Sempra Energy’s (NYSE:SRE) third-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.50, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.49 by 0.7%. The bottom line also improved 22% from $1.23 registered in the prior-year quarter.
Barring one-time items, the company generated GAAP earnings of $2.84 per share compared with 99 cents in third-quarter 2018. This uptick can be attributed to year-over-year revenue and operating income growth.
Total Revenues
In the quarter under review, total revenues of $2,758 million increased 7.5% year over year on higher contributions from its Utilities (up 14.1%) business. The top line, however, missed the consensus mark of $2,922 million by 5.6%.
Segment Update
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E): Quarterly earnings amounted to $263 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $205 million.
Southern (NYSE:SO) California Gas Company (SoCalGas): At this segment, quarterly earnings totaled $143 million in the third quarter of 2019 compared with $14 million registered in the prior-year quarter.
Sempra Texas Utility: Earnings at this segment came in at $212 million in the reported quarter compared with $154 million in the year-ago quarter.
Sempra Mexico: The segment recorded net earnings of $84 million compared with $44 million in the year-ago quarter.
Sempra Renewables: The segment did not record any earnings in the third quarter against earnings of $34 million in the third quarter of 2018.
Sempra LNG: The segment reported earnings of $2 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $16 million.
Parent and Other: Quarterly loss at this division narrowed to $139 million from the year-ago quarter’s loss of $211 million.
Financial Update
As of Sep 30, 2019, Sempra Energy’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $106 million compared with $102 million as of Dec 31, 2018.
Long-term debt and finance leases amounted to $20,995 million as of Sep 30, 2019 compared with $20,903 million at 2018 end.
Cash flow from operating activities was $1,829 million at the end of third-quarter 2019, down from $2,439 million at the end of third-quarter 2018.
In the reported quarter, the company’s total capital expenditures, investments and acquisitions were $997 million compared with $918 million in the third quarter of 2018.
Highlights of the Quarter
In September, Sempra LNG entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China Three Gorges Corporation regarding potential cooperation for the supply of LNG to support demand in China, including growth of natural gas power generation.
In August, the Cameron LNG liquefaction-export project in Hackberry, LA began commercial operations at Train 1 of the facility. The project, including Trains 2 and 3, is over 96% complete. Commissioning of Train 2 is underway and the previously disclosed project timeline remains unchanged.
2019 Guidance
Sempra Energy raised its earnings guidance for 2019. The company currently expects to generate earnings of $6.00-$6.50 per share compared with the earlier guidance range of $5.70-$6.30. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year earnings stands at $6.08, lower than the midpoint of the company projected view.
Zacks Rank
Sempra Energy has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Recent Utility Releases
NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) reported third-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $2.39 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.27 by 5.3%. Moreover, earnings were up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) posted third-quarter 2019 operating earnings of $1.01 per share, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.05 by 3.8%. The bottom line increased 5.2% from the year-ago quarter.
American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) reported third-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share of $1.46, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.30 by 12.3%.
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