ONE Gas Inc (OGS) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the ONE gas first quarter earnings conference call and webcast. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Erin Dailey. Please go ahead, Ms. Dailey.

大家好，歡迎參加 ONE gas 第一季財報電話會議和網路廣播。今天的會議正在錄製中。現在，我想將會議交給 Erin Dailey。請繼續，戴利女士。

Thank you, Cole. Good morning, everyone. And thank you for joining us on our first quarter 2025 earnings conference call. This call is being webcast live, and a replay will be available later today. After our prepared remarks, we're happy to take your questions.

謝謝你，科爾。大家早安。感謝您參加我們的 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。本次電話會議正在進行網路直播，今天稍後將提供重播。在我們準備好發言之後，我們很樂意回答您的問題。

Statements made during this call that might include ONE Gas' expectations or predictions should be considered forward-looking statements and are covered by the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Securities Act of 1933, and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, each has amended.

本次電話會議中所作的可能包括 ONE Gas 的期望或預測的陳述應被視為前瞻性陳述，並受 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法》、《1933 年證券法》和 1934 年《證券交易法》的安全港條款的保護，每項法案均已修訂。

Actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. For a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ, please refer to our SEC filings.

實際結果可能與任何前瞻性聲明中預測的結果有重大差異。有關可能導致實際結果不同的因素的討論，請參閱我們的美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 文件。

Joining us on the call this morning are Sid McAnnally, President and Chief Executive Officer; Chris Sighinolfi, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Curtis Dinan, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

今天早上參加電話會議的有總裁兼首席執行官 Sid McAnnally； Chris Sighinolfi，高級副總裁兼首席財務官；以及高級副總裁兼首席營運官柯蒂斯·迪南 (Curtis Dinan)。

And now I'll turn the call over to Sid.

現在我將把電話轉給 Sid。

Thanks, Erin. And good morning, everyone. We're happy to be with you this morning to discuss our first quarter performance. We reported strong financial results yesterday, including net income of $119 million or $1.98 per diluted share. We achieved these results by executing our regulatory plan, managing O&M expenses, and continuing to add new customers.

謝謝，艾琳。大家早安。我們很高興今天上午與您一起討論我們的第一季業績。我們昨天報告了強勁的財務業績，包括淨收入 1.19 億美元或每股 1.98 美元。我們透過執行監管計劃、管理營運和維護費用以及繼續增加新客戶實現了這些成果。

New rates that took effect at the end of last year allow us to recover investments in our system. These investments supported ongoing customer growth and enhanced system reliability. The value of those system investments was shown earlier this year as our system faced five named winter storms in January and February without any significant outages.

去年年底生效的新利率使我們能夠收回對系統的投資。這些投資支持了客戶的持續成長並增強了系統可靠性。這些系統投資的價值在今年稍早得到了體現，因為我們的系統在一月和二月經歷了五次冬季風暴，但沒有任何重大中斷。

Last quarter, we discussed how company-wide initiatives resulted in a faster pace of O&M expense moderation than we had expected. This quarter, our teams continued to focus on expense management, contributing to our positive financial results.

上個季度，我們討論了全公司範圍的措施如何使維運費用的節流速度比我們預期的更快。本季度，我們的團隊繼續專注於費用管理，為我們帶來了積極的財務表現。

We've taken the same disciplined approach to our procurement activities. Direct relationships with our suppliers and careful planning have strengthened our supply chain. And we expect to be largely insulated from material tariff impacts through 2025.

我們對採購活動採取了同樣嚴謹的態度。與供應商的直接關係和周詳的規劃加強了我們的供應鏈。我們預計到 2025 年，材料關稅的影響將基本緩解。

In December, we shared our decision to de-risk our five-year financial plan. Our plan includes an earnings per share CAGR of approximately 6% through 2029, matched with reduced capital intensity and related funding needs.

