Author: Kira Jordan

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 11, 2020 / Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE)(NASDAQ:SPKEP) (including its subsidiaries, “we,” “our,” “us,” “Spark” or the “Company”) today announced that it is commencing a tender offer to purchase up to 1,000,000 shares of its 8.75% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock” or the “shares”), at a purchase price of $18.00 per share, in cash, less applicable withholding taxes and without interest. The number of shares proposed to be purchased in the tender offer represents approximately 27.7% of the Company’s currently outstanding Series A Preferred Stock. The Company will use its cash on hand to fund the offer. The Company may also purchase additional shares, up to 2% of the Company’s outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock (approximately 72,151 shares, based on 3,607,571 shares of Series A Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of May 11, 2020. Pro forma for the tender offer, the Company expects to have a positive cash balance to maintain operational flexibility.

Pursuant to the tender offer, holders of the Company’s Series A Preferred Stock may tender all or a portion of their shares. Holders will receive the purchase price in cash, subject to applicable withholding and without interest, subject to the conditions of the tender offer, including the provision relating to proration in the event that the number of shares properly tendered and not properly withdrawn exceeds 1,072,151 (assuming we purchase an additional 72,151 shares as described above). The proration of Series A Preferred Stock tendered in the tender offer is described in the Offer to Purchase and in the Letter of Transmittal relating to the tender offer that will be distributed to holders of Series A Preferred Stock and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”).

The tender offer is not conditioned upon receipt of any financing or on any minimum number of shares being tendered; however, the tender offer is subject to a number of other terms and conditions specified in the Offer to Purchase. The tender offer and withdrawal rights will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on Monday, June 8, 2020, unless extended or terminated. Tenders of shares must be made prior to the expiration of the tender offer and may be withdrawn at any time prior to the expiration of the tender offer. Holders of Series A Preferred Stock wishing to tender their shares but who are unable to deliver them physically or by book-entry transfer prior to the expiration of the tender offer, or who are unable to make delivery of all required documents to the depositary prior to the expiration of the tender offer, may tender their shares by complying with the procedures set forth in the Offer to Purchase for tendering by notice of guaranteed delivery. MacKenzie Partners, Inc. is serving as information agent for the tender offer. American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC is acting as the depositary for the tender offer. Copies of the tender offer documents and requests for assistance may be directed to the Information Agent at 800-322-2885 or 212-929-5500 or via email at tenderoffer@mackenziepartners.com.

The Company’s Board of Directors has authorized the Company to make the tender offer. However, none of the Company, the Company’s Board of Directors, the information agent or the depositary, or any of their respective affiliates, makes any recommendation to holders of Series A Preferred Stock as to whether to tender or refrain from tendering their shares. No person is authorized to make any such recommendation. Holders of Series A Preferred Stock must make their own decision as to whether to tender their shares and, if so, how many shares to tender. In doing so, holders of Series A Preferred Stock should read carefully the information in, or incorporated by reference in, the Offer to Purchase and in the Letter of Transmittal (as they may be amended or supplemented), including the purposes and effects of the offer. Holders of Series A Preferred Stock are urged to discuss their decisions with their own tax advisors, financial advisors and/or brokers.

NEWS RELEASE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

This news release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell any shares of the Company’s Series A Preferred Stock. The offer is being made solely by the Offer to Purchase and the related Letter of Transmittal, as they may be amended or supplemented. Holders of Series A Preferred Stock and investors are urged to read the Company’s tender offer statement on Schedule TO to, which have been filed with the Commission in connection with the tender offer, which includes as exhibits the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and other offer materials, as well as any amendments or supplements to the Schedule TO when they become available, because they contain important information. Each of these documents have been filed with the Commission, and investors may obtain them for free from the Commission at its website (www.sec.gov) or from MacKenzie Partners, Inc., the information agent for the tender offer, by telephone at: 800-322-2885 (toll-free) or 212-929-5500 or by email at: tenderoffer@mackenziepartners.com.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “may,” “should,” “likely,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “intend,” “project,” or other similar words. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this release, regarding strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives and beliefs of management are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this release and may include statements about expected impacts of COVID-19, business strategy and prospects for growth, customer acquisition costs, ability to pay cash dividends, cash flow generation and liquidity, availability of terms of capital, competition and government regulation and general economic conditions. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot give any assurance that such expectations will prove correct.

The forward-looking statements in this release are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

• the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to the Offer or our ability to complete the Offer;
• potential risks and uncertainties relating to the ultimate impact of COVID-19, including the geographic spread, the severity of the disease, the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or to treat its impact, and the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and financial markets;
• changes in commodity prices;
• the sufficiency of risk management and hedging policies and practices;
• the impact of extreme and unpredictable weather conditions, including hurricanes and other natural disasters;
• federal, state and local regulation, including the industry’s ability to address or adapt to potentially restrictive new regulations that may be enacted by public utility commissions;
• our ability to borrow funds and access credit markets;
• restrictions in our debt agreements and collateral requirements;
• credit risk with respect to suppliers and customers;
• changes in costs to acquire customers as well as actual attrition rates;
• accuracy of billing systems;
• our ability to successfully identify, complete, and efficiently integrate acquisitions into our operations;
• significant changes in, or new charges by, the ISOs in the regions in which we operate;
• competition; and
• the “Risk Factors” in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other public filings and press releases.

