Spark Energy, Inc. Announces Second Quarter Dividend

HOUSTON, July 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE), a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend for the second quarter of 2015 in the amount of $0.3625 per share of Class A common stock. This amount represents an annualized dividend of $1.45 per share. The dividend will be paid on September 14, 2015 to holders of record of the Class A common stock on August 31, 2015.

“We are extremely pleased with our second quarter results, which reflect the underlying strength of the business to support our dividend,” said Nathan Kroeker, Spark Energy, Inc.’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “With our acquisition of CenStar Energy earlier this month, the forthcoming addition of Oasis Energy this quarter, and our organic growth, we continue to execute on our strategy to grow the business.”

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 16 states and serves 59 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

CONTACT: Spark Energy, Inc.

         Investors:
         Andy Davis, 832-200-3727

         Media:
         Jenn Korell, 281-833-4151

Source: Spark Energy

Spark Energy, Inc. Announces Acquisition of CenStar Energy

HOUSTON, July 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE), a Delaware corporation (“Spark”), announced today that it has acquired CenStar Energy, a retail energy company with approximately 75,000 residential customer equivalents. CenStar serves natural gas and electricity customers across 20 utilities in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio.

In conjunction with the acquisition of CenStar Energy, Spark also announced today that it has amended and upsized its senior credit facility. The previous $70.0 million senior secured revolving working capital credit facility increased to $85.0 million and now includes a line of credit to be used specifically for the financing of M&A transactions, including the closing of the Oasis acquisition which is expected later this quarter. In addition, Spark has the ability to add additional banks to the syndicate and increase the amount of available credit, subject to lender approval.

The purchase price of CenStar is $8.3 million, subject to working capital adjustments. As part of the transaction, $2.1 million will be financed by an affiliate of Spark’s founder and majority shareholder in the form of a 5% convertible subordinated note with a term of five years. The convertible subordinated note is convertible into shares of Class B common stock of Spark, along with units of Spark HoldCo, LLC, at a conversion price of $16.57 following an 18-month holding period.

“The acquisition of CenStar Energy is another example of our strong commitment to grow our business,” said Nathan Kroeker, Spark Energy, Inc.’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “CenStar Energy brings a solid customer portfolio, a fantastic management team, and an established and reputable brand. In addition, this acquisition gives us instant access to thirteen new utility service territories and several new products to support our continued organic growth efforts.”

CenStar Energy will continue its operations out of its New York corporate headquarters, maintaining its brand, management team, and employees. “We are very excited to join the Spark Energy family,” said Yoni Garber, CenStar’s Chief Operating Officer. “Our CenStar customers will continue to receive stellar customer service from our existing customer service team. In addition, we look forward to being able to enhance and expand the quality of products and services that our CenStar customers currently enjoy and also facilitate growth and expansion of the CenStar Energy brand.”

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 16 states and serves 46 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

CONTACT: Spark Energy, Inc.

         Investors:
         Andy Davis, 832-200-3727

         Media:
         Jenn Korell, 281-833-4151

 

Source: Spark Energy

Spark Energy, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2015 Financial Results

HOUSTON, May 13, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spark Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPKE), a Delaware corporation (“Spark”), today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.

For the first quarter of 2015, Adjusted EBITDA was $10.2 million and Retail Gross Margin was $27.9 million on revenue of $101.8 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $9.3 million and Retail Gross Margin of $17.7 million for the first quarter of 2014. We invested $5.6 million in organic customer acquisition costs for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 compared to $5.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.

“We are very pleased with our first quarter results,” said Nathan Kroeker, Spark Energy, Inc.’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “With expanded margins in our retail electricity and retail natural gas segments from our continued focus on maximizing customer lifetime value along with the favorable weather conditions and low commodity price environment, we were able to earn $10.2 million of Adjusted EBITDA and $27.9 million of Retail Gross Margin. On the M&A front, yesterday we announced the acquisition of Oasis Energy from an affiliate of our founder. This acquisition represents approximately 40,000 customers in six states across 19 utilities, some of which are new markets for us and provide organic growth opportunities to Spark Energy. The purchase price for the acquisition of $20.0 million reflects a valuation of approximately three times our projected Adjusted EBITDA run rate. This transaction is an excellent example of our commitment to grow our business through the framework developed with our founder. Additionally, in the first quarter we acquired approximately 30,700 natural gas customers in Northern California and saw positive results from the Connecticut power customers we acquired at the end of last year.”

