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NRG Energy Launches Transformation Plan
The Transformation Plan Targets:
$1.065 Billion Recurring Cost and Margin Improvements, including:$855 Million Recurring Annual Free Cash Flow before Growth (FCFbG) Accretive Improvements$210 Million Permanent SG&A Reduction from Asset Sales and Divestments
$2.5-$4.0 Billion Targeted Asset Sale Net Cash Proceeds, plus-
Removal of
$13 Billion Total Debt From Balance Sheet
Pro Forma Effect of Transformation Plan1:
-
Pro Forma Annual Adjusted EBITDA:
$1.845 Billion -
Pro Forma Annual FCFbG:
$1.230 Billion -
Pro Forma Net Debt:
$6 Billion or 3.0x Net Debt / Adj EBITDA -
Excess Cash to Deploy: Up to approximately
$6.3 Billion through 2020 ($20 /share2), including$4 Billion by end of 2018 ($12.5 /share3)
The Business Review Committee (BRC) unanimously recommended the Transformation Plan and it received the unanimous support and approval by the NRG Board of Directors and management.
The Transformation Plan
The Transformation Plan is designed to significantly strengthen earnings and cost competitiveness, lower risk and volatility, and create significant shareholder value. The three-part, three-year plan is comprised of targets in the areas of operational and cost excellence, portfolio optimization, and capital structure and allocation enhancement. Importantly, the majority of targets and results are achievable by the end of 2018, providing investors and the company with clear line of sight to results. This plan is the product of a comprehensive, “blank slate” evaluation of all NRG businesses, assets, and functions, collectively conducted by the BRC, NRG management, and independent consultants and advisors to the BRC. The Transformation Plan’s components consist of:
1. Operations and cost excellence:
The plan also expects to realize (i)
2. Portfolio optimization:
Targeting
NRG is well underway in a process to explore strategic alternatives for
its interest in
In addition, as previously disclosed, NRG has entered into a
restructuring support agreement to restructure and divest its ownership
interest in
With respect to asset sales and the strategic alternatives process, NRG
expects to announce signed agreements during the fourth quarter of 2017.
NRG has engaged Citi,
3. Capital structure and allocation enhancements:
A clearly prioritized capital allocation strategy that targets a
reduction in consolidated net debt from approximately
The full Board of Directors will maintain oversight of the execution of the Transformation Plan with monthly updates provided to the Board’s Finance and Risk Management Committee. A score card will be provided to the investment community and will be updated on future quarterly earnings calls.
Analyst Day
NRG plans to host an Analyst Day following the full announcement of
asset sales and the
2017 Guidance
NRG is maintaining its guidance range for fiscal year 2017 with respect to both Adjusted EBITDA and FCFbG investments and adjusting for the deconsolidation of GenOn and the impact of the Transformation Plan on 2017.
1 Pro
2 Based on
3 Based on
4 Excludes recurring
costs to support margin enhancement activities.
5 In
addition to consolidated net debt reduction of
6 Excluding the disposition of
7 Based on
consolidated net debt as of
2017 |
2017 |
|||||
($ in millions) | Guidance | Revised Guidance | ||||
Adjusted EBITDAa | $2,700 - $2,900 | $2,565 - $2,765 | ||||
Cash From Operations | $1,355 - $1,555 | $1,760 - $1,960 | ||||
Free Cash Flow before Growth Investments | $800 - $1,000 | $1,290 - $1,490 |
a.Non-GAAP financial measure; see Appendix Table A-11 for GAAP Reconciliation to Net Income that excludes fair value adjustments related to derivatives. The Company is unable to provide guidance for Net Income due to the impact of such fair value adjustments related to derivatives in a given year.
Investor Conference Call
NRG will host a conference call today,
About NRG
NRG is the leading integrated power company in the U.S., built on the
strength of our diverse competitive electric generation portfolio and
leading retail electricity platform. A Fortune 500 company, NRG creates
value through best in class operations, reliable and efficient electric
generation, and a retail platform serving residential and commercial
businesses. Working with electricity customers, large and small, we
implement sustainable solutions for producing and managing energy,
developing smarter energy choices and delivering exceptional service as
our retail electricity providers serve almost three million residential
and commercial customers throughout the country. More information is
available at www.nrg.com.
