Discontinued Operations and Held for sale businesses (Notes)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2016

Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]

Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations, Disclosure [Text Block]

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS AND HELD-FOR-SALE BUSINESSES

Discontinued Operations

Sul — In June 2016, the Company executed an agreement for the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary AES Sul, a distribution business in Brazil. Upon meeting the held-for-sale criteria, the Company recognized an after tax loss of $382 million comprised of a pretax impairment charge of $783 million, offset by a tax benefit of $266 million related to the impairment of the Sul long lived assets and a tax benefit of $135 million for deferred taxes related to the investment in AES Sul. The carrying value of the AES Sul asset group of $1.6 billion was greater than its approximate fair value less costs to sell of $470 million. However, the impairment charge was limited to the carrying value of the long lived assets of the AES Sul disposal group as of June 30, 2016. The sale is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second half of 2016.

Upon disposal of AES Sul, we expect to incur an additional after tax loss on sale of approximately $700 million subject to factors such as adjustments to sales proceeds and potential future movements in exchange rates. The cumulative impact to earnings of the impairment and loss on sale is expected to be approximately $1.1 billion. This includes the reclassification of approximately $1 billion of cumulative translation losses, resulting in an expected net reduction to the Company’s stockholders’ equity of approximately $100 million.

Due to a recent portfolio evaluation, we determined that AES Sul is no longer aligned with our strategic goals and its disposal is part of a strategic shift of the Company in the Brazil distribution sector. Therefore, we have reported the results of operations and financial position of Sul as discontinued operations in the consolidated financial statements for all periods presented. Sul’s pretax loss attributable to AES was $779 million and $792 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, and $13 million and $24 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015. Prior to its classification as discontinued operations, Sul was reported in the Brazil SBU reportable segment.

The following table summarizes the carrying amounts of the major classes of assets and liabilities of discontinued operations and held-for-sale businesses at June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015:

(in millions)	June 30, 2016			December 31, 2015
Assets of discontinued operations and held-for-sale businesses:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	5		$	5
Short-term investments	78			15
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $18 and $8 respectively	183			171
Property, plant and equipment and intangibles, net	837			668
Deferred income taxes	594			133
Other classes of assets that are not major	188			218
Loss recognized on classification as held-for-sale (3)	(837		)	—
Total assets of discontinued operations	$	1,048		$	1,210
Other assets of businesses classified as held-for-sale (2)	—			96
Total assets of discontinued operations and held-for-sale businesses (1)	$	1,048		$	1,306
Liabilities of discontinued operations and held-for-sale businesses:
Accounts payable	$	133		$	150
Accrued interest	20			15
Accrued and other liabilities	151			150
Non-recourse debt	373			346
Other classes of liabilities that are not major	164			110
Total liabilities of discontinued operations	$	841		$	771
Other liabilities of businesses classified as held-for-sale (2)	—			13
Total liabilities of discontinued operations and held-for-sale businesses (1)	$	841		$	784

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⁽¹⁾  Amounts at December 31, 2015 are classified as both current and long-term on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.

⁽²⁾  DPLER and Kelanitissa classified as held-for-sale at December 31, 2015. See Note 16—Dispositions for further information.

⁽³⁾  Pre-tax impairment expense of $783 million is net of the impact from cumulative translation adjustments.

The following table summarizes the carrying amounts of the major line items constituting losses from discontinued operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015:

(in millions)	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax:	2016			2015			2016			2015
Revenue - regulated	$	219		$	202		$	419		$	428
Cost of sales	(204		)	(203		)	(408		)	(428		)
Asset impairment expense	(783		)	—			(783		)	—
Other income and expense items that are not major	(11		)	(12		)	(20		)	(24		)
Pretax loss from discontinued operations	(779		)	(13		)	(792		)	(24		)
Income tax benefit	400			3			404			7
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	$	(379	)	$	(10	)	$	(388	)	$	(17	)

The following table summarizes the operating and investing cash flows from discontinued operations for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015:

	Six Months Ended June 30,
(in millions)	2016			2015
Cash flows from operating activities of discontinued operations	$	57		$	(47	)
Cash flows from investing activities of discontinued operations	(84		)	7

Held-For-Sale Businesses

U.S. wind projects — In November 2013, the Company executed an agreement for the sale of its 100% membership interests in three wind projects: Condon in California, Lake Benton I in Minnesota and Storm Lake II in Iowa. The sale transaction closed on January 30, 2014 and net proceeds of $27 million were received. These wind projects were previously reported in the US SBU reportable segment.

Under the terms of the sale agreement, the buyer was provided an option to purchase the Company's 100% interest in Armenia Mountain, a wind project in Pennsylvania, at a fixed price of $75 million. Approximately $3 million of the $27 million net proceeds was deferred and allocated to this option.

The buyer exercised the option on March 31, 2015 and the sale was completed on July 1, 2015. Accordingly, Armenia Mountain was classified as held-for-sale as of June 30, 2015, but did not meet the criteria to be reported as a discontinued operation. Armenia Mountain’s results were therefore reflected within continuing operations in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Armenia Mountain’s pretax income attributable to AES was $2 million and $6 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015. Armenia Mountain was reported in the US SBU reportable segment.

DISPOSITIONS

DPLER— On January 1, 2016, the Company completed the sale of its interest in DPLER, a competitive retail marketer selling electricity to customers in Ohio. Upon completion, proceeds of $76 million were received and a gain on sale of $49 million was recognized. The sale of DPLER did not meet the criteria to be reported as a discontinued operation. Prior to its sale, DPLER was reported in the US SBU reportable segment.

Kelanitissa— On January 27, 2016, the Company completed the sale of its interest in Kelanitissa, a diesel-fired generation station in Sri Lanka. Upon completion, proceeds of $18 million were received and a loss on sale of $5 million was recognized. The sale of Kelanitissa did not meet the criteria to be reported as a discontinued operation. Prior to its sale, Kelanitissa was reported in the Asia SBU reportable segment.

UK Wind— During the second quarter of 2016, the Company deconsolidated UK Wind and recorded a loss on deconsolidation of $20 million to Gain (loss) on disposal and sale of businesses in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations. Prior to deconsolidation, UK Wind was reported in the Europe SBU reportable segment. See Note 10—Equity for additional information.