First Quarter 2015 Highlights

  • $10.2 million in Adjusted EBITDA and $27.9 million in Retail Gross Margin
  • Expanded margins in retail electricity and retail natural gas segments
  • Completed customer portfolio acquisition of approximately 30,700 natural gas customers
  • Strong cash flow during the quarter allowed us to reduce the working capital facility loan balance by $13.0 million
  • Invested $5.6 million in organic customer acquisitions
  • Paid fourth quarter dividend of $0.3625 per share of Class A common stock on March 16, 2015

Summary First Quarter 2015 Financial Results

For the quarter ended March 31, 2015, Spark reported Adjusted EBITDA of $10.2 million on $101.8 million of revenue compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $9.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. This increase of $0.9 million is primarily attributable to increased retail gross margin across both our electricity and natural gas segments, partially offset by increased general and administrative expenses, including increased billing and other variable costs associated with increased customer count, increased bad debt expense, and increased costs associated with being a public company.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2015, Spark reported Retail Gross Margin of $27.9 million compared to Retail Gross Margin of $17.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. This increase of $10.2 million is primarily attributable to considerably higher retail natural gas unit margins, along with increased retail electricity unit margins. Favorable weather across several of our markets in the first quarter was a key driver of these elevated unit margins, as we were able to manage our hedge position to allow us to take advantage of decreasing spot market prices.

Net income and EPS for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 were $12.9 million and $0.80, respectively. An unrealized gain on the hedge portfolio valuation of our future supply positions positively impacted net income and EPS by $2.9 million and $0.19, respectively. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 was $6.5 million and contained an unrealized loss on the hedge portfolio valuation of $(1.5) million which results in a quarter-over-quarter change in hedge portfolio valuation of $4.4 million.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

(in thousands) March 31, 2015
Cash and cash equivalents $ 5,179
Senior Credit Facility Availability (1) 37,500
Total Liquidity $ 42,679
(1) Subject to Senior Credit Facility borrowing base restrictions

Conference Call and Webcast

Spark will host a conference call to discuss first quarter 2015 results on Thursday, May 14, 2015 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.cfm. 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 16 states and serves 46 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs and green product alternatives.

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 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 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 report are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors which 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,
  • extreme and unpredictable weather conditions,
  • the sufficiency of risk management and hedging policies,
  • customer concentration,
  • federal, state and local regulation,
  • key license retention,
  • increased regulatory scrutiny and compliance costs,
  • 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,
  • level of indebtedness,
  • changes in costs to acquire customers,
  • actual customer attrition rates,
  • actual bad debt expense in non-POR markets,
  • accuracy of internal billing systems,
  • ability to successfully navigate entry into new markets,
  • whether our majority shareholder or its affiliates offers us acquisition opportunities on terms that are commercially acceptable to us,
  • competition, and
  • other factors discussed in “Risk Factors” in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

You should review the risk factors and other matters disclosed throughout our Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, both of which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which 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.

