Genie Energy Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results

Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year Revenue

Full-year 2023 Adjusted EBITDA¹ exceeded upper range of prior guidance

Cash and cash equivalents, short and long-term restricted cash, and marketable equity securities increased 55% year-over-year to $163.4 million with no debt outstanding

Newark, NJ , March 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Genie Energy, Ltd. (NYSE: GNE), a leading retail energy and renewable energy solutions provider, today announced results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023. 

Michael Stein, chief executive officer of Genie Energy, commented:

“Genie finished a strong year with record fourth quarter and full-year revenue. After reducing our retail customer exposure in 2022, which led to incredible but unsustainable profitability, we returned to customer acquisition mode in 2023, growing both RCEs and meters by over 30%. Through our portfolio management moves we made in 2022 and the customer growth in 2023, we increased our baseline Adjusted EBITDA from the $25 to $30 million level we generated just a few years ago to the $40 to $50 million level.

“We also continued to make progress at our Genie Renewables, or GREW, division. During the quarter, our Sunlight Energy subsidiary acquired a 9.4MW portfolio of operating assets while we continued to advance our development portfolio. Our third-party energy and renewables services businesses also performed well led by Diversegy, which generated strong levels of growth in its customer book.”

Fourth Quarter 2023 Highlights
(Compared to 4Q22 unless otherwise noted. Unless otherwise noted, results of Genie Retail Energy International (GREI) are included in discontinued operations for all periods.)

Full Year 2023 Highlights
(versus 2022; excludes discontinued operations of GRE International for all periods)

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Segment Highlights

Genie Retail Energy (GRE)

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GRE’s fourth quarter and full-year revenue increased 27.8% to $98.4 million and 34.8% to $409.9 million, from $77.0 million and $304.0 million, respectively. Both increases were driven by growth in the customer base during the year. Fourth quarter income from operations decreased 26.8% to $15.0 million from $20.6 million, and Adjusted EBITDA decreased 26.4% to $15.4 million from $20.9 million. Full-year income from operations decreased 22.3% to $71.9 million, and Adjusted EBITDA decreased 21.9% to $73.3 million, reflecting GRE’s elevated gross margins in the year-ago quarter and the increased pace of customer acquisitions in 2023 compared to 2022.

Genie Renewables (GREW)

GREW increased fourth-quarter revenue by 48.4% year-over-year to $6.5 million, driven by growth at Diversegy and CityCom Solar. The same two businesses drove an increase in full-year 2023 revenue of 62.8% to $18.8 million.

Genie Solar continued to advance its project development pipeline during the fourth quarter. In addition to the movement of projects through its development pipeline, the Company acquired a portfolio of 12 operating assets totaling 9.4-MW. At December 31, 2023, Genie Solar’s operating portfolio and development pipeline comprised:

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

As of December 31, 2023, Genie Energy reported cash and cash equivalents, short and long-term restricted cash, and marketable equity securities of $163.4 million, an increase from $105.1 million at December 31, 2022 and from $143.8 million at September 30, 2023.

Total assets as of December 31, 2023 were $330.6 million. Liabilities totaled $146.0 million, and working capital (current assets less current liabilities) totaled $131.6 million. Non-current liabilities were $47.8 million.

Cash provided by operating activities was $62.5 million in 2023 compared to $80.7 million in 2022.

Trended Financial Information:^*

2024 Commentary

Stein continued: “The Company’s strong 2023 performance resulted from the measures we took in 2022 and 2023 to re-position the Company, and we expect that 2023’s key trends will help us to deliver outstanding results in 2024. Our initial expectation is for Adjusted EBITDA to be within our new baseline range of $40 to $50 million, providing sufficient cash generation to continue building our cash reserves while investing judiciously in growth opportunities and continuing to pay a dividend.

“For GRE, we are likely to continue to grow our customer base and generate Adjusted EBITDA above historical norms. For GREW, we expect to initially fund the construction of our two current construction-stage solar projects with cash on hand, but eventually, we expect to take on project-level debt as our development-stage projects come closer to operational status. Additionally, we expect to benefit from the recent changes we implemented to upgrade our solar organization and improve overall efficiency and execution throughout the Company. We expect these organizational enhancements will also help improve our development pipeline moving forward. Finally, at Diversegy, we expect to see significant growth in recurring revenue.”

Earnings Announcement and Supplemental Information

At 8:30 AM Eastern this morning, Genie Energy’s management will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s 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 1-877-545-0523 (toll-free from the US) or 1-973-528-0016 (international) and provide the following participant access code: 259418.

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: 49772. The replay will remain available through Monday, March 25, 2024. In addition, a recording of the call will be available for playback on the “Investors” section of the Genie Energy website.

About Genie Energy Ltd.

Genie Energy Ltd., (NYSE: GNE) 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.

Contact:

Brian Siegel IRC, MBA
Senior Managing Director
Hayden IR
(346) 396-8696
brian@haydenir.com

GENIE ENERGY LTD.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except per share amounts)

GENIE ENERGY LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)

GENIE ENERGY LTD. 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited) 

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measure for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023

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 and disclosed Non-GAAP Net Income Attributable to Genie Energy Ltd. Common Stockholders (Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP earnings per share (Non-GAAP EPS). Adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS are non-GAAP measures.

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 income from operations and adds back depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation and deducts impairment of assets and equity in the net loss of equity method investees, net

Genie’s measure of Non-GAAP Net Income starts with net income attributable to Genie Energy Ltd. Common Stockholders in accordance with GAAP and adds captive insurance liability and the tax effect of this adjustment. These additions are non-cash and/or non-routine items in the relevant fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022 periods.

Adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS 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, Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Management believes that Genie’s measure of Adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS provide 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, non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS, among other measures, as a relevant indicators of core operational strengths in its financial and operational decision-making.

Management also uses Adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS to evaluate operating performance in relation to Genie’s competitors. Disclosure of these 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, Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS as well as the GAAP measures revenue, gross profit, and income from operations, as well as net income, 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 assets is a component of income (loss) from operations that is excluded from the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA. The impairment of assets 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. 

Captive insurance liability is a non-cash charge for a reserve at Genie’s captive insurance operations. While there may be related charges in other periods, the magnitude of these changes can fluctuate markedly and do not reflect the performance of Genie’s continuing operations. Captive insurance losses are excluded from Genie’s calculation of Adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS 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. 

Following are the reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP EPS on a consolidated basis to its most directly comparable GAAP measure. Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled to income from operations for Genie Energy on a consolidated basis as well as for GRE. 

Non-GAAP Reconciliation – Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA

Non-GAAP Reconciliation – GRE Adjusted EBITDA

Non-GAAP Reconciliation – Consolidated Non-GAAP Net Income Attributable to Genie Energy Ltd. Common Stockholders and Non-GAAP Diluted Income Per Share

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