NRG Energy, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) today reported third quarter 2020 income from continuing operations of $249 million, or $1.02 per diluted common share and Adjusted EBITDA for the Third quarter of $752 million.

“Our business performed well during the important summer months, delivering stable results amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mauricio Gutierrez, NRG President and Chief Executive Officer. "As we move towards the end of the year, we look forward to closing the Direct Energy acquisition and continue advancing our customer-centric strategy.”

Consolidated Financial Resultsa

Segments Results

Table 1: Income/(Loss) from Continuing Operations

Table 2: Adjusted EBITDA

Texas: Third quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $514 million, $67 million lower than third quarter of 2019. This decrease is driven by a reduction of load due to weather and COVID-19 partially offset by lower supply costs resulting from reductions in power and fuel prices.

East: Third quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $146 million, $3 million higher than third quarter of 2019. This increase is driven by higher gross margins and increased sales of portable power products; partially offset by lower capacity revenues and higher operating expenses.

West/Other: Third quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $92 million, $24 million higher than third quarter of 2019. This increase is driven by higher gross margin primarily due to MISO uplift payments resulting from out-of-market dispatch during an extreme weather event and increased California resource adequacy pricing, partially offset by lower realized pricing in the West, lower generation from forced outages at Cottonwood facility in 2020 and the sales of emissions in 2019.

Liquidity and Capital Resources
Table 3: Corporate Liquidity

As of September 30, 2020, NRG cash was at $0.7 billion, and $2.8 billion was available under the Company’s credit facilities. Total liquidity was $3.5 billion, including restricted cash. Overall liquidity as of the end of the third quarter 2020 was approximately $1.4 billion higher than at the end of 2019, driven by improved cash from operations and the increase in credit facilities of approximately $0.9 billion during the third quarter. This increase in credit facilities reflects mainly the additional liquidity associated with the new Receivables Securitization and Repurchase facilities but excludes the additional commitments to the Company's existing revolving credit facility which become available coincident with the closing of the Direct Energy acquisition.

NRG Strategic Developments

Acquisition of Direct Energy

On July 24, 2020, the Company entered into a definitive purchase agreement with Centrica to acquire Direct Energy. Direct Energy is a leading retail provider of electricity, natural gas, and home and business energy related products and services in North America.

The Company will pay an aggregate purchase price of $3.625 billion in cash, subject to purchase price adjustment, including a working capital adjustment. The Company updated its financing plan and is now expecting to fund the purchase price using a combination of increased cash on hand and approximately $2.9 billion in newly-issued secured and unsecured corporate debt — a $0.5 billion increase from the previous estimate. The portion of the purchase price previously expected to be funded by $750 million in equity/equity-linked securities is now expected to be funded with a combination of the expected increases of 2020 cash on hand and debt to be repaid in 2021 with future targeted asset sale proceeds.

As part of NRG’s ongoing portfolio optimization strategy, NRG expects to realize a minimum $250 million net proceeds (net of debt repayment associated with assets sold) over the next 6-12 months from ongoing and prospective monetization of non-core assets and businesses. The first $200 million in net proceeds will be used to repay a portion of the increased leverage associated with Direct Energy acquisition in order to maintain investment grade metrics in 2021 and any additional proceeds will be available for capital allocation.

The acquisition remains on track to close by year end 2020. The shareholders of Centrica approved the acquisition on August 20, 2020. The transaction has received approvals under the Canadian Competition Act and early termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act has been granted. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of approval under the Federal Power Act.

Increase in collateral facilities to support the acquisition of Direct Energy

During the third quarter, the Company amended its existing credit agreement to, among other things, increase the existing revolving commitments by an aggregate amount of $1,075 million. The increase will become effective upon closing of the Direct Energy acquisition and total revolving commitments available at that time, and subject to usage, will be $3.7 billion.

