New Jersey Resources Corp (NJR) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is John, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the New Jersey Resources fiscal 2024 second-quarter conference call and webcast. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝你的支持。我叫約翰，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 2024 財年第二季電話會議和網路直播。 （操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the call over to Adam Prior, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係總監 Adam Prior。請繼續。

Thank you. Welcome to New Jersey Resources' fiscal 2024 second-quarter 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.

謝謝。歡迎參加新澤西資源公司 2024 財年第二季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 differ materially from our expectations as found on slide 1.

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我們在投影片 1 中發現的預期有重大差異。

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 statements referenced herein in light of future events.

這些項目也可以在今天的收益發布的 8-K 表格中的前瞻性陳述部分以及我們向 SEC 提交的最新 10-K 和 10-Q 表格中找到。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 operations, 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 found on slide 4. Steve will begin with this year's highlights, followed by Roberto, who will review our financial results, then we'll open it 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。我們今天的議程可以在幻燈片 4 上找到。

With that said, I'll 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. Good morning, everyone. New Jersey Resources delivered a strong performance in the second quarter. We reported net financial earnings of $1.41 per share in the period, and we are reaffirming our fiscal 2024 NFEPS guidance range of $2.85 to $3 per share. I'll take you through the highlights, which are outlined on slide 5 in our presentation.

謝謝，亞當。大家，早安。新澤西資源公司第二季表現強勁。我們報告期間每股淨財務收益為 1.41 美元，並重申 2024 財年 NFEPS 指引範圍為每股 2.85 美元至 3 美元。我將向您介紹我們簡報中第 5 張投影片中概述的重點內容。

We continue to see a trend of strong customer growth at New Jersey Natural Gas and achieved higher utility gross margin for the quarter. Throughout a relatively warm winter marked by periods of volatility, New Jersey Natural Gas once again demonstrated its ability to provide cost-effective and reliable service. New Jersey Natural Gas has decoupled, meaning utility gross margin is insulated from changes due to weather and customer usage. We continue to remain aligned with all of our stakeholders to provide the best most affordable service for our customers.

我們繼續看到新澤西天然氣公司客戶成長強勁的趨勢，並在本季實現了更高的公用事業毛利率。在經歷了一個相對溫暖、波動較大的冬季，新澤西天然氣公司再次證明了其提供具有成本效益和可靠服務的能力。新澤西州天然氣已脫鉤，這意味著公用事業毛利率不受天氣和客戶使用變化的影響。我們繼續與所有利害關係人保持一致，為我們的客戶提供最好、最實惠的服務。

During the period, we filed the base rate case to recover capital investments of approximately $850 million since the settlement of our last rate case in 2021 as well as a new SAVEGREEN program that represented the largest energy efficiency filing in our history.

在此期間，我們提交了基本費率案件，以收回自 2021 年上一次費率案件和解以來約 8.5 億美元的資本投資，以及新的 SAVEGREEN 計劃，這是我們歷史上最大的能源效率備案。

We remain active at Clean Energy Ventures with approximately 34 megawatts of projects under construction that will add to the 5 megawatts of capacity placed in service thus far this year. And our project pipeline is expanding, allowing this growth to continue well into the future. We reported solid contributions from S&T. And as we announced in our last conference call, energy services outperformed in January, capitalizing in a brief period of pricing volatility.

我們仍然積極參與 Clean Energy Ventures，目前正在建造約 34 兆瓦的項目，這將增加今年迄今投入使用的 5 兆瓦的容量。我們的專案管道正在擴大，使這種成長能夠在未來持續下去。我們報告了科技的堅實貢獻。正如我們在上次電話會議中宣布的那樣，能源服務業在 1 月表現出色，並利用了短暫的價格波動。

Moving to slide 6, in November, we provided NFEPS initial guidance range of $2.70 to $2.85 per share. As a result of our outperformance, we increased our fiscal 2024r NFEPS guidance by $0.15 per share in February. As discussed in prior calls, we expect fiscal 2024 to exceed our stated 7% to 9% long-term growth rate.

