Disclaimer

Our mission as a company is to power energy independence, and we achieve this mission when we conduct ourselves ethically and transparently. To that end, we condemn all human rights abuses and the use of forced labor in the Xinjiang region and anywhere else in the world, and we stand committed to ensuring that all our vendors engage in ethical sourcing. We require transparency in our supply chain, and we work closely with our vendors to ensure they satisfy our vendor code of conduct." - John Berger, CEO of Sunnova

As a matter of ethical business practices and sourcing, Sunnova requires each company on its Approved Vendor List (“AVL”) to:

  • certify that they (and their suppliers) practice ethical sourcing;
  • certify that they do not engage in human rights abuses in the sourcing and manufacture of the products they sell to Sunnova; and
  • certify that they do not use labor or goods from Xinjiang in their supply chain.

Sunnova will also continue to engage its vendors in discussions and to review available data regarding forced labor in the Xinjiang region to ensure that its supply chain is free from human rights abuses.

News Details

Sunnova Reports Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results

October 31, 2019
  • 72,600 customers as of September 30, 2019
  • Net loss of $34.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $15.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019
  • Customer principal (net of amounts recorded in revenue) and interest payments received from solar loans ("P&I") of $4.3 million and $3.1 million, respectively,
    for the three months ended September 30, 2019
  • Net cash used in operating activities of $18.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019
  • Positive Adjusted Operating Cash Flow of $1.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019
  • Announce 2020 full-year guidance

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sunnova Energy International Inc. ("Sunnova") (NYSE:NOVA), one of the leading U.S. residential solar and storage service providers, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019.

"For the third quarter, we once again reported strong financial results, demonstrated by both year-over-year and sequential quarterly growth," said William J. (John) Berger, Chief Executive Officer of Sunnova. "We delivered on our operational and financial targets. We continued to grow our dealer base, launch new product offerings, and increase battery attachment rates. In addition, we closed on a number of significant financial transactions in the third quarter, including our IPO, a new tax equity facility, a new credit facility for our leases and PPAs, and a comprehensive amendment to the credit facility for our loan products.

"We continue to generate strong asset level returns that are inclusive of all dealer payments. Our quarter-over-quarter improvement in net cash used in operating activities and positive Adjusted Operating Cash Flow, generated by our long-term cash flows from operations, reflects our ability to scale our overhead and service expenses. We continue to see the asset-backed securities market provide cash in excess of our newly originated customer service contracts while allowing us to retain the contracted cash flows. These cash proceeds, coupled with our Adjusted Operating Cash Flow, are currently expected to generate sufficient cash while growing our net contracted customer cash flow and value.

"In all, we are excited about the opportunities in front of us as we remain focused on maximizing cash flow. With our dealer model driving strong growth, our existing and future customers positioned to generate recurring long-term cash flows, our focus on providing those customers service for many years to come, our ability to generate cash from financing activities and our continued attention to containing costs, we believe we are well positioned for 2020 and beyond."

Third Quarter 2019 Results

Our total number of customers was 72,600 as of September 30, 2019, an increase of 15,600 compared to September 30, 2018.

Revenue increased to $36.6 million, or by $6.2 million, in the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018. Revenue increased to $97.9 million, or by $18.8 million, in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2018. These increases in revenues are primarily a result of an increase in the number of customers served.

Total operating expense, net increased to $42.5 million, or by $15.5 million, in the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018. Total operating expense, net increased to $111.1 million, or by $30.6 million, in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2018. These increases are the result of an increase in the number of customers served, greater depreciation expense, and higher period-over-period general and administrative expenses due to costs related to our initial public offering and the hiring of personnel to support growth.

Adjusted Operating Expense increased to $20.7 million, or by $5.6 million, in the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018. Adjusted Operating Expense increased to $60.4 million, or by $14.4 million, in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2018. These increases are the result of an increase in the number of customers served as well as certain expenses associated with our initial public offering.

We incurred a net loss of $34.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to a net loss of $6.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018. We incurred a net loss of $119.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to a net loss of $29.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. These larger net losses were primarily driven by the factors described above in addition to higher net interest expense, including higher realized and unrealized net losses on interest rate swaps.