You should review the risk factors and other factors noted throughout or incorporated by reference in this release that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Unless required by law, we disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise these statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. It is not possible for us to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

ABOUT SPARK ENERGY

Spark Energy, Inc. is an independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Contact: Spark Energy, Inc.

Investors:
Mike Barajas, 832-200-3727

Media:
Kira Jordan, 832-255-7302

SOURCE: Spark Energy, Inc. via EQS Newswire

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/589107/Spark-Energy-Announces-Commencement-of-Tender-Offer-to-Purchase-up-to-1000000-Shares-of-its-875-Series-A-Fixed-to-Floating-Rate-Cumulative-Redeemable-Perpetual-Preferred-Stock-Par-Value-001-Per-Share-at-a-Purchase-Price-of-18-Per-Share-in-Cash

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 5, 2020 / Spark Energy, Inc. (“Spark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:SPKE), an independent retail energy services company, today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Key Highlights

• Achieved $30.3 million in Adjusted EBITDA, $55.5 million in Retail Gross Margin, and $10.1 million in Net Income for the first quarter
• Total RCE count of 585,000 as of March 31, 2020
• Average monthly attrition of 5.7%

“Our first quarter was an improvement compared to the first quarter of last year. Higher unit margins came close to offsetting the decrease in volumes compared to the first quarter of 2019. Currently however, we are facing some headwinds associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our overall customer book is much healthier, but we have had to cease our door-to-door marketing efforts that will cause our customer book to continue to shrink. We are closely monitoring our bad debt exposure in the Non-POR markets in which we operate. We cannot predict the length of time we will have to endure these ongoing challenges or the economic impact we may face as we head into the ERCOT summer. We have greatly simplified our platform and will continue to look for ways to streamline the business as we deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Keith Maxwell, Spark’s Interim President and Chief Executive Officer.

Summary First Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, was $10.1 million compared to net income of $2.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The increase in performance compared to the prior year was primarily the result of the decrease in G&A, CAC and the non-cash mark-to-market accounting associated with the hedges we put in place to lock in margins on our retail contracts. We had a mark-to-market loss this quarter of $7.9 million, compared to a mark-to-market loss of $11.7 million a year ago.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2020, Spark reported Adjusted EBITDA of $30.3 million compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $25.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. This increase of $5.2 million was driven by a decrease of operational expenses, more than offsetting decreases in retail gross margin compared to the first quarter of 2019.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2020, Spark reported Retail Gross Margin of $55.5 million compared to Retail Gross Margin of $56.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. This decrease of $1.1 million was primarily attributable to reduced volumes. Volumes have continually decreased due to our strategy to move away from large, low margin commercial customers.

(1) Reflects amount of Letters of Credit that could be issued based on existing covenants as of March 31, 2020.
(2) The availability of the Subordinated Debt Facility is dependent on our Founder’s willingness and ability to lend.

Dividend

On April 21, 2020, Spark’s Board of Directors declared quarterly dividends of $0.18125 per share of Class A common stock payable on June 15, 2020, to holders of record on June 1, 2020, and $0.546875 per share of Series A Preferred Stock payable on July 15, 2020 to holders of record on July 1, 2020.

Business Outlook

Mr. Maxwell concluded, “Our employees and management are working hard to serve our customers in these unprecedented economic times. We will continue to manage and evaluate all facets of the business including additional cost savings initiatives, efficiencies with supply management, as well as the payment of future dividends to ensure Spark emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic with ample liquidity and a platform that will allow us to return to growth.”

Conference Call and Webcast

Spark will host a conference call to discuss first quarter 2020 results on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, at 10:00 AM Central Time (11:00 AM Eastern).

A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the Events & Presentations page of the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at http://ir.sparkenergy.com/events-and-presentations. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for twelve months following the live presentation.

About Spark Energy, Inc.

Spark Energy, Inc. is an independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This earnings release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “may,” “should,” “likely,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “intend,” “project,” or other similar words. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this earnings release, regarding strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives and beliefs of management are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this earnings release and may include statements about expected impacts of COVID-19, business strategy and prospects for growth, customer acquisition costs, ability to pay cash dividends, cash flow generation and liquidity, availability of terms of capital, competition and government regulation and general economic conditions. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot give any assurance that such expectations will prove correct.

