New Jersey Resources Corp (NJR) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and thank you for standing by. My name is Regina, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the New Jersey Resources' Fiscal 2023 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Conference Call and webcast. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Adam Prior, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

您好，感謝您的支持。我叫雷吉娜，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此時此刻，我歡迎大家參加新澤西資源公司 2023 財年第四季和年終電話會議和網路直播。 （操作員指示）我現在想將會議轉交給投資者關係總監 Adam Prior。請繼續。

Thank you so much. Welcome to New Jersey Resources' Fiscal 2023 Fourth Quarter and Year-end Conference Call and Webcast. I'm joined here today by Steve Westhoven, our President and CEO; Roberto Bel, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; as well as other members of our senior management team.

太感謝了。歡迎參加新澤西資源公司 2023 財年第四季和年終電話會議和網路廣播。今天我們的總裁兼執行長 Steve Westhoven 也來到這裡。 Roberto Bel，我們的資深副總裁兼財務長；以及我們高階管理團隊的其他成員。

Certain statements in today's call contain estimates and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws. We wish to caution listeners of this call that the current expectations, assumptions and beliefs forming the basis for our forward-looking statements include many factors that are beyond our ability to control or estimate precisely. This could cause results to materially differ from our expectations as found on Slide 1. These items can also be found in the forward-looking statements section of today's earnings release furnished on Form 8-K and in our most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q as filed with the SEC. We do not, by including this statement, assume any obligation to review or revise any particular forward-looking statement referenced herein in light of future events.

今天電話會議中的某些陳述包含證券法含義內的估計和其他前瞻性陳述。我們希望提醒本次電話會議的聽眾，構成我們前瞻性陳述基礎的當前預期、假設和信念包括許多超出我們精確控製或估計能力的因素。這可能會導致結果與投影片 1 中我們的預期有重大差異。這些項目也可以在表格 8-K 中提供的今天收益發布的前瞻性陳述部分以及我們最新的表格 10-K 和 10 中找到。 -Q 向SEC 提交。透過包含本聲明，我們不承擔根據未來事件審查或修改本文引用的任何特定前瞻性聲明的義務。

We will also be referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures such as net financial earnings or NFE. We believe that NFE, net financial loss, utility gross margin, financial margin, adjusted funds from operation and adjusted debt provide a more complete understanding of our financial performance. However, these non-GAAP measures are not intended to be a substitute for GAAP. Our non-GAAP financial measures are discussed more fully in Item 7 of our 10-K.

我們也將提及某些非 GAAP 財務指標，例如淨財務收益或 NFE。我們相信，NFE、淨財務損失、公用事業毛利率、財務利潤率、調整後的營運資金和調整後的債務可以讓我們更全面地了解我們的財務表現。然而，這些非公認會計原則措施並非要取代公認會計原則。我們的非 GAAP 財務指標在 10-K 的第 7 項中進行了更全面的討論。

The slides accompanying today's presentation are available on our website and were furnished on our Form 8-K filed this morning. Our agenda for today is filed on Slide 4. Steve will begin with this year's highlights, followed by Roberto, who will review our financial results. Then we will open the call up for your questions.

今天簡報附帶的幻燈片可在我們的網站上獲取，並包含在我們今天早上提交的 8-K 表格中。我們今天的議程記錄在幻燈片 4 上。史蒂夫將首先介紹今年的亮點，隨後羅伯托將回顧我們的財務表現。然後我們將打開電話詢問您的問題。

With that said, I will turn the call over to our President and CEO, Steve Westhoven. Please go ahead, Steve.

話雖如此，我會將電話轉給我們的總裁兼執行長 Steve Westhoven。請繼續，史蒂夫。

Thanks, Adam, and good morning, everyone. Fiscal 2023 represented another solid year at NJR as we reported earnings well in excess of our industry-leading 7% to 9% long-term growth rate. Our performance this past year speaks to the strength of our diversified business model and our ability to adapt to challenges in ways that benefit our customers and our investors. This morning, we reported fiscal 2023 net financial earnings per share of $2.70. This is at the top end of our revised guidance range, which was increased by $0.20 back in the first quarter.