轉到幻燈片 6，11 月份，我們提供的 NFEPS 初步指導範圍為每股 2.70 美元至 2.85 美元。由於我們的出色表現，我們在 2 月將 2024 財年 NFEPS 指引上調了每股 0.15 美元。如同先前電話會議所討論的，我們預期 2024 財年的長期成長率將超過我們規定的 7% 至 9%。

Slide 7 shows the expected NFEPS percentage contribution by business segment for fiscal 2024, as well as a general guide for what we expect in the future. 2024 is somewhat unique, as energy services will represent a higher portion due to the AMAs and outperformance in the quarter. However, in future years, we expect to return to a more normalized segment breakout with 60% to 70% coming from our utility business.

投影片 7 顯示了 2024 財年各業務部門對 NFEPS 的預期貢獻百分比，以及我們對未來預期的一般指南。 2024 年有些獨特，因為由於 AMA 和本季的優異表現，能源服務將佔據更高的比例。然而，在未來幾年，我們預計將恢復更正常的細分市場突破，其中 60% 至 70% 來自我們的公用事業業務。

With that, I'll turn the discussion over to our business units beginning on slide 8 with New Jersey Natural Gas. We've invested $211 million at New Jersey Natural Gas through a variety of programs in fiscal 2024 with approximately 45% of that CapEx providing near real-time returns.

接下來，我將把討論轉交給我們的業務部門，從幻燈片 8 中的新澤西天然氣公司開始。 2024 財年，我們透過各種計畫向新澤西天然氣公司投資了 2.11 億美元，其中約 45% 的資本支出提供了近乎即時的回報。

Within that 45% is the SAVEGREEN program, which helps residential and commercial customers lower their energy usage. We have spent approximately $33 million thus far this year to help our customers save money and reduce their carbon footprint. We achieved solid new customer growth during the period through a combination of new construction and conversions throughout our service territories.

其中 45% 是 SAVEGREEN 計劃，該計劃幫助住宅和商業客戶降低能源使用。今年迄今為止，我們已花費約 3300 萬美元來幫助我們的客戶節省資金並減少碳足跡。在此期間，我們透過在整個服務區域內進行新建和改造，實現了穩固的新客戶成長。

Finally, we are continuing to pursue new innovations that further our decarbonization strategy. The example of this are two new carbon-capture units that we recently installed at our headquarters in New Jersey. These units, which are in the initial phase of testing, are expected to reduce emissions profile per building while providing additional data as we pursue new decarbonization initiatives. By encouraging innovation in energy efficiency, green fuels, renewables, and other emerging technologies like carbon capture, we are demonstrating our ability to achieve long-term emissions reduction goals.

最後，我們將繼續追求新的創新，以進一步推動我們的脫碳策略。這方面的例子是我們最近在新澤西州總部安裝的兩個新的碳捕獲裝置。這些裝置正處於測試的初始階段，預計將減少每棟建築的排放量，同時在我們推行新的脫碳措施時提供額外的數據。透過鼓勵能源效率、綠色燃料、再生能源和碳捕獲等其他新興技術的創新，我們正在展示我們實現長期減排目標的能力。

Turning to slide 9, I'll provide an update on our base rate case. On January 31, we requested an increase of base rates of approximately $223 million, an equivalent to an increase of $159 million in operating income. The rate case is progressing as expected, and we plan to update our filing to include nine months of actual results later this month.

轉到投影片 9，我將提供基本費率案例的最新情況。 1 月 31 日，我們要求將基本費率提高約 2.23 億美元，相當於營業收入增加 1.59 億美元。費率案件正在按預期進展，我們計劃在本月稍後更新我們的備案文件，以包括九個月的實際結果。

We will continue working with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities towards a resolution that balances the interests of our customers and the company with new rates expected to be in place for fiscal 2025.

我們將繼續與新澤西州公用事業委員會合作，制定一項平衡客戶和公司利益的決議，預計將於 2025 財政年度實施新費率。

Moving to Slide 10, Clean Energy Ventures has continued to add new solar capacity during the fiscal year with an additional 34 megawatts under construction. We are also growing our solar pipeline, which now includes over 870 megawatts of potential investment options.