The forward-looking statements in this earnings release are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

• potential risks and uncertainties relating to the ultimate impact of COVID-19, including the geographic spread, the severity of the disease, the duration of the COVID-19outbreak, actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or to treat its impact, and the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and financial markets;
• changes in commodity prices;
• the sufficiency of risk management and hedging policies and practices;
• the impact of extreme and unpredictable weather conditions, including hurricanes and other natural disasters;
• federal, state and local regulation, including the industry’s ability to address or adapt to potentially restrictive new regulations that may be enacted by public utility commissions;
• our ability to borrow funds and access credit markets;
• restrictions in our debt agreements and collateral requirements;
• credit risk with respect to suppliers and customers;
• changes in costs to acquire customers as well as actual attrition rates;
• accuracy of billing systems;
• our ability to successfully identify, complete, and efficiently integrate acquisitions into our operations;
• significant changes in, or new charges by, the ISOs in the regions in which we operate;
• competition; and
• the “Risk Factors” in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other public filings and press releases.

You should review the risk factors and other factors noted throughout or incorporated by reference in this earnings release that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this earnings release. Unless required by law, we disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise these statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. It is not possible for us to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations:
Mike Barajas, 832-200-3727

Media Relations:
Kira Jordan, 832-255-7302

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)

(1) Reflects the Retail Gross Margin attributable to our Retail Natural Gas Segment or Retail Electricity Segment, as applicable. Retail Gross Margin is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures” section below for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin to their most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP.
(2) Reflects the Retail Gross Margin for the Retail Natural Gas Segment or Retail Electricity Segment, as applicable, divided by the total volumes in MMBtu or MWh, respectively.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted EBITDA

We define “Adjusted EBITDA” as EBITDA less (i) customer acquisition costs incurred in the current period, (ii) net gain (loss) on derivative instruments, and (iii) net current period cash settlements on derivative instruments, plus (iv) non-cash compensation expense, and (v) other non-cash and non-recurring operating items. EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before provision for income taxes, interest expense and depreciation and amortization. We deduct all current period customer acquisition costs (representing spending for organic customer acquisitions) in the Adjusted EBITDA calculation because such costs reflect a cash outlay in the period in which they are incurred, even though we capitalize such costs and amortize them over two years. We do not deduct the cost of customer acquisitions through acquisitions of business or portfolios of customers in calculated Adjusted EBITDA. We deduct our net gains (losses) on derivative instruments, excluding current period cash settlements, from the Adjusted EBITDA calculation in order to remove the non-cash impact of net gains and losses on derivative instruments. We also deduct non-cash compensation expense as a result of restricted stock units that are issued under our long-term incentive plan. Finally, we also adjust from time to time other non-cash or unusual and/or infrequent charges due to either their non-cash nature or their infrequency.

We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides information useful to investors in assessing our liquidity and financial condition and results of operations and that Adjusted EBITDA is also useful to investors as a financial indicator of our ability to incur and service debt, pay dividends and fund capital expenditures. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental financial measure that management and external users of our condensed consolidated financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, commercial banks and rating agencies, use to assess the following:

• our operating performance as compared to other publicly traded companies in the retail energy industry, without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis;
• the ability of our assets to generate earnings sufficient to support our proposed cash dividends;
• our ability to fund capital expenditures (including customer acquisition costs) and incur and service debt; and
• our compliance with financial debt covenants.

Retail Gross Margin

We define retail gross margin as operating income (loss) plus (i) depreciation and amortization expenses and (ii) general and administrative expenses, less (iii) net asset optimization revenues (expenses), (iv) net gains (losses) on non-trading derivative instruments, and (v) net current period cash settlements on non-trading derivative instruments. Retail gross margin is included as a supplemental disclosure because it is a primary performance measure used by our management to determine the performance of our retail natural gas and electricity segments. As an indicator of our retail energy business’ operating performance, retail gross margin should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, operating income (loss), its most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

We believe retail gross margin provides information useful to investors as an indicator of our retail energy business’s operating performance.

The GAAP measures most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA are net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to Retail Gross Margin is operating income (loss). Our non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin should not be considered as alternatives to net income (loss), net cash provided by operating activities, or operating income (loss). Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin are not presentations made in accordance with GAAP and have important limitations as analytical tools. You should not consider Adjusted EBITDA or Retail Gross Margin in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin exclude some, but not all, items that affect net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities, and are defined differently by different companies in our industry, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Management compensates for the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin as analytical tools by reviewing the comparable GAAP measures, understanding the differences between the measures and incorporating these data points into management’s decision-making process.

The following tables present a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities for each of the periods indicated.

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net income:

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net cash provided

The following table presents a reconciliation of Retail Gross Margin to operating income (loss) for each of the periods indicated.

SOURCE: Spark Energy, Inc. via EQS Newswire

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/588579/Spark-Energy-Inc-Reports-First-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2020 / Spark Energy, Inc. (“Spark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:SPKE)(FRANKFURT:SLE), an independent retail energy services company, announced today that it plans to present its first quarter 2020 financial results in a conference call and webcast on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at 10:00 AM Central (11:00 AM Eastern).

A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the Events & Presentations page of the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com/events-and-presentations. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for twelve months following the live presentation.

About Spark Energy, Inc.

Spark Energy, Inc. is an independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Contact: Spark Energy, Inc.