謝謝亞當，大家早安。 2023 財年是新日本無線又一個穩健的一年，我們報告的盈利遠遠超過了行業領先的 7% 至 9% 的長期增長率。我們去年的業績證明了我們多元化業務模式的優勢以及我們以有利於客戶和投資者的方式適應挑戰的能力。今天早上，我們公佈了 2023 財年每股淨財務收益為 2.70 美元。這是我們修訂後的指導範圍的上限，該範圍在第一季增加了 0.20 美元。

We've accomplished quite a bit this year. New Jersey Natural Gas added 8,800 new customers with expansion throughout New Jersey Natural Gas' service territories as our customer growth has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Clean Energy Ventures grew its project pipeline to the highest level in our company's history, and we increased our in-service capacity by the largest amount for any given year. At S&T, Adelphia Gateway completed its first full year in operation and Leaf River continued to deliver strong results. And finally, Energy Services once again delivered outperformance during periods of volatility during the year.

今年我們取得了很多成就。隨著我們的客戶成長恢復到疫情前的水平，新澤西天然氣公司增加了 8,800 名新客戶，並在整個新澤西天然氣公司的服務領域進行了擴張。 Clean Energy Ventures 將其專案儲備增長至我們公司歷史上的最高水平，我們的在役產能增幅創歷年之最。在 S&T，Adelphia Gateway 完成了第一個全年運營，Leaf River 繼續取得強勁業績。最後，能源服務在今年的波動時期再次表現出色。

As strong as this fiscal year 2023 performance was, we have been more enthusiastic about our future. The details of our guidance for fiscal 2024 are on Slide 6. We are introducing NFEPS guidance of $2.70 per share to $2.85 per share, which represents a 12% increase from the midpoint of our initial guidance last year. We broadened the size of our guidance range for fiscal 2024 to $0.15. We have had a range of $0.10 for many years despite significant growth of our earnings. This new range is consistent with those of our peers. Our projections are supported by contributions from all of our business units.

儘管 2023 財年的業績表現強勁，但我們對未來更加充滿熱情。我們對 2024 財年指導的詳細資訊請參閱投影片 6。我們推出的 NFEPS 指引為每股 2.70 美元至 2.85 美元，這比我們去年初始指引的中位數增加了 12%。我們將 2024 財年的指導範圍擴大至 0.15 美元。儘管我們的收入大幅成長，但多年來我們的股價區間一直保持在 0.10 美元。這個新系列與我們同行的產品系列一致。我們的預測得到了我們所有業務部門的貢獻的支持。

During fiscal 2024, a significant portion of our net financial earnings will come from our utility business as highlighted on Slide 7. However, we do expect a higher contribution from Energy Services in fiscal 2024 than in prior years due to the outsized contribution from the fixed payments associated with the asset management agreements announced in 2020. Looking ahead, we feel very comfortable with our long-term growth rate in the future years. And in fiscal 2025, we expect to return to more normalized segment contributions. Overall, we have a portfolio of complementary businesses that deliver utility-like returns over the long term.

在2024 財年，我們的淨財務收入的很大一部分將來自我們的公用事業業務，如幻燈片7 所示。然而，我們確實預計2024 財年能源服務的貢獻將高於往年，因為固定資產的貢獻過大與 2020 年宣布的資產管理協議相關的付款。展望未來，我們對未來幾年的長期成長率感到非常滿意。在 2025 財年，我們預計將恢復更正常化的部門貢獻。總體而言，我們擁有一系列互補的業務組合，可以在長期內提供類似公用事業的回報。

With that, I'll turn to a discussion of our business units, beginning on Slide 8. We invested over $450 million at New Jersey Natural Gas through a variety of programs in fiscal 2023, with nearly 40% of that CapEx providing near real-time returns. New Jersey Natural Gas' ability to generate these returns helps to alleviate regulatory lag, which is of particular importance in a high interest rate environment. Within that 40% is our SAVEGREEN program, which helps residential and commercial customers lower their energy usage. We spent approximately $60 million in fiscal 2023 to help our customers save money and reduce their carbon footprint, which is New Jersey Natural Gas' largest ever annual investment in the program for the second straight year.

接下來，我將從投影片 8 開始討論我們的業務部門。2023 財年，我們透過各種計畫在新澤西天然氣公司投資了超過 4.5 億美元，其中近 40% 的資本支出提供了接近實際的時間回歸。新澤西天然氣公司產生這些回報的能力有助於緩解監管滯後，這在高利率環境下尤其重要。其中 40% 是我們的 SAVEGREEN 計劃，該計劃可幫助住宅和商業客戶降低能源使用。我們在 2023 財年花費了約 6,000 萬美元來幫助客戶節省資金並減少碳足跡，這是新澤西天然氣公司連續第二年對該計劃進行的最大年度投資。

We recently completed a commercial energy efficiency project at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, which is located not far from our headquarters here in Monmouth County. We provided over $6 million in energy efficiency financing at Jersey Shore and expect the net energy savings on this project to pay back the entire cost within 4 years. Growing these programs is a central element of our decarbonization strategy, and New Jersey Natural Gas has long been a leader in this area. We achieved solid new customer growth throughout the year, adding 8,800 new customers compared to approximately 7,800 last year through a combination of new construction and conversions.

