GNE Genie Energy Ltd

Sequential quarterly meter and RCE growth of 27% and 34%, respectively

NEWARK, N.J., May 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Genie Energy, Ltd. (NYSE: GNE, GNEPRA), a leading retail energy and renewable energy solutions provider, today announced results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2023.

Michael Stein, chief executive officer of Genie Energy, commented: "We had a very strong first quarter delivering excellent bottom line results and efficiently expanding our retail customer portfolio.  While our results in the year ago quarter were exceptional, this quarter was among the strongest in our history highlighted by the robust growth in our customer book.

"Genie Retail Energy (GRE) was well-positioned to benefit from the reduction in energy market price volatility this quarter and, in combination with our vigorous and cost-efficient marketing activities, achieved significant year-over-year RCE growth of 36%.  

"Genie Renewables (GREW) continued to invest in promising growth opportunities during the quarter, adding new projects to its development pipeline while building out its platform to drive and support additional expansion. In April, we broke ground on our first community solar generation project, which we expect to complete this year."

First Quarter 2023 Highlights 
(versus 1Q22 unless otherwise noted; excludes discontinued operations of Genie Retail Energy International (GREI) for all periods)

• Revenue increased 22.5% to $105.3 million from $85.9 million;
• Gross profit decreased 29.3% to $33.3 million from $47.1 million, and gross margin decreased to 31.6% from 54.8%;
• Income from operations decreased 58.2% to $11.3 million from $27.0 million;
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ decreased 55.6% to $12.4 million from $28.0 million;
• GRE income from operations and Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $16.4 million and $16.8 million from $30.2 million and $30.5 million, respectively;
• Net income attributable to GNE common stockholders and diluted income per share (EPS) decreased to $14.3 million and $0.54 from $17.5 million and $0.67, respectively;
• Cash, restricted cash and marketable equity securities increased to $113.7 million at March 31, 2023, from $105.1 million at December 31, 2022;
• Genie Energy will pay a $0.075 quarterly dividend to class A and B common stockholders on May 30, 2023 with a record date of May 19th;
• Redeemed $1.0 million of preferred stock.

¹ Adjusted EBITDA for all periods presented is a non-GAAP measure intended to provide useful information that supplements the core operating results in accordance with GAAP of Genie Energy or the relevant segment. Please refer to the Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measure at the end of this release for an explanation of Adjusted EBITDA, as well as reconciliations to its most directly comparable GAAP measure.

Segment Highlights
Genie Retail Energy (GRE)
GRE accelerated customer acquisition during the quarter as market volatility subsided and customers were highly receptive to targeted marketing initiatives.

Sequentially, meters and RCEs served increased by 87,000 and 77,000 to 349,000 and 352,000, respectively, as of March 31, 2023. Average monthly churn decreased to 4.4% sequentially from 5.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Genie Renewables (GREW)
Genie Solar Energy's revenue increased in the first quarter, driven mainly by services provided to third parties, including its consultative energy services for large commercial customers.

As of the end of the quarter, Genie Solar had an operating project pipeline of 78MW across the three phases of project development.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights
As of March 31, 2023, Genie Energy reported $293.0 million in total assets. Liabilities totaled $107.4 million, and working capital (current assets less current liabilities) totaled $142.4 million. Non-current liabilities were $2.6 million.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $11.2 million compared to $18.3 million a year ago.

Strategic Update and Commentary
Stein added, "We continue to see attractive opportunities to add to our retail customer base entering the second quarter and expect to generate solid meter growth.  Our plan has been to aggressively move into growth mode once market volatility subsided, and these initial results are very encouraging.

"At Genie Solar, we expect to complete construction on a few operating projects in 2023 while achieving key pre-construction milestones on several others. In addition, we have a large pipeline of projects in negotiation, in due diligence and under review, and expect to increase both the number of projects and aggregate MW in the pipeline throughout the balance of this year."

Earnings Announcement and Supplemental Information
At 8:30 AM Eastern today, Genie's management will host a conference call to discuss financial and operational results, business outlook, and strategy. The call will begin with management's remarks, followed by Q&A with investors.

