GNE - Genie Energy Announces First Quarter 2024 Results

Revenue increased to $119.7 Million and Gross Profit Climbed to $33.8 Million - Both Record First Quarter Levels

Income from Operations of $9.8 million, Adjusted EBITDA ¹ of $11.7 Million and Earnings per Diluted Share of $0.30

Repurchased 250,000 Shares of Class B Common Stock

Newark, NJ, May 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genie Energy, Ltd. (NYSE: GNE), a leading retail energy and renewable energy solutions provider, today announced results for the first quarter of 2024.

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

“We reported record first quarter revenue and gross profits, led by Genie Retail Energy, or GRE, which continued to drive the overall business with higher meter counts and strong natural gas margins. Genie Renewables, or GREW, also had a strong quarter as several third-party solar projects hit construction milestones, leading to record segment gross profits and gross margins. We also repurchased 250,000 shares of GNE stock - about 1% of shares outstanding - during the quarter while continuing our quarterly dividend.”

First Quarter 2024 Highlights

(Compared to 1Q23 unless otherwise noted. Unless otherwise noted, results of Genie Retail Energy International (GREI) are included in discontinued operations for all periods.)

¹ Adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP net income (loss) attributable to Genie Energy Ltd. common stockholders, and Non-GAAP EPS for all periods presented are non-GAAP measures intended to provide useful information that supplements the core operating results in accordance with GAAP for Genie Energy or the relevant segment. Please refer to the Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures at the end of this release for an explanation of these non-GAAP metrics, as well as reconciliations to its most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Select Financial Metrics

Segment Highlights

Genie Retail Energy
GRE's first quarter revenue increased 10.9% to $112.5 million from $101.4 million. Meter growth and higher per meter electricity consumption drove the increase, partially offset by lower electricity and natural gas prices. First quarter income from operations decreased 13.4% to $14.2 million from $16.4 million, and Adjusted EBITDA decreased 13.1% to $14.6 million from $16.8 million.

Select Performance Metrics

Genie Renewables (GREW)

GREW increased first-quarter revenue by 86.9% year-over-year to $7.2 million, driven by growth at Genie Solar and Diversegy.

Genie Solar continued to advance its company-owned project development pipeline during the first quarter. In addition to moving projects through its development pipeline, the Company began booking its first revenue and gross profit from the portfolio of operating solar projects it acquired during 4Q23. At March 31, 2024, Genie Solar's operating portfolio and development pipeline comprised:

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

As of March 31, 2024, Genie reported cash and cash equivalents, short and long-term restricted cash, and marketable equity securities of $162.4 million.

Total assets as of March 31, 2024 were $328.3 million. Liabilities totaled $148.9 million, and working capital (current assets less current liabilities) totaled $127.2 million.

Cash provided by operating activities increased to $8.7 million in 1Q24 from $1.5 million in 1Q23.

Trended Financial Information: ^*

2024 Commentary

Stein continued: "Despite some irregular weather patterns, energy markets have remained relatively stable, and we are well positioned with a strong retail customer base to generate attractive returns. We also continue to move Company-owned solar projects forward in our pipeline, with two projects in New York State entering the construction phase, while evaluating additional opportunities to grow our pipeline more efficiently following the upgrades we’ve made to our teams and processes. Finally, we expect to continue to return cash to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases.”

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 1-888-506-0062 (toll-free from the US) or 1-973-528-0011 (international) and provide the following participant access code: 763638.

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: 50470. The replay will remain available through Wednesday, May 22, 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 leading retail energy and renewable energy solutions provider. The Genie Retail Energy division (GRE) supplies electricity, including electricity from renewable resources, and natural gas to residential and small business customers in the United States. The Genie Renewables division (GREW) 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.
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GENIE ENERGY LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
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Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measure for the First Quarter of 2024

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 financial 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 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 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 measures 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 incurred by Genie's 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