我們最近在澤西海岸大學醫學中心完成了一個商業能源效率項目，該項目距離我們蒙茅斯縣總部不遠。我們為澤西海岸提供了超過 600 萬美元的能源效率融資，預計該項目的淨能源節省將在 4 年內收回全部成本。發展這些項目是我們脫碳策略的核心要素，新澤西天然氣公司長期以來一直是該領域的領導者。我們全年實現了穩健的新客戶成長，透過新建和改造相結合，增加了 8,800 名新客戶，而去年約為 7,800 名。

During fiscal 2024, our capital deployment strategy will ensure that our infrastructure continues to provide the most reliable and affordable energy delivery service available for our customers. We also expect our customer growth to continue to trend higher. And with our current IIP and SAVEGREEN investments, approximately 40% of capital investments are delivering near real-time returns. And finally, we expect to file our next rate case in fiscal 2024, consistent with the time line of our major technology investments.

在 2024 財年期間，我們的資本部署策略將確保我們的基礎設施繼續為我們的客戶提供最可靠、最實惠的能源輸送服務。我們也預期我們的客戶成長將繼續呈上升趨勢。透過我們目前的 IIP 和 SAVEGREEN 投資，大約 40% 的資本投資正在帶來近乎即時的回報。最後，我們預計將在 2024 財年提交下一次利率申請，這與我們主要技術投資的時間表一致。

Moving to Slide 9. Our solar business, Clean Energy Ventures had an exceptional 2023. We added 82 megawatts of new solar capacity, which represents the largest capacity increase in any fiscal year since CEV's inception. We expanded geographically and during the year, over 40% of our capacity growth has come from outside of New Jersey. Our focus is on developing solar investment opportunities to provide high single-digit, unlevered returns and again, utility-like in their construct. Our project pipeline continues to grow and includes approximately 750 megawatts of potential investment options. As we have discussed in past calls, we are creating a diverse pipeline with multiple opportunities for expansion, without any significant reliance on particular geographic location or subsidy program.

前往投影片 9。我們的太陽能業務 Clean Energy Ventures 在 2023 年表現出色。我們新增了 82 兆瓦的太陽能發電容量，這是自 CEV 成立以來任何財年最大的容量增幅。我們擴大了地理範圍，這一年中，超過 40% 的產能成長來自新澤西州以外的地區。我們的重點是開發太陽能投資機會，以提供高單位數、無槓桿回報，並在其結構中再次實現類似公用事業的回報。我們的專案管道持續成長，包括約 750 兆瓦的潛在投資選擇。正如我們在過去的電話會議中所討論的那樣，我們正在創建一個多元化的管道，提供多種擴展機會，而不會嚴重依賴特定的地理位置或補貼計劃。

Moving to our Storage and Transportation segment on Slide 10. This was our first year with Adelphia fully in operation, which is an 84-mile pipeline that runs from Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, to just south of Philadelphia. Our team did an excellent job ensuring that the pipeline operated effectively throughout the fiscal year, particularly during Winter Storm Elliot. At Leaf River, we continue to pursue service enhancements that will help increase its capabilities for the benefit of our customers.

前往幻燈片 10 上的存儲和運輸部分。這是我們 Adelphia 全面投入運營的第一年，這是一條 84 英里的管道，從賓夕法尼亞州馬丁斯溪一直延伸到費城南部。我們的團隊做得非常出色，確保管道在整個財政年度有效運行，特別是在冬季風暴埃利奧特期間。在 Leaf River，我們繼續追求服務增強，這將有助於提高其能力，為客戶帶來利益。

Moving to Slide 11. Energy Services had an excellent 2023 with a significant contribution from the AMAs coupled with an outsized performance from our portfolio of strategically positioned assets. The AMAs will allow NJR to exceed its stated NFEPS long-term growth rate this year. And as demonstrated over the course of the last 3 years, we still have the ability to generate additional earnings from our remaining portfolio in times of volatility.