轉向幻燈片 10，Clean Energy Ventures 在本財年繼續增加新的太陽能發電容量，另外 34 兆瓦正在建造發電容量。我們也正在擴大太陽能管道，目前包括超過 870 兆瓦的潛在投資選擇。

Over the past few years, we've expanded our portfolio geographically with 51% of our pipeline outside of New Jersey. Our focus is on developing solar investment opportunities that provide high single-digit unlevered returns.

在過去幾年中，我們擴大了產品組合的地理範圍，其中 51% 的產品線位於新澤西州以外。我們的重點是開發可提供高個位數無槓桿回報的太陽能投資機會。

Finally, our S&T business performed to our expectations during the period. We continue to pursue organic growth opportunities to maximize those assets. At Leaf River, we are initiating the capital investment process to expand the working capacity within our cabins by approximately 4 BCF. We recently initiated an open season to provide additional capacity to our customers and regions with considerable demand for reliable and affordable natural gas storage capabilities.

最後，我們的科技業務在此期間的表現符合我們的預期。我們繼續尋求有機成長機會，以最大限度地利用這些資產。在 Leaf River，我們正在啟動資本投資流程，將我們客艙內的工作能力擴大約 4 BCF。我們最近啟動了一個開放季節，為我們的客戶和對可靠且負擔得起的天然氣儲存能力有大量需求的地區提供額外的容量。

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

這樣，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 our fiscal 2024 second quarter and first half. In the second quarter, we reported NFE of $138.6 million or $1.41 per share compared with NFE of $112.3 million or $1.16 per share last year.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。大家早安。投影片 13 顯示了 2024 財年第二季和上半年 NFE 的主要驅動因素。第二季度，我們報告的 NFE 為 1.386 億美元，即每股 1.41 美元，而去年的 NFE 為 1.123 億美元，即每股 1.16 美元。

New Jersey Natural Gas reported NFE in line with expectations as higher utility gross margin was partially offset by higher depreciation and operating expenses. Clean Energy Ventures NFE improved for the period by $3.8 million, largely due to an increase in earnings related to the recognition of investment tax credits associated with [solar sale leaseback] financing transactions.

新澤西天然氣公司公佈的 NFE 符合預期，因為較高的公用事業毛利率被較高的折舊和營運費用部分抵消。 Clean Energy Ventures NFE 在此期間增加了 380 萬美元，這主要是由於與[太陽能售後回租]融資交易相關的投資稅收抵免的認可而帶來的收益增加。

Storage and transportation energy remained largely flat for the period, while energy services reported NFE of $37.6 million compared to $21.1 million in the second quarter of the prior year. This outperformance was driven by energy services capturing additional financial margin during brief periods of volatility in the winter. As we look to the remainder of fiscal 2024, it's important to note that we expect to recognize a significant portion of the asset management agreements total revenues during our fiscal fourth quarter.

在此期間，儲存和運輸能源基本上持平，而能源服務報告的 NFE 為 3,760 萬美元，而去年第二季為 2,110 萬美元。這一優異表現是由於能源服務在冬季短暫的波動期間獲得了額外的財務利潤而推動的。在我們展望 2024 財年剩餘時間時，值得注意的是，我們預計將在第四財季確認資產管理協議總收入的很大一部分。

I'll move through the next few slides quickly as our capital plan, cash flows, and balance sheet projections remain largely unchanged from our previous goal.

我將快速瀏覽接下來的幾張投影片，因為我們的資本計畫、現金流量和資產負債表預測基本上與先前的目標保持不變。

Turning to our capital plan on slide 14, for the next few years, we expect to invest between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion across the company. And as Steve mentioned earlier, we began a new capital project at Leaf River and amended a capital plan to account for approximately $11 million of additional investment at [S&P] in fiscal 2024. Our capital projections are anchored by strong cash flow from operations.

轉向幻燈片 14 上的資本計劃，未來幾年，我們預計在整個公司投資 12 億至 15 億美元。正如史蒂夫之前提到的，我們在Leaf River 啟動了一個新的資本項目，並修改了資本計劃，以在2024 財年對[S&P] 進行約1100 萬美元的額外投資。強勁的營運現金流為基礎。

On slide 15, we expect cash flow from operations to range between $450 million and $490 million in both fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025. Slide 16 shows this NJR's credit metrics. We continue to project NJR's adjusted FFO to adjusted debt to be between 17% and 18% for the year. While we have no plans to issue block equity, our existing dividend reinvestment program includes a waiver discount feature that allows us to raise equity on an opportunistic basis.

