Vivint Solar Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Results

LEHI, Utah, March 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivint Solar, Inc. (NYSE: VSLR), today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2019.

Fourth Quarter 2019 Operating Highlights 

Key operating and development highlights include:

• MW Installed of approximately 66 MWs for the quarter, up 22% over fourth quarter 2018. Total cumulative MWs installed were approximately 1,294 MWs.
• Installations were 9,558 for the quarter, up 24% over fourth quarter 2018. Cumulative installations were 188,291.
• Revenue was $77 million, up 21% over fourth quarter 2018.
• Estimated Gross Retained Value increased by approximately $98 million during the quarter to approximately $2.3 billion. Estimated Gross Retained Value per Watt at quarter end was $1.98.
• Cost per Watt was $3.54.
• On an adjusted basis, margin created was $62 million, up 10% over fourth quarter 2018. Unlevered NPV per Watt was $0.94.¹

Financing Activity

As of December 31, 2019, Vivint Solar had approximately $224 million in undrawn capacity in various debt facilities and approximately 67 MWs of undeployed tax equity financing capacity. Subsequent to quarter end, Vivint Solar entered into a new tax equity partnership that is expected to provide another 28 MWs of tax equity capacity.

Guidance for the First Quarter and Full Year 2020

The following statements are based on current expectations. These statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. These statements supersede all prior statements regarding projected 2020 financial and operational results.

For the first quarter of 2020, Vivint Solar expects:

• MW Installed: 57 - 60 MWs
• Cost per Watt: $3.68 - $3.75

For the full year of 2020, Vivint Solar expects to grow MWs Installed at 15% to 20%.

Earnings Conference Call

Vivint Solar will host an investor conference call and live webcast today, Tuesday, March 10, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss these financial results. To access the conference call, dial 1.833.286.5799 or 1.647.689.4443 for international callers. The conference ID is 737 8666. A listen-only webcast will be accessible on the investor relations page of Vivint Solar's website at investors.vivintsolar.com/. Participants should follow the instructions provided on the website to download and install the necessary audio applications in advance of the call. In addition, the earnings presentation slides will be available on the investor relations page of the site by 5:00 p.m. ET along with this press release and the financial information discussed on today's conference call at investors.vivintsolar.com/.

About Vivint Solar

Vivint Solar is a leading full-service residential solar provider in the United States. With the help of Vivint Solar, homeowners can power their homes with clean, renewable energy, typically achieving significant financial savings over time. Vivint Solar designs and installs solar energy systems for homeowners and offers monitoring and maintenance services. In addition to being able to purchase a solar energy system outright, homeowners may benefit from Vivint Solar's affordable, flexible financing options, including power purchase agreements, or lease agreements, where available. Vivint Solar also offers solar plus storage systems with LG Chem home batteries and electric vehicle chargers with ChargePoint Home. For more information, visit www.vivintsolar.com or follow @VivintSolar on Twitter.

Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding, but not limited to, Vivint Solar's guidance for Megawatts Installed and Cost per Watt, undeployed tax equity financing capacity, growth prospects, and operating and financial results, such as estimates of nominal contracted payments remaining, estimated retained value, estimated retained value per watt, margin created and unlevered NPV per Watt and the assumptions related to the calculation of the foregoing metrics.

Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions regarding future events and business performance as of the date of this press release, and they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the availability of additional financing on acceptable terms; changes in the retail price of traditional utility generated electricity; changes in electric utility policies and regulations; the availability of rebates, tax credits and other incentives, including solar renewable energy certificates, or SRECs, and other federal and state incentives; regulations and policies related to net metering; changes in regulations, tariffs and other trade barriers and tax policy affecting us and our industry; our ability to manage our recent and future growth, product offering mix, and costs effectively, including attracting, training and retaining sales professionals and solar energy system installers; the availability and price of solar panels and other system components; the potential inaccuracy of the assumptions employed in calculating our operating metrics; the course and outcome of litigation, regulatory investigations and other disputes; macroeconomic conditions and impact of the COVID-19 virus outbreak; and such other risks identified in the registration statements and reports that Vivint Solar files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, from time to time. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in those statements will be achieved or will occur, and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Vivint Solar does not undertake and expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. You should read the documents Vivint Solar has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Vivint Solar. These documents are available on both the EDGAR section of the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and the Investors section of Vivint Solar's website at investors.vivintsolar.com/.