轉向幻燈片 11。能源服務公司在 2023 年表現出色，AMA 做出了重大貢獻，加上我們策略定位資產組合的出色表現。 AMA 將使 NJR 今年超過其規定的 NFEPS 長期成長率。正如過去三年的情況所證明的那樣，在波動時期，我們仍然有能力從剩餘的投資組合中產生額外的收益。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Roberto for a review of our financial results. Roberto?

接下來，我會將電話轉給羅伯托，以審查我們的財務表現。羅伯托？

Thank you, Steve, and good morning, everyone. Slide 13 shows the main drivers of our NFE for fiscal 2023. We reported NFE of $261.8 million or $2.70 per share compared with NFE of $240.3 million or $2.50 per share last year. The results of our business segments exceeded our initial expectations and reflected a year-over-year improvement at Energy Services and CEV, partially offset by higher depreciation and interest expenses in our other segments.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，大家早安。幻燈片 13 顯示了 2023 財年 NFE 的主要驅動因素。我們報告的 NFE 為 2.618 億美元，即每股 2.70 美元，而去年的 NFE 為 2.403 億美元，即每股 2.50 美元。我們業務部門的表現超出了我們最初的預期，反映了能源服務和 CEV 的同比改善，但部分被我們其他部門較高的折舊和利息支出所抵消。

New Jersey Natural Gas reported NFE in line with expectations, which included another strong year for our BGSS incentive programs. I also wanted to note that a significant portion of the year-on-year increase in O&M at our utility is due to a difficult comparison versus fiscal 2022, where NJNG deferred nearly $11 million of bad debt expenses in accordance with the July 2020 BPU deferral order.

新澤西天然氣公司報告的 NFE 符合預期，其中包括我們的 BGSS 激勵計劃又一個強勁的一年。我還想指出，我們公用事業公司的營運和維護同比增長的很大一部分是由於與 2022 財年的困難比較所致，其中 NJNG 根據 2020 年 7 月 BPU 延期推遲了近 1100 萬美元的壞帳費用命令。

Clean Energy Ventures increased NFE by over $5 million. As Steve mentioned, we increased our service capacity by more than 82 megawatts during the year, and we will recognize the value of the associated tax attributes over the next 5 years.

Clean Energy Ventures 將 NFE 增加了超過 500 萬美元。正如史蒂夫所提到的，我們在這一年中將服務能力增加了超過 82 兆瓦，我們將在未來 5 年內認識到相關稅收屬性的價值。

Storage and Transportation reported NFE of $12.8 million, which included higher revenues from the facilities that went into service at Adelphia Gateway during the year, as well as higher depreciation and interest expenses. Finally, Energy Services reported NFE of $68.5 million compared to $39.1 million in the prior year.

儲存和運輸報告的 NFE 為 1280 萬美元，其中包括來自阿德爾菲亞網關年內投入使用的設施的更高收入，以及更高的折舊和利息支出。最後，能源服務公司報告的 NFE 為 6,850 萬美元，而前一年為 3,910 萬美元。

As we look to fiscal 2024, it's important to note that we expect to recognize a significant portion of the AMA's total revenue during the year, most of which will be recorded during our fiscal fourth quarter.

在我們展望 2024 財年時，值得注意的是，我們預計將在這一年確認 AMA 總收入的很大一部分，其中大部分將在第四財季記錄。

Turning to our capital plan on Slide 14. Over the next 2 years, we expect to invest between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion across the company. This capital deployment is expected to support growth throughout our business units and is consistent with our long-term NFEPS growth target of 7% to 9%. For fiscal 2024, we're increasing the bottom and top ends of the range from our previous projections, largely driven by higher expected capital investments at NJNG. In the next 2 years, we anticipate spending between $800 million and $1 billion of the utility.

轉向投影片 14 中我們的資本計畫。在未來 2 年內，我們預計在整個公司投資 12 億至 15 億美元。此次資本部署預計將支持我們整個業務部門的成長，並與我們 7% 至 9% 的長期 NFEPS 成長目標一致。對於 2024 財年，我們將提高先前預測範圍的下限和上限，這主要是由於 NJNG 預期資本投資較高。未來 2 年，我們預計公用事業支出將在 8 億至 10 億美元之間。

At CEV, we see a number of opportunities for future growth and expect to stand between $300 million and $470 million over the next 2 years, taking advantage of a broad opportunity set of solar investments. And finally, at S&T, we expect to maintain a moderate CapEx level with service enhancements at Leaf River representing the largest investments.

