Spire's (SR) Earnings Beat Mark in Q3, Revenues Rise Y/Y
Spire Inc. SR reported third-quarter fiscal 2021 net economic earnings (NEE) of 6 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 cents by 200%. This upside was led by a strong performance of the Gas Utility segment. The same but decreased 14.3% from the year-ago level.
Revenues
Total revenues came in at $327.8 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $313 million by 4.7%. The top line also improved 2.1% from $321.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
Spire Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Spire Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Spire Inc. Quote
Highlights of the Release
For the quarter under review, operating expenses of $294.6 million decreased 31.1% from the prior-year period’s $427.6 million.
Operating income was $33.2 million against the operating loss of $106.5 million in the prior year-quarter.
Net interest expenses dipped 1.9% year over year to $26.9 million in the reported quarter.
Financial Highlights
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of third-quarter fiscal 2021 were $23.9 million compared with $7.4 million at the end of third-quarter fiscal 2020.
Long-term debt (less current portion) amounted to $2,939 million at the end of third-quarter fiscal 2021 compared with $2,478.3 million at the end of third-quarter fiscal 2020.
The company’s net cash provided by operating activities in the first three quarters of fiscal 2021 was $220.7 million compared with $453.8 million in the comparable period of fiscal 2020.
Guidance
The company reaffirmed its NEE per share guidance for fiscal 2021 within $4.30-$4.50. In the long term, the utility expects NEE per share to grow 5-7%. This estimation is based on expected annual rate base growth of 7-8%.
It also repeated its $3-billion worth five-year investment plan through fiscal 2025 and also retained $590 million capital budget for fiscal 2021.
Zacks Rank
The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Peer Releases
ONE Gas Inc. OGS reported second-quarter 2021 earnings of 56 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 49 cents by 14.3%.
ONEOK Inc OKE posted second-quarter 2021 operating earnings of 77 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 76 cents by 1.3%.
Atmos Energy Corporation ATO posted second-quarter 2021 operating earnings of 78 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 74 cents by 5.4%.
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