First Quarter 2014 Financial Highlights

• $816 million of Adjusted EBITDA; with $639 million from wholesale execution, $108 million from retail and $69 million from NRG Yield;
• $487 million of Free Cash Flow (FCF) before Growth investments;
• $3,159 million of total pro-forma liquidity following the Edison Mission Energy (EME) acquisition

2014 Guidance Increases

• Updating full year 2014 Guidance as follows:
  • Increasing Adjusted EBITDA to $3,200-$3,400 million from $2,700-$2,900 million
  • Increasing FCF before Growth investments to $1,200-$1,400 million from $950-$1,150 million

Business and Operational Highlights

• On April 1, 2014, closed the acquisition of EME, bringing NRG’s total fleet to approximately 53,000 MW of generating capacity – the second largest in the US;
• On March 31, 2014, acquired the competitive retail electricity business of Dominion Resources, Inc., (NYSE: D) – adding approximately 500,000 customers, significantly expanding NRG’s Northeast retail footprint and adding the Cirro Energy brand in Texas;
• Acquired Roof Diagnostics Solar (RDS), one of the nation’s leading residential solar companies, focused on customer acquisition and superior installation;
• On May 5, 2014, executed definitive agreement for the first ever drop-down transaction with NRG Yield for the 550 MW El Segundo Energy Center, the 20 MW TA High Desert solar facility and the 20 MW RE Kansas South solar facility for $349 million in cash. Transaction is expected to close this quarter.

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2014-- NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) today reported record first quarter 2014 Adjusted EBITDA of $816 million with Wholesale contributing $639 million, Retail contributing $108 million and NRG Yield contributing $69 million. First quarter adjusted cash flow from operations totaled $608 million. Net loss for first quarter 2014 was ($56) million, or ($0.18) per diluted common share compared to net loss of ($332) million, or ($1.03) per diluted common share for first quarter 2013.

“Outstanding execution led to unprecedented quarterly financial performance driven by our core wholesale business. The quarter is also noteworthy in that we successfully closed three acquisitions which will materially advance each of our generation, retail and clean energy business lines,” said David Crane, NRG President and Chief Executive Officer. “The polar vortex, yet again, vividly demonstrated the critical importance both to NRG and to the American people of maintaining a robust multi-fuel electric system.”

Segment Results

(1) Detailed adjustments by region are shown in Appendix A

Retail: First Quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $108 million; $5 million higher than in first quarter 2013 driven by improved operating efficiencies and focus on sustained mass margin which were offset by lower C&I volumes, unfavorable intra-month supply costs, and increased bad debt expense resulting from higher revenues.

Wholesale

Gulf Coast - Texas: First Quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $40 million; $32 million lower than in first quarter 2013. Gross margin declined by $8 million, driven by lower economic hedges, partially offset by higher generation and higher sales volumes as the region experienced less outage hours in 2014. Also offsetting the reduction is the acquisition of the Gregory Cogeneration facility (Gregory) in August 2013, increased revenue from bilateral agreements and improved fleet availability. The balance was due to higher operating costs driven by the STP outage as well as the timing and scope of major maintenance expense at WA Parish and Limestone.

Gulf Coast - South Central: First Quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $17 million; $25 million higher than in first quarter 2013. The higher results were driven by a $33 million increase in gross margin due to higher realized energy margins, driven by weather and favorable MISO pricing, partially offset by increased costs related to the timing and scope of outage work at gas facilities.

East: First Quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $525 million; $367 million higher than in first quarter 2013, primarily driven by $336 million favorable gross margin as cold weather coupled with strong plant operational performance resulted in both higher volumes and realized energy prices in the first quarter 2014. The balance of the increase came from both reduced O&M costs driven by operational improvements and property tax settlements.

West: First Quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $40 million; $36 million higher than in first quarter 2013. Increases were primarily driven by favorable gross margin of $30 million due to revenues from Resource Adequacy contracts and capacity revenues from El Segundo Energy Center which started operations in the latter half of 2013, partially offset by reductions from the shutdown and decommissioning of retired facilities. The balance was due to lower O&M costs driven by timing of maintenance work.

NRG Yield: First Quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $69 million; $37 million higher than in first quarter 2013. The performance was the result of new assets achieving commercial operations (both conventional and renewable assets), as well as higher sales volumes due to colder than expected weather benefiting the Thermal business.