在 CEV，我們看到了許多未來成長的機會，並預計未來 2 年內的成長將達到 3 億至 4.7 億美元，充分利用廣泛的太陽能投資機會。最後，在 S&T，我們預計將保持適度的資本支出水平，其中 Leaf River 的服務增強是最大的投資。

Our capital projections are anchored by strong cash flows from operations. On Slide 15, we show a very strong operating cash flow achieved during fiscal 2023. We also show our updated projections for fiscal year 2024 and introduce fiscal 2025. As you can see, we expect cash flow from operations to range between $450 million and $490 million in the coming year.

我們的資本預測以強勁的營運現金流為基礎。在投影片15 中，我們展示了2023 財年實現的非常強勁的營運現金流。我們也展示了2024 財年的最新預測，並介紹了2025 財年。如您所見，我們預計營運現金流在4.5 億美元至490 美元之間來年達百萬。

Moving to Slide 16. NJNG continues to maintain favorable investment-grade credit ratings, and NJR's adjusted FFO to adjusted debt was 19% for fiscal 2023 and is expected to be between 17% and 18% for fiscal 2024. We have no plans to issue block equity. However, as we have stated in the past, our existing reinvestment program includes a waiver discount feature that allows us to raise small amounts of equity on an opportunistic basis.

轉向投影片16。NJNG 繼續維持有利的投資等級信用評級，NJR 2023 財年調整後的FFO 與調整後債務的比率為19%，預計2024 財年將在17% 至18% 之間。我們沒有發行發行債券的計劃區塊股權。然而，正如我們過去所說，我們現有的再投資計劃包括豁免折扣功能，使我們能夠在機會主義的基礎上籌集少量股權。

Finally, on Slide 17, we provide a breakout of our long-term debt. As you can see, most of our debt is fixed rate in nature. We don't have significant maturities in any particular year and we have substantial liquidity at both NJR and NJNG. Our NFEPS guidance for fiscal 2024 and our long-term NFEPS growth guidance assume high interest rates for the foreseeable future. Overall, we are in an outstanding position to fund our growth objectives.

最後，在投影片 17 上，我們提供了長期債務的詳細情況。正如您所看到的，我們的大部分債務本質上都是固定利率的。我們在任何特定年份都沒有顯著的到期日，並且我們在 NJR 和 NJNG 都擁有大量流動性。我們的 2024 財政年度 NFE​​PS 指引和長期 NFEPS 成長指引均假設可預見的未來利率較高。總體而言，我們處於有利地位，可以為我們的成長目標提供資金。

With that, I will turn the call back to Steve.

這樣，我會將電話轉回給史蒂夫。

Thanks, Roberto. Since our Analyst Day in 2020, NJR has reported 12 quarters of financial results. During this time, we have raised our earnings guidance on 5 occasions as a result of strong performance throughout our business units. We exceeded our 7% to 9% long-term growth rate for each of the past 3 years, and we expect to do it again this year. An important component of our value proposition is the ability to return capital to our shareowners. For fiscal year 2024, we have raised our dividend to an annualized rate of $1.68 per share, a nearly 8% increase compared to fiscal 2023. With this increase, we have now raised our dividend every year for the last 28 years.

謝謝，羅伯托。自 2020 年分析師日以來，新日本無線已報告了 12 個季度的財務表現。在此期間，由於我們整個業務部門的強勁表現，我們已五次上調獲利指引。過去 3 年我們每年都超過 7% 至 9% 的長期成長率，預計今年將再次實現這一目標。我們價值主張的一個重要組成部分是向股東返還資本的能力。 2024 財年，我們將股息年化率提高至每股 1.68 美元，與 2023 財年相比增長了近 8%。隨著這一增長，我們在過去 28 年裡每年都會提高股息。

The combination of our expected growth in dividend provides investors with an expected shareholder return of between 11% to 13%. In the coming years, we'll continue to develop organic growth opportunities that support long-term NFEPS growth markets through prudent capital decision-making reinforced by a strong balance sheet.

我們預期的股息成長相結合，為投資者提供了 11% 至 13% 的預期股東回報。未來幾年，我們將繼續開發有機成長機會，透過穩健的資產負債表強化審慎的資本決策，支持長期 NFEPS 成長市場。

As always, I'd like to thank all of our employees at NJR for their hard work and contribution. And with that, I'll now open the call for your questions.