Adjusted EBITDA was $15.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $15.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018. Adjusted EBITDA was $37.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $33.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. These increases were due to the increase in number of customers served.

Customer principal (net of amounts recorded in revenue) and interest payments received from solar loans increased to $4.3 million and $3.1 million, respectively, for the three months ended September 30, 2019, or by $2.6 million and $1.5 million, respectively, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018 due to our larger customer loan portfolio. Customer principal (net of amounts recorded in revenue) and interest payments received from solar loans increased to $13.0 million and $8.2 million, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, or by $7.9 million and $4.0 million, respectively, compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2018 due to our larger customer loan portfolio.

Net cash used in operating activities was $18.8 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $4.7 million in the three months ended September 30, 2018. Net cash used in operating activities was $74.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $25.2 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2018. These increases were due primarily to higher inventory purchases necessary to meeting growing demand, an increased use of working capital and an increase in the amount of exclusivity and other bonus arrangement payments made to certain dealers that are inclusive in our asset level economics during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the same periods of 2018.

Adjusted Operating Cash Flow was $1.6 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $(1.3) million for the three months ended September 30, 2018. This increase in Adjusted Operating Cash Flow was primarily due to the increase in the number of customers served. Adjusted Operating Cash Flow was $(18.4) million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $(13.5) million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. This decrease in Adjusted Operating Cash Flow was due primarily to breakage costs for interest rate hedges in connection with refinancing indebtedness to take advantage of lower interest rates and higher operating and interest payments partially offset by higher revenue and P&I received.

Liquidity & Capital Resources

As of September 30, 2019, we had total cash of $109.3 million, including restricted and unrestricted cash.

2019 Guidance

Management reaffirms the following full year 2019 guidance:

  • Customer growth rate in annual deployments of at least 30%
  • Adjusted EBITDA between $47 million and $49 million
  • Customer principal payments received from solar loans, net of amounts recorded in revenue, between $17 million and $18 million
  • Customer interest payments receivedfrom solar loans between $12 million and $13 million
  • Adjusted Operating Cash Flow between $(2) million and $1 million

2020 Guidance

Management introduces the following full year 2020 guidance:

  • 23,000 - 27,500 new customers
  • Adjusted EBITDA between $55 million and $60 million
  • Customer principal payments received from solar loans, net of amounts recorded in revenue, between $30 million and $35 million
  • Customer interest payments received from solar loans between $15 million and $20 million
  • Adjusted Operating Cash Flow between $5 million and $15 million

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We present our operating results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. ("GAAP"). We believe certain financial measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Expense and Adjusted Operating Cash Flow, which are non-GAAP measures, provide users of our financial statements with supplemental information that may be useful in evaluating our business. We use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Operating Expense as performance measures, and believe investors and securities analysts also use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Operating Expense in evaluating our performance. While Adjusted EBITDA effectively captures the operating performance of our leases and PPAs, it only reflects the service portion of the operating performance under our loan agreements. Therefore, we separately show customer P&I payments. Adjusted EBITDA is also used by our management for internal planning purposes, including our consolidated operating budget, and by our board of directors in setting performance-based compensation targets. We use Adjusted Operating Cash Flow as a liquidity measure and believe Adjusted Operating Cash Flow is a supplemental financial measure useful to management, analysts, investors, lenders and rating agencies as an indicator of our ability to internally fund origination activities, service or incur additional debt and service our contractual obligations. We believe investors and analysts will use Adjusted Operating Cash Flow to evaluate our liquidity and ability to service our contractual obligations. However, Adjusted Operating Cash Flow has limitations as an analytical tool because it does not account for all future expenditures and financial obligations of the business or reflect unforeseen circumstances that may impact our future cash flows, all of which could have a material effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We believe that such non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with our operating results presented under GAAP, can be used both to better assess our business from period to period and to better assess our business against other companies in our industry, without regard to financing methods, historical cost basis or capital structure. Our calculation of these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from similarly-titled non-GAAP measures, if any, reported by other companies. In addition, other companies may not publish these or similar measures. Such non-GAAP measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Sunnova is unable to reconcile projected Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Expense and Adjusted Operating Cash Flow to the most comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP because of fluctuations in interest rates and their impact on our unrealized and realized interest rate hedge gains or losses. Sunnova provides a range for the forecasts of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Expense and Adjusted Operating Cash Flow to allow for the variability in the timing of cash receipts and disbursements, customer utilization of our assets, and the impact on the related reconciling items, many of which interplay with each other. Therefore, the reconciliation of projected Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Expense and Adjusted Operating Cash Flow to projected net income (loss), total operating expense, or net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, as the case may be, is not available without unreasonable effort.

