Duke Energy (DUK) Q2 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Up Y/Y

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) reported second-quarter 2019 earnings of $1.12 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 98 cents by 14.3%. The bottom line also improved 57.7% year over year, driven by revenues as well as operating income growth.

Total Revenues

Total operating revenues came in at $5,879 million, up 4.1% from $5,643 million a year ago. The reported figure also exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,689 million by 3.3%.

The regulated electric unit’s revenues were $5,423 million (up 4.7% year over year), representing 92.2% of total revenues in the first quarter.

Revenues from the regulated natural gas business totaled $280 million, down 3.8% year over year.

The Non-regulated and Other segment generated revenues of $170 million, which dropped 2.3% year over year.

Operational Update

Duke Energy’s total operating expenses amounted to $4,578 million in the reported quarter, down from $4,667 million in 2018’s second quarter. The decline was on account of lower natural gas cost, reduced operation, maintenance and other expenses as well as decreased impairment charges.

Operating income increased 32.6% to $1,298 million from $979 million a year ago.

Interest expenses rose to $542 million from $518 million in 2018’s second quarter.

Quarterly Segmental Highlights

Electric Utilities & Infrastructure: Net income in the second quarter totaled $809 million, which came in higher than the year-ago quarter’s figure of $575 million.

Gas Utilities & Infrastructure: Net income at this segment summed $40 million, up from $28 million recorded a year ago.

Commercial Renewables: This segment reported net income of $86 million in the quarter under review compared with $38 million a year ago.

Other: The segment includes corporate interest expenses not allocated to other business units, results from Duke Energy’s captive insurance company and other investments.

This segment incurred a net loss of $115 million compared with loss of $136 million in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Condition

As of Jun 30, 2019, Duke Energy had cash & cash equivalents of $336 million, down from $442 million as on Dec 31, 2018. Long-term debt was $54.3 billion at the end of the second quarter compared with $51.1 billion at 2018 end.

In the first six months of 2019, the company generated net cash from operating activities of $3,056 million compared with $3,302 million in the prior year.

Guidance

Duke Energy reaffirmed its earnings guidance for 2019. It still expects adjusted earnings per share of $4.80-$5.20. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings is pegged at $4.92, below the mid-point of the company’s projected range.

Zacks Rank

Duke Energy currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Utility Releases

CMS Energy Corporation’s (NYSE:CMS) second-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 33 cents declined 32.7% year over year. The bottom line also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents by 25%.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) reported second-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $2.35 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.28 by 3.1%. Moreover, the bottom line improved 12.9% on a year-over-year basis.

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) delivered second-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 61 cents per share, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents by 1.67%. However, the reported figure decreased 1.61% from the year-ago quarter’s 62 cents.

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