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED COMBINED AND CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AS OF MARCH 31, 2015 AND DECEMBER 31, 2014
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
March 31, 2015 December 31, 2014
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents  $ 5,179  $ 4,359
Restricted cash  —  707
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $3.2 million and $8.0 million as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively  58,926  63,797
Accounts receivable—affiliates  1,025  1,231
Inventory  511  8,032
Fair value of derivative assets  57  216
Customer acquisition costs, net  13,762  12,369
Intangible assets – customer acquisitions, net  739  486
Prepaid assets  1,208  1,236
Deposits  8,128  10,569
Other current assets  2,787  2,987
Total current assets  92,322  105,989
Property and equipment, net  4,263  4,221
Customer acquisition costs  3,499  2,976
Intangible assets—customer acquisitions  1,253  1,015
Deferred tax assets  24,206  24,047
Other assets  148  149
Total Assets  $ 125,691  $ 138,397
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable  $ 31,534  $ 38,210
Accounts payable—affiliates  1,432  1,017
Accrued liabilities  7,743  7,195
Fair value of derivative liabilities  8,472  11,526
Note payable  20,000  33,000
Other current liabilities  2,541  1,868
Total current liabilities  71,722  92,816
Long-term liabilities:
Fair value of derivative liabilities  487  478
Payable pursuant to tax receivable agreement—affiliates  20,767  20,767
Other long-term liabilities  315  219
Total liabilities  93,291  114,280
Stockholders’ equity:
Common Stock:
Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share, 120,000,000 shares authorized, 3,000,000 issued and outstanding at March 31, 2015 and 3,000,000 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2014  30  30
Class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share, 60,000,000 shares authorized, 10,750,000 issued and outstanding at March 31, 2015 and 10,750,000 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2014  108  108
Preferred Stock:
Preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, 20,000,000 shares authorized, zero issued and outstanding at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014  —  —
Additional paid-in capital  9,635  9,296
Retained earnings (deficit)  546  (775)
Total stockholders’ equity  10,319  8,659
Non-controlling interest in Spark HoldCo, LLC  22,081  15,458
Total equity  32,400  24,117
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity  $ 125,691  $ 138,397

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED COMBINED AND CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2015 AND 2014
(in thousands, except per share data)
 (unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2015 2014
Revenues:
Retail revenues (including retail revenues—affiliates of $0 and $1,489 for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively)  $ 99,874  $ 104,352
Net asset optimization revenues (expenses) (including asset optimization revenues—affiliates of $489 and $2,500 for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and asset optimization revenues—affiliates cost of revenues of $3,093 and $8,089 for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively)  1,929  1,624
Total Revenues  101,803  105,976
Operating Expenses:
Retail cost of revenues (including retail cost of revenues—affiliates of less than $0.1 million for both the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014)  69,085  88,121
General and administrative (including general and administrative expense—affiliates of $0 and $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively)  14,704  8,113
Depreciation and amortization  4,278  2,959
Total Operating Expenses  88,067  99,193
Operating income  13,736  6,783
Other (expense)/income:
Interest expense  (381)  (313)
Interest and other income  135  70
Total other expenses  (246)  (243)
Income before income tax expense  13,490  6,540
Income tax expense  561  32
Net income  $ 12,929  $ 6,508
Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interests  10,520  —
Net income attributable to Spark Energy, Inc. stockholders  $ 2,409  $ 6,508
Net income attributable to Spark Energy, Inc. per share of Class A common stock
Basic  $ 0.80
Diluted  $ 0.80
Weighted average shares of Class A common stock outstanding
Basic  3,000
Diluted  3,000

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED COMBINED AND CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2015
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Issued Shares of
Class A Common
Stock
Issued Shares of Class B Common Stock Issued Shares of
Preferred Stock
Class A Common
Stock
Class B Common
Stock
Additional Paid
In Capital
Retained
Earnings (Deficit)
Total Stockholders Equity Non-controlling
Interest
Total Equity
Balance at 12/31/14:  3,000  10,750   —  $ 30  $ 108  $ 9,296  $ (775)  $ 8,659  $ 15,458  $ 24,117
Stock based compensation  —  —  —  —  —  339  —  339  —  339
Consolidated net income  —  —  —  —  —  —  2,409  2,409  10,520  12,929
Distributions paid to Class B non-controlling unit holders  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  (3,897)  (3,897)
Dividends paid to Class A common shareholders  —  —  —  —  —  —  (1,088)  (1,088)  —  (1,088)
Balance at 3/31/15:  3,000  10,750  —  $ 30  $ 108  $ 9,635  $ 546  $ 10,319  $ 22,081  $ 32,400
SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED COMBINED AND CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2015 AND 2014
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2015 2014
 
