FirstEnergy's (FE) Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Miss
FirstEnergy Corporation FE delivered first-quarter 2020 operating earnings of 66 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 64 cents by 3.13%. Quarterly earnings dropped by a penny from the year-ago quarter’s figure.
On a GAAP basis, the company’s earnings amounted to 14 cents compared with the earnings of 59 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Total Revenues
FirstEnergy generated total revenues of $2,709 million in first-quarter 2020, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,916 million by 7.08%. The figure declined from $2,883 million in the year-ago quarter.
FirstEnergy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
FirstEnergy Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | FirstEnergy Corporation Quote
Highlights of the Release
Residential sales fell 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Commercial deliveries declined 7.5% and industrial sales fell 3% year over year. Total distribution deliveries declined 7.8% from prior-year quarter’s levels due to milder-than-expected temperatures as well as lower usage.
Total operating expenses in the quarter under review amounted to $ 2,177 million, down 3.4% from $2,254 million in the prior-year quarter.
In the first quarter, operating income was $532 million, down 15.4 from $629 million in the year-ago quarter.
Financial Update
FirstEnergy had cash and cash equivalents of $152 million as of Mar 31, 2020 compared with $627 million on Dec 31, 2019.
Long-term debt and other long-term obligations as of Mar 31, 2020 was $20,821 million, up from $19,618 million on Dec 31, 2019.
Net Cash used in operating activities in first-quarter 2020 was $560 million compared with $182 million in the prior-year quarter.
Guidance
Management reaffirmed 2020 earnings per share guidance in the range of $2.40-$2.60, whose mid-point of $2.50 is in line with the current Zacks Consensus Estimate. Also, the company provided second-quarter earnings guidance in the range of 48-58 cents, whose mid-point of 53 cents is lower than the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of 64 cents.
Zacks Rank
FirstEnergy carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Another Utility Release
NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE reported first-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of $2.38 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.21 by 7.7%.
Upcoming Releases
Dominion Energy D is scheduled to report first-quarter 2020 results on May 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings is pegged at $1.16 per share.
American Electric Power AEP is scheduled to announce first-quarter 2020 results on May 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings per share is pegged at $1.22 per share.
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