Third Quarter 2019 Financial and Operational Results Conference Call Information

Sunnova is hosting a conference call for analysts and investors to discuss its third quarter 2019 results at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, on October 31, 2019. The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 1-866-211-4135, or for international callers, 1-647-689-6729. A replay will be available two hours after the call and can be accessed by dialing 1-800-585-8367, or for international callers, 1-416-621-4642. The passcode for the live call and the replay is 9573079. The replay will be available until November 7, 2019.

Interested investors and other parties may also listen to a simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging onto the Investor Relations section of Sunnova’s website at www.sunnova.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Sunnova’s future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "going to," "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern Sunnova’s expectations, strategy, priorities, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements that cash proceeds, coupled with our Adjusted Operating Cash Flow, are currently expected to generate sufficient cash while growing our net contracted customer cash flow and value; the benefits of our growing dealer network, our future cash flows, our future financing activities, our future costs and references to longer term operational targets and future: customer growth rate, adjusted EBITDA, customer P&I payments from solar loans and adjusted operating cash flows. Sunnova’s expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including risks regarding our ability to forecast our business due to our limited operating history, our competition, fluctuations in the solar and home-building markets, our ability to attract and retain dealers and customers and our dealer and strategic partner relationships. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Sunnova’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Sunnova’s prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on July 26, 2019. The forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to Sunnova as of the date hereof, and Sunnova disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

About Sunnova

Sunnova is a leading residential solar and energy storage service provider, serving customers in more than 20 U.S. states and territories. Our goal is to be the leading provider of clean, affordable and reliable energy for consumers, and we operate with a simple mission: to power energy independence.

SUNNOVA ENERGY INTERNATIONAL INC.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except share amounts and share par values)

 

 

As of
September 30, 2019

 

As of
December 31, 2018

Assets

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

Cash

$

51,026

 

 

$

52,706

 

Accounts receivable—trade, net

10,383

 

 

6,312

 

Accounts receivable—other

5,922

 

 

3,721

 

Other current assets

59,058

 

 

26,794

 

Total current assets

126,389

 

 

89,533

 

 

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

1,620,048

 

 

1,328,457

 

Customer notes receivable, net

255,070

 

 

172,031

 

Other assets

148,279

 

 

75,064

 

Total assets (1)

$

2,149,786

 

 

$

1,665,085

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities, Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests and Stockholders' Equity

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

Accounts payable

$

40,342

 

 

$

20,075

 

Accrued expenses

17,904

 

 

18,650

 

Current portion of long-term debt

59,404

 

 

26,965

 

Current portion of long-term debt—affiliates

 

 

16,500

 

Other current liabilities

13,501

 

 

13,214

 

Total current liabilities

131,151

 

 

95,404

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term debt, net

1,116,369

 

 

872,249

 

Long-term debt, net—affiliates

 

 

44,181

 

Other long-term liabilities

119,128

 

 

66,453

 

Total liabilities (1)

1,366,648

 

 

1,078,287

 

 

 

 

 

Redeemable noncontrolling interests

156,578

 

 

85,680

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders' equity:

 

 

 

Series A convertible preferred stock, 0 and 44,942,594 shares issued as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, at $0.01 par value

 

 

449

 

Series C convertible preferred stock, 0 and 13,006,780 shares issued as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, at $0.01 par value

 

 

130

 

Series A common stock, 0 and 8,612,728 shares issued as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, at $0.01 par value

 

 

86

 

