Via Renewables, Inc. Q4 FY2023 earnings call

• In 2023, Via grew its book solely organically, whereas historically it relied on M&A. They optimized organic sales channels and reduced average monthly attrition to 3.4% from 3.8% in 2022.
• Full-year 2023 adjusted EBITDA was $56.9 million, up from $51.8 million in 2022, driven by higher retail gross margin but offset by lower power and natural gas volumes early in the year.
• In April 2023, Via suspended the dividend on common stock to strengthen the balance sheet and gain financial flexibility for strategic growth.
• 2023 G&A expenses were approximately $68.9 million, up from $61.9 million in 2022, primarily due to increases in sales and marketing expenses, legal costs, and costs related to Via Wireless, partially offset by a significant decrease in bad debt.
• Balance sheet at year-end 2023: net debt of $54.4 million and total liquidity of $116 million.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Via Renewables achieved $13.3 million in adjusted EBITDA compared to $12.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Retail gross margin for the quarter was $33.7 million versus $31.9 million in the prior year. The increase in retail gross margin was mainly due to higher unit margins on natural gas load, partially offset by lower natural gas volumes and lower electric unit margins. Electricity volumes were flat for the quarter. For the full-year 2023, adjusted EBITDA was $56.9 million compared to $51.8 million in 2022. Full-year retail gross margin was $136.7 million compared to $114.8 million in 2022. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was due to higher gross margin year-over-year, partially offset by increases in net asset optimization, G&A expenses, customer acquisition spend, and a nonrecurring $4.4 million add-back for winter storm, Yuri, in 2022. The company ended the year with 335,000 RCEs, up from 331,000 at the end of 2022, due to an increase in sales and a decrease in attrition.