AES Corporation recently released its 10-K report, providing an in-depth look at the company's performance in 2024 compared to the previous year. The AES Corporation operates as a diversified power generation and utility company, owning and/or operating power plants to generate and sell power to various customers, including utilities, industrial users, and other intermediaries. The company also owns and/or operates utilities to distribute and sell electricity to end-user customers and generates and sells electricity on the wholesale market. As of the end of 2024, the company owns and/or operates a generation portfolio of approximately 34,596 megawatts and distributes power to 2.6 million customers.
In 2024, AES reported a significant increase in net income, jumping from a net loss of $182 million in 2023 to a net income of $802 million in 2024. This increase was attributed to lower impairments, unrealized foreign currency gains in the current year versus losses in the prior year, gain on the sale of AES Brasil, favorable contributions at the Utilities and New Energy Technologies SBUs, and higher contributions from renewables projects placed in service in the current year. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $189 million, from $2,828 million to $2,639 million, mainly driven by record-breaking drought conditions and outages in Colombia at the Renewables SBU, and lower margins at the Energy Infrastructure SBU due to prior year margin at the hedged merchant Southland facilities that are contracted primarily for capacity in the current year and higher outages. Adjusted EBITDA with Tax Attributes, a non-GAAP measure, increased by $513 million, from $3,439 million to $3,952 million, primarily due to higher realized tax attributes driven by more renewables projects placed in service.
In terms of diluted earnings per share from continuing operations, there was a notable increase of $2.03, rising from $0.34 to $2.37. Adjusted EPS, a non-GAAP measure, increased by $0.38, from $1.76 to $2.14, mainly driven by higher contributions from renewables projects placed in service in the current year and a lower adjusted tax rate, partially offset by lower contributions from the Energy Infrastructure SBU.
In reviewing the consolidated results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024, compared to 2023, total revenue decreased by $390 million, or 3%. The decrease was primarily driven by decreases in revenue at the Energy Infrastructure and New Energy Technologies SBUs, partially offset by increases at the Renewables and Utilities SBUs. Operating margin also decreased by $190 million, or 8%, primarily driven by decreases at the Energy Infrastructure and Renewables SBUs, partially offset by an increase at the Utilities SBU.
The company's general and administrative expenses increased by $33 million, or 13%, to $288 million in 2024 compared to $255 million in 2023, primarily due to increased business development costs, higher people costs, higher professional fees, and higher IT costs. Interest expense increased by $166 million, or 13%, to $1,485 million in 2024 compared to $1,319 million in 2023, driven by higher interest expense at the Renewables and Utilities SBUs, and at the corporate level. Interest income decreased by $170 million, or 31%, to $381 million in 2024 compared to $551 million in 2023 primarily due to decreases in Argentina and Brazil, partially offset by an increase in Chile. Loss on extinguishment of debt decreased by $46 million to $17 million in 2024 compared to $63 million in 2023.
Other income increased by $67 million, or 75%, to $156 million in 2024 compared to $89 million in 2023. Other expense increased by $76 million, or 77%, to $175 million in 2024 compared to $99 million in 2023. Gain on disposal and sale of business interests increased by $217 million to $351 million in 2024 compared to $134 million in 2023. Goodwill impairment expense was $12 million in 2023, and asset impairment expense decreased by $693 million, or 65%, to $374 million in 2024 compared to $1.1 billion in 2023.
The 10-K report provides a comprehensive overview of AES Corporation's financial performance, offering investors and stakeholders valuable insights into the company's operations and results for the year. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved 2.1%, and are now trading at a price of $12.03. If you want to know more, read the company's complete 10-K report here.
