Evergy (EVRG) Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Up Y/Y

FE DTE WEC EVRG

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2021 operating earnings of 85 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 74 cents by 14.9%.

The reported earnings were up 25% year over year. The improvement was due to increased weather-normalized demand and transmission margin, lower operating and maintenance expenses as well as higher other income, partially offset by unfavorable weather.

GAAP earnings for the reported quarter were 81 cents compared with 59 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Total Revenues

Evergy’s total revenues came in at $1,236.2 million, reflecting an increase of 4.3% from the year-ago-quarter’s $1,184.7 million.

Highlights of the Release

Total operating expenses were $940.9 million, up 3.1% from the year-ago quarter’s $913 million owing to an increase in fuel and purchased power expenses, marginally offset by a decline in operating and maintenance costs.

Interest expenses for the reported quarter were $93.8 million, down 5.7% from the year-ago level.

The company’s customer volume increased 1.4% year over year.

The company continues to work on grid modernization and fleet transformation, with an objective of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.

Financial Update

Cash and cash equivalents as of Jun 30, 2021 were $58.4 million compared with $144.9 million on Dec 31, 2020.

Long-term debt as of Jun 30, 2021 was $9,297.3 million compared with $9,190.9 million on Dec 31, 2020.

Cash from operating activities for first-half 2021 was $224.6 million compared with $522.5 million in the first half of 2020.

Guidance

Evergy reiterated its 2021 operating earnings per share guidance in the range of $3.20-$3.40, and long-term adjusted EPS annual growth target of 6-8% from 2019 through 2024.

Evergy reiterated long-term five-year (2021-2025) capital plan of $9.4 billion. The expenditures will be directed toward utility projects, with an objective of modernizing the grid, focusing on clean energy sources, and increasing efficiency as well as reliability of operations.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Evergy has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Releases

WEC Energy Group (WEC - Free Report) recorded second-quarter 2021 earnings per share of 87 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 79 cents by 10.1%.

FirstEnergy Corporation (FE - Free Report) came up with second-quarter 2021 operating earnings of 59 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

DTE Energy Company (DTE - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2021 operating earnings per share of $1.70, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44 by 18.1%.

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