(Adds details, analyst comment)
April 25 (Reuters) - NextEra Energy Inc reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on Tuesday, boosted by strong performance of its renewable energy unit.
Following the global energy crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and rising climate change concerns, several countries have made a push for renewable sources of power such as solar and wind to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
NextEra, which generates more wind and solar energy than any other firm in the world, is benefiting from this push to alternative sources of energy.
The company's clean energy unit, NextEra Energy Resources, added nearly 2,020 megawatts of new renewables and storage projects to its backlog in the first quarter.
NextEra's Florida Power & Light (FPL) division, the largest U.S. electric utility, reported a net income of $1.1 billion, while its average number of customers increased by about 65,000.
"Despite surprisingly warm weather in Florida in Jan-Feb and consequent decreased natural gas generation quaterly earnings were likely supported by customer base growth at FPL and new renewables at its clean energy unit", said Finam Holdings analyst Alex Kovalev.
On an adjusted basis, NextEra earned 84 cents per share in the quarter, compared with analysts average estimate of 72 cents, according to Refinitiv data.
The company's revenue rose to $6.72 billion from $2.89 billion a year earlier, and beat estimates of $5.5 billion. (Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shinjini Ganguli)