In September 2020, the Company also entered into a revolving accounts receivable financing facility for an amount up to $750 million, subject to adjustments on a seasonal basis, and an uncommitted repurchase facility related to the Receivable Securitization for up to $75 million.

Finally, as of November 5, 2020, the Company had extended and increased its existing $80 million CDS LC facility by an incremental $87 million.

The incremental liquidity available under these facilities will cover approximately $2.0 billion of the $3.5 billion of incremental collateral needs associated with the Direct Energy acquisition.

Midwest Generation lease buyout

On September 29, 2020, Midwest Generation, LLC closed on the purchase agreement and acquired all of the ownership interests in the Powerton facility and Units 7 and 8 of the Joliet facility, which were being leased through 2034 and 2030, respectively, for approximately $260 million. The Company has initially funded the purchase with cash on hand and expects that before year end NRG will borrow under its Revolving Credit Facility in an amount equal to the operating lease liability of $148 million.

COVID-19

In March 2020, the World Health Organization categorized COVID-19 as a pandemic and the President of the United States declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency. Electricity was deemed a 'critical and essential business operation' under various state and federal governmental COVID-19 mandates. NRG had activated its Crisis Management Team ("CMT") in January 2020 to proactively manage the Company's response to the impacts of COVID-19.

NRG continues to remain focused on protecting the health and well-being of its employees, while supporting its customers and the communities in which it operates and assuring the continuity of its operations. In June 2020, summer-critical office employees returned to the offices and safety protocols were successfully implemented. The Company will continue to evaluate additional return to normal work operations on a location by location basis as COVID-19 conditions evolve.

The Company continues to maintain certain restrictions on business travel and face-to-face sales channels, remote work practices remain in place and there are enhanced cleaning and hygiene protocols in all of its facilities. In addition, select essential employees and contractors are continuing to report to plant and certain office locations. The Company also continues to require pre-entry screening, including temperature checks, separation of work crews, additional personal protective equipment for employees and contractors when social distancing cannot be maintained, and a ban on all non-essential visitors. The Company has not experienced any material disruptions in its ability to continue its business operations to date.

2020 and 2021 Guidance

NRG has narrowed the range of its Adjusted EBITDA guidance, while increasing Cash From Operations and Free Cash Flow before Growth Investments (FCFbG) guidance for 2020; NRG is maintaining its Adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal year 2021 while lowering its Cash Flow From Operations and FCFbG guidance due to the deferral of certain cash flow items into 2021.

Table 4: 2020 and 2021 Adjusted EBITDA, Cash from Operations, and FCFbG Guidance

Capital Allocation Update

As part of the Company's long-term capital allocation policy, the return of capital to shareholders during the nine months ending September 30, 2020 was comprised of a quarterly dividend of $.30 per share, or $221 million, and share repurchases of $228 million through August 6, 2020 at an average price of $33.05 per share. Upon completion of the previously announced November 2020 dividend, the total amount of capital returned to shareholders during 2020 will be $523 million.

The Company does not anticipate executing any further share repurchases over the remainder of 2020 and has allocated all of its remaining 2020 excess capital to fund the Direct Energy acquisition.

The Company's common stock dividend, debt reduction and share repurchases are subject to available capital, market conditions and compliance with associated laws and regulations.

Earnings Conference Call

On November 5, 2020, NRG will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern to discuss these results. Investors, the news media and others may access the live webcast of the conference call and accompanying presentation materials by logging on to NRG’s website at www.nrg.com and clicking on “Investors” then "Presentations & Webcasts." The webcast will be archived on the site for those unable to listen in real time.

