Atmos Energy (ATO) Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Beat
Atmos Energy Corporation ATO posted second-quarter fiscal 2022 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.37, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.39 by 0.8%. However, the bottom line improved by 3% from the year-ago earnings of $2.30 per share.
Revenues
Total revenues of $1,649.8 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,462 million by 12.9%. The top line increased 25.1% from the year-ago reported figure of $1,319 million.
Atmos Energy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Atmos Energy Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Atmos Energy Corporation Quote
Segment Revenues
Distribution: Revenues from the segment increased 25.6% to $1,610.5 million from $1,282.7 million in the prior-year quarter.
Pipeline and Storage: Revenues from the segment increased 6.2% to $163.7 million from $154.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
Highlights of the Release
The purchased gas cost for the quarter was $871.4 million, up 51.9% from the year-ago period. Operation and maintenance expenses for the quarter were $163.4 million, up 4.5% from the year-ago period.
The operating income for the first quarter was up 0.9% year over year to $385.1 million.
Atmos Energy incurred interest expenses of $28.9 million, up 10.7% from the year-ago period.
As of Mar 31, 2022, ATO had cash and cash equivalents of $582.5 million. Net cash flow provided by the operating activities in six months ended Mar 31 was $640.5 million compared with $1,402.2 million in the year-ago period.
As of Mar 31, 2022, Atmos Energy’s available liquidity was $3.5 billion.
Atmos Energy invested $1,190 million in six months ended Mar 31 to strengthen operations. Nearly 87% of capital spending was associated with system safety and increased reliability of services.
Guidance
Atmos Energy narrowed its fiscal 2022 earnings guidance in the range of $5.50-$5.60 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2022 earnings of $5.50 per share is lower than $5.55, the midpoint of the guided range. ATO reiterated its capital expenditure expectation in the range of $2.4-$2.5 billion for fiscal 2022.
Zacks Rank
Atmos Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Upcoming Releases
Spire SR is scheduled to announce first-quarter 2022 results on May 6 before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $3.08 per share.
Spire’s long-term earnings growth is projected at 5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SR’s 2023 EPS suggests year-over-year growth of 11.3%.
Duke Energy DUK is set to release first-quarter 2022 results on May 9 before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pegged at $1.37.
Duke Energy’s long-term earnings growth is projected at 6.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DUK’s 2022 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 4.2%.
Algonquin Power & Utilities AQN is set to release first-quarter 2022 results on May 12 after market close. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pegged at 23 cents.
Algonquin Power & Utilities’ long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is projected at 8.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AQN’s 2022 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 5.6%.
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