Bob Komin
Analyst · Oppenheimer. Your line is now open
Thanks Lynn. In the second quarter we exceeded our deployment guidance and made solid progress on our 2017 goals. NPV was $1.10 per watt in Q2, resulting in aggregate NPV created of $74 million, representing 56% growth compared to the prior year. We delivered strong NPV per watt in Q2 and a solid first half of the year that sets us up well to achieve our dollar per watt target for all of 2017. NPV per watt can fluctuate quarter-to-quarter given business mix and Q2 was somewhat favorable. We calculate NPV as project value less creation cost, so let’s go through each of the components next. Q2 project value of $4.47 per watt was $0.26 higher than Q1, principally due to the mix of business in the quarter. As a reminder, project value is very sensitive to modest changes in geographic channel and tax equity fund mix. We expect project value will continue to decline slightly over time with cost declining more, although in the short run there can be quarterly fluctuations. Turning now to creation costs on Slide 11. In Q2 total creation cost was $3.37 per watt, an improvement of $0.38 or 10% year-over-year. Similar to project value, creation cost can fluctuate quarter-to-quarter due to changes in geographic and channel mix. As a reminder, our cost stack is not directly comparable to those of peers because of our channel partner business. Blended installation cost per watt, which includes both solar projects deployed by our channel partners, as well as by Sunrun improved by $0.10 or 4% year-over-year to $2.70 per watt. Install costs for systems built by Sunrun however were $1.87 per watt, reflecting a $0.40 or 18% year-over-year improvement. Sunrun’s installation cost benefited from lower equipment cost this quarter as we worked through higher cost inventory. We expect installation cost to remain roughly stable owning to fluctuations in business as we remain on offense by investing in new geography and Grid services. We also expect the attachment rate of storage to increase which carries a higher per watt cost, but also delivers higher NPV. In Q2, our sales and marketing costs were $0.54 per watt, a 37% improvement from the prior year, primarily driven by channel mix and our focus on the most cost-effective customer acquisition channels. Next, G&A cost watt was $0.29 flat from Q1 and a $0.04 improvement from the prior year. These costs remain largely flat for the last several quarters. We expect to realize further operating leverage, with volume growth exceeding G&A cost increases over time, although, there can be quarterly fluctuations. Finally, when we calculate creation costs, we subtract the GAAP gross margin contribution realized from our platform services. This includes our distribution, racking and lead generation businesses, as well as solar systems we sell for cash or with third-party loan. We achieved platform services gross margin of $0.16 per watt higher than Q1, due primarily to a slightly higher mix of solar system sales that have better gross margins. In the second quarter, deployments increased 16% year-over-year to 76 megawatts, exceeding our guidance of 72 megawatts.The strength was primarily attributable to an increase in our channel volumes. Flexibility of our multichannel platform model continue to serve us well in the current market conditions. As we’ve highlighted over the past year, we’re seeing more opportunities that are favorable to work with partners, while meeting our NPV and cash contribution goals. We did not manage to a specific mix for volume target, we instead prioritize realization of NPV. Our cash and third-party loan mix was a 11% in Q2, slightly higher than Q1, but in line with recent levels and our outlook of low to mid-teens. In Q2, our net bookings were 88 megawatts, an increase of 28% from the prior year. As a reminder, bookings are calculated net of cancellations. Turning now to our balance sheet. Our liquidity position remains strong. We ended Q2 with $211 million in unrestricted cash, the eighth consecutive quarter we’ve been about $200 million. We believe we will increase our cash balance by the end of the year. Our primary objective is to maximize equity returns over the long run, while optimizing for the most efficient capital structure, balanced with near term cash generation. We plan to continue to invest in ramping new geographies and further increasing our market share. Our cash generation outlook excludes any strategic opportunities or accelerated market entries beyond our current plan. Our primary objective is to optimize for the lowest long-term cost of capital and we focus first and foremost on the best execution of this financing, which could impact the timing of our cash balance on a specific quarter and measurement date. Moving on to guidance on Slide 11. We remain confident in our growth trajectory with Q3 guidance of 88 megawatts, which reflects approximately 15% year-over-year growth for the first three quarters of 2017. We’re reiterating our guidance of 325 megawatts for 2017, reflecting a 15% growth rate year-over-year. Our principal focus is generating approximately $1 of NPV per watt for the year. We continue to believe we can generate approximately $290 million in aggregate NPV in 2017, which is about a 35% increase from the prior year. Before I turn the call over to Ed, I wanted to share an update on the independent review that we asked the Audit Committee to launch in June, following media claims about Sunrun’s historical practices relating to the timing and processing of customer cancellations. The Audit Committee completed its inquiry and determined that the claims in the Wall Street Journal report were unfounded. Specifically, the committee concluded that; one, senior management did not instruct employees to hold back or delay the recording of customer cancellations; and two, representatives did not alter cancellation dates. Based on its review the Audit Committee expressed confidence in the company’s current cancellation processes and did not recommend any changes. Now, let me turn it over to Ed.