Connect with
Safe Harbor Disclosure
In addition to historical information, the information presented in this press release 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 anticipated benefits of acquisitions, 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 be correct, and
actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contemplated herein include,
among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the
power industry, weather conditions, including wind and solar
performance, 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
regulations, 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, execute or successfully implement acquisitions, repowerings or
asset sales, our ability to implement value enhancing improvements to
plant operations and companywide processes, our ability to implement and
execute on our publicly announced transformation plan, including any
cost savings, margin enhancement, asset sale, and net debt targets, our
ability to proceed with projects under development or the inability to
complete the construction of such projects on schedule or within budget,
risks related to project siting, financing, construction, permitting,
government approvals and the negotiation of project development
agreements, our ability to progress development pipeline projects, the
timing or completion of the GenOn restructuring, the inability to
maintain or create successful partnering relationships, our ability to
operate our businesses efficiently including
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
Appendix Table A-1: 2017 and Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA Guidance Reconciliation
The following table summarizes the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA providing reconciliation to net income:
2017 Adjusted EBITDA |
|||||
($ in millions) | Low | High | |||
GAAP Net Income 1 | 150 | 350 | |||
Income Tax | 80 | 80 | |||
Interest Expense & Debt Extinguishment Costs | 1,065 | 1,065 | |||
Depreciation, Amortization, Contract Amortization and ARO Expense | 1,235 | 1,235 | |||
Adjustment to reflect NRG share of adjusted EBITDA in unconsolidated affiliates | 110 | 110 | |||
Other Costs 2 | 60 | 60 | |||
Adjusted EBITDA | $2,700 | $2,900 | |||
2017 Adjusted EBITDA |
|||||
($ in millions) | Low | High | |||
GAAP Net Income 1 | 360 | 560 | |||
Income Tax | 80 | 80 | |||
Interest Expense & Debt Extinguishment Costs | 825 | 825 | |||
Depreciation, Amortization, Contract Amortization and ARO Expense | 1,150 | 1,150 | |||
Adjustment to reflect NRG share of adjusted EBITDA in unconsolidated affiliates | 110 | 110 | |||
Other Costs 2 | 40 | 40 | |||
Adjusted EBITDA | $2,565 | $2,765 | |||
Pro Forma |
|||||
($ in millions) | Low | High | |||
GAAP Net Income 1 | 790 | 990 | |||
Income Tax | 60 | 60 | |||
Interest Expense & Debt Extinguishment Costs | 355 | 355 | |||
Depreciation, Amortization, Contract Amortization and ARO Expense | 440 | 440 | |||
Adjustment to reflect NRG share of adjusted EBITDA in unconsolidated affiliates | 60 | 60 | |||
Other Costs 2 | 40 | 40 | |||
Adjusted EBITDA | $1,745 | $1,945 | |||
1 For purposes of guidance, fair value adjustments
related to derivatives are assumed to be zero. 2 Includes deactivation costs, gain on sale of
businesses, reorganization costs, asset write-offs, |
|||||
Appendix Table A-2: 2017 and Pro Forma FCFbG Guidance Reconciliation
The following table summarizes the calculation of Free Cash Flow before Growth providing reconciliation to Cash from Operations:
|
2017 | Pro Forma | |||||||
($ in millions) | Prior Guidance |
Revised |
For Trans- |
||||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $2,700 - $2,900 | $2,565 - $2,765 | $1,745 - $1,945 | ||||||
Cash Interest payments | (1,065) | (825) | (355) | ||||||
Cash Income tax | (40) | (40) | (40) | ||||||
Collateral / working capital / other | (240) | 60 | (45) | ||||||
Cash From Operations | $1,355 - $1,555 | $1,760 - $1,960 | $1,305 - $1,505 | ||||||
Adjustments: Acquired Derivatives, Cost-to- |
0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
Adjusted Cash flow from operations | $1,355 - $1,555 | $1,760 - $1,960 | $1,305 - $1,505 | ||||||
Maintenance capital expenditures, net | (280) - (310) | (210) - (240) | (110) - (140) | ||||||
Environmental capital expenditures, net | (40) - (60) | (25) - (45) | (25) - (45) | ||||||
Preferred dividends | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
Distributions to non-controlling interests | (185) - (205) | (185) - (205) | 0 | ||||||
Free Cash Flow – before Growth Investments | $800 - $1,000 | $1,290 - $1,490 | $1,130 - $1,330 | ||||||
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. As NRG defines it, Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA excluding impairment losses, gains or losses on sales, dispositions or retirements of assets, any mark-to-market gains or losses from accounting for derivatives, adjustments to exclude the Adjusted EBITDA related to the non-controlling interest, gains or losses on the repurchase, modification or extinguishment of debt, the impact of restructuring and any extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring items plus adjustments to reflect the Adjusted EBITDA from our unconsolidated investments. 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.
Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors and other users of NRG's financial statements in evaluating its operating performance because it provides an additional tool to compare business performance across companies and across periods and adjusts for items that we do not consider indicative of NRG’s future operating performance. This measure is widely used by debt-holders to analyze operating performance and debt service capacity and by equity investors to measure our operating performance without regard to items such as interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis and to readily view operating trends, as a measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations, and for evaluating actual results against such expectations, and in communications with NRG's Board of Directors, shareholders, creditors, analysts and investors concerning its financial performance.
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, integration and related restructuring 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, integration related restructuring 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, preferred stock dividends and distributions to non-controlling interests 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.
Free Cash Flow before Growth Investment is utilized by Management in making decisions regarding the allocation of capital. Free Cash Flow before Growth Investment is presented because the Company believes it is a useful tool for assessing the financial performance in the current period. In addition, NRG’s peers evaluate cash available for allocation in a similar manner and accordingly, it is a meaningful indicator for investors to benchmark NRG's performance against its peers. Free Cash Flow before Growth Investment is a performance measure and is not intended to represent net income (loss), cash from operations (the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure), or liquidity and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005570/en/
Source:
NRG Energy, Inc.
Media:
Marijke Shugrue, 609-524-5262
or
Investors:
Kevin
L. Cole, CFA, 609-524-4526
or
Lindsey Puchyr, 609-524-4527