Dividend Spark & Long-Term Glow: PPL Outshines Q4 Estimates

PPL Corp PPL reported fourth-quarter FY23 operating revenue growth of $2.03 billion, beating the consensus of $1.90 billion.

Electricity Sales dropped by 5.0% Y/Y, with the PA Regulated segment down 4.2% and KY Regulated segment down by 5.9%.

Operating income increased to $390 million from $336 million in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EPS was $0.40, beating the consensus of $0.38.

PPL’s net cash provided by operating activities in the year, totaled $1.76 billion, versus $1.73 billion a year ago.

PPL President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sorgi said, “Despite mild weather, heightened storm activity and challenging macroeconomic factors, we delivered on all of our commitments to shareowners in 2023, provided exceptional reliability for our 3.5 million customers and took significant steps to advance a safe, reliable, affordable and cleaner energy mix.ˮ  

“In addition, we exceeded our target of $50-$60 million in operation and maintenance (O&M) efficiencies, achieving about $75 million in savings from the company’s 2021 baseline.”

Dividend: PPL disclosed a 7.3% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.2575, payable on April 1, 2024, to shareowners of record as of March 8, 2024.

Outlook: PPL projects EPS of $1.63 to $1.75 in FY24 versus the $1.70 consensus. The company expects earnings per share and dividend growth target of 6% to 8% annually through at least 2027.

The company increased its planned infrastructure investments outlook to $14.3 billion from 2024 to 2027 vs. the prior plan of $11.9 billion from 2023 to 2026.

PPL said it remains on track to achieve its targeted annual operation and maintenance savings of at least $175 million by 2026, with $120 million-$130 million of annual savings planned by the end of 2024 from the company’s 2021 baseline.

Price Action: PPL shares are trading higher by 0.19% at $26.51 on the last check Friday.

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