AES Posts Q1 Loss on Sale of Venezuelan Utility, Misses Estimates

AES Corp. swung to a Q1 net loss of $455 million, or -$0.67/share (vs. $348m, or $0.52/share last Q1), hurt by the sale (at a $638m loss, -$0.94/share) of its majority stake in a Venezuelan utility company that was nationalized. Adjusted EPS of $0.27/share (vs. $0.39/share last Q1) came up three cents short of the Street's consensus estimate. Earnings from continuing operations totaled $119m, or $0.18/share, compared to $330m, or $0.49/share in the prior year's Q1 when it sold assets and emission credits. Revenues rose 11% to $3.12b. AES said net cash from operating activities increased 14% to $581m, compared to $509m last year. Its Q1 earnings release was delayed due to restating of earnings from earlier periods because of accounting mistakes. Shares of AES fell 2.7% to $21.16 in normal trading Wednesday, but recouped 1.2% to $21.42 in light after-hours trading. No pre-market trades were reported as of 08:45 EDT.

Sources: Press release, Bloomberg, MarketWatch
Commentary: Utility Consolidation: Companies to Watch • Legg Mason's Bill Miller: Buys, Sells, Portfolio • Chávez's Latest Ideological Shtick Sends Venezuelan-Related Equities Lower
Stocks/ETFs to watch: AES Corp. (AES). Competitors: Mirant Corp. (MIR), Duke Energy Corp. (DUK), Endesa SA (ELE). ETFs: PowerShares Dynamic Utilities PUI

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