Series B common stock, 0 and 21,727 shares issued as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, at $0.01 par value

 

 

 

Common stock, 83,980,885 and 0 shares issued as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, at $0.0001 par value

8

 

 

 

Additional paid-in capital—convertible preferred stock

 

 

701,326

 

Additional paid-in capital—common stock

991,936

 

 

85,439

 

Accumulated deficit

(365,384

)

 

(286,312

)

Total stockholders' equity

626,560

 

 

501,118

 

Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interests and stockholders' equity

$

2,149,786

 

 

$

1,665,085

 

(1) The consolidated assets as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 include $658,690 and $411,325, respectively, of assets of variable interest entities ("VIEs") that can only be used to settle obligations of the VIEs. These assets include cash of $5,483 and $3,674 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively; accounts receivable—trade, net of $1,302 and $884 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively; accounts receivable—other of $0 and $109 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively; other current assets of $16,876 and $4,821 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively; property and equipment, net of $628,821 and $398,693 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively; and other assets of $6,208 and $3,144 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. The consolidated liabilities as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 include $9,076 and $9,260, respectively, of liabilities of VIEs whose creditors have no recourse to Sunnova Energy International Inc. These liabilities include accounts payable of $1,458 and $4,278 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively; accrued expenses of $25 and $14 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively; other current liabilities of $143 and $296 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively; and other long-term liabilities of $7,450 and $4,672 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively.

SUNNOVA ENERGY INTERNATIONAL INC.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

 

Three Months Ended
September 30,

 

Nine Months Ended
September 30,

 

2019

 

2018

 

2019

 

2018

Revenue

$

36,615

 

 

$

30,429

 

 

$

97,942

 

 

$

79,176

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expense:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of revenue—depreciation

10,942

 

 

9,349

 

 

30,820

 

 

25,468

 

Cost of revenue—other

1,186

 

 

614

 

 

2,914

 

 

1,474

 

Operations and maintenance

1,925

 

 

(96

)

 

6,468

 

 

4,495

 

General and administrative

28,509

 

 

17,170

 

 

70,984

 

 

49,103

 

Other operating income

(49

)

 

(12

)

 

(129

)

 

(51

)

Total operating expense, net

42,513

 

 

27,025

 

 

111,057

 

 

80,489

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

(5,898

)

 

3,404

 

 

(13,115

)

 

(1,313

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense, net

30,884

 

 

9,416

 

 

99,855

 

 

25,123

 

Interest expense, net—affiliates

701

 

 

2,398

 

 

4,098

 

 

7,245

 

Interest income

(3,407

)

 

(1,763

)

 

(8,868

)

 

(4,373

)

Loss on extinguishment of long-term debt, net—affiliates

 

 

 

 

10,645

 

 

 

Other (income) expense

293

 

 

 

 

827

 

 

(1

)

Loss before income tax

(34,369

)

 

(6,647

)

 

(119,672

)

 

(29,307

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

(34,369

)

 

(6,647

)

 

(119,672

)

 

(29,307

)

Net income (loss) attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests

3,221

 

 

(13

)

 

7,170

 

 

4,111

 

Net loss attributable to stockholders

(37,590

)

 

(6,634

)

 

(126,842

)

 

(33,418

)

Dividends earned on Series A convertible preferred stock

 

 

(9,437

)

 

(19,271

)

 

(26,765

)

Dividends earned on Series C convertible preferred stock

 

 

(1,794

)

 

(5,454

)

 

(3,340

)

Deemed dividends on convertible preferred stock exchange

 

 

 

 

 

 

(19,332

)

Net loss attributable to common stockholders—basic and diluted

$

(37,590

)

 

$

(17,865

)

 

$

(151,567

)

 

$

(82,855

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders—basic and diluted

$

(0.62

)

 

$

(2.07

)

 

$

(5.77

)

 

$

(9.60

)

Weighted average common shares outstanding—basic and diluted

60,890,129

 

 

8,634,541

 

 

26,245,493

 

 

8,634,484

 

SUNNOVA ENERGY INTERNATIONAL INC.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)

 

 

Nine Months Ended
September 30,

 

