Ameresco Reports Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

CEO George Sakellaris commented, “the second quarter was another quarter of substantial business achievements for Ameresco as we delivered excellent year-on-year revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth of 34% and 21%, respectively, led by the exceptional strength of our projects business while also placing a record number of assets into operation. At the same time, we continued to generate significant new business opportunities across our platform, reflecting how well aligned Ameresco’s expertise and capabilities are with market demand. We continue to be disciplined with business selection and benefit from the actions we have taken to optimize our organization to capture the significant growth and profit opportunities ahead of us.

“Our second quarter results were impacted by $6.6 million of cost budget revisions on the Southern California Edison Company (SCE) projects as they continued to stretch out longer than anticipated. SCE has approved the performance testing and together we are working closely on the final checklist for substantial completion for two of the three projects. Commissioning and testing activities have begun on the third project, which was significantly impacted by the heavy rainfall in California in 2023. This last site is expected to reach substantial completion in September of 2024.

“We generated significant new business in the second quarter, adding to our record backlog and future revenue streams. Our total Project Backlog reached a record $4.4 billion at the end of the quarter, an increase of 36% or nearly $1.2 billion from one year ago levels with contracted backlog growing even faster at 51%. We placed a record 155 MWe of assets into operation in Q2, bringing the year-to-date total to 168 MWe, representing significant progress toward achieving our 200 MWe target for this year. Our record backlog, together with our revenue visibility from our growing Energy Assets and O&M businesses give the Company approximately $8.3 billion of total revenue visibility.”

Second Quarter Financial Results

(All financial result comparisons made are against the prior year period unless otherwise noted.)

Total revenue increased 33.9% to $438.0 million led by 44.5% growth in Projects revenue, as our focus on execution and conversion of our backlog continued to yield results. Energy Assets revenue grew 6.8% driven by growth in operating assets placed in service, improved production and stronger RIN prices. O&M revenue increased 13.7% reflecting a solid attach rate and execution on our O&M contracts. Other revenue increased 9.5%. Gross margin of 14.9% was impacted by the $6.6 million cost budget revisions on the SCE projects and a mix of larger lower-margin projects. The year-to-date impact of the SCE cost budget revisions now total approximately $7.3 million. Net income attributable to common shareholders was $5.0 million compared to net income of $6.4 million during the same period last year due to higher interest and depreciation expenses, with GAAP and Non-GAAP EPS of $0.09 and $0.10, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA of $45.1 million increased 20.7%.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Metrics

The Company ended the quarter with $150.3 million in cash. Our total corporate debt including our subordinated debt, term loans and drawn amounts on our revolving line of credit was $273.4 million, with a corporate leverage ratio as calculated under our Sr. Secured Credit Facility of 2.9X, below our 3.5X covenant level. At the end of the quarter, we successfully raised $100.0 million in subordinated debt with Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit. Our Energy Asset Debt was $1.3 billion with an Energy Debt Advance rate of 73% on the Energy Asset Book Value. Our Adjusted Cash from Operations during the quarter was $153.9 million. Our 8-quarter rolling average Adjusted Cash from Operations was $45.6 million. We are providing this number given the volatility of quarterly Adjusted Cash from Operations as it better represents our average implementation cycle.

• Ameresco’s Assets in Development ended the quarter at 641 MWe. After subtracting Ameresco’s partners’ minority interests, Ameresco’s owned capacity of Assets in Development at quarter end was 635 MWe.
• Ameresco brought 155 MWe of Energy Assets into operations, including the 42 MWe AC solar and 42 MWe/168 MWh battery storage from Kūpono Solar and over 50 MWe battery storage from 5 of the 8 United Power sites.
• Europe is also quickly adopting BESS technology as seen by our 300MWe/624MWh Cellarhead project in the U.K. The project represents one of the largest BESS installations in the U.K. and also includes an O&M contract.
• The strength of the battery market continues as Ameresco added 50 MW of BESS to the Assets in Development, and $250 million of BESS to the project backlog during the quarter.
• City street light conversions to LED technology continues to generate a lot of interest given the quick pay-back period to cities and municipalities driven by both lower energy expense as well as lower maintenance expense. Ameresco will be converting over 30,000 streetlights in Henderson, NV. The Company also won an award for its LED streetlighting, controls and networking project, in partnership with Memphis Light, Gas and Water and the City of Memphis.

Subsequent Event

Today Ameresco announced that Doran Hole has resigned as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer to pursue other opportunities. “We appreciate the contributions that Doran has made during his tenure with us. Doran has been a valuable member of our executive leadership team, and we wish him the best with his future endeavors,” said George Sakellaris. Mr. Hole will continue to serve as CFO until August 30, 2024, at which time Mark Chiplock, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, will be promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and continue to serve as Chief Accounting Officer.

