U.S.-based residential solar company Sunnova posted a year-over-year (YoY) surge of 116% in revenue at $149.3 million for the third quarter (Q3) of 2022 compared to $68.9 million in Q3 2021.

The company’s revenue for the nine-month (9M) period 2022 increased to $362.1 million, a YoY increase of 105% from $176.73 million.

The company said that the revenue growth was primarily driven by an increase in solar energy systems in service and the sale of inventory to Sunnova’s dealers or other parties, starting in April 2022.

The company’s net loss inched 15% to $29.85 million compared to the loss of $25.86 million in the same period last year. The net loss for the 9M 2022 reduced 48% YoY to $60.2 million from a loss of $116.3 million.

The increase in net loss was due to higher general and administrative expenses and a change in other operating expenses.

Sunnova’s total operating expenses for Q3 totaled $177.1 million, a YoY spike of 130% from $77.1 million. The increase resulted from a higher number of solar energy systems in service, greater depreciation expense, and increased cost of revenue.

The adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) totaled $41.3 million for Q3, a YoY increase of 63% from $25.25 million.

The adjusted EBITDA for 9M 2022 stood at $93.5 million, a 37% increase from $68.1 million during 9M 2021.

The company said the surge was mainly due to customer growth increasing faster than expenses.

Source: Sunnova

Sunnova added 21,800 new customers by the end of Q3 taking its cumulative customer base to 246,600. The company’s battery storage penetration rate stood at 14.5% for the current period, up from 9.5% in Q3 last year.

Founder and CEO of Sunnova William J. Berger said, “Sunnova is optimally positioned to benefit from this strong consumer demand for its energy service, catalyzed by a combination of our focus on service, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the global energy crisis, as homeowners look to avoid rising utility bills that they must pay.”

Berger added that the company saw a slowdown in principal prepayments on solar loans resulting in a stronger-than-expected interest income, but less-than-expected principal payments on those loans. Rising interest rates, a decline in the housing market, lower refinancings of mortgages, and overall concerns about the economy have led loan customers to keep cash on hand rather than make unscheduled principal payments.

Sunnova posted revenue of $212.7 million for the first half of 2022, a YoY leap of 97% from $107.8 million.

In May this year, the company announced the launch of an energy plan that would offer new customers a fixed percentage discount on prevailing utility prices and a 25-year market-based rate, regardless of volatile energy costs.