Alternative Energy: First Quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $4 million; $15 million lower than in first quarter 2013. This change is in part due to the sale of the equity interest in CVSR and Avenal to NRG Yield, as well as ongoing development efforts at both the solar and new businesses that accounted for the balance of the change as NRG continues to expand into new markets.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Total liquidity as of March 31, 2014, adjusted for the April 1, 2014 EME acquisition, was $3,159 million, a decrease of $536 million from December 31, 2013. Credit facility availability increased by $130 million but was more than offset by the decrease in cash of $666 million consisting of the following items:

• $1,652 million of cash inflows through March 2014, consisting of the following items:
  • $967 million net financing activities consisting of: $1,100 million senior note debt proceeds; $337 millionNRG Yield debt proceeds, net of fees; partially offset by $470 million debt payments (excluding cash grant debt repayments which are included in growth projects)
  • $608 million of adjusted cash flow from operations; and
  • $77 million of proceeds from sale of assets, net.

• Partially offset by $2,318 million of cash outflows through March 2014, consisting of the following items:
  • $1,716 million for acquisitions and growth projects, net, including $1,540 million net cash used to acquire EME on April 1, 2014;
  • $407 million of collateral;
  • $112 million of maintenance and environmental capital expenditures, net;
  • $41 million common and preferred stock dividends;
  • $37 million of merger and integration expenses; and
  • $5 million of other investing and financing activities, net.

Drop-Down of Assets to NRG Yield

On May 5, 2014, NRG Energy, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement for the first drop-down of assets to NRG Yield, Inc. for $349 million in total cash consideration, including the assumption of $657 million in project debt, consisting of the following assets (pursuant to the Right of First Offer Agreement with NRG Yield):

• TA High Desert – 20 MW solar facility located in Los Angeles County, CA
• RE Kansas South – 20 MW solar facility located in Kings County, CA
• El Segundo Energy Center – 550 MW fast-start, gas-fired facility located in Los Angeles County, CA

The cash proceeds of $349 million from these drop-downs represent a 1.6X return on cash equity invested in the projects and increase NRG’s capital available for allocation. NRG expects to close the transaction this quarter.

Growth Initiatives and Strategic Developments

NRG continued to enhance its competitiveness and strategic positioning through a wide range of growth initiatives, including:

Acquisition of Edison Mission Energy

On April 1, 2014, the Company closed the acquisition of EME, excluding transaction adjustments for cash, reduced debt balances assumed and working capital. This transaction adds approximately 7,700 MW of generation assets, including 1,600 MW of long-term, fully-contracted assets eligible for future drop-down to NRG Yield and brings NRG’s total fleet to approximately 53,000 MW of generating capacity – the second largest in the US.

Acquisition of Dominion’s Competitive Retail Electricity Business

On March 31, 2014, the Company closed the acquisition of competitive retail electricity business of Dominion Resources, Inc. for $165 million, excluding transaction adjustments for cash and working capital. This acquisition will add, after customary transitions, approximately 500,000 customer accounts to NRG’s retail footprint by the end of 2014, doubling NRG’s northeast retail presence across eight states and enhancing its leading position in the ERCOT market through the acquisition of Dominion’s Cirro Energy franchise.

Residential Solar Developments

On March 27, 2014, the Company acquired Roof Diagnostics Solar (RDS), one of the nation’s leading residential solar companies, enhancing substantially our customer acquisition and installation capability.

Outlook for 2014

With record first quarter results and taking into account the expected contribution of the strategic acquisitions previously described, NRG is raising and updating its Adjusted EBITDA and FCF before Growth investments guidance for 2014.

Table 4: 2014 Adjusted EBITDA and FCF before Growth investments Guidance

Notes - subtotals and totals are rounded

¹ Includes debt extinguishment costs associated with refinancing’s of $73 MM and $28 MM for May 6, 2014 and February 28, 2014 Guidance, respectively

2014 Dividend Program

On April 21, 2014, NRG declared a quarterly dividend on the Company's common stock of $0.14 per share, payable May 15, 2014, to stockholders of record as of May 1, 2014, representing $0.56 on an annualized basis, a 17% increase from $0.48 per share.

The Company's common stock dividend is subject to available capital, market conditions and compliance with associated laws and regulations.

Earnings Conference Call

On May 6, 2014, NRG will host a conference call at 8:00 am Eastern to discuss these results. Investors, the news media and others may access the live webcast of the conference call and accompanying presentation materials by logging on to NRG’s website at http://www.nrgenergy.com and clicking on “Investors.” The webcast will be archived on the site for those unable to listen in real time.

About NRG

NRG is leading a customer-driven change in the U.S. energy industry by delivering cleaner and smarter energy choices, while building on the strength of the nation’s largest and most diverse competitive power portfolio. A Fortune 500 company, we create value through reliable and efficient conventional generation while driving innovation in solar and renewable power, electric vehicle ecosystems, carbon capture technology and customer-centric energy solutions. Our retail electricity providers serve almost 3 million residential and commercial customers throughout the country. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com. Connect with NRG Energy on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @nrgenergy.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

In addition to historical information, the information presented in this communication includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can typically be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “objective,” “projection,” “forecast,” “goal,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “expect,” “intend,” “seek,” “plan,” “think,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “target,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company’s future revenues, income, indebtedness, capital structure, plans, expectations, objectives, projected financial performance and/or business results and other future events, and views of economic and market conditions.

Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, weather conditions, competition in wholesale power markets, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets, changes in government regulation of markets and of environmental emissions, the condition of capital markets generally, our ability to access capital markets, unanticipated outages at our generation facilities, adverse results in current and future litigation, failure to identify or successfully implement acquisitions and repowerings, our ability to implement value enhancing improvements to plant operations and companywide processes, our ability to obtain federal loan guarantees, the inability to maintain or create successful partnering relationships, our ability to operate our businesses efficiently including NRG Yield, our ability to retain retail customers, our ability to realize value through our commercial operations strategy and the creation of NRG Yield, the ability to successfully integrate the businesses of acquired companies, including the assets of Edison Mission Energy, the ability to realize anticipated benefits of acquisitions (including expected cost savings and other synergies) or the risk that anticipated benefits may take longer to realize than expected, and our ability to pay dividends and initiate share repurchases under our Capital Allocation Plan, which may be made from time to time subject to market conditions and other factors, including as permitted by United States securities laws. Furthermore, any common stock dividend is subject to available capital and market conditions.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. The adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow guidance are estimates as of May 6, 2014. These estimates are based on assumptions believed to be reasonable as of that date. NRG disclaims any current intention to update such guidance, except as required by law. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this Earnings Presentation should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG's future results included in NRG's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

Appendix Table A-1: First Quarter 2014 Regional Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation
The following table summarizes the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and provides a reconciliation to net income/ (loss)

Appendix Table A-2: First Quarter 2013 Regional Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation
The following table summarizes the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and provides a reconciliation to net income/ (loss)

Appendix Table A-3: 2014 and 2013 First Quarter Adjusted Cash Flow from Operations Reconciliations
The following table summarizes the calculation of adjusted cash flow operating activities providing a reconciliation to net cash provided by operating activities

⁽¹⁾ Revised to reflect new Adjusted Cash Flow from Operating Activities methodology

⁽²⁾ Excludes merger and integration CapEx of $5 million in each year

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures. These measurements are not recognized in accordance with GAAP and should not be viewed as an alternative to GAAP measures of performance. The presentation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that NRG’s future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items.

EBITDA represents net income before interest (including loss on debt extinguishment), taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is presented because NRG considers it an important supplemental measure of its performance and believes debt-holders frequently use EBITDA to analyze operating performance and debt service capacity. EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

• EBITDA does not reflect cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital expenditures, or contractual commitments;
• EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, working capital needs;
• EBITDA does not reflect the significant interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on debt or cash income tax payments;
• Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and
• Other companies in this industry may calculate EBITDA differently than NRG does, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to use to invest in the growth of NRG’s business. NRG compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. See the statements of cash flow included in the financial statements that are a part of this news release.

Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a further supplemental measure of operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA adjusted for mark-to-market gains or losses, asset write offs and impairments; and factors which we do not consider indicative of future operating performance. The reader is encouraged to evaluate each adjustment and the reasons NRG considers it appropriate for supplemental analysis. As an analytical tool, Adjusted EBITDA is subject to all of the limitations applicable to EBITDA. In addition, in evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, the reader should be aware that in the future NRG may incur expenses similar to the adjustments in this news release.

Adjusted cash flow from operating activities is a non-GAAP measure NRG provides to show cash from operations with the reclassification of net payments of derivative contracts acquired in business combinations from financing to operating cash flow, as well as the add back of merger and integration related costs. The Company provides the reader with this alternative view of operating cash flow because the cash settlement of these derivative contracts materially impact operating revenues and cost of sales, while GAAP requires NRG to treat them as if there was a financing activity associated with the contracts as of the acquisition dates. The Company adds back merger and integration related costs as they are one time and unique in nature and do not reflect ongoing cash from operations and they are fully disclosed to investors.

Free cash flow (before Growth investments) is adjusted cash flow from operations less maintenance and environmental capital expenditures, net of funding, and preferred stock dividends and is used by NRG predominantly as a forecasting tool to estimate cash available for debt reduction and other capital allocation alternatives. The reader is encouraged to evaluate each of these adjustments and the reasons NRG considers them appropriate for supplemental analysis. Because we have mandatory debt service requirements (and other non-discretionary expenditures) investors should not rely on free cash flow before Growth investments as a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures.

Source: NRG Energy, Inc.

NRG Energy, Inc.
Media:
Karen Cleeve, 609-524-4608
David Knox, 832-357-5730
or
Investors:
Chad Plotkin, 609-524-4526
Daniel Keyes, 609-524-4527