2019

 

2018

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(119,672

)

 

$

(29,307

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

 

 

 

Depreciation

34,987

 

 

29,000

 

Impairment and loss on disposals, net

1,236

 

 

1,235

 

Amortization of deferred financing costs

8,795

 

 

6,488

 

Amortization of debt discount

2,027

 

 

766

 

Non-cash effect of equity-based compensation plans

6,974

 

 

2,182

 

Non-cash payment-in-kind interest on loan—affiliates

2,716

 

 

4,132

 

Unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives

30,262

 

 

(20,647

)

Unrealized loss on fair value option instruments

97

 

 

 

Loss on extinguishment of long-term debt, net—affiliates

10,645

 

 

 

Other non-cash items

4,637

 

 

3,601

 

Changes in components of operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

Accounts receivable

(8,006

)

 

(7,674

)

Dealer advances

 

 

(237

)

Other current assets

(11,753

)

 

(7,394

)

Other assets

(37,787

)

 

(6,571

)

Accounts payable

5,156

 

 

(145

)

Accrued expenses

(2,455

)

 

2,087

 

Other current liabilities

75

 

 

(1,644

)

Long-term debt—paid-in-kind—affiliates

(719

)

 

(1,144

)

Other long-term liabilities

(1,753

)

 

30

 

Net cash used in operating activities

(74,538

)

 

(25,242

)

 

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

Purchases of property and equipment

(299,199

)

 

(184,260

)

Payments for investments and customer notes receivable

(104,391

)

 

(80,557

)

Proceeds from customer notes receivable

14,072

 

 

5,733

 

State utility rebates

401

 

 

691

 

Other, net

(584

)

 

(1,439

)

Net cash used in investing activities

(389,701

)

 

(259,832

)

 

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

Proceeds from long-term debt

588,153

 

 

132,674

 

Payments of long-term debt

(318,855

)

 

(27,045

)

Proceeds of long-term debt from affiliates

15,000

 

 

15,000

 

Payments of long-term debt to affiliates

(56,236

)

 

(20,000

)

Payments on notes payable

(2,177

)

 

 

Payments of deferred financing costs

(10,435

)

 

(1,753

)

Payments of debt discounts

(1,084

)

 

(1,883

)

Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net

164,695

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of convertible preferred stock, net

(2,510

)

 

157,117

 

Contributions from redeemable noncontrolling interests

119,372

 

 

51,427

 

Distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interests

(6,289

)

 

(1,322

)

Payments of costs related to redeemable noncontrolling interests

(3,155

)

 

(985

)

Other, net

(15

)

 

(6

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

486,464

 

 

303,224

 

Net increase in cash and restricted cash

22,225

 

 

18,150

 

Cash and restricted cash at beginning of period

87,046

 

 

81,778

 

Cash and restricted cash at end of period

109,271

 

 

99,928

 

Restricted cash included in other current assets

(16,688

)

 

(368

)

Restricted cash included in other assets

(41,557

)

 

(28,411

)

Cash at end of period

$

51,026

 

 

$

71,149

 

 

Key Financial and Operational Metrics

 

Three Months Ended
September 30,

 

Nine Months Ended
September 30,

 

2019

 

2018

 

2019

 

2018

 

(in thousands)

Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(34,369

)

 

$

(6,647

)

 

$

(119,672

)

 

$

(29,307

)

Interest expense, net

30,884

 

 

9,416

 

 

99,855

 

 

25,123

 

Interest expense, net—affiliates

701

 

 

2,398

 

 

4,098

 

 

7,245

 

Interest income

(3,407

)

 

(1,763

)

 

(8,868

)

 

(4,373

)

Depreciation expense

12,348

 

 

10,650

 

 

34,987

 

 

29,000

 

Amortization expense

8

 

 

33

 

 

20

 

 

100

 

EBITDA

6,165

 

 

14,087

 

 

10,420

 

 

27,788

 

Non-cash compensation expense (1)

5,980

 

 

916

 

 

8,251

 

 

2,466

 

ARO accretion expense

349

 

 

278

 

 

989

 

 

891

 

