US residential solar and battery storage company Sunnova Energy International Inc (NYSE:NOVA) saw its net loss deepen to USD 66.3 million (EUR 55.7m) in the second quarter even though revenues grew due to the rising number of customers served.
Sunnova closed the second quarter with 162,600 customers as 33,500 joined its client base after the acquisition of SunStreet, the residential solar platform of homebuilder Lennar Corporation, in April. Around 12,700 clients were added through organic growth during the second quarter, the company said on Wednesday.
Thanks to the increased customer numbers, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the three months jumped by 67.2% on the year. Revenues, meanwhile, improved by USD 23.8 million thanks to the addition of new solar energy systems and the SunStreet acquisition.
Sunnova’s net loss expanded mainly due to higher net interest expense that resulted from increases in unrealised losses on interest rate swaps and higher general and administrative expenses. More details about its second-quarter (Q2) and first-half (H1) performance can be seen in the table below.
| Amounts in USD million |
Q2 2021 |
Q2 2020 |
H1 2021 |
H1 2020 |
| Revenue |
66.6 |
42.8 |
107.8 |
72.6 |
| Total operating expense, net |
80.9 |
47.9 |
145.5 |
92.1 |
Customer principal payments from solar loans
(net of amounts recorded in revenue) |
15.8 |
7.6 |
28.1 |
13.9 |
| Adjusted EBITDA |
30.1 |
18 |
42.9 |
24.2 |
| Net profit (loss) |
(66.3)
|
(28.7) |
(90.3) |
(105.7) |
| Net profit (loss) attributable |
(63.4)
|
(25.3) |
(96.4) |
(96.3) |
| Adjusted operating cash flow |
10 |
18.8 |
4.6 |
(1.3)
|
Sunnova noted that battery attachment rate rose faster than expected as customers became more focused on resiliency and service. “Where it was once solely focused on the product and savings, the customer value proposition is now acutely focused on reliability and resiliency as well as savings," said CEO William John Berger.
Looking ahead, the US firm affirmed its previous 2021 guidance for adjusted EBITDA of USD 80 million-85 million and recurring operating cash flow of between a negative USD 5 million to a positive USD 5 million. The forecast for adjusted operating cash flow was raised to USD 35 million-45 million from USD 20 million-30 million.
Customer interest payments received from solar loans, net of amounts recorded in revenue, are seen at USD 62 million-68 million, against USD 57 million-63 million projected earlier.
As previously expected, between 55,000 and 58,000 new customers are expected to start using Sunnova’s services, excluding legacy SunStreet customers.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.843)
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(Photo: Business Wire)