About NRG

At NRG, we’re bringing the power of energy to people and organizations by putting customers at the center of everything we do. We generate electricity and provide energy solutions and natural gas to more than 3.7 million residential, small business, and commercial and industrial customers through our diverse portfolio of retail brands. A Fortune 500 company, operating in the United States and Canada, NRG delivers innovative solutions while advocating for competitive energy markets and customer choice, and by working towards a sustainable energy future. More information is available at www.nrg.com. Connect with NRG on Facebook, LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter @nrgenergy.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, the information presented in this press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can typically be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “objective,” “projection,” “forecast,” “goal,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “expect,” “intend,” “seek,” “plan,” “think,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “target,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company’s future revenues, income, indebtedness, capital structure, plans, expectations, objectives, projected financial performance and/or business results and other future events, and views of economic and market conditions.

Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated herein include, among others, the potential impact of COVID-19 or any other pandemic on the Company’s operations, financial position, risk exposure and liquidity, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, weather conditions, competition in wholesale power markets, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets, changes in government regulations, the condition of capital markets generally, our ability to access capital markets, cyberterrorism and inadequate cybersecurity, unanticipated outages at our generation facilities, adverse results in current and future litigation, failure to identify, execute or successfully implement acquisitions, repowerings or asset sales, our ability to implement value enhancing improvements to plant operations and companywide processes, our ability to achieve margin enhancement under our publicly announced transformation plan, our ability to achieve our net debt targets, our ability to maintain investment grade credit metrics, our ability to proceed with projects under development or the inability to complete the construction of such projects on schedule or within budget, the inability to maintain or create successful partnering relationships, our ability to operate our business efficiently, our ability to retain retail customers, our ability to realize value through our commercial operations strategy, the ability to consummate the Direct Energy acquisition, the ability to successfully integrate businesses of acquired companies including Direct Energy, our ability to realize anticipated benefits of transactions (including expected cost savings and other synergies) or the risk that anticipated benefits may take longer to realize than expected, and our ability to execute our Capital Allocation Plan. Achieving investment grade credit metrics is not a indication of or guarantee that the Company will receive investment grade credit ratings. Debt and share repurchases may be made from time to time subject to market conditions and other factors, including as permitted by United States securities laws. Furthermore, any common stock dividend is subject to available capital and market conditions.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. The adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow guidance and excess cash guidance are estimates as of November 5, 2020. These estimates are based on assumptions the company believed to be reasonable as of that date. NRG disclaims any current intention to update such guidance, except as required by law. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this press release should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG's future results included in NRG's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)

NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(Unaudited)

NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)

Appendix Table A-1: Third Quarter 2020 Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation by Operating Segment
The following table summarizes the calculation of Adj. EBITDA and provides a reconciliation to income/(loss) from continuing operations:

Third Quarter 2020 condensed financial information by Operating Segment:

The following table reconciles the condensed financial information to Adjusted EBITDA:

Appendix Table A-2: Third Quarter 2019 Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation by Operating Segment

The following table summarizes the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and provides a reconciliation to income/(loss) from continuing operations:

Third Quarter 2019 condensed financial information by Operating Segment:

The following table reconciles the condensed financial information to Adjusted EBITDA:

Appendix Table A-3: YTD Third Quarter 2020 Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation by Operating Segment
The following table summarizes the calculation of Adj. EBITDA and provides a reconciliation to income/(loss) from continuing operations:

YTD Third Quarter 2020 condensed financial information by Operating Segment:

The following table reconciles the condensed financial information to Adjusted EBITDA:

Appendix Table A-4: YTD Third Quarter 2019 Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation by Operating Segment
The following table summarizes the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and provides a reconciliation to income/(loss) from continuing operations:

YTD Third Quarter 2019 condensed financial information by Operating Segment:

The following table reconciles the condensed financial information to Adjusted EBITDA:

Appendix Table A-5: 2020 and 2019 Three Months and Six Months Ended September 30 Adjusted Cash Flow from Operations Reconciliations
The following table summarizes the calculation of adjusted cash flow operating activities providing a reconciliation to net cash provided by operating activities:

Appendix Table A-6: Third Quarter YTD 2020 Sources and Uses of Liquidity
The following table summarizes the sources and uses of liquidity through third quarter of 2020:

Appendix Table A-7: 2020 and 2021 Guidance Reconciliation
The following table summarizes the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA providing reconciliation to Income from Continuing Operations, and the calculation of Free Cash Flow before Growth providing reconciliation to Cash from Operations:

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures. These measurements are not recognized in accordance with GAAP and should not be viewed as an alternative to GAAP measures of performance. The presentation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that NRG’s future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items.

