HomeNewsNextEra Energy Posts Fourth-Quarter Profit, Helped by Lower Gas Prices

NextEra Energy Posts Fourth-Quarter Profit, Helped by Lower Gas Prices

1/25/2024

(Reuters) — NextEra Energy, the largest generator of renewable energy in the United States, reported fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, on strength in its regulated utilities business.

The power company, which makes most of its electricity from natural gas, benefited from lower natural-gas prices, which fell about 14% in the quarter from the third quarter, on ample storage and a milder-than-expected winter.

The company also reported revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, beating the estimate of $5.698 billion, according to LSEG analysts.

Florida Power & Light, NextEra's regulated utilities business, increased its average number of customers by nearly 81,000 over 2022's last quarter, despite having 1.8% lower retail sales in the same period due to weather-related problems.

However, its clean energy unit, NextEra Energy Resources, reported a year-on-year fall in adjusted earnings per share, coming in at 18 cents against 20 cents in the fourth quarter of the previous year, largely on higher interest-rate expenses.

The unit added a total of 9,000 MW of new renewables and battery storage projects to its backlog in 2023 - its best-ever year for originations, according to Chief Executive Officer John Ketchum.

Shares of the company were up around 0.7% in premarket trading.

On an adjusted basis, it earned 52 cents per share in the reported quarter, compared with an estimate of 49 cents, according to LSEG data.

Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra maintained its adjusted earnings-per-share outlook for 2024 at the $3.23 to $3.43 it had forecast in the third quarter. 

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