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income  $ 12,929  $ 6,508
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization expense  4,278  2,959
Deferred income taxes  (159)  —
Stock based compensation  550  —
Amortization of deferred financing costs  50  113
Bad debt expense  2,947  565
Gain (loss) on derivatives, net  1,305  (5,460)
Current period cash settlements on derivatives, net  (4,191)  10,197
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Decrease in restricted cash  707  —
Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable  1,924  (25,257)
Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable—affiliates  207  (535)
Decrease in inventory  7,521  4,322
Increase in customer acquisition costs  (5,629)  (5,227)
Decrease (increase) in prepaid and other current assets  2,621  (1,316)
Increase in intangible assets—customer acquisitions  (676)  —
Increase in other assets  —  (31)
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities  (6,226)  18,335
Increase in accounts payable—affiliates  415  —
Increase (decrease) in other current liabilities  673  1,036
Net cash provided by operating activities  19,246  6,209
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment  (441)  (787)
Net cash used in investing activities  (441)  (787)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings on notes payable  3,000  24,500
Payments on notes payable  (16,000)  (18,000)
Member contributions (distributions), net  —  (14,356)
Payment of dividends to Class A common shareholders  (1,088)  —
Payment of distributions to Class B unitholders  (3,897)  —
Net cash used in financing activities  (17,985)  (7,856)
Decreases in cash and cash equivalents  820  (2,434)
Cash and cash equivalents—beginning of period  4,359  7,189
Cash and cash equivalents—end of period  $ 5,179  $ 4,755
Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information:
Non cash items:
Property and equipment purchase accrual  $ 19  $ —
Cash paid during the period for:
Interest  $ 366  $ 267
SPARK ENERGY, INC.
OPERATING SEGMENT RESULTS
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2015 AND 2014
(in thousands, except per unit operating data)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2015 2014
Retail Natural Gas Segment
Total Revenues  $ 57,354  $ 62,528
Retail Cost of Revenues  33,466  50,622
Less: Net Asset Optimization Revenues  1,929  1,624
Less: Net Gains (Losses) on non-trading derivatives, net of cash settlements  3,647  (308)
Retail Gross Margin—Gas  $ 18,312 $ 10,590
Volumes—Gas (MMBtu’s)  6,564,045  6,593,580
Retail Gross Margin—Gas ($/MMBtu)  $ 2.79  $ 1.61
Retail Electricity Segment
Total Revenues $ 44,449  $ 43,448
Retail Cost of Revenues  35,619  37,499
Less: Net Gains (Losses) on non-trading derivatives, net of cash settlements  (732)  (1,145)
Retail Gross Margin—Electricity  $ 9,562  $ 7,094
Volumes—Electricity (MWh’s)  372,851  384,275
Retail Gross Margin—Electricity ($/MWh)  $ 25.65  $ 18.46

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 operating items. EBITDA is defined as net income before provision for income taxes, interest expense and depreciation and amortization. We deduct all current period customer acquisition costs in the Adjusted EBITDA calculation because such costs reflect a cash outlay in the year 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 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 a company’s 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 combined and consolidated financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, commercial banks and rating agencies, use to assess the following, among other measures:

  • 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 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, its most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

The GAAP measures most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA are net income and net cash provided by operating activities. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to Retail Gross Margin is operating income. Our non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin should not be considered as alternatives to net income, net cash provided by operating activities, or operating income. 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 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 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)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2015 2014
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income:
Net income  $ 12,929  $ 6,508
Depreciation and amortization  4,278  2,959
Interest expense  381  313
Income tax expense  561  32
EBITDA  18,149  9,812
Less:
Net, Gains (losses) on derivative instruments  (1,305)  5,460
Net, Cash settlements on derivative instruments  4,191  (10,197)
Customer acquisition costs  5,629  5,227
Plus:
Non-cash compensation expense   550  —
Adjusted EBITDA  $ 10,184  $ 9,322