12月，我們分享了降低五年財務計畫風險的決定。我們的計劃包括到 2029 年每股盈餘複合年增長率約為 6%，同時降低資本密集度和相關融資需求。

This approach limits our financial risks while further strengthening our already robust credit profile. All of us at ONE Gas remain committed to our core mission to safely and reliably deliver natural gas to our customers.

這種方法限制了我們的財務風險，同時也進一步增強了我們本已強勁的信用狀況。ONE Gas 全體員工始終致力於我們的核心使命，即安全可靠地向客戶提供天然氣。

We support that commitment through programs that engage our employees and support our safety culture. For the 8th year in a row, our annual employee survey showed a higher level of engagement across our workforce. A highly engaged workforce drives performance and reinforces a culture of safety.

我們透過讓員工參與並支持我們的安全文化的計劃來支持這項承諾。我們的年度員工調查連續第八年顯示，我們員工的敬業度有所提升。高度敬業的員工團隊可以提高績效並強化安全文化。

We're honored to have recently received the American Gas Association Safety Award for having the lowest rate of significant injuries among our peers for the 8th consecutive year.

我們很榮幸最近獲得了美國燃氣協會安全獎，連續第八年在同行中實現最低的重大傷害率。

This achievement is a testament to our co-workers' daily commitment to safety and excellence in serving our 2.3 million customers. And we are deeply grateful for their dedication.

這項成就證明了我們的同事每天都致力於為 230 萬客戶提供安全和卓越的服務。我們對他們的奉獻深表感謝。

Now I'll ask Chris to discuss the details of our financial performance for the quarter. Chris?

現在我請克里斯討論我們本季財務表現的細節。克里斯？

Thanks, Sid. And good morning, everyone. As Sid noted, we had strong financial performance this quarter due to new rates taking effect late last year. Cold weather underpinning strong customer demands and our team's consistent management of expenses.

謝謝，席德。大家早安。正如 Sid 所指出的，由於去年年底新利率生效，我們本季的財務業績表現強勁。寒冷的天氣支撐了強勁的客戶需求和我們團隊對費用的一致管理。

We now expect to achieve the upper half of our stated guidance ranges, which include net income of $254 million to $261 million and earnings per diluted share of $4.20 to $4.32. Net income for the first quarter was $119.4 million or $1.98 per diluted share compared with $99.3 million or $1.75 in the same period last year.

我們現在預計將實現既定指引範圍的上半部分，其中包括淨收入 2.54 億美元至 2.61 億美元，每股攤薄收益 4.20 美元至 4.32 美元。第一季淨收入為 1.194 億美元，即每股 1.98 美元，而去年同期為 9,930 萬美元，即每股 1.75 美元。

Weather across our service territories for the first quarter was 5% colder than normal and 16% colder than the first quarter last year. First quarter revenues reflect an increase of approximately $52 million from new rates and $2 million from continued customer growth.

我們服務區域第一季的氣溫比正常水平低 5%，比去年第一季低 16%。第一季的收入因新費率而增加了約 5,200 萬美元，因客戶持續成長而增加了 200 萬美元。

First quarter O&M expenses were approximately 2% higher than the first quarter last year. We still project a 4% CAGR in O&M expenses across the five-year plan. Our teams have done an excellent job of managing these expenses.

第一季的營運和維護費用比去年第一季高出約 2%。我們仍預期五年計畫內的營運和維護費用複合年增長率為 4%。我們的團隊在管理這些費用方面做得非常出色。

Other income net decreased by just under $3 million compared with the same period last year, primarily due to decreases in the market value of investments associated with our non-qualified employee benefit plan.

其他淨收入與去年同期相比減少了近 300 萬美元，主要原因是與我們的非合格員工福利計劃相關的投資市場價值下降。

Excluding amounts related to KGSS-I, interest expense in the first quarter was $4.7 million higher than the same period in 2024, which reflects the maturity of lower coupon notes in February and March 2024. The reopening of our 5.1% senior notes last August to issue an additional $250 million and higher average commercial paper balances.