Investors:
Mike Barajas, 832-200-3727

Media:
Kira Jordan, 832-255-7302

SOURCE: Spark Energy, Inc. via EQS Newswire

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/586415/Spark-Energy-Inc-to-Present-First-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results-on-Wednesday-May-6-2020

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / April 21, 2020 / Spark Energy, Inc. (“Spark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:SPKE), an independent retail energy services company, announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend for the first quarter of 2020 in the amount of $0.18125 per share on its Class A Common Stock. This amount represents an annualized dividend of $0.725 per share. The first quarter dividend will be paid on June 15, 2020 to holders of record of Spark’s Class A Common Stock on June 1, 2020.

Additionally, in accordance with the terms of the 8.75% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series A Preferred Stock”) of the Company, the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.546875 per share on the Series A Preferred Stock. This amount represents an annualized dividend of $2.1875 per share. The dividend will be paid on Jul 15, 2020 to holders of record of Spark’s Series A Preferred Stock on July 1, 2020.

About Spark Energy, Inc.

Spark Energy, Inc. is an independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Contact:
Spark Energy, Inc.

Investors:
Mike Barajas
832-200-3727

Media:
Kira Jordan
832-255-7302

SOURCE: Spark Energy, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/586159/Spark-Energy-Inc-Announces-Dividend-on-Common-and-Preferred-Stock

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / March 12, 2020 / Spark Energy, Inc’s. (“Spark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:SPKE), an independent retail energy services company, board of directors announced today that Spark’s founder, W. Keith Maxwell III, has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of the Board, effective immediately. Additionally, Kevin McMinn, formally Chief Sales Officer of Crius Energy and Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Gas & Electric, has been appointed as Spark’s Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Maxwell is a lifelong entrepreneur, operator, and founded Spark over 20 years ago. He continues to be the Company’s largest shareholder and will remain, a member of the Board, and is extremely committed to his new role. Kevin McMinn has over 20 years of industry experience and has successfully built, operated, and sold several retail energy companies.

About Spark Energy, Inc.

Spark Energy, Inc. is an independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Contact:

Spark Energy, Inc.

Investors:

Mike Barajas
832-200-3727

Media:

Kira Jordan
832-255-7302

SOURCE: Spark Energy, Inc. via EQS Newswire

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/580507/Spark-Appoints-Keith-Maxwell-as-Interim-CEO

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / March 4, 2020 / Spark Energy, Inc. (“Spark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: SPKE), an independent retail energy services company, today reported financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Key Business Highlights

• Recorded $25.7 million in Adjusted EBITDA, $64.3 million in Retail Gross Margin, and $0.7 million in Net Loss for the fourth quarter 2019
• Recorded $92.4 million in Adjusted EBITDA, $220.7 million in Retail Gross Margin, and $14.2 million in Net Income for the year ended 2019
• Total RCE count of 672,000 as of December 31, 2019
• Average monthly attrition of 5.0% for the year ended December 31, 2019
• Settled several significant legacy litigation items
• Sold our Japanese joint venture for a pre-tax gain of $4.9 million, not included in Adjusted EBITDA
• Total liquidity of $138.7 million
• Approximately 70% of all new sales in 2019 were fully renewable electricity or carbon neutral natural gas

“2019 was a strong year for Spark and we have continued to improve the quality of our customer book by continuing to shed low margin, large C&I customers. We see the significant increase in unit margins from last year as a result of our winter and summer insurance hedging strategy. With a strong push to simplify our platform in 2019, we completed the final steps of our brand and system consolidations and achieved our goal of G&A run-rate savings. Despite record price volatility in ERCOT this summer, our insurance hedging strategy continues to prove successful supporting our expanded electricity and natural gas unit margins. Earlier in the year we terminated our Tax Receivable Agreement on very favorable terms, amended and extended our senior credit and subordinated debt facilities, and we also resolved four significant litigation and regulatory cases,” said Nathan Kroeker, Spark’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Summary Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results

For the quarter ended December 31, 2019, Spark reported Adjusted EBITDA of $25.7 million compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $20.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018. This increase was primarily due to the higher Retail Gross Margin partially offset by lower customer counts.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2019, Spark reported Retail Gross Margin of $64.3 million compared to Retail Gross Margin of $50.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018. This increase is due to electricity unit margins and volumes returning to normal after a downturn in 2018, offset by lower customer counts.

Net loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, was $0.7 million, heavily impacted by mark to market losses in the last few days of the year, driven by a warm front at year end in our primary markets. This compares to a net loss of $15.3 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.

Summary Full Year 2019 Financial Results

For the year ended December 31, 2019, Spark reported Adjusted EBITDA of $92.4 million compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $70.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was primarily due to higher Retail Gross Margin despite an increase in G&A related to non-recurring litigation settlements, bad debt and legal fees.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, Spark reported Retail Gross Margin of $220.7 million compared to Retail Gross Margin of $185.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was primarily due to higher electricity unit margins, offset by a smaller customer counts.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2019, was $14.2 million compared to net loss of $(14.4) million for the year ended December 31, 2018, driven by higher retail gross margins, effective summer hedging, and the gain on sale of our joint venture in Japan.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

(1) Reflects amount of Letters of Credit that could be issued based on existing covenants as of December 31, 2019.
(2) The availability of the Subordinated Debt Facility is dependent on our Founder’s financial position and ability to lend.