Three Months Ended March 31,
2015 2014
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net cash provided by operating activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities  $ 19,246  $ 6,209
Amortization and write off of deferred financing costs  (50)  (113)
Allowance for doubtful accounts and bad debt expense  (2,947)  (565)
Interest expense  381  313
Income tax expense  561  32
Changes in operating working capital
Accounts receivable, prepaids, current assets  (4,783)  27,108
Inventory  (7,521)  (4,322)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities  5,811  (18,335)
Other  (514)  (1,005)
Adjusted EBITDA  $ 10,184  $ 9,322

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

APPENDIX TABLE A-3
RETAIL GROSS MARGIN RECONCILIATION
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2015 2014
Reconciliation of Retail Gross Margin to Operating Income:
Operating income  $ 13,736  $ 6,783
Depreciation and amortization  4,278  2,959
General and administrative  14,704  8,113
Less:
Net asset optimization revenue  1,929  1,624
Net, Gains (losses) on non-trading derivative instruments  (1,200)  11,448
Net, Cash settlements on non-trading derivative instruments  4,115  (12,901)
Retail Gross Margin  $ 27,874  $ 17,684
CONTACT: Spark Energy, Inc.
         Investors:
         Andy Davis, 832-200-3727
         Media:
         Jenn Korell, 281-833-4151

Source: Spark Energy

Spark Energy, Inc. to Present Third Quarter 2014 Financial Results on Thursday, November 13, 2014

HOUSTON, Oct. 16, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spark Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPKE), a Delaware corporation (“Spark”), today announced that it plans to present its Third Quarter 2014 financial results in a conference call and webcast on Thursday, November 13, 2014 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 http://ir.sparkenergy.com/events.cfm. 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 16 states and serves 46 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs, green products, and potential cost savings.

CONTACT: Spark Energy, Inc.

         Investors:
         Andy Davis, 832-200-3727

         Media:
         Jenn Korell, 281-833-4151


Source: Spark Energy

Spark Energy, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2014 Financial Results

HOUSTON, Sept. 10, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spark Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPKE), a Delaware corporation (“Spark”), today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. Spark began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on July 29, 2014 in connection with its initial public offering of 3,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share. We will not hold an earnings call for second quarter results; however, we intend to hold earnings calls for subsequent quarters.

For the second quarter of 2014, net income totaled $0.2 million, Adjusted EBITDA was $1.4 million, and Retail Gross Margin was $17.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin, which are financial measures not presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), are defined and reconciled to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures below.

“We are extremely pleased to announce our second quarter results,” said Nathan Kroeker, Spark Energy, Inc.’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “In our final full quarter as a non-public company, we saw unit margins in both our retail natural gas and retail electricity segments improve from the polar vortex-induced, diminished unit margins we saw in the first quarter of 2014. In addition, we accelerated our customer acquisitions to take advantage of the market opportunity to acquire higher margin, carbon neutral, natural gas customers in the Southwest Region. This customer acquisition spending continued to increase into the third quarter. Consistent with our historical experience, we anticipate seeing the results of this investment reflected in gross margin six to twelve months from the acquisition date of each customer. Following the completion of our IPO, we began the transition from this accelerated growth to providing maximum return to our shareholders through more steady, predictable growth in line with our longer term projections.”

Summary Second Quarter 2014 Financial Results

For the quarter ended June 30, 2014, Spark reported Adjusted EBITDA of $1.4 million compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $5.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013. This decrease was primarily due to increased customer acquisition costs of approximately $5.8 million as Spark re-launched its sales and marketing efforts in the third quarter of 2013 and has continued to grow customer counts through the second quarter of 2014.

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2014, Spark reported Retail Gross Margin of $17.9 million compared to Retail Gross Margin of $17.0 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013. While Retail Gross Margin remained relatively flat, unit margins expanded against declining volumes, reflecting our focus on higher margin residential customers.