一如既往，我要感謝新日本無線所有員工的辛勤工作和貢獻。現在，我將開始詢問你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from the line of Julien Dumoulin-Smith with Bank of America.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自美國銀行的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith 線路。

This is Tanner on for Julien. Now that we're a few years into the long-term planning period, what factors could -- are you seeing that could trend your EPS growth to the upper or lower end of your long-term guidance for the remainder of the planning period? Given your upcoming rate filing and CapEx plans, should we think of NJNG as accelerating here in the back end? I'm just trying to get a sense of the -- how you view the linearity of NJNG and then Clean Energy Ventures as well?

這是坦納為朱利安主持的節目。現在我們已經進入長期規劃期幾年了，您是否認為哪些因素可能會導致您的每股收益增長在規劃期剩餘時間內達到長期指導的上限或下限？鑑於您即將提交的費率申請和資本支出計劃，我們是否應該認為 NJNG 在後端加速？我只是想了解一下——您如何看待 NJNG 以及清潔能源創投公司的線性？

So Tanner, I think you described it right there. We've got a number of options we're able to grow or deploy capital, I guess, more quickly in order to accelerate that growth. You can see the CapEx program at utility increasing due to customer growth and other factors of clean energy. We've got a large pipeline of projects at CEV. We've got potential expansion, although nothing has been announced at our S&T Group. So you have all those factors pushing forward. Added into that, the fact that we have less need for equity due to the cash flows from Energy Services, it's just builds a strong platform for future investments.

坦納，我想你已經描述過了。我想，我們有很多選擇可以更快地成長或部署資本，以加速成長。您可以看到，由於客戶成長和清潔能源的其他因素，公用事業的資本支出計畫不斷增加。我們在 CEV 擁有大量項目。儘管我們的科技集團還沒有宣布任何消息，但我們有潛在的擴張。所以所有這些因素都在推動著你。除此之外，由於能源服務的現金流，我們對股權的需求減少，這只是為未來的投資建立了一個強大的平台。

So I'd like to think about it is that we've got a good plan, solidly built going forward to hit the 7% to 9% growth and then the potential for additional investments, should any of the things that I've just mentioned hit.

因此，我想考慮的是，我們已經制定了一個良好的計劃，紮實推進，以實現 7% 至 9% 的增長，然後是額外投資的潛力，如果我剛才提到的任何事情提到命中。

Great. And then with respect to the upcoming rate case application, can you set some preliminary expectations for the composition of the filing? Is it expected to be pretty straightforward? Or could there be programs or mechanisms attached with the filing?

偉大的。那麼對於即將到來的費率案件申請，您能否對備案的構成提出一些初步的預期？預計會非常簡單嗎？或是否可以在備案中附加程序或機制？

Tanner, this is Pat Migliaccio, Chief Operating Officer of New Jersey Natural Gas. To answer your question, this is a pretty straightforward rate case. You may recall, we'll be filing sometime in fiscal year 2024. The principal toggle for that is IT investments related to our program (inaudible) as well as other, I'll call bread-and-butter utility investments around safety and reliability, the pipeline, et cetera. But to hit the nail on the head, it's a pretty straightforward rate case.

坦納，我是帕特‧米利亞喬，新澤西天然氣公司的營運長。為了回答你的問題，這是一個非常簡單的費率案例。您可能還記得，我們​​將在2024 財年的某個時候提交文件。其中的主要切換是與我們的計劃相關的IT 投資（聽不清楚）以及其他我稱之為圍繞安全性和可靠性的基本公用事業投資、管道等。但要切中要害，這是一個非常簡單的費率案例。

Your next question comes from the line of Travis Miller with Morningstar.

你的下一個問題來自特拉維斯·米勒（Travis Miller）與晨星公司（Morningstar）的對話。

Quick question on Slide 11 to start. Those -- the revenue and cash flow projections, what kind of variability should we expect in those or not at all?

從投影片 11 開始快速提問。這些——收入和現金流預測，我們應該預期這些變化會出現什麼樣的變化，或者根本不會改變？

Travis, this is Roberto Bel. You're talking about -- you're talking about the AMA, right?

崔維斯，這是羅伯托貝爾。你在談論——你在談論 AMA，對嗎？

The AMA, yes.

美國醫學協會，是的。

Yes, those are from projects. There is no variability of those cash flows or revenues.

是的，這些來自項目。這些現金流或收入沒有變動。

Okay. So a good model in terms of modeling, just model those straight out as you presented them.

好的。因此，就建模而言，一個好的模型就是在呈現它們時直接對其進行建模。

Correct.

正確的。

Okay. And then -- can you tell us what the earned ROE was at NJNG this year for the fiscal year?

