Crius Energy Reports Reduced Churn, But Customer Base Still Declines By 3%

Crius Energy reported reduced levels of churn in the third quarter of 2014, but the company still saw a 3% decline in its customer base.

Crius said that customer attrition continued to normalize in the quarter following elevated levels caused by increased prices received by consumers as a result of the polar vortex. Customer drops in Q3 2014 were 8.5% less than the second quarter of 2014 and 28.9% lower than the first quarter of 2014.

However, on a net basis, Crius's customers declined by 3.3% to 580,000 Residential Customer Equivalents as of September 30, 2014, versus 600,000 as of June 30, 2014.

Crius reported that more than 40,000 new and existing customers have selected its new long-term fixed rate products launched in September (Viridian's 3Dom plans, click here for story)

Crius said that, in the near future, its Viridian brand expects to expand electricity and/or natural gas sales in several new markets including California, Ohio and Rhode Island.

For the three months ended September 30, 2014, Crius Energy gross margin was $37.9 million representing an increase of 26.3% from $30.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2013

Electricity margins were $26.73 per MWh, compared to $19.26 per MWh in the third quarter of 2013. Higher gross margins per unit were the direct result of the strategy adopted in the first quarter of 2014 to increase retail rates on a staggered basis such that cost recovery related to the polar vortex conditions experienced in the first quarter and migration to higher rates occur over time in order to mitigate customer attrition.

Natural gas margin was $1.89 per MMBtu in the third quarter of 2014 compared to a loss of $0.02 per MMBtu in the third quarter of 2013.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter increased by 44.8% to $15.2 million, compared to $10.5 million reported in the third quarter of 2013.

Revenue from the Crius' residential solar offering increased by 18% to $2.0 million in the third quarter of 2014, from $0.1 million in the third quarter of 2013 and $1.7 million for the second quarter of 2014. The solar business contributed a net margin of $1.4 million in the quarter, a 56% increase over the $0.9 million contributed in the second quarter of 2014.