The company formerly known as Vistra Energy — Vistra Corp. as of July 2 — boosted its second-quarter cash flow by 30% over 2019 and told financial analysts Aug. 5 that the best may be yet to come.
Vistra delivered earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of (EBITDA) of $929 million, based on net income of $164 million. The company had an EBITDA of $717 million and net income of $354 million during last year’s second quarter.
Vistra uses adjusted EBITDA as a measure of performance, saying it improves visibility to both net income prepared in accordance with GAAP and adjusted EBITDA.
CEO Curt Morgan reminded analysts during a conference call that “much of the Texas summer shows its teeth in August and September.” He noted that while Vistra’s generating subsidiary, Luminant, has not yet been able to take advantage of scarcity prices in the ERCOT market, last August saw 72 15-minute intervals over $1,000/MWh and 12 intervals reaching the $9,000/MWh cap.
“All it takes is one week of hot temperatures and either low wind output or an unplanned outage for scarcity pricing to materialize,” Morgan said.
At the same time, he warned investors about EPA’s recent regulatory revisions for utilities’ disposal of coal ash. (See “EPA Changes Closure Requirements in Coal Ash Rule,” Federal News.)
“Our evaluation suggests there are several coal plants, especially in PJM, that are under pressure due to this rulemaking,” Morgan said.
Vistra’s share price lost 50 cents during the day, closing at $18.26 on the New York Stock Exchange.