在投影片 15 中，我們預計 2024 財年和 2025 財年的營運現金流量將在 4.5 億美元至 4.9 億美元之間。我們繼續預期新日本無線今年調整後的 FFO 與調整後的債務將在 17% 至 18% 之間。雖然我們沒有計劃發行整體股權，但我們現有的股息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股本。

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, and we do not have significant maturities in any particular year. For the remainder of fiscal 2024, we do not have any debt maturities. NFEPS guidance for fiscal 2024 and our long-term NFEPS growth guidance assumes higher interest rates for longer, and we have substantial liquidity at both NJR and NJNG.

最後，在投影片 17 中，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，而且我們在任何特定年份都沒有顯著的到期日。在 2024 財年剩餘時間內，我們沒有任何債務到期。 2024 財年的 NFEPS 指導和我們的長期 NFEPS 成長指引假設利率在較長時間內保持較高水平，並且我們在 NJR 和 NJNG 都擁有大量流動性。

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. In conclusion, thanks to higher NFE contributions from energy services and steady performance from our core businesses, fiscal 2024 is outperforming our initial expectations. NJR benefits from operating a complementary portfolio of businesses that are essential to sustain growth. These assets are dependable cash generators and difficult to replicate. We continue to pursue organic expansion to maximize NJR's earning potential and support our peer-leading growth rate.

謝謝，羅伯托。總之，由於能源服務的 NFE 貢獻增加以及我們核心業務的穩定表現，2024 財年的表現超出了我們的最初預期。新日本無線受益於營運對維持成長至關重要的互補業務組合。這些資產是可靠的現金產生器，且難以複製。我們繼續追求有機擴張，以最大限度地提高新日本無線的獲利潛力，並支持我們領先同行的成長率。

As always, I want to thank all our employees for their hard work. And with that, let's open the call for any questions.

一如既往，我要感謝所有員工的辛勤工作。接下來，讓我們開始電話詢問任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) Richard Sunderland, JPMorgan.

（操作員指令）Richard Sunderland，摩根大通。

Hi, good morning. Can you hear me?

早安.你聽得到我嗎？

Yes, we can hear you, Rich. How are you doing?

是的，我們聽得到你的聲音，里奇。你好嗎？

Great, thanks, and thanks for the time today. Maybe starting with Leaf River, the capacity recovery project, could you speak a little bit more to this in terms of if this is a precursor to a larger expansion of Leaf River? How should we think about the financial impact and timing of contributions from the incremental capacity? Any other key details here would be helpful.

太好了，謝謝，謝謝今天的時間。也許從 Leaf River 容量恢復計畫開始，您能否多談談這是否是 Leaf River 更大規模擴張的先兆？我們該如何考慮增量產能的財務影響和貢獻時間？這裡的任何其他關鍵細節都會有所幫助。

Certainly, we've got nothing to announce as far as the larger expansion goes. But for the work that's being done there now, it certainly could be helpful in future expansion and some pumps and some de-grinding, dewatering capability. But I think the focus on is projects like these -- in these sciences that help with just organic expansion in the company and our ability to grow.

當然，就更大規模的資料片而言，我們還沒有什麼可宣布的。但對於現在正在進行的工作來說，它肯定會對未來的擴建以及一些泵浦和一些脫磨、脫水能力有所幫助。但我認為重點是像這樣的計畫——這些科學領域有助於公司的有機擴張和我們的成長能力。

We just completed the open season. It concluded (inaudible) and we haven't' analyzed all the details yet. We just have some contracts to do. But just to speak to the economics, we're very optimistic about the project and fully believe that we'll be moving forward with this. So we'll sit on that until we get to final contracts and details associated with it.

