NextEra profit energized by surging demand for renewable power

NextEra Energy Inc (NEE.N) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, as the world’s largest producer of wind and solar energy benefited from surging demand for renewable power.

NextEra is among the biggest beneficiaries of a global transition to clean energy from fossil fuels and briefly overtook oil behemoth Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) in market value last year to become the largest U.S. energy company.

The company said in a statement its clean energy business, Nextera Resources, added about 1,750 megawatts of contracted renewables and storage to its backlog in the quarter.

The unit has added about 503 megawatts of new solar projects and 916 megawatts of new wind projects to its backlog since NextEra released fourth-quarter results in January.

Its Florida-focused electric utility’s average customers rose by 71,400 in the first quarter, with the company saying that it expected 40% of the energy produced across the unit to be from zero-emission sources by 2030.

NextEra stood pat on its earnings forecast for 2021 and long-term financial expectations, targeting adjusted earnings per share of $2.40 to $2.54 this year and a 6% to 8% growth in the next two years.

“We will be disappointed if we are not able to deliver financial results at or near the top end of our adjusted earnings per share expectations ranges in 2021, 2022 and 2023,” Chief Executive Officer Jim Robo said in the statement.

The company’s adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share exceeded analysts’ estimates of a 59 cents profit, according to Refintiv IBES data.