SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov. 6, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolarCity (Nasdaq:SCTY), a leading provider of clean energy, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013.
"With new energy contracts, MW booked, MW deployed, and operating lease revenue all reaching new highs in Q3 2013, SolarCity continues to demonstrate that demand, execution, and financing remain strong tailwinds supporting growth toward our one million customer goal by mid-2018," said Lyndon Rive, CEO. "Moreover, with estimated nominal contracted payments remaining rising to $1.7 billion and cumulative retained value per Watt up to $1.37/W, we are not only creating more value every day but also retaining more value for shareholders with each new customer signed."
Q3 2013 Operating Highlights
In the third quarter of 2013, SolarCity continued to make progress in building out its platform for delivering cleaner and cheaper distributed energy. Key operating and development highlights in the quarter include:
- MWs Deployed reached a new quarterly record of 78 MW as residential MWs deployed grew 151% year-over-year to 60 MW. Cumulative total MWs deployed stood at 464 MW as of September 30, 2013.
- MWs Booked totaled 91 MW.
- Cumulative Energy Contracts increased 155% since the end of the third quarter of 2012 (and 21% since the end of the second quarter of 2013) to 72,506.
- Cumulative Customers grew to 82,235, up 133% since the end of the third quarter of 2012 (and 18% since the end of the second quarter of 2013).
Estimated Nominal Contracted Payments and Retained Value
Due to the long-term nature of its operating lease contracts—of up to 20 years—and the related GAAP accounting for such contracts, the Company views the following operating metrics as a better representation of its new sales activity and business outlook:
- Estimated Nominal Contracted Payments Remaining of $1,737 million at September 30, 2013, up 23% from $1,409 million at June 30, 2013.
- Retained Value forecast of $846 millionat September 30, 2013, equating to retained value per watt forecast of $1.37/W at September 30, 2013.
Investing and Financing Activities
With each new Energy Contract, SolarCity creates a recurring, predictable cash flow stream. Its financial strategy is to maximize retained value for shareholders by covering Investing Activities with cash generated from Operating and Financing Activities.
Its Investing Activities are primarily comprised of the capital investment in distributed generation solar energy systems under long-term Energy Contracts with customers, while its Financing Activities represent the funding of its solar energy systems investments through its investor partners and lenders. Key highlights of SolarCity's Investing and Financing Activities include:
- Investments in Solar Energy Systems, Leased and to Be Leased, of $211.4 million bringing the cumulative total through the first nine months of 2013 to $507.7 million
- Undeployed Tax Equity Financing Capacity of 149 MW as of November 1, 2013
Q3 2013 GAAP Cash Flows
For the third quarter ended September 30, 2013, net cash provided by Operating Activities was $100.0 million, while net cash used in Investing Activities was $217.1 million and net cash provided by Financing Activities (before the exercise of stock options and common stock warrants) was $86.4 million.
Defined as Operating Cash Flows plus Financing Cash Flows net of Investing Cash Flows (excluding equity issuance), net cash flow was negative $30.7 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2013. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $133.0 million as of September 30, 2013.
| Condensed Statement of Cash Flows | |||
| $ in thousands | Three Months Ended: | ||
| Net Cash Provided (Used) In: | September 30, 2012 | June 30, 2013 | September 30, 2013 |
| Operating activities | $34,074 | $74,039 | $100,006 |
| Investing activities | ($117,249) | ($159,571) | ($217,133) |
| Financing activities (before stock options/warrants exercise) | $70,352 | $104,978 | $86,438 |
| Net cash provided (used) before stock options/warrants exercise | ($12,823) | $19,446 | ($30,689) |
| Net cash provided by exercise of stock options/warrants | $362 | $12,866 | $4,069 |
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | ($12,461) | $32,312 | ($26,620) |
Q3 2013 GAAP Operating Income Statement
For the third quarter of 2013, Operating Lease revenue was $24.8 million, rising 78% from $13.9 million in the third quarter of 2012. Total revenue increased 52% year-over-year to $48.6 million.
Gross Profit was $17.5 million, growing 11% year-over-year from $15.8 million in the third quarter of 2012 and yielding Gross Profit Margin of 36%. Operating Lease gross margin was 66%.