Dividend

Spark’s Board of Directors declared quarterly dividends of $0.18125 per share of Class A common stock payable on March 16, 2020, and $0.546875 per share of Series A Preferred Stock payable on April 15, 2020.

Conference Call and Webcast

Spark will host a conference call to discuss fourth quarter and full year 2019 results on Thursday, March 5, 2020, at 10:00 AM Central Time (11:00 AM Eastern).

A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the Events & Presentations page of the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at https://ir.sparkenergy.com/events-and-presentations. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for twelve months following the live presentation.

About Spark Energy, Inc.

Spark Energy, Inc. is an established and growing independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This earnings release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “may,” “should,” “likely,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “intend,” “projects,” or other similar words. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this earnings release, regarding strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives and beliefs of management are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this earnings release and may include statements about business strategy and prospects for growth, customer acquisition costs, ability to pay cash dividends, cash flow generation and liquidity, availability of terms of capital, competition and government regulation and general economic conditions. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot give any assurance that such expectations will prove correct.

The forward-looking statements in this earnings release and the related earnings call are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

• changes in commodity prices
• the sufficiency of risk management and hedging policies and practices;
• the impact of extreme and unpredictable weather conditions, including hurricanes and other natural disasters;
• federal, state and local regulation, including the industry’s ability to address or adapt to potentially restrictive new regulations that may be enacted by public utility commissions;
• our ability to borrow funds and access credit markets;
• restrictions in our debt agreements and collateral requirements;
• credit risk with respect to suppliers and customers;
• changes in costs to acquire customers and actual attrition rates;
• accuracy of billing systems;
• ability to successfully identify, complete, and efficiently integrate acquisitions into our operations;
• significant changes in, or new changes by, the ISOs in the regions we operate;
• competition; and
• the “Risk Factors” in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in our quarterly reports, other public filings and press releases.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this earnings release. Unless required by law, we disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise these statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. It is not possible for us to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

further discussion.

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2019 AND DECEMBER 31, 2018
(in thousands, except share counts)

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017
(in thousands, except per share data)

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2019, 2018 AND 2017
(in thousands)

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
OPERATING SEGMENT RESULTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017
(in thousands, except per unit operating data)
(unaudited)

(1) Reflects the Retail Gross Margin attributable to our Retail Electricity Segment or Retail Natural Gas Segment, as applicable. Retail Gross Margin is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “-Non-GAAP Performance Measures” for a reconciliation of Retail Gross Margin to most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP.
(2) Reflects the Retail Gross Margin for the Retail Electricity Segment or Retail Natural Gas Segment, as applicable, divided by the total volumes in MWh or MMBtu, respectively.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted EBITDA

We define “Adjusted EBITDA” as EBITDA less (i) customer acquisition costs incurred in the current period, plus or minus (ii) net gain (loss) on derivative instruments, and (iii) net current period cash settlements on derivative instruments, plus (iv) non-cash compensation expense, and (v) other non-cash and non-recurring operating items. EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before the provision for income taxes, interest expense and depreciation and amortization. We deduct all current period customer acquisition costs (representing spending for organic customer acquisitions) in the Adjusted EBITDA calculation because such costs reflect a cash outlay in the period in which they are incurred, even though we capitalize and amortize such costs over two years. We do not deduct the cost of customer acquisitions through acquisitions of businesses or portfolios of customers in calculating Adjusted EBITDA.We deduct our net gains (losses) on derivative instruments, excluding current period cash settlements, from the Adjusted EBITDA calculation in order to remove the non-cash impact of net gains and losses on these instruments. We also deduct non-cash compensation expense that results from the issuance of restricted stock units under our long-term incentive plan due to the non-cash nature of the expense. Finally, we also adjust from time to time other non-cash or unusual and/or infrequent charges due to either their non-cash nature or their infrequency.

We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides information useful to investors in assessing our liquidity and financial condition and results of operations and that Adjusted EBITDA is also useful to investors as a financial indicator of our ability to incur and service debt, pay dividends and fund capital expenditures. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental financial measure that management and external users of our consolidated financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, commercial banks and rating agencies, use to assess the following:

• our operating performance as compared to other publicly traded companies in the retail energy industry, without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis;
• the ability of our assets to generate earnings sufficient to support our proposed cash dividends;
• our ability to fund capital expenditures (including customer acquisition costs) and incur and service debt; and
• our compliance with financial debt covenants

Retail Gross Margin

We define retail gross margin as operating income (loss) plus (i) depreciation and amortization expenses and (ii) general and administrative expenses, less (i) net asset optimization revenues, (ii) net gains (losses) on non-trading derivative instruments, and (iii) net current period cash settlements on non-trading derivative instruments. Retail gross margin is included as a supplemental disclosure because it is a primary performance measure used by our management to determine the performance of our retail natural gas and electricity business by removing the impacts of our asset optimization activities and net non-cash income (loss) impact of our economic hedging activities. As an indicator of our retail energy business’ operating performance, retail gross margin should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, operating income (loss), its most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

We believe retail gross margin provides information useful to investors as an indicator of our retail energy business’s operating performance.

