Clearway Energy (CWEN) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Miss
Clearway Energy Inc. CWEN recorded operating earnings per share (EPS) of 10 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2022, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate loss of 88 cents by 111.4%. The bottom line also increased by 242.9% year over year.
Clearway Energy reported 2022 earnings per share of $4.99, which improved a whopping 1034% year over year from 44 cents reported in 2021. The bottom line also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents by 487.1%.
Revenues
Fourth-quarter revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14.4%.
Operating revenues of $1,190 million for 2022 were down 7.5% from the $1,286 million reported in 2021.
Clearway Energy, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Clearway Energy, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Clearway Energy, Inc. Quote
Highlights of the Release
Clearway Energy signed an agreement with Clearway Group during the quarter to commit to investing in 463 megawatts (MW) of solar plus storage projects. This will further expand the company’s renewable portfolio.
Adjusted EBITDA of the company for the quarter was $212 million compared with $250 million in the year-ago quarter.
The closing of the Thermal sale in 2022 has provided Clearway Energy with unprecedented financial flexibility to execute upon its long-term growth objectives given the $750 million of excess proceeds.
Total operating expenses amounted to $1,012 million, down 0.7% from the year-ago period’s figure of $1,019 million due to a decline in development costs.
Operating income in 2022 was $1,470 million, up 450.6% from the year-ago figure of $267 million.
In 2022, CWEN reported interest expenses of $232 million, down 25.6% year over year.
Financial Position
Clearway Energy had cash and cash equivalents of $657 million as of Dec 31, 2022, up from $179 million as of Dec 31, 2021.
Total liquidity as of Dec 31, 2022, was $1,366 million, up 66.4% from the Dec 31, 2021, level of $821 million.
The long-term debt as of Dec 31, 2022, was $6,491 million compared with $6,939 million as of Dec 31, 2021.
Clearway Energy’s net cash provided by operating activities for 2022 was $787 million compared with $701 million in 2021.
Guidance
Clearway Energy reaffirmed its 2023 cash available for distribution (“CAFD”) guidance of $410 million.
The company has raised its pro forma CAFD outlook for 2023 to $410 million from the earlier expectation of $390 million, taking into consideration the growth investment commitments for the Victory Pass and Arica solar plus energy storage projects.
Clearway Energy continues to target annual dividend per share growth in the upper range of 5% to 8% through 2026, subject to the approval of the board of directors.
Zacks Rank
Clearway Energy currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Other Releases
NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE reported fourth-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings of 51 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 50 cents by 2%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEE’s 2023 earnings per share is $3.12, implying year-over-year growth of 7.6%.
Dominion Energy Inc. D reported fourth-quarter 2022 operating earnings of $1.06 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.03 per share by 2.9%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dominion’s 2023 earnings per share is $4.02, suggesting a year-over-year decline of 2.2%.
Xcel Energy Inc. XEL posted fourth-quarter 2022 operating earnings of 69 cents per share, on par with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for XEL’s 2023 earnings per share is $3.37, suggesting year-over-year growth of 6.31%.
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