NextEra Energy recently disclosed a 28% year-on-year decrease in its attributable net profit for the third quarter, with earnings totaling USD 1.22 billion (EUR 1.16 billion). Despite this decline, the company stands by its full-year forecasts for 2023 and 2024.
Owning America's largest electric utility and operating a separate clean energy division with a substantial 21-gigawatt backlog, NextEra Energy faced an upsurge in total operating expenses during the reporting period. These increased expenses were not fully offset by higher revenues, as indicated in their financial report. However, on an adjusted basis, NextEra Energy's third-quarter net profit improved from USD 1.68 billion in the previous year to USD 1.92 billion.
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a subsidiary of NextEra Energy and the largest electric utility in the United States, managed to increase its third-quarter net earnings from USD 1.1 billion to USD 1.18 billion compared to the previous year. This growth can be attributed primarily to ongoing investments. FPL also expanded its customer base by 65,000 customers compared to the previous year.
In contrast, NextEra Energy Resources, the clean energy branch of the company, reported a loss of USD 230 million, down from a profit of USD 655 million the previous year, due to a USD-900-million impairment. On an adjusted basis, the net result turned positive at USD 882 million.
Despite these financial fluctuations, NextEra Energy Resources bolstered its backlog with the addition of 1,485 megawatts of solar, 905 megawatts of storage, 400 megawatts of wind power capacity, and 455 megawatts of wind repowerings. This expansion brought the company's total backlog to over 21,000 megawatts.
Looking ahead to 2023 and 2024, NextEra Energy maintains its confidence in the financial outlook, expecting adjusted earnings per share (EPS) within the range of USD 2.98 to USD 3.13 for 2023 and USD 3.23 to USD 3.43 for 2024. The company also anticipates an increased dividend payout at a rate of approximately 10% per year, starting from a 2022 base and extending through at least 2024.
