AES Corporation’s AES fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of 48 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 45 cents by 6.7%. Moreover, the bottom line improved 37.1% from the year-ago quarter’s 35 cents per share.
Barring a one-time adjustment, the company posted GAAP earnings of 47 cents per share in the reported quarter against the GAAP loss of 12 cents in the prior-year period.
Highlights of the Release
AES Corp. generated total revenues of $2,560 million in the fourth quarter, up 5.3% year over year. The top line, however, lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,841 million by 9.9%.
The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The AES Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The AES Corporation Quote
Total cost of sales was $1,654 million in the fourth quarter, down 11.6% year over year. General and administrative expenses were $46 million, down 23.3% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.
Interest expenses were $297 million, up 13.4% from $262 million in the year-earlier period.
In 2020, the company signed PPAs worth 3-Gigawatt (GW), thus bringing the total renewable backlog to 6.9 GW.
Financial Condition
AES Corp. reported cash and cash equivalents of $1,089 million as of Dec 31, 2020 compared with $1,029 million as of Dec 31, 2019.
Non-recourse debt totaled $15,005 million as of Dec 31, 2020, up from $14,914 million as of Dec 31, 2019.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, net cash provided by operating activities was $668 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $691 million.
Total capital expenditures during the fourth quarter amounted to $525 million, which declined from $777 million incurred in the year-ago quarter.
Guidance
For 2021, AES Corp. initiated its EPS guidance of $1.50-$1.58. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current-year earnings is pegged at $1.57, which is near the upper end of the guided range.
Zacks Rank
AES Corp. currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other Utility Releases
NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE), Inc. NEE reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents by 2.6%.
Xcel Energy Inc (NASDAQ:XEL). XEL posted fourth-quarter 2020 operating earnings of 54 cents per share, inline with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) WEC delivered fourth-quarter 2020 earnings per share of 76 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 74 cents by 2.7%.
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