Summary and Outlook

“We continue to benefit from the actions we have taken to optimize our business structure and focus our resources on capturing the most attractive and profitable opportunities. Demand for our solutions remains robust, and Ameresco is well positioned to thrive within most business and economic environments given the increasing need for infrastructure resilience and the cost effectiveness of our solutions,” Mr. Sakellaris concluded.

Ameresco has adjusted its full year 2024 guidance which is included in the table below. We are increasing our revenue range based on the financial performance for the first half of the year and our visibility for the remainder of the year. Our new gross margin range reflects the expected full year impact of the cost budget revisions on the SCE projects of approximately $10 million. Our new guidance range reflects revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth of 27% and 35%, respectively, at the midpoints. The Company still expects to place approximately 200 MWe of energy assets in service for all of 2024, of which 168 MWe have already achieved commercial operations. Our expected capex for 2024 remains $350 million to $400 million, the majority of which we continue to expect to fund with project financing.

The Company’s Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS guidance excludes the impact of redeemable non-controlling interest activity, one-time charges, asset impairment charges, changes in contingent consideration, restructuring activities, as well as any related tax impact.

Conference Call/Webcast Information
The Company will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss second quarter 2024 financial results, business and financial outlook and other business highlights. Participants may access the earnings conference call by pre-registering here at least fifteen minutes in advance. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call will also be available over the Internet. Individuals wishing to listen can access the call through the “Investors” section of the Company’s website at www.ameresco.com. If you are unable to listen to the live call, an archived webcast will be available on the Company’s website for one year.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release and the accompanying tables include references to Adjusted EBITDA, Non- GAAP EPS, Non-GAAP net income and adjusted cash from operations, which are Non-GAAP financial measures. For a description of these Non-GAAP financial measures, including the reasons management uses these measures, please see the section following the accompanying tables titled “Exhibit A: Non-GAAP Financial Measures”. For a reconciliation of these Non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, please see Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Non-GAAP Financial Guidance in the accompanying tables.

About Ameresco, Inc.
Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) is a leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer, owner and operator. Our comprehensive portfolio includes solutions that help customers reduce costs, decarbonize to net zero, and build energy resiliency while leveraging smart, connected technologies. From implementing energy efficiency and infrastructure upgrades to developing, constructing, and operating distributed energy resources – we are a trusted sustainability partner. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with Federal, state and local governments, utilities, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,500 employees providing local expertise in North America and Europe. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Ameresco, Inc., including statements about market conditions, pipeline, visibility, backlog, pending agreements, financial guidance including estimated future revenues, net income, adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP EPS, gross margin, effective tax rate, and capital investments, as well as statements about our financing plans, the impact the IRA, supply chain disruptions, shortage and cost of materials and labor, and other macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges; our expectations related to our agreement with SCE including the impact of delays and any requirement to pay liquidated damages, and other statements containing the words “projects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “will” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: demand for our energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions; the timing of, and ability to, enter into contracts for awarded projects on the terms proposed or at all; the timing of work we do on projects where we recognize revenue on a percentage of completion basis; the ability to perform under signed contracts without delay and in accordance with their terms and related liquidated and other damages we may be subject to; the fiscal health of the government and the risk of government shutdowns; our ability to complete and operate our projects on a profitable basis and as committed to our customers; our cash flows from operations and our ability to arrange financing to fund our operations and projects; our customers’ ability to finance their projects and credit risk from our customers; our ability to comply with covenants in our existing debt agreements including the requirement to raise additional subordinated debt; the impact of macroeconomic challenges, weather related events and climate change on our business; our reliance on third parties for our construction and installation work; availability and cost of labor and equipment particularly given global supply chain challenges and global trade conflicts; global supply chain challenges, component shortages and inflationary pressures; changes in federal, state and local government policies and programs related to energy efficiency and renewable energy; the ability of customers to cancel or defer contracts included in our backlog; the output and performance of our energy plants and energy projects; cybersecurity incidents and breaches; regulatory and other risks inherent to constructing and operating energy assets; the effects of our acquisitions and joint ventures; seasonality in construction and in demand for our products and services; a customer’s decision to delay our work on, or other risks involved with, a particular project; the addition of new customers or the loss of existing customers; market price of our Class A Common stock prevailing from time to time; the nature of other investment opportunities presented to our Company from time to time; risks related to our international operation and international growth strategy; and other factors discussed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.