Sensitivity Analysis for Retained Value

The following table provides quantitative sensitivity analysis of our estimate of retained value of solar energy systems under contracts as of December 31, 2019, including both the contracted and estimated renewal portion, at a range of discount rates (retained value amounts in millions):

Non-GAAP Earnings per Share (EPS) Before Non-controlling Interests

We report GAAP EPS, which is based upon net loss attributable to common stockholders. We also report non-GAAP EPS. The difference between GAAP EPS and non-GAAP EPS is that non-GAAP EPS is based on net loss, which excludes net loss attributable to non-controlling interests and redeemable non-controlling interests. As we are in a net loss position for all periods reported, potentially issuable shares are excluded from the diluted EPS calculation since the effect would be antidilutive. Therefore, basic and diluted non-GAAP EPS are the same in each period presented.

Under GAAP accounting, we report net loss attributable to non-controlling interests and redeemable non-controlling interests to reflect our joint venture fund investors' allocable share in the results of these joint venture investment funds. Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests and redeemable non-controlling interests is calculated based primarily on the hypothetical liquidation at book value, or HLBV, method, which assumes that the joint venture funds are liquidated at the reporting date, even though liquidation may or may not ever occur. Additionally, the returns that will be allocated to the investors over the expected terms of the investment funds may differ significantly from the amounts calculated under the HLBV method. Accordingly, we also report non-GAAP EPS based on our losses before net loss attributable to non-controlling interests and redeemable non-controlling interests per share, which we view as a better measure of our operating performance.  Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP.

According to this definition, the non-GAAP loss before the allocation of loss attributable to non-controlling interests and redeemable non-controlling interests per share was ($1.02) and ($3.49) for the three months and year ended December 31, 2019.

Glossary of Definitions

"Cost per Watt" represents the unit costs of installed solar energy systems on customers' premises. Please refer to Vivint Solar's Estimated Cost per Watt Methodology found on the investor relations page of Vivint Solar's website.

"Installations" represents the number of solar energy systems installed on customers' premises.

"MWs or megawatts" represents the DC nameplate megawatt production capacity.

"MW Installed" represents the aggregate megawatt nameplate capacity of solar energy systems for which panels, inverters, and mounting and racking hardware have been installed on customer premises in the period.

"Estimated Nominal Contracted Payments Remaining" equals the sum of the remaining cash payments that Vivint Solar's customers are expected to pay over the term of their agreements for systems installed as of the measurement date. For a power purchase agreement, or PPA, Vivint Solar multiplies the contract price per kilowatt-hour by the estimated annual energy output of the associated solar energy system to determine the estimated nominal contracted payments. For a customer lease, Vivint Solar includes the monthly fees and upfront fee, if any, as set forth in the lease.

"Estimated Gross Retained Value" represents the net cash flows, discounted at 6%, that Vivint Solar expects to receive from customers pursuant to long-term customer contracts plus the value of contracted SRECs net of estimated cash distributions to fund investors, debt associated with our forward flow facilities, and estimated operating expenses for systems installed as of the measurement date. For purposes of the calculation, Vivint Solar aggregates the estimated retained value from the solar energy systems during the typical 20-year term of Vivint Solar's contracts plus the value of contracted SRECs, which Vivint Solar refers to as estimated retained value under energy contracts, and the estimated retained value associated with an assumed 10-year renewal term following the expiration of the initial contract term, which Vivint Solar refers to as estimated retained value of renewal. To calculate estimated retained value of renewal, Vivint Solar assumes all contracts are renewed at 90% of the contractual price in effect at the expiration of the initial term.

"Estimated Gross Retained Value per Watt" is calculated by dividing the estimated retained value as of the measurement date by the aggregate nameplate capacity of solar energy systems under long-term customer contracts that have been installed as of such date, and is subject to the same assumptions and uncertainties as estimated retained value.

"Project Value" represents the net cash flows, discounted at 6% that Vivint Solar expects to receive from customers net of estimated distributions to fund investors and operating expenses, estimated utility and state incentives, and estimated finance proceeds from fund investors.

"NPV per watt" represents the estimated weighted average unit margin of Vivint Solar's PPA and customer lease business and its system sales business. It is calculated by dividing Margin Created during the period by the total MWs Installed during the period.

"Margin Created" represents the estimated margin created during the period. It is the estimated value of Vivint Solar's PPA and customer lease agreements and the value of the system sales less the costs required to create the value. Specifically, it is the sum of the project value per watt multiplied by "MWs Installed – PPA/Lease" and "Revenue – solar energy system and product sales" less total creation costs.

"Undeployed Tax Equity Financing Capacity" represents a forecast of the amount of megawatts that can be deployed based on committed available tax equity financing for energy contracts.

Investor Contact:

Rob Kain
Vice President of Investor Relations
855-842-1844
[email protected]

Press Contact:

Heather Hurst
Senior Director of Communications
385-202-6577
[email protected]

SOURCE Vivint Solar, Inc.