The AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price was a very strong performer in the last financial year.
During the 12 months, the energy company's shares rose by approximately 30%.
This is triple the return of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the same period.
Why did the AGL share price charge higher in FY23?
Interestingly, in late March, the AGL share price was on course to record a disappointing decline for the financial year. However, from that point on, it was a case of onwards and upwards for its shares.
The catalyst for this was initially an update from rival Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG), which revealed that it was upgrading its energy markets guidance for FY 2023 due to "an improvement in the underlying performance of the Energy Markets business."
This sparked hopes that AGL would also be experiencing similar improvements.
The good news is that it was. In June, AGL advised that it was now expecting underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to come in at $1,330 million to $1,375 million in FY 2023. This compares to its previous guidance range of $1,250 and $1,375 million.
In addition, getting investors particularly excited was its guidance for FY 2024. Underlying EBITDA is expected to be approximately 50% higher at $1,875 million to $2,175 million.
And things are expected to be even better on the very bottom line, where underlying profit after tax is forecast to come in at $580 million and $780 million in FY 2024. This reflects a 115% to 189% increase over the midpoint of its FY 2023's underlying profit after tax guidance.
Great news for the AGL share price and its shareholders, but not so for consumers that are getting hit with rising utility bills!