The GAAP measures most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA are net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to Retail Gross Margin is operating income (loss). Our non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin should not be considered as alternatives to net income (loss), net cash provided by operating activities, or operating income (loss). Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin are not presentations made in accordance with GAAP and have important limitations as analytical tools. You should not consider Adjusted EBITDA or Retail Gross Margin in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin exclude some, but not all, items that affect net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities, and are defined differently by different companies in our industry, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Management compensates for the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin as analytical tools by reviewing the comparable GAAP measures, understanding the differences between the measures and incorporating these data points into management’s decision-making process.

The following tables present a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities for each of the periods indicated.

APPENDIX TABLES A-1 AND A-2
ADJUSTED EBITDA RECONCILIATIONS
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

The following table presents a reconciliation of Retail Gross Margin to operating income (loss) for each of the periods indicated.

APPENDIX TABLE A-3
RETAIL GROSS MARGIN RECONCILIATION
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

Contact: Spark Energy, Inc.

Investors:
Mike Barajas, 832-200-3727

Media:
Kira Jordan, 832-255-7302

SOURCE: Spark Energy, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/579141/Spark-Energy-Inc-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2019-Financial-Results

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 21, 2020 / Spark Energy, Inc. (“Spark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:SPKE), an independent retail energy services company, announced today that it plans to present its full year and fourth quarter 2019 financial results in a conference call and webcast on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 10:00 AM Central (11:00 AM Eastern).

A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the Events & Presentations page of the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com/events-and-presentations. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for twelve months following the live presentation.

About Spark Energy, Inc.

Spark Energy, Inc. is an independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Contact: Spark Energy, Inc.

Investors:

Mike Barajas, 832-200-3727

Media:

Kira Jordan, 832-255-7302

SOURCE: Spark Energy, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/577274/Spark-Energy-Inc-to-Present-Full-Year-and-Fourth-Quarter-2019-Financial-Results-on-Thursday-March-5-2020

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / January 21, 2020 / Spark Energy, Inc. (“Spark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:SPKE), an independent retail energy services company, announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend for the fourth quarter of 2019 in the amount of $0.18125 per share on its Class A Common Stock. This amount represents an annualized dividend of $0.725 per share. The fourth quarter dividend will be paid on March 16, 2020 to holders of record of Spark’s Class A Common Stock on March 2, 2020.

Additionally, in accordance with the terms of the 8.75% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series A Preferred Stock”) of the Company, the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.546875 per share on the Series A Preferred Stock. This amount represents an annualized dividend of $2.1875 per share. The dividend will be paid on April 15, 2020 to holders of record of Spark’s Series A Preferred Stock on April 1, 2020.

About Spark Energy, Inc.

Spark Energy, Inc. is an independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Contact:

Spark Energy, Inc.

Investors:
Mike Barajas, 832-200-3727

Media:
Kira Jordan, 832-255-7302

SOURCE: Spark Energy, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/573622/Spark-Energy-Inc-Announces-Dividend-on-Common-and-Preferred-Stock

HOUSTON, July 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE), an independent retail energy services company (“Spark” or the “Company”), announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend for the second quarter of 2018 in the amount of $0.18125 per share of Class A Common Stock. This amount represents an annualized dividend of $0.725 per share. The second quarter dividend will be paid on September 13, 2018 to holders of record of Spark’s Class A Common Stock on August 30, 2018.

Additionally, in accordance with the terms of the 8.75% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series A Preferred Stock”) of the Company, the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.546875 per share of the Series A Preferred Stock. This amount represents an annualized dividend of $2.1875 per share. The dividend will be paid on October 15, 2018 to holders of record of Spark’s Series A Preferred Stock on October 1, 2018.

Conference Call and Webcast

The company has also announced today that it plans to present its second quarter 2018 financial results in a conference call and webcast on Friday, August 3, 2018 at 10:00 AM Central (11:00 AM Eastern).

A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the Events & Presentations page of the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com/events-and-presentations. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for twelve months following the live presentation.

About Spark Energy, Inc.

Spark Energy, Inc. is an established and growing independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Contact:  Spark Energy, Inc.

Investors:
Christian Hettick, 832-200-3727

Media:
Kira Jordan, 832-255-7302

Source: Spark Energy, Inc.

HOUSTON, May 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spark Energy, Inc. (“Spark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:SPKE), an independent retail energy services company, today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018.