Financing deal costs

60

 

 

(3

)

 

1,028

 

 

1,338

 

Disaster losses and related charges, net

54

 

 

(182

)

 

54

 

 

430

 

IPO costs

1,758

 

 

80

 

 

3,804

 

 

81

 

Loss on extinguishment of long-term debt, net—affiliates

 

 

 

 

10,645

 

 

 

Unrealized (gain) loss on fair value option instruments

(437

)

 

 

 

97

 

 

 

Realized loss on fair value option instruments

730

 

 

 

 

730

 

 

 

Amortization of payments to dealers for exclusivity and other bonus arrangements

241

 

 

 

 

255

 

 

 

Legal settlements

967

 

 

150

 

 

1,260

 

 

150

 

Adjusted EBITDA

$

15,867

 

 

$

15,326

 

 

$

37,533

 

 

$

33,144

 

 

(1)

Amount includes non-cash effect of equity-based compensation plans of $6.0 million and $0.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $7.0 million and $2.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and partial forgiveness of a loan to an executive officer used to purchase our capital stock of $0.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and $1.3 million and $0.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

 

Three Months Ended
September 30,

 

Nine Months Ended
September 30,

 

2019

 

2018

 

2019

 

2018

 

(in thousands)

Interest income from customer notes receivable

$

3,136

 

 

$

1,672

 

 

$

8,156

 

 

$

4,160

 

Principal proceeds from customer notes receivable, net of related revenue

$

4,333

 

 

$

1,718

 

 

$

12,986

 

 

$

5,098

 

 

Three Months Ended
September 30,

 

Nine Months Ended
September 30,

 

2019

 

2018

 

2019

 

2018

 

(in thousands)

Reconciliation of Net Cash Used in Operating Activities to Adjusted Operating Cash Flow:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

$

(18,844

)

 

$

(4,681

)

 

$

(74,538

)

 

$

(25,242

)

Principal proceeds from customer notes receivable

4,736

 

 

1,965

 

 

14,072

 

 

5,733

 

Distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interests

(1,146

)

 

(533

)

 

(6,289

)

 

(1,322

)

Payments to dealers for exclusivity and other bonus arrangements

9,733

 

 

 

 

31,733

 

 

 

Inventory purchases

3,051

 

 

1,927

 

 

12,568

 

 

7,287

 

Payments of non-capitalized costs related to IPO

4,060

 

 

 

 

4,060

 

 

 

Adjusted Operating Cash Flow

$

1,590

 

 

$

(1,322

)

 

$

(18,394

)

 

$

(13,544

)

 

Three Months Ended
September 30,

 

Nine Months Ended
September 30,

 

2019

 

2018

 

2019

 

2018

 

(in thousands, except per customer data)

Reconciliation of Total Operating Expense, Net to Adjusted Operating Expense:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total operating expense, net

$

42,513

 

 

$

27,025

 

 

$

111,057

 

 

$

80,489

 

Depreciation expense

(12,348

)

 

(10,650

)

 

(34,987

)

 

(29,000

)

Amortization expense

(8

)

 

(33

)

 

(20

)

 

(100

)

Non-cash compensation expense

(5,980

)

 

(916

)

 

(8,251

)

 

(2,466

)

ARO accretion expense

(349

)

 

(278

)

 

(989

)

 

(891

)

Financing deal costs

(60

)

 

3

 

 

(1,028

)

 

(1,338

)

Disaster losses and related charges, net

(54

)

 

182

 

 

(54

)

 

(430

)

IPO costs

(1,758

)

 

(80

)

 

(3,804

)

 

(81

)

Amortization of payments to dealers for exclusivity and other bonus arrangements

(241

)

 

 

 

(255

)

 

 

Legal settlements

(967

)

 

(150

)

 

(1,260

)

 

(150

)

Adjusted Operating Expense

$

20,748

 

 

$

15,103

 

 

$

60,409

 

 

$

46,033

 

Adjusted Operating Expense per weighted average customer

$

295

 

 

$

273

 

 

$

914

 

 

$

892

 

 

As of
September 30, 2019

 

As of
December 31, 2018

Number of customers

72,600

 

