Constellation Reports First Quarter 2022 Results

Rhea-AI Summary

Constellation Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: CEG) reported a strong financial performance for Q1 2022, achieving a GAAP net income of $106 million and an adjusted EBITDA of $866 million, significantly improving from previous losses. The company reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.35 billion to $2.75 billion. Constellation is focused on sustainability, launching partnerships with Microsoft and companies like Sheetz and Comcast to enhance carbon-free energy solutions. The company successfully reduced nearly $2.5 billion in debt and aims to strengthen its balance sheet further.

Positive

• Achieved GAAP net income of $106 million for Q1 2022, up from a net loss of $793 million in Q1 2021.
• Recorded adjusted EBITDA of $866 million for Q1 2022, compared to an adjusted loss of $465 million in Q1 2021.
• Reaffirmed full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance at $2.35 billion to $2.75 billion.
• Completed nearly $2.5 billion in planned debt reduction, enhancing financial stability.
• Launched sustainability initiatives with Microsoft and new agreements with Sheetz and Comcast.

Negative

• Decreased capacity revenues and unfavorable impacts from nuclear outages reported.

Earnings Release Highlights

• GAAP Net Income of $106 million and Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) of $866 million for the first quarter of 2022
• Reaffirming guidance range for full year 2022 Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) from $2,350 million - $2,750 million
• Completed separation from Exelon Corporation and launched as a standalone, publicly traded company on Feb. 1, 2022
• Executed on nearly $2.5 billion in planned debt reduction through May 12, 2022, including over $1 billion in long-term debt, a $258 million intercompany loan due to Exelon Corporation, and nearly $1.2 billion in term loans
• Announced sustainability partnership with Microsoft on the development of a 24/7/365 real-time carbon-free energy matching solution that will allow customers to fully achieve their zero emission goals
• Announced agreements with Sheetz and Comcast to procure carbon-free energy and reduce their carbon footprints through Constellation’s CORe retail power product

BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Constellation Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: CEG) today reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2022.

“We’ve made strong financial and operational progress since our launch as a standalone company and are focused on our mission of accelerating the transition to a carbon-free future,” said Joseph Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation. “Our nuclear and renewable fleet performed at industry-leading levels, producing enough carbon-free energy to avoid 30.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide during the quarter, and we continue to partner with customers to help them achieve their sustainability goals. Going forward, we are reimagining our nuclear sites as clean energy centers that can do even more to help solve the climate crisis, by producing clean hydrogen, removing carbon from the air and providing a 24/7/365 real-time carbon-free energy matching solution for customers.”

“We delivered strong financial results during the quarter, earning $866 million in adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) and reaffirming our full-year, adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) guidance of $2.35 billion to $2.75 billion,” said Daniel Eggers, chief financial officer of Constellation. “Our commercial operations won new business and captured value as energy prices increased. Year-to-date, we took steps to further strengthen our balance sheet with the accelerated repayment of nearly $2.5 billion in debt. Looking ahead, we see favorable market conditions and continued opportunities to add value to our fleet and win new customers as we enhance our product offerings.”

First Quarter 2022

Our GAAP Net Income for the first quarter of 2022 increased to $106 million from a ($793) million GAAP Net Loss in the first quarter of 2021. Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) for the first quarter of 2022 increased to $866 million from ($465) million in the first quarter of 2021. For the reconciliations of GAAP Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP), refer to the tables beginning on page 3.

Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) in the first quarter of 2022 primarily reflects:

• The absence of impacts from the February 2021 extreme cold weather event, favorable market and portfolio conditions and lower nuclear fuel costs; partially offset by decreased capacity revenues and unfavorable impacts of nuclear outages.