Total Operating Expenses were $46.2 million, rising from $30.7 million in the third quarter of 2012, largely owing to higher employee compensation expenses and professional services fees. Loss from Operations was $28.7 million as compared to $14.9 million in the year-ago period.
GAAP net income attributable to stockholders per diluted share was $0.04, owing largely to an increase in net losses attributable to noncontrolling interests .
Non-GAAP Earnings per Share [EPS] Before Noncontrolling Interests
While GAAP EPS is based upon net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders, the Company also reports non-GAAP EPS based upon net income (loss). The only difference between GAAP EPS and non-GAAP EPS is the sole line item net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests.
Under GAAP accounting, the Company reports net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests to reflect the Company's joint venture fund investors' allocable share in the results of the Company's joint venture financing funds. Income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests is calculated based primarily on the hypothetical liquidation at book value, or HLBV method, which assumes that the joint venture funds are liquidated at the reporting date, even though liquidation may or may not ever occur. Additionally the returns that will be allocated to the investors over the expected terms of the funds may differ significantly from the amounts calculated under the HLBV method. Accordingly, the Company also reports non-GAAP EPS based on earnings before net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests per share, which it views as a better measure of its operating performance.
Under this definition, the Company reported third quarter 2013 non-GAAP earnings before noncontrolling interests per share of ($0.43). See below for a reconciliation of GAAP EPS to non-GAAP EPS.
Guidance for Q4 2013 and Update to 2013 and 2014 Outlook
For Q4 2013, the Company expects to deploy 101 MW and thus reaffirms its guidance for 2013 MW deployed of 278 MW.
For Q4 2013, the Company also expects:
- GAAP Operating Lease Revenue: $22 million - $24 million
- GAAP Solar Energy Systems Sale Revenue: $18 million - $22 million
- GAAP Gross Margin: 30%-40%
- GAAP Operating Expenses: $50 million - $55 million
- Non-GAAP EPS (before Income (Loss) Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests): ($0.55) – ($0.65)
- Positive net cash flow
The Company will not be providing GAAP EPS guidance due to the difficulties of forecasting HLBV.
For 2014, the Company reiterates its guidance for MW deployed in a range of 475 MW – 525 MW.
Earnings Conference Call
The Company will hold a conference call today to discuss its third quarter results and its outlook for the remainder of 2013 at 5:00 pm Eastern. A live webcast of the call may be accessed over the Internet from the Company's Investor Relations website at http://investors.solarcity.com.
Participants should follow the instructions provided on the website to download and install the necessary audio applications. In addition, the earnings presentation slides will be available on the Company's Investor Relations site at 5:00 pm Eastern. The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 1-877-407-0784, or for international callers, 1-201-689-8560. A replay will be available two hours after the call and can be accessed by dialing 1-877-870-5176, or for international callers, 1-858-384-5517. The passcode for the live call and the replay is 421091. The replay will be available until November 13, 2013.
About SolarCity
SolarCity® (Nasdaq:SCTY) provides clean energy. The company has disrupted the century-old energy industry by providing renewable electricity directly to homeowners, businesses and government organizations for less than they spend on utility bills. SolarCity gives customers control of their energy costs to protect them from rising rates. The company offers solar power, energy efficiency and electric vehicle services, and makes clean energy easy by taking care of everything from design and permitting to monitoring and maintenance. SolarCity currently serves 14 states and signs a new customer every five minutes. Visit the company online at www.solarcity.com and follow the company on Facebook & Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding SolarCity's customer and market growth opportunities, financial strategies for cash generation and increasing shareholder value, the deployment of megawatts including estimated 2013 and 2014 megawatt deployment, estimated nominal contracted payments remaining, forecasted retained value per watt under energy contracts, the amount of megawatts that can be deployed based on committed available financing, forecasted cash flow in 2013, expected future GAAP and non-GAAP income statement results, and assumptions relating to the foregoing.
Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. As of the date hereof, we have bookings and financing for only a small percentage of the orders needed to achieve our 2014 megawatt projections and therefore expect the megawatts deployed in 2014 to be sourced almost exclusively from new deployments of solar systems not currently under contract. In order to meet our projections, we will need to substantially expand our workforce, increase our installation efficiency and exceed our existing bookings rate relative to what we have achieved to date. Additional key risks and uncertainties include the level of demand for our solar energy systems, the availability of a sufficient and timely supply of solar panels and balance of system components, changes in federal tax treatment, the effect of electric utility industry regulations, net metering and related policies, the availability and amount of rebates, tax credits and other financial incentives, the availability and amount of financing from fund investors, the retail price of utility-generated electricity or the availability of alternative energy sources, risks associated with SolarCity's rapid growth, risks that consumers who have executed energy contracts included in reported nominal contracted payments remaining and backlog may seek to cancel those contracts, assumptions as to retained value under energy contracts and contract renewal rates and terms, including applicable net present values, performance-based incentives, and other rebates, credits and expenses, SolarCity's limited operating history, particularly as a new public company, changes in strategic planning decisions by management or reallocation of internal resources, and general market, political, economic and business conditions. You should read the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our registration statement on Form S-1 related to our recent offering of common stock and refer to our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which identify certain of these and additional risks and uncertainties. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
| SolarCity Corporation | ||
| Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets | ||
| (In Thousands) | December 31, | September 30, |
| 2012 | 2013 | |
| Assets | (audited) | (unaudited) |
| Current assets: | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ 160,080 | $ 132,986 |
| Restricted cash | 7,516 | 3,269 |
| Accounts receivable, net | 25,145 | 32,791 |
| Rebates receivable | 17,501 | 19,158 |
| Inventories | 87,903 | 90,753 |
| Deferred income tax asset | 5,770 | 7,762 |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 11,502 | 25,527 |
| Total current assets | 315,417 | 312,246 |
| Restricted cash | 2,810 | 1,701 |
| Solar energy systems – net | 1,002,184 | 1,491,941 |
| Property, plant and equipment – net | 18,635 | 20,471 |
| Goodwill and intangible assets – net | 626 | 105,351 |
| Other assets | 22,170 | 28,625 |
| Total assets | $ 1,361,842 | $ 1,960,335 |
| Liabilities and equity | ||
| Current liabilities: | ||
| Accounts payable | $ 62,986 | $ 134,123 |
| Distributions payable to noncontrolling interests | 12,028 | 17,634 |
| Current portion of deferred U.S. Treasury grants income | 11,376 | 15,404 |
| Accrued and other current liabilities | 52,334 | 51,800 |
| Customer deposits | 8,753 | 9,208 |
| Current portion of deferred revenue | 31,516 | 52,989 |
| Current portion of long-term debt | 20,613 | 9,158 |
| Current portion of lease pass-through financing obligation | 13,622 | 29,629 |
| Current portion of sale leaseback financing obligation | 389 | 410 |
| Total current liabilities | 213,617 | 320,355 |
| Deferred revenue, net of current portion | 204,396 | 326,884 |
| Long-term debt, net of current portion | 83,533 | 132,149 |
| Long-term deferred tax liability | 5,790 | 7,791 |
| Lease passthrough financing obligation, net of current portion | 125,884 | 103,128 |
| Sale leaseback financing obligation, net of current portion | 14,755 | 14,444 |
| Deferred U.S. Treasury grants income, net of current portion | 286,884 | 411,316 |
| Other liabilities | 112,056 | 182,288 |
| Total liabilities | 1,046,915 | 1,498,355 |
| Stockholders' equity: | ||
| Common stock | 7 | 8 |
| Additional paid-in capital | 325,705 | 469,053 |
| Accumulated deficit | (111,392) | (162,915) |
| Total stockholders' equity | 214,320 | 306,146 |
| Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries | 100,607 | 155,834 |
| Total equity | 314,927 | 461,980 |
| Total liabilities and equity | $ 1,361,842 | $ 1,960,335 |
| SolarCity Corporation | ||
| Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations | ||
| (In Thousands Except Per Share Amounts) | Three Months Ended | |