To participate in the conference call, dial 1-888-506-0062 (toll-free from the US) or 1-973-528-0011 (international) and provide the following participant access code: 643101.

 Approximately three hours after the call, a call replay will be accessible by dialing 1-877-481-4010 (toll-free from the US) or 1-919-882-2331 (international) and providing the replay passcode: 48305. The replay will remain available through May 22, 2023.  A recording of the call also will be available for playback on the "Investors" section of the Genie Energy website.

About Genie Energy Ltd.
Genie Energy Ltd., (NYSE: GNE, GNEPRA) is a retail energy and renewable energy solutions provider. The Genie Retail Energy division supplies electricity, including electricity from renewable resources, and natural gas to residential and small business customers in the United States. The Genie Renewables division is a vertically-integrated provider of commercial, community, and utility-scale solar energy solutions. For more information, visit Genie.com.

In this press release, all statements that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those in which we use the words "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "plan," "intend," "estimate, "target" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these statements due to numerous important factors, including, but not limited to, those described in our most recent report on SEC Form 10-K (under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations"), which may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-Q and 8-K. We are under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update the forward-looking statements in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measure for the First Quarter

In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (GAAP), Genie Energy disclosed Adjusted EBITDA on a consolidated basis and for GRE. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure.

Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's performance, financial position, or cash flows that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

Genie's measure of consolidated Adjusted EBITDA starts with net income and adds back interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and impairment of assets and subtracts out equity in the net loss of equity method investees, net. Genie's measure of segment-level Adjusted EBITDA starts with income (loss) from operations and adds back depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation and subtracts out impairment of assets and equity in the net loss of equity method investees, net.

Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, or superior to, revenue, gross profit, income from operations, cash flow from operating activities, net income, basic and diluted earnings per share or other measures of liquidity and financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, Genie's measurement of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Management believes that Genie's measure of Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses that may not be indicative of Genie's or GRE's core operating results. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA, among other measures, as a relevant indicator of core operational strengths in its financial and operational decision-making.

Management also uses Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate operating performance in relation to Genie's competitors. Disclosure of this non-GAAP financial measure may be useful to investors in evaluating performance and allows for greater transparency to the underlying supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. In addition, Genie Energy has historically reported Adjusted EBITDA and believes it is commonly used by readers of financial information in assessing performance. Therefore, the inclusion of comparative numbers provides consistency in financial reporting at this time.

Management refers to Adjusted EBITDA as well as the GAAP measures revenue, gross profit, and income (loss) from operations, as well as net income (loss), on a consolidated level to facilitate internal and external comparisons to Genie's historical operating results, in making operating decisions, for budget and planning purposes, and to form the basis upon which management is compensated.

Although depreciation and amortization are considered operating costs under GAAP, they primarily represent the non-cash current period allocation of costs associated with long-lived assets acquired or constructed in prior periods. Genie's operating results exclusive of depreciation and amortization are therefore useful indicators of its current performance.

Stock-based compensation recognized by Genie Energy and other companies may not be comparable because of the various valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of types of awards that are permitted under GAAP. Stock-based compensation is excluded from Genie's calculation of Adjusted EBITDA because management believes this allows investors to make more meaningful comparisons of the operating results of Genie's core business with the results of other companies. However, stock-based compensation will continue to be a significant expense for Genie Energy for the foreseeable future and an important part of employees' compensation that impacts their performance.

Impairment of goodwill is a component of (loss) income from operations that is excluded from the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA. The impairment of goodwill is primarily dictated by events and circumstances outside the control of management that trigger an impairment analysis. While there may be similar charges in other periods, the nature and magnitude of these charges can fluctuate markedly and do not reflect the performance of Genie's continuing operations.

Following are the reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA on a consolidated basis to its most directly comparable GAAP measure. Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled to net income for Genie Energy on a consolidated basis and for GRE.

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SOURCE Genie Energy Ltd.