second quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2023 to remove from consideration the seasonal factors that impact our results, particularly in our retail energy supply business.

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我們截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日的三個月的財務表現。在我的演講中，我將比較 2024 年第二季和 2023 年第二季的業績，以排除影響我們業績的季節性因素，特別是在我們的零售能源供應業務中。

Overall, the quarterly results were strong and consistent with the pace of our annual guidance, notwithstanding that they did not favorably compare with the second quarter of 2023, which had uniquely strong margins within the retail business.

總體而言，季度業績強勁，與我們的年度指導步伐一致，儘管與 2023 年第二季度相比並不有利，後者在零售業務中擁有獨特的強勁利潤率。

Consolidated revenue for the quarter decreased 3% to $90.7 million from $93.5 million. The decrease was driven by GRE where revenue dipped 3.4% to $86.7 million, primarily reflecting a 2.3% decrease in revenue per kilowatt hour sold.

該季度綜合營收下降 3%，從 9,350 萬美元降至 9,070 萬美元。這一下降是由 GRE 推動的，其收入下降了 3.4% 至 8,670 萬美元，主要反映了每售出千瓦時的收入下降了 2.3%。

Electricity sales generated 90% of GRE’s revenue, as seasonally this is a shoulder period for natural gas. Although electric meter counts were slightly lower than last year, per meter electricity consumption climbed nearly 4% to maintain kilowatt hours sold at the year ago level.

電力銷售佔 GRE 收入的 90%，因為從季節性角度來看，這是天然氣的淡季。儘管電錶數量略低於去年，但每表用電量增加了近 4%，維持了去年同期銷售千瓦時的水平。

At GREW, revenue decreased 6.6% to $4 million, reflecting continued expansion of Diversegy in the first full quarter of contribution from the acquisition of our portfolio of operating solar arrays.

GREW 的營收下降 6.6% 至 400 萬美元，反映出 Diversegy 在第一個完整季度收購我們營運的太陽能電池陣列組合的貢獻不斷擴大。

Genie Energy’s consolidated gross profit was $33.3 million for a gross margin of 36.8%. At GRE, the gross profit came in at $32.7 million for a gross margin of 37.2%. GRE’s margin was strong, represented a decrease compared to the 41.8% obtained in the year ago quarter, which is well above historical margin performance.

Genie Energy 的綜合毛利為 3,330 萬美元，毛利率為 36.8%。GRE 的毛利為 3,270 萬美元，毛利率為 37.2%。GRE 的利潤率強勁，與去年同期的 41.8% 相比有所下降，遠高於歷史利潤率表現。

Consolidated SG&A decreased 5% to $22 million from $23.2 million, partially driven by reduced sales-related spending at GRE. Consolidated income from operations was $10.6 million and adjusted EBITDA was $12 million, representing decreases from $15 million and $15.8 million respectively in the year ago period. The decreases were driven primarily by the reduction in gross profit, partially offset by the reduction in SG&A.

綜合 SG&A 下降 5%，從 2,320 萬美元降至 2,200 萬美元，部分原因是 GRE 銷售相關支出減少。合併營運收入為 1,060 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 1,200 萬美元，分別比去年同期的 1,500 萬美元和 1,580 萬美元有所下降。下降的主要原因是毛利的減少，但部分被銷售管理費用的減少所抵銷。

Also, this quarter, we recorded a non-cash expense of $640,000 on a loss reserve by our captive insurance subsidiary. The charge didn’t impact adjusted EBITDA but is reflected in our GAAP income from operations and bottom line. We expect this item to continue quarterly reflecting the change in potential liability for the risks that the captive is ensuring.

此外，本季度，我們自保子公司的損失準備金中記錄了 640,000 美元的非現金費用。該費用並未影響調整後的 EBITDA，但反映在我們的 GAAP 營運收入和利潤中。我們預計該專案將繼續每季反映自保公司所確保的風險的潛在責任的變化。

At GRE, income from operations decreased to $14.6 million from $18.4 million a year ago on the decrease in gross profit. At GREW, loss from operations increased to $1.4 million from $1.2 million as we added key new employees to expand the operational capabilities at Diversegy and Genie Solar.

由於毛利下降，GRE 的營運收入從一年前的 1,840 萬美元減少至 1,460 萬美元。在 GREW，由於我們增加了關鍵新員工以擴大 Diversegy 和 Genie Solar 的營運能力，營運損失從 120 萬美元增加到 140 萬美元。

Genie’s income per diluted share was $0.36 in the second quarter compared to diluted EPS of $0.57 a year earlier. Discontinued operations contributed a $0.01 loss per share in the second quarter this year compared to $0.12 per share benefit to diluted EPS in the year ago quarter on the wind down of certain overseas operations.

Genie 第二季稀釋後每股收益為 0.36 美元，去年同期稀釋後每股收益為 0.57 美元。今年第二季度，終止業務帶來了每股 0.01 美元的虧損，而去年同期由於某些海外業務的縮減，稀釋後每股收益為 0.12 美元。

Turning now to the balance sheet, at June 30, cash, cash equivalents, long and short-term restricted cash, and marketable equity securities totaled $178.3 million; working capital was $132.8 million. As Michael mentioned, we repurchased approximately 169,000 shares of our Class B common stock this quarter. Year-to-date, we have returned $10.8 million in aggregate value to our stockholders through share repurchases and our regular quarterly dividend.

現在轉向資產負債表，截至 6 月 30 日，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 1.783 億美元；營運資金為 1.328 億美元。正如麥可所提到的，我們本季回購了大約 169,000 股 B 類普通股。今年迄今為止，我們已透過股票回購和定期季度股利向股東返還了 1,080 萬美元的總價值。

To wrap up, this is another solid quarter financially, highlighted by further strengthening of our balance sheet, even as we continue to return value to our shareholders. We are well positioned to continue generating strong cash flows during the third quarter’s peak cooling season and the remainder of the year.

總而言之，這是另一個財務穩健的季度，我們的資產負債表進一步加強，儘管我們繼續向股東回報價值。我們處於有利地位，可以在第三季的製冷高峰季和今年剩餘時間內繼續產生強勁的現金流。

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

現在，接線員，回到您的問答環節。

Thank you. At this time, we will be conducting a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。此時，我們將進行問答環節。（操作員說明）

Okay. As we have no questions in the queue at this time, this will conclude today's conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.

好的。由於此時隊列中沒有問題，今天的會議就到此結束，此時您可以掛斷電話，我們感謝您的參與。