好的。然後，您能告訴我們 NJNG 今年本財年的淨資產收益率是多少嗎？

No. Unfortunately, that's something we don't disclose (inaudible).

不。不幸的是，我們沒有透露這一點（聽不清楚）。

Okay. Okay. Understand. And then a higher-level question. On CEV, I wonder if you could characterize both the types of projects that are in the pipeline and then also your thinking around strategy in terms of building and/or contracting and/or buying projects in the future?

好的。好的。理解。然後是一個更高層次的問題。關於 CEV，我想知道您是否可以描述一下正在醞釀中的專案類型，以及您對未來建設和/或承包和/或購買專案方面策略的思考？

Yes. I guess I'll take the strategy. It hasn't changed from where we started. We've got a few different stages of projects that we're able to purchase and acquire. We started developing, but certainly not opposed to buying late-stage projects, or even ones in operation. General strategy is to be able to build, develop and own within regions and jurisdictions that are favorable in our risk profile. So I'd say New Jersey like, if we get outside of New Jersey, which we have, I think 40% of our projects to date are outside of New Jersey or 40% going forward are outside New Jersey.

是的。我想我會採取這個策略。與我們開始的地方相比，它沒有改變。我們有幾個不同階段的項目可供購買和收購。我們開始開發，但當然不反對購買後期項目，甚至是正在運作的項目。整體策略是能夠在有利於我們風險狀況的地區和司法管轄區內建造、開發和擁有。所以我想說新澤西州，如果我們離開新澤西州，我認為迄今為止我們的專案中有 40% 是在新澤西州以外，或者未來 40% 是在新澤西州以外。

We're really looking at the risk profile, making sure the regulatory environment is favorable and really matches what we like to say is utility-like earnings across the whole company. So that's the way we're looking at it.

我們真正關注的是風險狀況，確保監管環境有利，並且真正符合我們所說的整個公司的公用事業收益。這就是我們看待它的方式。

Okay. Do you foresee doing projects on your own? Or would you consider going into maybe some very large projects with a partner or other equity partner, however, you'd want to structure it, but could you see yourselves going into bigger projects with a partner?

好的。您預計自己做專案嗎？或者您會考慮與合作夥伴或其他股權合作夥伴一起參與一些非常大的項目，但是，您想要建立它，但是您能看到自己與合作夥伴一起參與更大的項目嗎？

I wouldn't -- I'm not going to take anything off the table. But to date, you've seen the size of projects that we're doing anywhere from a few megawatts up to 25 or 30 megawatts. So smaller in nature when you look at large scale utility-like investments, and I think that niche market fits us well, not only from a return management perspective. That being said, I think we certainly have the capability to manage larger projects. Again, this is all really focused on returns and risk profile of the jurisdiction in which we're making the investment.

我不會——我不會放棄任何事。但到目前為止，您已經看到我們正在進行的專案規模從幾兆瓦到 25 或 30 兆瓦不等。當你考慮大規模的公用事業類投資時，其本質就較小，我認為利基市場非常適合我們，不僅從回報管理的角度來看。話雖如此，我認為我們當然有能力管理更大的專案。同樣，這一切都真正關注我們投資所在司法管轄區的回報和風險狀況。

(Operator Instructions) Your next question will come from the line of Robert Mosca with Mizuho.

（操作員說明）您的下一個問題將來自 Robert Mosca 和 Mizuho 的線路。

So on Slide 9, which is the staging of the CEV backlog additions, the big points on the x-axis changed. So it's kind of hard to tell if anything is different with respect to project timing, but any notable developments you want to call out? It also seems like CEV CapEx in '24 is going to be slightly higher than originally thought. So any thoughts there would be helpful?

因此，在投影片 9（CEV 待辦事項新增的分階段）中，x 軸上的要點發生了變化。因此，很難判斷專案時間表是否有任何不同，但您想指出任何值得注意的進展嗎？ 24 年的 CEV 資本支出似乎也將略高於最初的預期。那麼有什麼想法會有幫助嗎？

So what are you looking for Robert? I'm not sure what the question is?

那你在找羅伯特什麼呢？我不確定問題是什麼？

Yes. Sorry. So Slide 9, the CEV project addition time line. So just wondering if anything has changed because the breakpoints on the x axis are different than they were in the prior quarter. But any developments or kind of steady as she goes? And it also looks like the '24 CapEx for CEV is slightly higher than originally thought. So any thoughts there?

