The Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) share price is edging lower on Thursday.
In morning trade, the ASX 200 energy stock is down 0.5% to $9.45.
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Why is the Origin Energy share price edging lower?
Investors have been selling the company's shares this morning after responding somewhat negatively to its quarterly update.
According to the release, Origin Energy's electricity sales volumes increased 3% from September 2023 quarter reflecting growth in retail customers and higher demand.
Gas volumes were steady compared to the prior corresponding period as higher retail sales and gas to generation were offset by a decrease in business volumes.
Elsewhere, Australia Pacific LNG revenue for the September quarter was 1% higher than the prior quarter at $2,638 million. This was driven primarily by higher LNG sales volumes. However, quarterly production was slightly down on the prior quarter.
The quarterly realised average LNG price was US$11.95/mmbtu (contracted and spot) and the average domestic price was $9.59/GJ (legacy and short-term).
Finally, the ASX 200 energy stock's Octopus business continued its strong customer growth in the quarter. It added more than 600,000 customer accounts in the UK and international retail businesses. It also executed an 8 million customer account sale, which increases global customer accounts contracted to the Kraken platform to 62 million.
Management commentary
Origin Energy's CEO, Frank Calabria, was pleased with the quarter. He said:
Continued good operational performance at Australia Pacific LNG enabled steady production, while sales volumes and revenue increased compared with prior year to date. Australia Pacific LNG continues to provide material volumes of gas to the domestic market, supporting the needs of manufacturers. Energy Markets electricity sales volumes increased in the September quarter, driven by growth in customer numbers and higher demand, while natural gas sales volumes remained steady.
There has been a step change in Origin's investment in renewables and storage, with construction progressing on large-scale batteries at Eraring and Mortlake, and we continue to progress the Yanco Delta Wind Farm development project in NSW while also assessing a range of other earlier stage renewable development opportunities. Octopus Energy continued its strong growth, lifting both UK and international retail customers, while customer accounts contracted to the Kraken platform increased to 62 million. Octopus continues to demonstrate it is one of the most disruptive energy and technology companies globally.
However, judging by the performance of the Origin Energy share price today, it seems that the market was expecting a stronger performance.
