U.S.-based residential solar firm Sunnova Energy’s net loss for the quarter ending March 31, 2024, stood at $90.1 million, recording a year-over-year (YoY) improvement of 18.3% compared to a net loss of $110.3 million.

The decline in net loss was primarily due to income tax benefits from investment tax credit (ITC) sales, augmented interest income resulting from a larger customer loan portfolio, and increased other operating income driven by fluctuations in the fair value of certain financial instruments and contingent consideration.

However, these positive factors were offset by higher expenses for operations and maintenance as well as general and administrative functions.

Revenue for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 dipped slightly to $160.9 million, down from $161.7 million in the same period last year, recording less than 1% dip.

The decrease was attributed to lower inventory sales revenue and reduced service revenue, although it was partially counteracted by increased revenue from core adaptive energy customers.

Total operating expenses surged to $245.1 million for Q1 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.

The rise was driven by an expansion in the number of solar energy systems in operation, elevated general and administrative expenses, and increased costs associated with Sunnova’s direct sales, cash sales, and repair services.

The rise in operating expenses was partly mitigated by lower costs related to inventory sales and an increase in other operating income due to fluctuations in the fair value of certain financial instruments and contingent consideration.

Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at $46.4 million, an increase of 217% YoY from $14.6 million.

This growth was primarily propelled by ITC sales initiated in Q3 2023.

In Q1 2024, the company added 27,000 new customers, expanding its total customer base to 438,500 by March 31, 2024.

As of March 31, 2024, Sunnova had total cash of $487.5 million, including restricted and unrestricted cash.

“Our team is squarely focused on increasing our cash generation and maintaining our margins. Through continued cost efficiencies, maximizing our asset-level financing, further utilizing investment tax credit adders, and re-focusing on our core adaptive energy customers, we expect to be able to drive improved performance, all while remaining true to the values that have driven Sunnova forward for the last twelve years,” said William J. (John) Berger, Sunnova’s founder and CEO.

“It is expected that the demand for power in the US will increase dramatically due to the continued electrification of the economy, onshoring of manufacturing electric vehicle adoption, and increased demand from AI, cryptocurrency, and data centers, but an aging power grid means less energy reliability and with so much growth on the horizon,” Berger added.

Sunnova Energy‘s fourth quarter (Q4) net loss ballooned by about 800% to $187.6 million from $20.9 million last year, hurt by higher interest and operating expenses.