Spruce Power (SPRU) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript

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DATE

Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Chief Executive Officer — Christopher Hayes
• Chief Financial Officer — Thomas Cimino

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TAKEAWAYS

• Revenue -- $23.4 million, down from $23.8 million, primarily due to lower noncash amortization revenue and decreased PPA revenue linked to weather and customer buyouts.
• Operating EBITDA -- $18.4 million, up 49%, reflecting margin expansion and improved operating performance.
• Income from Operations -- Improved by over $5.5 million, attributed to cost discipline and lower operating expenses.
• Operations and Maintenance Expense -- Fell 70% to $1.2 million as a result of enhanced servicing efficiencies and reduced third-party vendor use.
• SG&A Expense -- $11.6 million, representing a 21% decline driven by reduced labor and professional service spend.
• Total Operating Expense -- $19.6 million, down from $25.5 million, reflecting completion of prior service and meter upgrades and ongoing operational efficiencies.
• Net Loss Attributable to Stockholders -- $2.9 million, improved from $15.3 million, primarily due to lower expenses and favorable interest rate swap valuations.
• Total Cash and Restricted Cash -- $85.6 million at quarter end, with $50 million unrestricted.
• Total Debt Outstanding -- $668 million, featuring a 6.6% blended interest rate that includes hedging impact.
• SP1 Facility Amendment -- Maturity extended to October 2026, with a potential additional extension to January 2027, contingent upon achieving a signed term sheet.
• Customer Portfolio -- Approximately 84,000 active contracts generating recurring cash flows with long-term agreements and diverse geographic exposure.
• Cost Optimization Initiatives -- Project Streamline drove ongoing reductions in recurring core costs across labor, vendor management, and servicing.
• Debt Repayment -- $8.2 million of principal repaid during the quarter, in line with the long-term deleveraging approach.
• Full-Year Expectations -- Management confirmed expectations for operating EBITDA and cash flow to align with previous forecasts, anticipating higher O&M and collections in the second half of the year.
• Growth Initiatives -- Future focus includes selective portfolio acquisitions, programmatic partnerships, and Spruce Pro servicing relationships, targeting higher returns with minimal incremental overhead.

SUMMARY

Spruce Power Holding Corporation (NYSE:SPRU) stated that its balance sheet reflects stable liquidity, supported by a successful SP1 facility maturity extension and active refinancing discussions. Management highlighted that the customer base provides recurring cash flow, attributing this to the durability of long-term contracts and geographic diversity. The company outlined a focus on executing cost controls and operational efficiency while pursuing new business through targeted acquisitions and partnerships. There was explicit guidance that major O&M spending will shift to later quarters but remains aligned with the annual operating plan and outlook.

• SPRU indicated that improvements in SG&A and O&M expenses are "structural in nature," rather than strictly timing-related.
• Management disclosed a "going concern disclosure" in financial statements, directly tied to the maturity classification of the SP1 facility.
• "a significant portion of these improvements are structural," was emphasized as management framed the cost base as lowered beyond temporary cycles.
• Advancing refinancing strategies and maintaining disciplined liquidity management were underscored as key near-term priorities for leadership.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• PPA (Power Purchase Agreement): A contract between an energy provider and customer for the purchase of electricity at predetermined rates, often spanning multiple years.
• SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Certificate): A tradable instrument representing proof that one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from a solar energy resource.
• O&M (Operations and Maintenance): Expenses associated with the routine operation and upkeep of solar assets and supporting infrastructure.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Christopher Hayes: Thanks, Julia. Good afternoon, everyone. We began 2026 with continued progress against our operational and financial priorities, delivering meaningful year-over-year improvement in profitability and operating efficiency, while maintaining stable liquidity and recurring cash flow generation from our portfolio. For the first quarter, revenue totaled approximately $23.4 million, which was generally in line with the prior year period despite weather-related impacts in the Northeast. Importantly, we continue to realize the benefits of our operational streamlining initiatives, resulting in substantial margin expansion and improving operating performance across the business. Operating EBITDA for the quarter was approximately $18.4 million, an increase of 49%, compared to the first quarter of 2025.

Income from operations improved by more than $5.5 million year-over-year, reflecting continued cost discipline, lower operating expenses and the structural efficiencies we implemented through 2025. Our first quarter results demonstrate the strength of our operating platform and the durability of our long-term contracted revenue base. While top line growth was modest during the quarter, our focus remains on maximizing cash generation, improving operating leverage and positioning the business for sustainable long-term value creation. During the quarter, we executed our cost optimization initiatives. Operations and maintenance expenses declined 70% year-over-year, while SG&A expense declined 21%, driven primarily by lower labor costs, reduced professional services spend and ongoing operational efficiencies associated with Project Streamline.

