SAN DIEGO - Sempra (NYSE: SRE) (BMV: SRE) today announced third-quarter 2021 losses of $648 million, or $2.03 per diluted share, compared to third-quarter 2020 earnings of $351 million, or $1.21 per diluted share.
Sempra's third-quarter 2021 results included a $1.1 billion after-tax charge associated with civil litigation related to the 2015 Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility leak. On an adjusted basis, the company's third-quarter 2021 earnings were $545 million, or $1.70 per diluted share, compared to $432 million, or $1.49 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2020.
'At this point in the year, we are excited to see strong growth across all three of our business platforms,' said Trevor Mihalik, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Sempra. 'This is a product of our strategic focus on investing in some of the most attractive energy markets in North America, and it sets us up well for strong financial and operating performance through the end of the year and into 2022.'
Sempra's earnings for the first nine months of 2021 were $650 million, or $2.09 per diluted share, compared with earnings of $3.35 billion, or $11.43 per diluted share, in the first nine months of 2020. Adjusted earnings for the first nine months of 2021 were $1.949 billion, or $6.27 per diluted share, compared to $1.674 billion, or $5.70 per diluted share, in the first nine months of 2020.
Advancing Key Strategic Priorities at Sempra California
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) recently announced agreements expected to resolve substantially all material civil litigation against SoCalGas and Sempra related to the 2015 Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility leak. The net, after-tax cash outflows for SoCalGas are expected to ultimately be up to approximately $895 million, after taking into consideration the remaining insurance receivable and other adjustments.
SoCalGas also recently issued a new economy-wide technical analysis, which underscores the essential role that clean fuels like hydrogen and renewable natural gas (RNG) are expected to play in reaching carbon neutrality. The analysis highlights that a clean fuels network made, in part, by leveraging existing gas infrastructure to deliver clean fuels and to manage carbon could allow California to achieve its net-zero goals more affordably and more effectively than other alternatives.
Continuing Strong Growth at Sempra Texas
In Texas, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) has announced its updated, five-year projected capital plan for 2022-2026 of $15 billion, a record high for the company. Additionally, Oncor now projects its rate base to grow to nearly $28 billion by 2026, which reflects a compound annual growth rate of about 8% over the five-year period.
Investing in the Energy Transition at Sempra Infrastructure
Last month, Sempra completed the sale of a non-controlling, 20% interest in Sempra Infrastructure to KKR for a purchase price of $3.37 billion, subject to post-closing adjustments. Proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to, among other things, help fund growth across Sempra's capital program, which is centered on its U.S. utilities, and further strengthen its balance sheet.
Also, Sempra completed its follow-on cash tender offer to acquire the remaining publicly owned shares of Infraestructura Energetica Nova S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova) that were not obtained in the previously completed exchange offer, and IEnova's shares have been delisted from the Mexican Stock Exchange (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V.).
With the consolidation of Sempra's liquefied natural gas (LNG) business and its ownership of IEnova under Sempra Infrastructure, the newly formed business platform is expected to generate increased shareholder value over the long-term by investing in the energy systems of the future.
Earnings Guidance
Sempra is updating its full-year 2021 GAAP EPS guidance range, including items expected to be reflected in our fourth quarter results, to $3.01 to $3.61, and the company is continuing to guide to the upper end of the range for its full-year 2021 adjusted EPS guidance of $7.75 to $8.35. Sempra is also reaffirming its full-year 2022 EPS guidance range of $8.10 to $8.70.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Non-GAAP financial measures include Sempra's adjusted earnings, adjusted EPS and adjusted EPS guidance range.
Internet Broadcast
Sempra will broadcast a live discussion of its earnings results over the Internet today at 12 p.m. ET with senior management of the company. Access is available by logging onto the website at www.sempra.com. For those unable to log on to the live webcast, the teleconference will be available on replay a few hours after its conclusion by dialing (888) 203-1112 and entering passcode 9127369.