| Sept. 30, 2012 | Sept. 30, 2013 | |
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | |
| Revenue: | ||
| Operating leases | $ 13,917 | $ 24,796 |
| Solar energy systems sales | 18,057 | 23,804 |
| Total revenues | 31,974 | 48,600 |
| Cost of revenue: | ||
| Operating leases | 2,323 | 8,423 |
| Solar energy systems | 13,900 | 22,640 |
| Total cost of revenues | 16,223 | 31,063 |
| Gross profit | 15,751 | 17,537 |
| Operating expenses: | ||
| Sales and marketing | 18,145 | 24,310 |
| General and administrative | 12,554 | 21,893 |
| Total operating expenses | 30,699 | 46,203 |
| Loss from operations | (14,948) | (28,666) |
| Interest expense, net | 6,587 | 5,781 |
| Other expense, net | 7,466 | 123 |
| Loss before income taxes | (29,001) | (34,570) |
| Income tax provision | (42) | (23) |
| Net loss | (29,043) | (34,593) |
| Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests | 9,028 | (37,949) |
| Net (loss) income attributable to stockholders | $ (38,071) | $ 3,356 |
| Net (loss) income per share attributable to common stockholders | ||
| Basic | ($3.41) | $0.04 |
| Diluted | ($3.41) | $0.04 |
| Weighted average shares used to compute net (loss) income per share attributable to common stockholders | ||
| Basic | 11,162 | 79,918 |
| Diluted | 11,162 | 88,054 |
| SolarCity Corporation | ||
| Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows | ||
| (In Thousands) |
Nine Months Ended |
Nine Months Ended |
| Sept. 30, 2012 | Sept. 30, 2013 | |
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |
| Operating activities: | ||
| Net loss | $ (77,954) | $ (95,397) |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities: | ||
| Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment | 10 | 30 |
| Depreciation and amortization net of amortization of deferred U.S. Treasury grant income | 14,277 | 26,275 |
| Interest on lease pass-thorough financing obligation | 8,948 | 10,035 |
| Stock-based compensation | 7,749 | 17,166 |
| Revaluation of convertible redeemable preferred stock warrants | 16,713 | – |
| Revaluation of preferred stock forward contract | 350 | – |
| Deferred income taxes | 9 | 9 |
| Reduction in lease pass-through financing obligation | (12,057) | (25,525) |
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||
| Restricted cash | (6,709) | 1,454 |
| Accounts receivable | (29,977) | (7,646) |
| Rebates receivable | (2,825) | (1,657) |
| Inventories | 29,829 | (2,850) |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 2,615 | (17,449) |
| Other assets | (7,218) | (3,411) |
| Accounts payable | (75,967) | 71,137 |
| Accrued and other liabilities | 41,137 | 66,635 |
| Customer deposits | (3,884) | 455 |
| Deferred revenue | 90,564 | 143,682 |
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | (4,390) | 182,943 |
| Investing activities: | ||
| Payments for the cost of solar energy systems, leased and to be leased | (290,371) | (507,695) |
| Purchase of property and equipment | (7,400) | (5,827) |
| Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired | – | (3,758) |
| Net cash used in investing activities | (297,771) | (517,280) |
| Financing activities: | ||
| Investment fund financings and bank borrowings: | ||
| Borrowings under long-term debt | 119,008 | 57,161 |
| Repayments of long-term debt | (32,168) | (24,690) |
| Borrowings under bank line of credit | 19,418 | – |
| Repayments of bank line of credit | (25,000) | – |
| Repayments of sale-leaseback financing obligation | (268) | (290) |
| Proceeds from lease pass-through financing obligation | 138,775 | 31,233 |
| Repayment of capital lease obligations | (27,356) | (1,594) |
| Proceeds from investment by noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries | 63,532 | 221,175 |
| Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries | (137,276) | (117,017) |
| Proceeds from U.S. Treasury grants | 99,916 | 123,816 |
| Net cash provided by financing activites before equity issuances | 218,581 | 289,794 |
| Equity issuances: | ||
| Proceeds from exercise of stock options | 1,409 | 9,415 |
| Proceeds from issuance of convertible redeemable preferred stock | 80,868 | – |
| Proceeds from the exercise of convertible redeemable preferred stock warrants | 150 | – |
| Proceeds from exercise of common stock warrants | – | 8,034 |
| Net cash provided by equity issuances | 82,427 | 17,449 |
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 301,008 | 307,243 |
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (1,153) | (27,094) |
| Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 50,471 | 160,080 |
| Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $ 49,318 | $ 132,986 |
| Reconcilation from GAAP EPS to Non-GAAP EPS: | ||||||
| GAAP Net Income | GAAP Net Loss | Non-GAAP Net Loss | ||||