Importantly, we believe a significant portion of these improvements are structural in nature. While some O&M activity shifted into later quarters of the year, the broader improvements in labor efficiency, vendor management and servicing operations continue to support a meaningfully lower recurring cost structure for the business. Turning to liquidity and financing. As expected, our quarter end financial statements include a going concern disclosure tied to the accounting treatment associated with the current maturity classification of the SP1 facility. Importantly, we successfully completed an extension of the SP1 facility during the quarter and continue to advance constructive refinancing discussions consistent with our historical financing strategy.

We believe the extension provides additional flexibility as we evaluate a broader refinancing opportunity designed to optimize our long-term capital structure and align financing with the scale and maturity of the platform we have built. Operationally, the business remains stable. With approximately 84,000 customer contracts generating predictable, recurring cash flows supported by long-term agreements and diversified geographic exposure. Looking ahead, our priorities remain consistent: first, continue to improve the efficiency and profitability of our operating platform; second, advancing our refinancing initiatives and maintaining disciplined liquidity management; third, selectively pursuing growth opportunities across portfolio acquisitions, programmatic partnerships and Spruce Pro servicing relationships, where we believe we can generate attractive returns without significant incremental overhead.

We also continue to see encouraging long-term opportunities within a variety of new business initiatives that we are exploring as the year continues. Overall, we are encouraged by the progress we made during the quarter and remain focused on disciplined execution as we move through 2026. With that, I'll turn the call over to Tom.

Thomas Cimino: Thanks, Chris, and good afternoon, everyone. I'll begin with our first quarter financial results. For the first quarter 2026, revenue totaled $23.4 million, compared to $23.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. Modest year-over-year decline was primarily attributable to lower noncash amortization revenue associated with our previously acquired solar energy agreements as well as lower PPA revenue driven by weather-related impacts and customer buyouts. These items were partially offset by higher SREC and performance-based incentive revenue. Turning to expenses. Total operating expense for the quarter was $19.6 million compared with $25.5 million in the prior year period.

Core operating expenses, which include SG&A and O&M totaled approximately $12.7 million, compared with approximately $18.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. Breaking that down further, SG&A expense was approximately $11.6 million. O&M expense was approximately $1.2 million. The year-over-year improvement reflects our continued execution of streamlined initiatives including lower labor costs, reduced professional service expense and ongoing operating efficiencies throughout the organization. Within O&M, the reduction was driven by improved servicing efficiencies and lower third-party vendor activity and the completion of elevated service and meter upgrade activity that occurred during the prior year period. As Chris mentioned, some O&M activity shifted into later quarters of 2026 as we align servicing volumes with our full year operating plan.

As a result, we expect O&M expenses to increase sequentially throughout the year while remaining generally in line with our full year expectations. Operating EBITDA for the quarter was $18.4 million compared with $12.3 million in the first quarter of 2025 and representing an increase of 49%. Net loss attributable to stockholders improved significantly to approximately $2.9 million compared with a net loss of approximately $15.3 million in the prior year period. The improvement was driven primarily by lower operating expenses and favorable year-over-year changes in the valuation of our interest rate swaps. Now turning to the balance sheet and liquidity.

We ended the quarter with total cash and restricted cash of approximately $85.6 million, including approximately $50 million of unrestricted cash. During the quarter, we repaid approximately $8.2 million of debt principal, continuing our long-term deleveraging strategy. Total outstanding debt as of March 31, 2026, was $668 million with a blended interest rate of approximately 6.6%, including the impact of our hedge arrangement. As Chris discussed, we completed an amendment to the SP1 facility during the quarter, extending the maturity to October 2026, with the potential extension to expense into January 2027, subject to achieving a signed term sheet. We continue to actively evaluate refinancing alternatives and remain encouraged by ongoing discussions.

Looking ahead, our current outlook for full year 2026 remains generally consistent with our prior expectations. We expect full year operating EBITDA to remain in line with our budget with lower first quarter O&M spend and collections, offset by higher servicing activity and collections during the second half of the year. We expect continued improvements in SG&A run rate as additional streamlined initiatives are implemented. Overall, we believe the business is well positioned to continue generating stable recurring cash flow from operations while improving operational efficiency and advancing our financing objectives. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Chris for closing remarks.

Christopher Hayes: Thanks, Tom. To summarize, our first quarter results reflect continued progress executing our operational and financial strategy. We delivered substantial year-over-year improvement in profitability and operating EBITDA, continue to reduce costs across the organization, maintained stable liquidity and advanced our refinancing process. As we move through 2026, we remain focused on disciplined execution, recurring cash flow generation, operational efficiency and long-term shareholder value creation. We appreciate the continued support of our investors and look forward to updating you again next quarter. Operator, please open the line for questions.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] At this time, there are no further questions. This concludes today's call. Thank you all for attending. You may now disconnect.

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