我們剛剛結束了開放賽季。它結束了（聽不清楚），我們還沒有分析所有細節。我們只是有一些合約要做。但就經濟而言，我們對該項目非常樂觀，並完全相信我們將繼續推動這項計畫。因此，我們將靜觀其變，直到達成最終合約和相關細節。

Understood. Thanks for the commentary there, though. And then turning to CEV, just curious about how you're thinking of New Jersey at this point. I believe the most recent solicitations selected one of your projects. Any thoughts on pricing, future expectations to deploy more megawatts through this process? Any other learnings?

明白了。不過，還是謝謝你的評論。然後轉向 CEV，只是好奇您此時對新澤西州的看法。我相信最近的招標選擇了你們的一個項目。關於定價以及未來透過此流程部署更多兆瓦的預期有何想法？還有其他學習嗎？

So yes, we were happy to see that New Jersey's new forward -- the CSI program, and that's moving forward, contracts that are 5 megawatts and greater. So good to see that it's going forward. And we did have one project that was on our own in there. As far as further comments about it, we do have relationships with a number of other developers. So we expect that it will be certainly acted in the New Jersey solar market.

所以，是的，我們很高興看到新澤西州的新進展——CSI 計劃，並且正在向前推進，合約容量達到 5 兆瓦及以上。很高興看到它正在向前發展。我們確實有一個我們自己的專案。至於對此的進一步評論，我們確實與許多其他開發人員有聯繫。所以我們預計它肯定會在新澤西太陽能市場上發揮作用。

But I think from an investor standpoint, to look at this from a project pipeline point of view, we've got 874 megawatts in our project pipeline in CEV. And that's more than enough to give us investment opportunities in the near future.

但我認為從投資者的角度來看，從專案管道的角度來看，我們的 CEV 專案管道中有 874 兆瓦。這足以在不久的將來為我們提供投資機會。

As far as returns go, again, we're still targeting the high single-digit return for projects moving forward, and that's our yardstick to continue to make investments. So overall, constructive that things are moving forward. And we're optimistic about our pipeline also going forward as well.

就回報而言，我們仍然以未來專案的高個位數回報為目標，這是我們繼續進行投資的標準。總的來說，事情正在向前發展，這是有建設性的。我們對我們的管道的進展也持樂觀態度。

Understood. That's very helpful. Maybe just a quick follow up on the CEV front. Given data centers are so topical these days, curious how you think about data center demand and the state's efforts there, and if that might impact the CEV outlook, either New Jersey or I guess your regional efforts.

明白了。這非常有幫助。也許只是對 CEV 方面的快速跟進。鑑於資料中心如今如此熱門，好奇您如何看待資料中心需求和州政府在這方面的努力，以及這是否可能影響 CEV 前景，無論是新澤西州還是我猜您的區域努力。

I think, more broadly, it just really points to the amount of infrastructure that we're going to need in order to supply all the energy that we have for all the endeavors moving forward, whether it's data centers or electric cars or just reliability in general. So as energy demand grows, bringing all of our infrastructure into the picture and using that in the longer term is going to be extremely important. So extremely constructive for the assets that we hold in the infrastructure business in general.

我認為，更廣泛地說，它確實指出了我們需要多少基礎設施，才能為我們前進的所有努力提供所有能源，無論是數據中心還是電動車，或者只是可靠性。因此，隨著能源需求的成長，將我們所有的基礎設施納入考慮範圍並長期使用將變得極為重要。對於我們在基礎設施業務中持有的資產來說，這是非常有建設性的。

Understood. I'll leave it there. Thank you.

明白了。我會把它留在那裡。謝謝。

Thanks, Rich.

謝謝，里奇。

(Operator Instructions) As there are no further questions at this time, this concludes our Q&A session. I would like to turn the call over back to Adam for closing remarks.

（操作員說明）由於目前沒有其他問題，我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將電話轉回給 Adam 進行總結發言。

Well, thanks, everyone, for joining us this morning. As a reminder, a recording of this call is available for replay on our website. Later this month, we are attending the American Gas Association or AGA Financial Forum, and we hope to see many of you there. As always, we appreciate your interest and investment in NJR. Have a good one.

好的，謝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。本月晚些時候，我們將參加美國天然氣協會或 AGA 金融論壇，我們希望在那裡見到你們中的許多人。一如既往，我們感謝您對新日本無線的興趣和投資。祝你有個好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。