 

60,300

 

 

 

Three Months Ended
September 30,

 

Nine Months Ended
September 30,

 

2019

 

2018

 

2019

 

2018

Weighted average number of customers (excluding loan agreements)

61,500

 

 

50,700

 

 

58,300

 

 

47,900

 

Weighted average number of customers with loan agreements

8,900

 

 

4,600

 

 

7,800

 

 

3,700

 

Weighted average number of customers

70,400

 

 

55,300

 

 

66,100

 

 

51,600

 

 

As of
September 30, 2019

 

As of
December 31, 2018

 

(in millions, except per customer data)

Estimated gross contracted customer value

$

1,739

 

 

$

1,476

 

Estimated gross contracted customer value per customer

$

23,953

 

 

$

24,478

 

Key Terms for Our Key Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Estimated Gross Contracted Customer Value. Estimated gross contracted customer value as of a specific measurement date represents the sum of the present value of the remaining estimated future net cash flows we expect to receive from existing customers during the initial contract term of our leases and power purchase agreements ("PPAs"), which are typically 25 years in length, plus the present value of future net cash flows we expect to receive from the sale of related solar renewable energy certificates ("SRECs"), either under existing contracts or in future sales, plus the carrying value of outstanding customer loans on our balance sheet. From these aggregate estimated initial cash flows, we subtract the present value of estimated net cash distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interests and estimated operating, maintenance and administrative expenses associated with the solar service agreements. These estimated future cash flows reflect the projected monthly customer payments over the life of our solar service agreements and depend on various factors including but not limited to solar service agreement type, contracted rates, expected sun hours and the projected production capacity of the solar equipment installed. For the purpose of calculating this metric, we discount all future cash flows at 6%.

Number of Customers. We define number of customers to include each customer that is party to an in-service solar service agreement. For our leases, PPAs and loan agreements, in-service means the related solar energy system and, if applicable, energy storage system, must have met all the requirements to begin operation and be interconnected to the electrical grid. For our Sunnova Protect services, in-service means the customer’s system must have met the requirements to have the service activated. We do not include in our number of customers any customer under a lease, PPA or loan agreement for whom we have terminated the contract and removed the solar energy system. We also do not include in our number of customers any customer of our Sunnova Protect services that has been in default under his or her solar service agreement in excess of six months. We track the total number of customers as an indicator of our historical growth and our rate of growth from period to period.

Weighted Average Number of Customers. We calculate the weighted average number of customers based on the number of months a given customer is in-service during a given measurement period. The weighted average customer count reflects the number of customers at the beginning of a period, plus the total number of new customers added in the period adjusted by a factor that accounts for the partial period nature of those new customers. For purposes of this calculation, we assume all new customers added during a month were added in the middle of that month. We track the weighted average customer count in order to accurately reflect the contribution of the appropriate number of customers to key financial metrics over the measurement period.

Definitions of Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) plus net interest expense, depreciation and amortization expense, income tax expense, financing deal costs, disaster losses and related charges, net, amortization of payments to dealers for exclusivity and other bonus arrangements, legal settlements and excluding the effect of certain non-recurring items we do not consider to be indicative of our ongoing operating performance such as, but not limited to, costs of our IPO, realized and unrealized gains and losses on fair value option instruments and other non-cash items such as asset retirement obligation ("ARO") accretion expense and non-cash compensation expense.

Adjusted Operating Cash Flow. We define Adjusted Operating Cash Flow as net cash used in operating activities plus principal proceeds from customer notes receivable and distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interests less payments to dealers for exclusivity and other bonus arrangements, inventory purchases and payments of non-capitalized costs related to our IPO.

Adjusted Operating Expense. We define Adjusted Operating Expense as total operating expense less depreciation and amortization expense, non-cash compensation expense, ARO accretion expense, financing deal costs, disaster losses and related charges, net, IPO costs, amortization of payments to dealers for exclusivity and other bonus arrangements and legal settlements.

Rodney McMahan - Investors
Kelsey Hultberg - Media
IR@sunnova.com
877-770-5211

Source: Sunnova Energy International Inc.