PPL Corp PPL recorded fourth-quarter FY23 operating revenue growth of $2.03 billion, surpassing the consensus of $1.90 billion.
The company experienced a 5.0% year-on-year decline in electricity sales, primarily driven by a 4.2% reduction in the PA Regulated segment and a 5.9% decrease in the KY Regulated segment.
Operating income surged to $390 million from $336 million in the same quarter last year. Additionally, the adjusted EPS stood at $0.40, outperforming the consensus of $0.38.
PPL’s net cash provided by operating activities totaled $1.76 billion for the year, compared to $1.73 billion a year ago.
Vincent Sorgi, President and Chief Executive Officer of PPL, expressed, “Despite mild weather, heightened storm activity and challenging macroeconomic factors, we delivered on all of our commitments to shareowners in 2023, provided exceptional reliability for our 3.5 million customers and took significant steps to advance a safe, reliable, affordable, and cleaner energy mix.ˮ
Sorgi also added, “In addition, we exceeded our target of $50-$60 million in operation and maintenance (O&M) efficiencies, achieving about $75 million in savings from the company’s 2021 baseline.”
Dividend: PPL unveiled a 7.3% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.2575, payable on April 1, 2024, to shareowners of record as of March 8, 2024.
Outlook: PPL projects an EPS of $1.63 to $1.75 in FY24, compared to the $1.70 consensus. The company anticipates an annual earnings per share and dividend growth of 6% to 8% through at least 2027.
The company boosted its planned infrastructure investments outlook to $14.3 billion from 2024 to 2027, as opposed to the previous plan of $11.9 billion from 2023 to 2026.
PPL reiterated that it is on track to achieve its targeted annual operation and maintenance savings of at least $175 million by 2026, with $120 million-$130 million of annual savings planned by the end of 2024 from the company’s 2021 baseline.
Price Action: PPL shares are trading higher by 0.19% at $26.51 on the last check Friday.
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