HARTFORD, Conn. & BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) today reported first quarter 2021 earnings of $366.1 million, or $1.06 per share, compared with earnings of $334.8 million, or $1.01 per share, in the first quarter of 2020. Results for the first quarters of both 2021 and 2020 include after-tax costs associated with Eversource’s October 2020 acquisition of the assets of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts. Those costs were $6.2 million, or $0.02 per share, in 2021 and $3.5 million, or $0.01 per share, in 2020.
Additionally, 2021 results reflect a charge of $30 million, or $0.07 per share after-tax, associated with customer credits and a related assessment that Connecticut utility regulators announced on May 6, 2021 for The Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P). The charge relates to CL&P’s performance restoring power following the catastrophic impact of Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020. Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority hearings on the announced credits and assessment are expected in June with a final decision scheduled for mid-July.
“Operationally, we recorded a very solid start to 2021, serving our 4.3 million customers safely and reliably with professionalism and passion, despite the challenges from a continued pandemic and increased storm activity. We also continue to make substantial progress in our efforts to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to help our states and communities achieve their very ambitious long-term carbon reduction targets,” said Joe Nolan, Eversource Energy’s president and chief executive officer. “As we move ahead, we remain laser-focused on meeting and exceeding our customers’ high expectations for customer service, addressing the increasing frequency and intensity of damaging storms across our service territory, and resolving any regulatory dockets in a constructive and responsive manner.”
Electric Distribution
Eversource Energy’s electric distribution segment earned $93.2 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared with earnings of $130.1 million in the first quarter of 2020. Lower results were due primarily to the customer credits noted above. Results were also negatively affected by higher storm-related expense, as well as higher depreciation and property tax expense in 2021, partially offset by higher revenues.
Electric Transmission
Eversource Energy’s transmission segment earned $135.4 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared with earnings of $126.8 million in the first quarter of 2020. Higher transmission earnings were primarily due to additional electric transmission system investment.
Natural Gas Distribution
Eversource Energy’s natural gas distribution segment earned $147.6 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared with earnings of $85.9 million in the first quarter of 2020. Improved results were due to the addition of Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts (EGMA), which now holds the natural gas distribution assets acquired from Columbia Gas of Massachusetts. Like its counterpart Eversource natural gas distribution utilities, NSTAR Gas and Yankee Gas, EGMA is expected to earn essentially all of its net income in the heating months of the year.
Water Distribution
Eversource Energy’s water distribution segment earned $3.6 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared with earnings of $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2020. The increase was due primarily to lower interest expense and a lower effective tax rate.
Parent and other companies
Parent and other companies had a net loss of $13.7 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared with a net loss of $10.1 million in the first quarter of 2020. The increased loss was due primarily to higher costs related to the asset acquisition noted above and a higher effective tax rate.
The company today reaffirmed its projected long-term EPS growth rate in the upper half of the range of 5 to 7 percent, using its non-GAAP 2020 earnings of $3.64 per share as a base.
The company said that it now estimates it will earn toward the lower end of its previously announced 2021 recurring EPS guidance of $3.81 to $3.93 per share. That estimate includes the $0.07 per share regulatory charge noted above, but not the 2021 transition costs associated with EGMA.
The following table reconciles consolidated earnings per share for the first quarters of 2021 and 2020:
|
|
|
First Quarter |
||||||
|
2020 |
Reported EPS |
$1.01 |
|
|||||
|
|
Addition of Eversource Gas of MA in 2021 |
0.14 |
|
|||||
|
|
Increased revenues at NSTAR Gas and Yankee Gas in 2021 expense |
0.03 |
||||||
|
|
Higher level of transmission investment in 2021, offset by dilution |
0.01 |
||||||
|
|
Higher electric distribution storm-related expense in 2021 |
(0.04 |
) |
|||||
|
|
All other |
(0.01 |
) |
|||||
|
|
Additional transition/acquisition charges in 2021 |
(0.01 |
) |
|||||
|
|
Proposed customer credits related to Tropical Storm Isaias |
(0.07 |
) |
|||||
|
2021 |
Reported EPS |
$1.06 |
|
|||||
Financial results for the first quarters of 2021 and 2020 for Eversource Energy’s business segments and parent and other companies are noted below:
Three months ended:
|
(in millions, except EPS) |
March 31, 2021 |
March 31, 2020 |
Increase/ |
2021 EPS1 |
||||||||||||
|
Electric Distribution |
$93.2 |
|
$130.1 |
|
($36.9 |
) |
$0.27 |
|
||||||||
|
Electric Transmission |
135.4 |
|
126.8 |
|
8.6 |
|
0.39 |
|
||||||||
|
Natural Gas Distribution |
147.6 |
|
85.9 |
|
61.7 |
|
0.43 |
|
||||||||
|
Water Distribution |
3.6 |
|
2.1 |
|
1.5 |
|
0.01 |
|
||||||||
|
Parent and Other Companies1 |
(7.5 |
) |
(6.6 |
) |
(0.9 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
||||||||
|
Columbia Gas of MA acquisition and transition charges |
(6.2 |
) |
(3.5 |
) |
(2.7 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
||||||||
|
Reported Earnings |
$366.1 |
|
$334.8 |
|
$31.3 |
|
$1.06 |
|
||||||||
Eversource Energy has approximately 343 million common shares outstanding. It operates New England’s largest energy delivery system and serves approximately 4.3 million electric, natural gas and water utility customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