| Attributable to | Attributable to | Before Noncontrolling | ||||
| in thousands except per share | Stockholders | Noncontrolling Interests | Interests | |||
| Net Income (loss) | $3,356 | ($37,949) | ($34,593) | |||
| / Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding | 88,054 | 79,918 | 79,918 | |||
| = Net Loss Per Share | $0.04 | ($0.47) | ($0.43) | |||
| Operating Activity Metrics: | ||||||||||||
| Q3 2012 | Q2 2013 | Q3 2013 | Cumulative | |||||||||
| MW Deployed | 37 | 53 | 78 | 464 | ||||||||
| New Customers | 6,437 | 9,563 | 12,386 | 82,235 | ||||||||
| Energy Contracts | 5,785 | 9,040 | 12,339 | 72,506 | ||||||||
| Estimated Nominal Contracted Payments Remaining -- $m | $1,737 | |||||||||||
| "MW" or "megawatts" represents the DC nameplate megawatt production capacity. |
| "Backlog" represents the aggregate megawatt capacity of solar energy systems not yet deployed as of the date specified pursuant to Energy Contracts and contracts for solar energy system direct sales executed as of such date. |
| "Customers" includes all residential, commercial and government buildings where we have installed or contracted to install a solar energy system, or performed or contracted to perform an energy efficiency evaluation or other energy efficiency services. |
| "Energy Contracts" includes all residential, commercial and government leases and power purchase agreements pursuant to which consumers use or will use energy generated by a solar energy system that we have installed or contracted to install. For landlord-tenant structures in which we contract with the landlord or development company, we include each residence as an individual contract. For commercial customers with multiple locations, each location is deemed a contract if we maintain a separate contract for that location. |
| "MW Booked" represents the aggregate megawatt production capacity of solar energy systems pursuant to customer contracts signed during the applicable period net of cancellations during the applicable period. This metric includes solar energy systems booked under Energy Contracts as well as solar energy system direct sales. |
| "MW Deployed" represents the megawatt production capacity of solar energy systems that have had all required building department inspections completed during the applicable period. This metric includes solar energy systems deployed under Energy Contracts as well as solar energy system direct sales. |
| "Nominal Contracted Payments Remaining" equals the sum of cash payments obligated to be paid to us under our Energy Contracts over the remaining term of such contracts. This metric includes Energy Contracts for solar energy systems already deployed and in Backlog. As an example, if a customer is 2 years into her 20 year contract, then 18 years of contract payments remain. As an additional example, if a customer chose to pre-pay her Energy Contract, then it is included in Nominal Contracted Payments Remaining only while it is in Backlog as the pre-payment has not been received. Payments for direct sales are not included. |
| "Retained Value" forecast represents the sum of both "Retained Value under Energy Contract" and "Retained Value Renewal." Retained Value Under Energy Contract represents the forecasted net present value of Nominal Contracted Payments Remaining and estimated performance-based incentives allocated to us, net of amounts we are obligated to distribute to our fund investors, upfront rebates, depreciation, renewable energy certificates, solar renewable energy certificates and estimated operations and maintenance, insurance, administrative and inverter replacement costs. This metric includes Energy Contracts for solar energy systems deployed and in Backlog. Retained Value of Renewal represents the forecasted net present value of the payments SolarCity would receive upon Energy Contract renewal through a total term of 30 years, assuming all Energy Contracts are renewed at a rate equal to 90% of the contractual rate in effect at expiration of the initial term. This metric is net of estimated operations and maintenance, insurance, administrative and inverter replacement costs and includes Energy Contracts for solar energy systems deployed and in Backlog. Our calculation of retained value assumes a discount rate of 6%. |
| "Retained Value per Watt" is computed by dividing cumulative retained value as of such date by the sum of total MWs deployed under Energy Contracts as of such date plus MWs booked under Energy Contracts as of such date but not yet deployed. |
| "Undeployed Tax Equity Financing Capacity" represents a forecast of the amount of MW that can be deployed based on committed available tax equity financing for Energy Contracts. |