Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE) Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call March 13, 2023 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Brian Siegel - Hayden Investor Relations

Michael Stein - Chief Executive Officer

Avi Goldin - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Aaron Shafter - Great Mountain Capital Management

Operator

Good morning and welcome to Genie Energy's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded.

I will now turn the call over to Brian Siegel of Hayden IR.

Brian Siegel

Thank you. With me today are Michael Stein, Genie Energy's CEO; and Avi Goldin, its CFO, who will discuss operational and financial results for the 3 months and full year ended December 31, 2022.

Any forward-looking statements may differ during this conference call for the general or specific in nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, those discussed in the reports that we file periodically with the SEC. Genie assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements that we have made or may make or to update the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we forecast. During their remarks, management makes reference to adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure. Management believes that its measure of adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to both management and investors that supplement our core operating results. Our earnings release which is posted on the genie.com IR page, includes a reconciliation of consolidated adjusted EBITDA to its nearest comparable GAAP measures. Consolidated net income and income from operations for all periods presented. In addition, adjusted EBITDA for applicable segments are reconciled in the earnings release to their respective segment's income from operations for all periods presented.

I will now turn the conference over to Michael Stein, Genie's Chief Executive Officer.

Michael Stein

Thank you, Brian. Welcome to Genie Energy's year-end 2022 earnings call. This quarter capped off a very strong year in which we delivered record fourth quarter and full year gross margins and profits. While energy prices remained high, we saw less volatility than the previous quarters and we were able to continue to benefit from the combination of being well positioned from a risk management perspective and our limited customer acquisition efforts at GRE.

Looking at our 2 segments, Genie Retail Energy, or GRE, generated a record Q4 gross profit margin of 44.4% and adjusted EBITDA of $20.9 million. During the quarter, our retail book grew modestly as we largely remain on the sidelines in terms of customer acquisition, excluding a small acquisition of book customers in the Midwest and Northeast.