Key Highlights

• Achieved $15.9 million in Adjusted EBITDA, $45.7 million in Retail Gross Margin, and a $(41.8) million Net Loss for the first quarter
• Total RCE count increased 1% to a record 1,055,000 as of March 31, 2018
• Average monthly attrition of 4.2% for the first quarter
• Closed on two acquisitions, adding approximately 80,000 RCEs
• Continue to simplify, streamline, and optimize the organization
• Expanded the senior credit facility to $200.0 million in commitments
• Issued two million shares of Series A Preferred Stock for net proceeds of approximately $48.9 million

“Since the start of the year, we closed on two acquisitions, completed the integration of Verde Energy, implemented additional integration and cost-reduction initiatives, and further increased our liquidity,” said Nathan Kroeker, Spark Energy’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “That said, first quarter results were tempered by an unexpected burst of cold weather in early January that adversely affected Spark and our entire industry. This prolonged cold weather negatively impacted our financial results, especially compared to last year, when warmer-than-normal weather resulted in very strong unit margins for the winter months.

“Looking forward to the remainder of the year, we will continue to execute on our synergy projects to achieve further economies of scale. We intend to remain cost-effective with our organic acquisitions, and we will continue to evaluate additional acquisition opportunities while maintaining discipline with respect to purchase prices and valuation. On balance, we still anticipate that full-year Adjusted EBITDA for 2018 should be similar to that of 2017.”

Summary First Quarter 2018 Financial Results

For the quarter ended March 31, 2018, Spark reported Adjusted EBITDA of $15.9 million compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $34.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The Company attributes this decrease of $18.5 million primarily to unexpected extreme cold weather patterns that raised short-term commodity prices in January.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2018, Spark reported Retail Gross Margin of $45.7 million compared to Retail Gross Margin of $64.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Spark attributes this decrease of $18.9 million primarily to unexpected extreme cold weather patterns that raised short-term commodity prices in January.

Net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, was $(41.8) million compared to net income of $11.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, driven by higher non-cash mark-to-market losses.

Strategic Update

As previously announced, the termination of the Verde earnout agreement on January 15, 2018 has allowed Spark to integrate Verde’s operations on an accelerated basis. In addition, the Company expects the reintegration of Retailco Services into its operations, effective April 1, 2018, will allow it to realize synergies and cost reductions as early as the second quarter.  Finally, Spark’s internal brand consolidation and cost-cutting measures should also begin impacting 2018 results in the second quarter.

During the quarter, Spark increased the commitments on its credit facility to $200.0 million and issued an additional $48.9 million of its Series A Preferred Stock.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

(1) Subject to Senior Credit Facility borrowing base and covenant restrictions.
(2) The availability of the Subordinated Facility is dependent on our Founder’s financial position and liquidity.

Dividend

Spark’s Board of Directors declared quarterly dividends of $0.18125 per share of Class A common stock payable on June 14, 2018, and $0.546875 per share of Series A Preferred Stock payable on July 16, 2018.

Conference Call and Webcast

Spark will host a conference call to discuss first quarter 2018 results on Thursday, May 10, 2018, at 10:00 AM Central Time (11:00 AM Eastern).

A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the Events & Presentations page of the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at http://ir.sparkenergy.com/events-and-presentations. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for twelve months following the live presentation.

About Spark Energy, Inc.

Spark Energy, Inc. is an established and growing independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Spark currently operates in 19 states and serves 94 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

We use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should note that new materials, including press releases, updated investor presentations, and financial and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are posted on the Spark Energy Investor Relations website at ir.sparkenergy.com. Investors are urged to monitor our website regularly for information and updates about the Company.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This earnings release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “may,” “should,” “likely,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “intend,” “projects,” or other similar words. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this earnings release, regarding strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives and beliefs of management are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this earnings release and may include statements about business strategy and prospects for growth, customer acquisition costs, ability to pay cash dividends, cash flow generation and liquidity, availability of terms of capital, competition and government regulation and general economic conditions. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot give any assurance that such expectations will prove correct.

The forward-looking statements in this earnings release are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

• changes in commodity prices and the sufficiency of risk management and hedging policies;
• extreme and unpredictable weather conditions, and the impact of hurricanes and other natural disasters;
• federal, state and local regulation, including the industry’s ability to address or adapt to potentially restrictive new regulations that may be enacted by the New York Public Service Commission;
• our ability to borrow funds and access credit markets and restrictions in our debt agreements and collateral requirements;
• credit risk with respect to suppliers and customers;
• changes in costs to acquire customers and actual customer attrition rates;
• accuracy of billing systems;
• whether our majority stockholder or its affiliates offer us acquisition opportunities on terms that are commercially acceptable to us;
• ability to successfully identify and complete, and efficiently integrate acquisitions into our operations;
• competition; and
• the “Risk Factors” in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in our quarterly reports, other public filings and press releases.

You should review the risk factors and other factors noted throughout or incorporated by reference in this earnings release that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this earnings release. Unless required by law, we disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise these statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. It is not possible for us to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
 AS OF MARCH 31, 2018 AND DECEMBER 31, 2017
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

(1)   Outstanding shares of common stock reflect the two-for-one stock split, which took effect on June 16, 2017. See Note 5 “Equity” for further discussion.
(2)   See Note 5 “Equity” for disclosure of our variable interest entity in Spark HoldCo, LLC.