About Sempra
Sempra's mission is to be North America's premier energy infrastructure company. The Sempra family of companies has more than 19,000 talented employees who deliver energy with purpose to over 36 million consumers. With more than $66 billion in total assets at the end of 2020, the San Diego-based company is the owner of one of the largest energy networks in North America serving some of the world's leading economies. The company is helping to advance the global energy transition by enabling the delivery of lower-carbon energy solutions in the markets it serves, including California, Texas, Mexico and the LNG export market. Sempra is consistently recognized as a leader in sustainable business practices and for its long-standing commitment to building a high-performing culture with a focus on safety, workforce development and training, and diversity and inclusion. Sempra is the only North American utility sector company included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and was also named one of the 'World's Most Admired Companies' for 2021 by Fortune Magazine.
This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions with respect to the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other factors.
In this press release, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as 'believes,' 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'plans,' 'estimates,' 'projects,' 'forecasts,' 'should,' 'could,' 'would,' 'will,' 'confident,' 'may,' 'can,' 'potential,' 'possible,' 'proposed,' 'in process,' 'under construction,' 'in development,' 'target,' 'outlook,' 'maintain,' 'continue,' 'goal,' 'aim,' 'commit,' or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections, intentions or expectations.
Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating to: California wildfires, including the risks that we may be found liable for damages regardless of fault and that we may not be able to recover costs from insurance, the wildfire fund established by California Assembly Bill 1054 or in rates from customers; decisions, investigations, regulations, issuances or revocations of permits and other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions by (i) the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Comision Reguladora de Energia, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Utility Commission of Texas, and other regulatory and governmental bodies and (ii) states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions in the U.S., Mexico and other countries in which we do business; the success of business development efforts, construction projects and acquisitions and divestitures, including risks in (i) the ability to make a final investment decision, (ii) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (iii) the ability to realize anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, and (iv) obtaining the consent or approval of partners or other third parties, including governmental entities; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation, regulatory inquiries, investigations and proceedings, and arbitrations, including those related to the natural gas leak at Southern California Gas Company's (SoCalGas) Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility; changes to laws, including proposed changes to the Mexican constitution that could materially limit access to the electric generation market and changes to Mexico's trade rules that could materially limit our ability to import and export hydrocarbons; failure of foreign governments and state-owned entities to honor their contracts and commitments and property disputes; actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or to place those ratings on negative outlook and our ability to borrow on favorable terms and meet our substantial debt service obligations; the impact of energy and climate goals, policies, legislation and rulemaking, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas generally and any deterioration of or increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment for California natural gas distribution companies; the pace of the development and adoption of new technologies in the energy sector, including those designed to support governmental and private party energy and climate goals, and our ability to timely and economically incorporate them into our business; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, acts of terrorism, information system outages or other events that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of harmful materials, cause fires or subject us to liability for property damage or personal injuries, fines and penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance, may be disputed by insurers or may otherwise not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of electric power and natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the transmission grid or limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including potential vaccination mandates, on capital projects, regulatory approvals and the execution of our operations; cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, storage and pipeline infrastructure, information and systems used to operate our businesses, and confidentiality of our proprietary information and personal information of our customers and employees, including ransomware attacks on our systems and the systems of third-party vendors and other parties with which we conduct business; the impact at San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) on competitive customer rates and reliability due to the growth in distributed and local power generation, including from departing retail load resulting from customers transferring to Direct Access and Community Choice Aggregation, and the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets and contractual obligations; Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC's (Oncor) ability to eliminate or reduce its quarterly dividends due to regulatory and governance requirements and commitments, including by actions of Oncor's independent directors or a minority member director; volatility in foreign currency exchange, inflation and interest rates and commodity prices and our ability to effectively hedge these risks and with respect to interest rates, the impact on SDG&E's and SoCalGas' cost of capital; changes in tax and trade policies, laws and regulations, including tariffs and revisions to international trade agreements that may increase our costs, reduce our competitiveness, or impair our ability to resolve trade disputes and other uncertainties, some of which may be difficult to predict and are beyond our control.
These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on Sempra's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.
Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and Infraestructura Energetica Nova, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas, and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC.
Contact:
Linda Pazin
Tel: (877) 340-8875
Email: media@sempra.com
SEMPRA 