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 16 states and serves 46 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs, green products, and potential cost savings.

Cautionary Note Concerning 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 statements 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 release, regarding strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this 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 release are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors which 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,
  • extreme and unpredictable weather conditions,
  • the sufficiency of risk management and hedging policies,
  • customer concentration,
  • federal, state and local regulation,
  • key license retention,
  • increased regulatory scrutiny and compliance costs;
  • 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,
  • level of indebtedness,
  • changes in costs to acquire customers,
  • actual customer attrition rates,
  • accuracy of internal billing systems,
  • competition, and
  • the “Risk Factors” in our prospectus as described below.

You should review the risk factors included in the prospectus relating to our initial public offering that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission which 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.

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED COMBINED BALANCE SHEETS
AS OF JUNE 30, 2014 AND DECEMBER 31, 2013
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
June 30, 2014 December 31, 2013
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents  $ 1,487  $ 7,189
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts  48,385  62,678
Accounts receivable-affiliates  40  6,794
Inventory  4,011  4,322
Fair value of derivative assets  980  8,071
Customer acquisition costs  10,959  4,775
Prepaid assets  1,578  1,032
Other current assets  10,549  6,430
Total current assets  77,989  101,291
Property and equipment, net  4,310  4,817
Fair value of derivative assets  74  6
Customer acquisition costs  4,085  2,901
Other assets  —  58
Total Assets  $ 86,458  $ 109,073
Liabilities and Member’s Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable  $ 35,025  $ 36,971
Accounts payable-affiliates  261  —
Accrued liabilities  4,889  6,838
Fair value of derivative liabilities  3,281  1,833
Note payable  41,050  27,500
Other current liabilities  2,833  —
Total current liabilities  87,339  73,142
Long-term liabilities:
Fair value of derivative liabilities  3  18
Total liabilities  87,342  73,160
Member’s equity:
Member’s equity  (884)  35,913
Total Member’s equity  (884)  35,913
Total Liabilities and Member’s Equity  $ 86,458  $ 109,073

Note: See the Company’s free writing prospectus filed with the SEC on July 25, 2014 for an explanation regarding the changes in member’s equity and the pro forma changes in member’s equity as a result of the offering and the related reorganizational transactions.

SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED COMBINED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
FOR THE THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2013
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2014 2013 2014 2013
Revenues:
Retail revenues (including retail revenues—affiliates of $681 and $311 for the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and retail revenues—affiliates of $2,170 and $510 for the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively)  $ 65,743  $ 67,263  $ 170,095  $ 167,716
Net asset optimization revenues (including asset optimization revenues-affiliates of $4,634 and $1,313 for the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $7,134 and $2,765 for the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and asset optimization revenues affiliates cost of revenues of $10,654 and $540 for the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $18,554 and $503 for the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively)  197  (1,782)  1,821  (2,939)
Total Revenues  65,940  65,481  171,916  164,777
Operating Expenses:
Retail cost of revenues (including retail cost of revenues-affiliates of less than $0.1 million and less than $0.1 million for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013)  52,387  52,406  140,508  122,399
General and administrative  9,747  9,437  17,860  18,712
Depreciation and amortization  3,252  4,284  6,211  9,314
Total Operating Expenses  65,386  66,127  164,579  150,425
Operating income (loss)  554  (646)  7,337  14,352
Other (expense)/income:
Interest expense  (222)  (286)  (535)  (670)
Interest and other income  1  1  71  12
Total other expenses  (221)  (285)  (464)  (658)
Income (loss) before income tax expense  333  (931)  6,873  13,694
Income tax expense  132  14  164  28
Net income (loss)  $ 201  $ (945)  $ 6,709  $ 13,666
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Deferred gain (loss) from cash flow hedges  —  (591)  —  2,620
Reclassification of deferred gain (loss) from cash flow hedges into net income  —  198  —  (84)
Comprehensive income (loss)  $ 201  $ (1,338)  $ 6,709  $ 16,202
SPARK ENERGY, INC.
CONDENSED COMBINED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2013
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Six Months Ended June 30,
2014 2013
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income  $ 6,709  $ 13,666
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization expense  6,211  9,314
Amortization and write off of deferred financing costs  225  231
Allowance for doubtful accounts and bad debt expense  2,027  1,086
(Gain) loss on derivatives, net  (1,440)  641
Current period cash settlements on derivatives, net  10,256  810
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Decrease in accounts receivable  12,266  10,877
Decrease in accounts receivable—affiliates  6,754  6,119
Decrease in inventory  311  803
Increase in customer acquisition costs  (11,668)  (866)
Increase in prepaid and other current assets  (5,250)  (2,024)
Decrease in other assets  58  92
Decrease in accounts payable  (1,946)  (133)
Increase in accounts payable- affiliates  261  —
Decrease in accrued liabilities  (1,949)  (2,529)
Increase (decrease) in other liabilities  2,833  (518)
Net cash provided by operating activities  25,658  37,569
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment  (1,404)  (353)
Net cash used in investing activities  (1,404)  (353)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings on notes payable  48,550  14,000
Payments on notes payable  (35,000)  (21,000)
Member distributions, net  (43,506)  (32,333)
Net cash used in financing activities  (29,956)  (39,333)
Decreases in cash and cash equivalents  (5,702)  (2,117)
Cash and cash equivalents—beginning of period  7,189  6,559
Cash and cash equivalents—end of period  $ 1,487  $ 4,442
Cash paid during the period for:
Interest  $ 395  $ 395
Taxes  $ 150  $ 195
SPARK ENERGY, INC.
OPERATING SEGMENT RESULTS
FOR THE THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 AND 2013
(in millions, except per unit operating data)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2014 2013 2014 2013
Retail Natural Gas Segment
Total Revenues  $ 23.2  $ 18.6  $ 85.7  $ 70.4
Retail Cost of Revenues  16.7  14.9  67.1  50.4
Less: Net Asset Optimization Revenues  0.2  (1.8)  1.8  (2.9)
Less: Net Gains (Losses) on non-trading derivatives, net of cash settlements  (0.8)  (0.7)  (1.0)  (3.2)
Retail Gross Margin—Gas  7.1  6.2  17.8  26.1
Retail Gross Margin-Gas per MMBtu  2.83  2.28  1.96  2.69
Retail Electricity Segment
Total Revenues  $ 42.8  $ 46.9  $ 86.2  $ 94.4
Retail Cost of Revenues  35.8  37.5  73.4  72.0
Less: Net Gains (Losses) on non-trading derivatives, net of cash settlements  (3.8)  (1.4)  (4.9)  (0.3)
Retail Gross Margin—Electricity  10.8  10.8  17.7  22.7
Retail Gross Margin—Electricity per MWh  29.17  23.84  23.55  24.37

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 operating items. EBITDA is defined as net income before provision for income taxes, interest expense and depreciation and amortization. We deduct all current period customer acquisition costs in the Adjusted EBITDA calculation because such costs reflect a cash outlay in the year in which they are incurred, even though we capitalize such costs and amortize them over 24 months 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. 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. Although we have not historically incurred non-cash compensation expense, we expect that we will incur non-cash compensation expense for reporting periods subsequent to our initial public offering as a result of equity awards 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 a company’s 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 combined financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, commercial banks and rating agencies, use to assess the following, among other measures:

  • 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.

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

Management compensates for the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA as an analytical tool 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 the periods indicated.