是的。對不起。投影片 9，CEV 專案新增時間軸。所以只是想知道是否有任何變化，因為 x 軸上的斷點與上一季不同。但她的發展有任何進展或穩定嗎？而且看起來 CEV 的 24 年資本支出略高於最初的預期。那麼有什麼想法嗎？

Rob, this is Roberto. So on Slide 9, if you compare this slide to prior slides from pior calls, there is no significant difference, other than that our in-service capacity has increased because we have been (inaudible) megawatts internally. But if you look at the total, right, that 1.2 gigawatts that we have on the right, has not changed. So we continue to move and progress, creating our pipeline, but from the last quarter when we had this conversation, no material changes.

羅布，這是羅伯托。因此，在幻燈片9 上，如果將此幻燈片與先前通話中的先前幻燈片進行比較，除了我們的服務容量有所增加之外，沒有顯著差異，因為我們內部已經（聽不清楚）兆瓦了。但如果你看總量，右邊，我們右邊的 1.2 吉瓦並沒有改變。因此，我們繼續前進和進步，創建我們的管道，但從上個季度我們進行這次談話時來看，沒有重大變化。

Okay. Great. That's helpful. And Steve, I think you touched on it in your prepared remarks just with the widening of the guidance range. Is that just to match your peers? Or is there any more earnings variability in your base businesses this year compared to prior years? And if there is, just wondering what that could be attributable to?

好的。偉大的。這很有幫助。史蒂夫，我認為您在準備好的演講中談到了指導範圍的擴大。這只是為了匹配你的同齡人嗎？或者與往年相比，今年您的基礎業務的獲利變化是否更大？如果有的話，只是想知道這可能歸因於什麼？

No, not related to more variability. This is exactly what you're saying to match our peers. If you think about our guidance range, it's been about $0.10 for 12 years, more than 10 years. Despite that, we have been growing earnings every single year, right? So this is just to bring us back in line with what our peers are projecting on a relative basis.

不，與更多的可變性無關。這正是你所說的為了與我們的同行相符。如果你考慮我們的指導範圍，12 年、10 多年來，它一直約為 0.10 美元。儘管如此，我們的收入每年都在成長，對吧？因此，這只是為了讓我們在相對基礎上與同行的預測保持一致。

Okay. Great. And just a quick last 1 for me. I know you mentioned kind of pursuing the service enhancements at Leaf River. Just wondering, is that something that could be monetized? Is that an area of growth? Or is that just improving customer service for those customers?

好的。偉大的。對我來說只是最後一個。我知道您曾提到要加強 Leaf River 的服務。只是想知道，這是可以貨幣化的東西嗎？這是一個成長領域嗎？或者這只是改善這些客戶的客戶服務？

No, I think the whole strategy associated with our S&T business to be able to get on to organic growth with those assets. And certainly, we've got a growth mindset in those businesses. So yes, we've got some small investments that we're making now tied to some contractual arrangements and I think moving forward, it's been a secret that storage is being expanded on the Gulf Coast. And certainly, pipeline infrastructure in the Northeast is difficult to build, greenfield expanding existing pipelines is much more -- is much easier. So when we look at those 2 facts, we look at expansion. We've got nothing to announce now, but it's certainly something that we look at that could be outside of the plan.

不，我認為與我們的科技業務相關的整個策略能夠利用這些資產實現有機成長。當然，我們在這些業務中擁有成長型思維。所以，是的，我們現在正在進行一些與一些合約安排相關的小額投資，我認為展望未來，在墨西哥灣沿岸擴大儲存空間一直是一個秘密。當然，東北地區的管道基礎設施很難建設，而綠地擴建現有管道則要容易得多。因此，當我們考慮這兩個事實時，我們會考慮擴張。我們現在沒有什麼要宣布的，但我們肯定會考慮一些可能超出計劃的事情。

(Operator Instructions) We have no further questions at this time. I'll turn the call back over to Adam Prior for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）目前我們沒有其他問題。我會將電話轉回亞當普賴爾 (Adam Prior) 以供結束發言。

Thanks, Regina. I'd like to thank everyone for joining us this morning. As a reminder, a recording of this call is available for replay on our website. Everyone have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. And as always, we appreciate your interest and investment in NJR. Thanks so much. Goodbye.

謝謝，雷吉娜。我要感謝大家今天早上加入我們。請注意，本次通話的錄音可在我們的網站上重播。每個人都度過了一個快樂、安全的感恩節。一如既往，我們感謝您對新日本無線的興趣和投資。非常感謝。再見。

That will conclude today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。