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2018 AND 2017
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

(1)   Financial information has been recast to include results attributable to the acquisition of Perigee Energy, LLC by an affiliate on February 3, 2017. See Notes 2 and 4, “Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” and “Acquisitions,” respectively, for further discussion.
(2)   Net asset optimization revenues (expenses) includes asset optimization revenues—affiliates of $648 and $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and asset optimization revenues—affiliates cost of revenues of $12 and $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
(3)   General and administrative expense includes general and administrative expense—affiliates of $6,400 and $7,300 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2018
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2018 AND 2017
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

(1) Financial information has been recast to include results attributable to the acquisition of Perigee Energy, LLC by an affiliate on February 3, 2017.

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
OPERATING SEGMENT RESULTS
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED March 31, 2018 AND 2017
(in thousands, except per unit operating data)
(unaudited)

(1) Financial information has been recast to include results attributable to the acquisition of Perigee Energy, LLC by an affiliate on February 3, 2017.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted EBITDA

We define “Adjusted EBITDA” as EBITDA less (i) customer acquisition costs incurred in the current period, (ii) net gain (loss) on derivative instruments, and (iii) net current period cash settlements on derivative instruments, plus (iv) non-cash compensation expense, and (v) other non-cash and non-recurring operating items. EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before provision for income taxes, interest expense and depreciation and amortization. We deduct all current period customer acquisition costs (representing spending for organic customer acquisitions) in the Adjusted EBITDA calculation because such costs reflect a cash outlay in the period in which they are incurred, even though we capitalize such costs and amortize them over two years in accordance with our accounting policies. The deduction of current period customer acquisition costs is consistent with how we manage our business, but the comparability of Adjusted EBITDA between periods may be affected by varying levels of customer acquisition costs. For example, our Adjusted EBITDA is lower in years of customer growth reflecting larger customer acquisition spending. We do not deduct the cost of customer acquisitions through acquisitions of business or portfolios of customers in calculated Adjusted EBITDA. We deduct our net gains (losses) on derivative instruments, excluding current period cash settlements, from the Adjusted EBITDA calculation in order to remove the non-cash impact of net gains and losses on derivative instruments. We also deduct non-cash compensation expense as a result of restricted stock units that are issued under our long-term incentive plan.

We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides information useful to investors in assessing our liquidity and financial condition and results of operations and that Adjusted EBITDA is also useful to investors as a financial indicator of our ability to incur and service debt, pay dividends and fund capital expenditures. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental financial measure that management and external users of our condensed consolidated financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, commercial banks and rating agencies, use to assess the following:

• our operating performance as compared to other publicly traded companies in the retail energy industry, without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis;
• the ability of our assets to generate earnings sufficient to support our proposed cash dividends; and
• our ability to fund capital expenditures (including customer acquisition costs) and incur and service debt.

Retail Gross Margin

We define retail gross margin as operating income (loss) plus (i) depreciation and amortization expenses and (ii) general and administrative expenses, less (i) net asset optimization revenues, (ii) net gains (losses) on non-trading derivative instruments, and (iii) net current period cash settlements on non-trading derivative instruments. Retail gross margin is included as a supplemental disclosure because it is a primary performance measure used by our management to determine the performance of our retail natural gas and electricity business by removing the impacts of our asset optimization activities and net non-cash income (loss) impact of our economic hedging activities. As an indicator of our retail energy business’ operating performance, retail gross margin should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, operating income (loss), its most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

We believe retail gross margin provides information useful to investors as an indicator of our retail energy business’s operating performance.

The GAAP measures most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA are net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to Retail Gross Margin is operating income (loss). Our non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin should not be considered as alternatives to net income (loss), net cash provided by operating activities, or operating income (loss). Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin are not presentations made in accordance with GAAP and have important limitations as analytical tools. You should not consider Adjusted EBITDA or Retail Gross Margin in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin exclude some, but not all, items that affect net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities, and are defined differently by different companies in our industry, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Management compensates for the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin as analytical tools by reviewing the comparable GAAP measures, understanding the differences between the measures and incorporating these data points into management’s decision-making process.

The following tables present a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities for each of the periods indicated.

APPENDIX TABLES A-1 AND A-2
ADJUSTED EBITDA RECONCILIATIONS
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

(1) Financial information has been recast to include results attributable to the acquisition of Perigee Energy, LLC by an affiliate on February 3, 2017.

(1) Financial information has been recast to include results attributable to the acquisition of Perigee Energy, LLC by an affiliate on February 3, 2017.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Retail Gross Margin to operating income (loss) for each of the periods indicated.

APPENDIX TABLE A-3
RETAIL GROSS MARGIN RECONCILIATION
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

(1) Financial information has been recast to include results attributable to the acquisition of Perigee Energy, LLC by an affiliate on February 3, 2017.

Contact: Spark Energy, Inc.

Investors:

Christian Hettick, 832-200-3727

Media:

Kira Jordan, 832-255-7302

Source: Spark Energy, Inc.