Recent Developments and First Quarter Highlights

• Separation from Exelon: On Feb. 1, 2022, we completed our separation from Exelon Corporation and launched our company as a standalone, publicly traded company. On Feb 2, 2022, our stock began “regular way” trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “CEG.” We are the nation’s largest producer of carbon-free energy and leading supplier of sustainable solutions to millions of residential, public sector and business customers, including three fourths of Fortune 100 companies. Our generation fleet powers more than 20 million homes and businesses and is helping to accelerate the nation’s transition to clean energy with more than 32,400 megawatts of capacity and annual output that is nearly 90 percent carbon-free.
• Executed long-term agreements with Sheetz and Comcast supporting 350MW of renewables development through our Constellation Offsite Renewables (CORe) product: On Feb. 16, 2022, and March 31, 2022, we announced agreements with Sheetz and Comcast, respectively, to purchase power and renewable energy certificates (RECs) to help avoid carbon emissions and meet their individual carbon goals. The CORe retail power product enables the development of, and increases businesses’ access to, renewable energy projects by removing the significant complexity associated with traditional offsite power purchase agreements (PPAs). By combining the simplified contracting and aggregation process of CORe with the commitment and involvement from sustainability-minded companies, we are able to offer more customers the ability to demonstrate their support of large-scale, offsite renewable energy projects.
• Sustainability Partnership with Microsoft featuring 24/7/365 Real-Time Carbon-Free Energy Matching Solution: On March 7, 2022, we announced a five-year strategic collaboration with Microsoft focused on leading the nation's clean energy transition. One of our first initiatives is the development of a 24/7/365 real-time carbon-free energy matching solution that allows customers to fully achieve their zero emissions goals. For more than 150 years, the electric power industry has been focused on matching generation capacity with customer demand to ensure 24/7/365 reliability. We will soon be providing customers a better option, utilizing breakthrough technology to match a customer’s power needs with local carbon-free energy sources, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. By combining renewable and clean energy with exciting new technologies such as battery storage, fuel cells and hydrogen, we will provide customers with a real-time, data-driven carbon accounting solution that goes beyond the current practice of annualizing renewable energy certificates and credits. As we develop this 24/7/365 real-time carbon-free energy matching solution, we will be working with Microsoft to create software that gives customers a transparent and independently verified view of their sustainability progress.
• Nuclear Operations: Our nuclear fleet, including our owned output from the Salem Generating Station, produced 42,951 gigawatt-hours (GWhs) in the first quarter of 2022, compared with 43,466 GWhs in the first quarter of 2021. Excluding Salem, our nuclear plants at ownership achieved a 93.0% capacity factor for the first quarter of 2022, compared with 94.2%¹ for the first quarter of 2021. The number of planned refueling outage days in the first quarter of 2022 totaled 76, compared with 84 in the first quarter of 2021. There were 10 non-refueling outage days in the first quarter of 2022 and 3 in the first quarter of 2021.
• Fossil and Renewables Operations: The dispatch match rate for our gas and hydro fleet was 99.4% in the first quarter of 2022, compared with 68.5% in the first quarter of 2021. The lower performance in the first quarter of 2021 was attributed to unplanned outages at Texas sites during the February 2021 extreme cold-weather event. Energy capture for the wind and solar fleet was 96.1% in the first quarter of 2022, compared with 96.4% in the first quarter of 2021.
• Financing Activities:
  • In support of our commitment to maintain strong investment grade credit metrics, we executed on nearly $2.5 billion in planned debt reduction through May 12, 2022, including over $1 billion in long-term debt, a $258 million intercompany loan due to Exelon Corporation and nearly $1.2 billion in term loans.

GAAP/Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) Reconciliation
Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) for the first quarter of 2022 does not include the following items that were included in reported GAAP Net Income:
(in millions)
Q1 2022 GAAP Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders	$	106
Income Taxes		(53)
Depreciation and Amortization		280
Interest Expense, Net		56
Unrealized Loss on Fair Value Adjustments		118
Decommissioning-Related Activities		354
Pension & OPEB Non-Service Costs		(25)
Separation Costs		37
ERP System Implementation Costs		5
Noncontrolling Interests		(12)
Q1 2022 Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP)	$	866

__________

¹Prior year capacity factor was previously reported as 95.3%. The update reflects a change to the ratio from using the full average annual mean capacity to the net monthly mean capacity when calculating capacity factor. There is no change to actual output and the full year capacity factor would be the same under both methodologies.

Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) for the first quarter of 2021 does not include the following items that were included in reported GAAP Net Loss:
(in millions)
Q1 2021 GAAP Net Loss Attributable to Common Shareholders	$	(793)
Income Taxes		(179)
Depreciation and Amortization		940
Interest Expense, Net		72
Unrealized Gain on Fair Value Adjustments		(131)
Plant Retirements and Divestitures		(3)
Decommissioning-Related Activities		(372)
Pension & OPEB Non-Service Costs		(10)
Separation Costs		3
COVID-19 Direct Costs		12
Acquisition Related Costs		8
ERP System Implementation Costs		2
Change in Environmental Liabilities		3
Cost Management Program		2
Noncontrolling Interests		(19)
Q1 2021 Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP)	$	(465)

Webcast Information

We will discuss first quarter 2022 earnings in a conference call scheduled for today at 10 a.m. Eastern Time (9 a.m. Central Time). The webcast and associated materials can be accessed at https://investors.constellationenergy.com.

About Constellation

Constellation Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: CEG) is the nation’s largest producer of clean, carbon-free energy and a leading supplier of energy products and services to millions of homes, institutional customers, the public sector, community aggregations and businesses, including three fourths of Fortune 100 companies. A Fortune 200 company headquartered in Baltimore, our fleet of nuclear, hydro, wind and solar generation facilities powers more than 20 million homes and businesses, providing 10 percent of all carbon-free energy on the grid in the U.S. Our fleet is helping to accelerate the nation’s transition to clean energy with more than 32,400 megawatts of capacity and annual output that is nearly 90 percent carbon-free. We have set a goal to achieve 100 percent carbon-free power generation by 2040 by leveraging innovative technology and enhancing our diverse mix of hydro, wind and solar resources paired with the nation’s largest nuclear fleet. Follow Constellation on Twitter @ConstellationEG.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In analyzing and planning for our business, we supplement our use of net income as determined under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), with Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) as a performance measure. Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) reflects an additional way of viewing our business that, when viewed with our GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliation to GAAP net income included above, may provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business. Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) should not be relied upon to the exclusion of GAAP financial measures and is, by definition, an incomplete understanding of our business, and must be considered in conjunction with GAAP measures. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) is neither a standardized financial measure, nor a presentation defined under GAAP and may not be comparable to other companies’ presentations or deemed more useful than the GAAP information provided elsewhere in this press release and earnings release attachments. We have provided the non-GAAP financial measure as supplemental information and in addition to the financial measures that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) should not be deemed more useful than, a substitute for, or an alternative to the most comparable GAAP Net Income measure provided in this earnings release and attachments. This press release and earnings release attachments provide reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, are posted on our website: www.ConstellationEnergy.com, and have been furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8-K on May 12, 2022.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Words such as “could,” “may,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “will,” “targets,” “goals,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “predicts,” and variations on such words, and similar expressions that reflect our current views with respect to future events and operational, economic, and financial performance, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements made by Constellation Energy Corporation and Constellation Energy Generation, LLC, (Registrants) include those factors discussed herein, as well as the items discussed in (1) the Registrants' 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K in (a) Part I, ITEM 1A. Risk Factors, (b) Part II, ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and (c) Part II, ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data: Note 19, Commitments and Contingencies; (2) the Registrants' First Quarter 2022 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (to be filed on May 12, 2022) in (a) Part II, ITEM 1A. Risk Factors, (b) Part I, ITEM 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and (c) Part I, ITEM 1. Financial Statements: Note 14, Commitments and Contingencies; and (3) other factors discussed in filings with the SEC by the Registrants.

Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, which apply only as of the date of this press release. Neither of the Registrants undertakes any obligation to publicly release any revision to its forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Constellation Energy Corporation
GAAP Consolidated Statements of Operations and
Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) Reconciling Adjustments
(unaudited)
(in millions, except per share data)
	Three Months Ended March 31, 2022										Three Months Ended March 31, 2021
	GAAP (a)				Non-GAAP Adjustments						GAAP (a)				Non-GAAP Adjustments
Operating revenues	$	5,591			$	919			(b),(c)		$	5,559			$	83			(b),(c)
Operating expenses
Purchased power and fuel		3,550				803			(b)			4,610				183			(b),(d)
Operating and maintenance		1,205				(52	)		(c),(d),(h),(i),(j)			1,001				161			(c),(d),(e),(f),(g),(h),(i),(j),(k)
Depreciation and amortization		280				(280	)		(l)			940				(940	)		(l)
Taxes other than income taxes		137				(2	)		(i)			121				—
Total operating expenses		5,172										6,672
Gain on sales of assets and businesses		16				(2	)		(d)			71				(68	)		(d)
Operating income (loss)		435										(1,042	)
Other income and (deductions)
Interest expense, net		(56	)			56			(m)			(72	)			72			(m)
Other, net		(318	)			321			(b),(c),(i),(j)			167				(157	)		(b),(c)
Total other income and (deductions)		(374	)									95
Income (loss) before income taxes		61										(947	)
Income taxes		(53	)			53			(n)			(179	)			179			(n)
Equity in losses of unconsolidated affiliates		(3	)			—						(1	)			—
Net income (loss)		111										(769	)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests		5				12			(o)			24				19			(o)
Net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders	$	106									$	(793	)
Effective tax rate		(86.9	) %									18.9	%
Earnings per average common share
Basic	$	0.32									$	—
Diluted	$	0.32									$	—
Average common shares outstanding
Basic		327										—
Diluted		328										—
__________
(a) Results reported in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP).
(b) Adjustment for mark-to-market on economic hedges and fair value adjustments related to gas imbalances and equity investments.
(c) Adjustment for all gains and losses associated with NDTs, ARO accretion, ARO remeasurement, and any earnings neutral impacts of contractual offset for Regulatory Agreement Units.
(d) Adjustments related to plant retirements and divestitures.
(e) In 2021, adjustment primarily for reorganization and severance costs related to cost management programs.
(f) In 2021, adjustment for direct costs related to COVID-19 consisting primarily of costs to acquire personal protective equipment, costs for cleaning supplies and services, and costs to hire healthcare professionals to monitor the health of employees.
(g) In 2021, adjustment for costs related to the acquisition of Electricite de France SA's (EDF's) interest in CENG, which was completed in the third quarter of 2021.
(h) Adjustment for costs related to a multi-year Enterprise Resource Program (ERP) system implementation.
(i) Adjustment for costs related to the separation primarily comprised of system-related costs, third-party costs paid to advisors, consultants, lawyers, and other experts assisting in the separation, and employee-related severance costs.
(j) Adjustment for Pension and OPEB Non-Service costs. Historically, we were allocated our portion of pension and OPEB non-service costs from Exelon, which was included in Operating and maintenance expense. Effective February 1, 2022, the non-service cost components will not be included in Other, net.
(k) In 2021, adjustment for changes in environmental liabilities.
(l) Adjustment for depreciation and amortization expense.
(m) Adjustment for interest expense.
(n) Adjustment for income taxes.
(o) Adjustment for elimination of the noncontrolling interest related to certain adjustments, primarily relating to CRP in 2022 and CENG in 2021.

 

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Paul Adams

Corporate Communications

410-470-4167

Emily Duncan

Investor Relations

833-447-2783

Source: Constellation Energy Corporation

FAQ

What were Constellation Energy's earnings for Q1 2022?

Constellation Energy reported a GAAP net income of $106 million and an adjusted EBITDA of $866 million for Q1 2022.

What is Constellation Energy's adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2022?

The company reaffirmed its adjusted EBITDA guidance for the full year 2022 at $2.35 billion to $2.75 billion.

How much debt has Constellation Energy reduced?

Constellation Energy executed nearly $2.5 billion in planned debt reduction through May 12, 2022.

What sustainability partnerships did Constellation Energy announce?

Constellation Energy announced a partnership with Microsoft for a real-time carbon-free energy matching solution and agreements with Sheetz and Comcast.

How did Constellation Energy's nuclear fleet perform in Q1 2022?

The nuclear fleet produced 42,951 GWh in Q1 2022, with a capacity factor of 93.0%, slightly lower than 94.2% in Q1 2021.