APPENDIX TABLES A-1 AND A-2
ADJUSTED EBITDA RECONCILIATION
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2014 2013 2014 2013
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income:
Net Income (Loss)  $ 201  $ (945)  $ 6,709  $ 13,666
Depreciation and amortization  3,252  4,284  6,211  9,314
Interest expense  222  286  535  670
Income tax expense  132  14  164  28
EBITDA  3,807  3,639  13,619  23,678
Less:        
Net, Gains (losses) on derivative instruments  (4,019)  (2,884)  1,440  (641)
Net, Cash settlements on derivative instruments  (59)  661  (10,256)  (810)
Customer acquisition costs  6,441  646  11,668  866
Adjusted EBITDA  $ 1,444  $ 5,216  $ 10,767  $ 24,263
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2014 2013 2014 2013
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net cash provided by operating activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities  $ 19,448  $ 19,702  $ 25,658  $ 37,569
Amortization and write off of deferred financing costs  (112)  (111)  (225)  (231)
Allowance for doubtful accounts and bad debt expense  (1,462)  (573)  (2,027)  (1,086)
Interest expense  222  286  535  670
Income tax expense  132  14  164  28
Changes in operating working capital
Accounts receivable, prepaids, current assets  (40,878)  (8,481)  (13,770)  (14,972)
Inventory  4,011  2,608  (311)  (803)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities  21,969  (8,349)  3,634  2,662
Other  (1,886)  120  (2,891)  426
Adjusted EBITDA  $ 1,444  $ 5,216  $ 10,767  $ 24,263

Retail Gross Margin

We define “Retail Gross Margin” as operating income plus (i) depreciation and amortization expenses and (ii) general and administrative expenses, less (i) net asset optimization revenues, (ii) net gains (losses) on derivative instruments, and (iii) net current period cash settlements on 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, as determined in accordance with GAAP.

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)
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2014 2013 2014 2013
Reconciliation of Retail Gross Margin to Operating Income:
Operating Income (loss)  $ 554  $ (646)  $ 7,337  $ 14,352
Depreciation and amortization  3,252  4,284  6,211  9,314
General and administrative  9,747  9,437  17,860  18,712
Less:
Net asset optimization revenue  197  (1,782)  1,821  (2,939)
Net, Gains (losses) on derivative instruments  (4,438)  (2,761)  7,010  (2,187)
Net, Cash settlements on derivative instruments  (97)  602  (12,998)  (1,304)
Retail Gross Margin  $ 17,891  $ 17,016  $ 35,575  $ 48,808
CONTACT: Spark Energy, Inc.

         Investors:
         Andy Davis, 832-200-3727

         Media:
         Jenn Korell, 281-833-4151

Source: Spark Energy

Spark Energy, Inc. Announces Pricing of Public Offering

HOUSTON, July 28, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spark Energy, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Spark”), announced the pricing of an initial public offering of 3,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock at $18.00 per share. The shares are expected to begin trading tomorrow on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “SPKE.”

The company has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 450,000 shares of Class A common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is expected to close on or about August 1, 2014, subject to customary closing conditions.

Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Wunderlich Securities, Inc., BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC, Drexel Hamilton, LLC, Halliday Financial LLC, USCA Securities LLC, SG Americas Securities, LLC, Natixis Securities Americas LLC and RB International Markets (USA) LLC are acting as co-managers of the offering.

The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Potential investors can obtain a prospectus from:

Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated
Attention: Syndicate Department 1 South Street, 15th Floor
777 E. Wisconsin Avenue Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Milwaukee, WI 53202 Telephone: 855-300-7136
Telephone: 800-792-2473 Email: syndprospectus@stifel.com
Email: syndicate@rwbaird.com

Important Information

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with, and declared effective by, the Securities and Exchange Commission. To obtain a copy of the prospectus free of charge, visit the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, and search under the registrant’s name, “Spark Energy, Inc.” This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

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 16 states and serves 46 utility territories. Spark offers its customers a variety of product and service choices, including stable and predictable energy costs, green products, and potential cost savings.

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent Spark’s expectations or beliefs concerning future events, and it is possible that the results described in this press release will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of Spark’s control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, Spark does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Spark to predict all such factors. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in the prospectus filed with the SEC in connection with our initial public offering. The risk factors and other factors noted in our prospectus could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

CONTACT: Spark Energy, Inc.

         Investors:
         Andy Davis, 832-200-3727

         Media:
         Jenn Korell, 281-833-4151

Source: Spark Energy