EBITDA represents net income before interest (including loss on debt extinguishment), taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is presented because NRG considers it an important supplemental measure of its performance and believes debt-holders frequently use EBITDA to analyze operating performance and debt service capacity. EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

• EBITDA does not reflect cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital expenditures, or contractual commitments;
• EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, working capital needs;
• EBITDA does not reflect the significant interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on debt or cash income tax payments;
• Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and
• Other companies in this industry may calculate EBITDA differently than NRG does, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to use to invest in the growth of NRG’s business. NRG compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. See the statements of cash flow included in the financial statements that are a part of this news release.

Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a further supplemental measure of operating performance. As NRG defines it, Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA excluding impairment losses, gains or losses on sales, dispositions or retirements of assets, any mark-to-market gains or losses from accounting for derivatives, adjustments to exclude the Adjusted EBITDA related to the non-controlling interest, gains or losses on the repurchase, modification or extinguishment of debt, the impact of restructuring and any extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring items plus adjustments to reflect the Adjusted EBITDA from our unconsolidated investments. The reader is encouraged to evaluate each adjustment and the reasons NRG considers it appropriate for supplemental analysis. As an analytical tool, Adjusted EBITDA is subject to all of the limitations applicable to EBITDA. In addition, in evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, the reader should be aware that in the future NRG may incur expenses similar to the adjustments in this news release.

Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors and other users of NRG's financial statements in evaluating its operating performance because it provides an additional tool to compare business performance across companies and across periods and adjusts for items that we do not consider indicative of NRG’s future operating performance. This measure is widely used by debt-holders to analyze operating performance and debt service capacity and by equity investors to measure our operating performance without regard to items such as interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis and to readily view operating trends, as a measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations, and for evaluating actual results against such expectations, and in communications with NRG's Board of Directors, shareholders, creditors, analysts and investors concerning its financial performance.

Adjusted cash flow from operating activities is a non-GAAP measure NRG provides to show cash from operations with the reclassification of net payments of derivative contracts acquired in business combinations from financing to operating cash flow, as well as the add back of merger, integration and related restructuring costs. The Company provides the reader with this alternative view of operating cash flow because the cash settlement of these derivative contracts materially impact operating revenues and cost of sales, while GAAP requires NRG to treat them as if there was a financing activity associated with the contracts as of the acquisition dates. The Company adds back merger, integration related restructuring costs as they are one time and unique in nature and do not reflect ongoing cash from operations and they are fully disclosed to investors.

Free cash flow (before Growth) is adjusted cash flow from operations less maintenance and environmental capital expenditures, net of funding, preferred stock dividends and distributions to non-controlling interests and is used by NRG predominantly as a forecasting tool to estimate cash available for debt reduction and other capital allocation alternatives. The reader is encouraged to evaluate each of these adjustments and the reasons NRG considers them appropriate for supplemental analysis. Because we have mandatory debt service requirements (and other non-discretionary expenditures) investors should not rely on free cash flow before Growth as a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures.

Free Cash Flow before Growth is utilized by Management in making decisions regarding the allocation of capital. Free Cash Flow before Growth is presented because the Company believes it is a useful tool for assessing the financial performance in the current period. In addition, NRG’s peers evaluate cash available for allocation in a similar manner and accordingly, it is a meaningful indicator for investors to benchmark NRG's performance against its peers. Free Cash Flow before Growth is a performance measure and is not intended to represent net income (loss), cash from operations (the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure), or liquidity and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. 

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