Ormat Technologies topped revenue forecasts, but missed its earnings forecast for the first quarter of 2022

Ormat Technologies topped revenue forecasts, but missed its earnings forecast for the first quarter of 2022. The company earned $ 18 million, which is 33 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 21% compared to the same quarter in 2021, but below average analysts' forecasts To earnings of 34 cents per share.
Ormat Technologies, managed by Doron Balsher, specializes in the initiation, construction and operation of geothermal power plants as well as the production of turbines and the construction of geothermal power plants for other companies, and the initiation, construction and operation of energy storage facilities. Ormat's revenues grew by 10% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the corresponding quarter in 2021 and amounted to $ 184 million, an amount 3% higher than the average of analysts' forecasts.
Ormat's revenues in the electricity sector, where it sells electricity produced from geothermal power plants it owns, grew by 12% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the corresponding quarter in 2021 and amounted to $ 163 million. The increase in revenues in this segment was due to an 8.6% increase in electricity production in the last quarter, following the increase in the production capacity of the geothermal power plant in Pune to 25 megawatts, compared to 20 megawatts in the corresponding quarter in 2020. This station, located in Hawaii, was shut down for an extended period following the eruption of nearby Kilauea volcano in June 2018.
Ormat Technologies' revenue in the product segment, where Ormat designs, equips and builds geothermal power plants for others, grew by 69% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, thanks to an increase in the company's order backlog following the gradual exit from the Corona crisis. Ormat's backlog in the product segment reached $ 46 million yesterday, an increase of 23% compared to the first quarter of 2021.
Ormat's revenues in the energy storage segment decreased 48% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter in 2021 and amounted to $ 7 million, mainly as a result of a one-time compensation of $ 5.4 million that the company received in the first quarter of 2021 during the Texas energy crisis. Ormat's Adjusted Ebitda Operating Income increased by 8.7% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 and amounted to $ 108 million. The increase in adjusted cash flow operating profit is the result of an improvement in all sectors of the company's operations, but especially in the electricity sector, which enjoys a higher level of production at the Hawaii power plant and a sharp rise in electricity tariffs, which are linked to oil prices.
Ormat Technologies has reduced its revenue forecast for 2022, to $ 710 to $ 735 million, compared to the previous forecast given in February 2022 for revenue of $ 725 to $ 750 million, due to the decline in the production capacity of the Hiber 1 power plant to 20 megawatts following the fire that broke out. At the facility in February 2022. Ormat estimates that it will complete by the end of the current quarter the construction of the CD4 geothermal station, which has a production capacity of 30 megawatts, and the Tungsten Solar, Steamboat Solar and Wister Solar solar projects, which have 9, 10 and 20 megawatts respectively. The company estimates that it will reach adjusted cash flow operating profit at a rate of $ 500 million per year by the end of 2022.