不包括與 KGSS-I 相關的金額，第一季的利息支出比 2024 年同期高出 470 萬美元，這反映了 2024 年 2 月和 3 月較低票面利率票據的到期。我們在去年 8 月重新發行了 5.1% 的優先票據，額外發行了 2.5 億美元，並提高了平均商業票據餘額。

We have forward sale agreements for 403,000 shares of our common stock with settlement by the end of 2025 at an average price of nearly $75 per share. Had all forward shares been settled at quarter end, we would have received net proceeds of approximately $30 million.

我們已簽訂 403,000 股普通股的遠期銷售協議，將於 2025 年底結算，平均價格為每股近 75 美元。如果所有遠期股票在季度末結算，我們將獲得約 3000 萬美元的淨收益。

We also have approximately $225 million of equity available for issuance under our -- at the market equity program. We continue to be opportunistic about issuing equity as we meet our remaining needs. Yesterday, the ONE Gas board of directors declared a dividend of $0.67 per share, unchanged from the previous quarter.

根據我們的市場股權計劃，我們還擁有約 2.25 億美元的股權可供發行。在滿足剩餘需求的同時，我們將繼續抓住機會發行股票。昨天，ONE Gas 董事會宣布派發每股 0.67 美元的股息，與上一季持平。

And now Curtis, I'll turn things over to you.

現在，柯蒂斯，我將把事情交給你。

Thank you, Chris. And good morning, everyone. I'll start with an update on our regulatory activities.

謝謝你，克里斯。大家早安。我將首先介紹我們的監管活動的最新情況。

Oklahoma Natural Gas filed its annual performance-based rate change application in February, seeking a $41.5 million adjustment with rates expected to go into effect in late June. In all Texas service areas, we completed our annual capital recovery filings.

俄克拉荷馬天然氣公司於 2 月提交了年度基於績效的費率變更申請，尋求 4,150 萬美元的調整，預計費率將於 6 月底生效。在所有德州服務區，我們都完成了年度資本回收申報。

For the central Gulf region, we are requesting a $15.4 million revenue increase, and for the West-north region, we are seeking an $8.2 million increase both to be effective in June. In the Rio Grande Valley, service area we're requesting a $3.2 million increase to be effective in September.

對於墨西哥灣中部地區，我們請求增加 1540 萬美元的收入，對於西北地區，我們請求增加 820 萬美元的收入，這兩項政策均將於 6 月生效。在裡奧格蘭德河谷服務區，我們要求增加 320 萬美元，並從 9 月開始生效。

Finally, Kansas Gas Service requested an increase of $7.2 million, pursuant to the Gas Safety and Reliability Surcharge statute. The GSRS allows for the recovery of and a return on safety and system integrity related investments between general rate cases.

最後，堪薩斯天然氣服務公司根據《天然氣安全和可靠性附加費法規》要求增加 720 萬美元。GSRS 允許在一般費率案例之間恢復和回報與安全和系統完整性相關的投資。

As Chris noted, it was quite cold this January and February with five named winter storms hitting our region. Our system performed well throughout the storms, thanks to careful planning and the dedication of our co-workers.

正如克里斯所說，今年一月和二月天氣相當寒冷，五場冬季風暴襲擊了我們地區。由於精心的規劃和同事們的奉獻，我們的系統在整個風暴期間表現良好。

Despite the cold weather, we completed $178 million worth of capital projects this quarter, relatively in line with the same period last year. Progress continues on the Austin System Reinforcement Project we discussed on last quarter's call.

儘管天氣寒冷，本季我們仍完成了價值 1.78 億美元的資本項目，與去年同期基本持平。我們在上個季度的電話會議上討論的奧斯汀系統加固項目正在繼續取得進展。

We've installed almost 24,000 feet of pipe and are on track to have the project in service during the fourth quarter of this year. We are also pleased to share news of an innovative new project with one of our customers in Austin. Texas Gas Service will supply natural gas for on-site power generation and construct an interconnection to receive renewable natural gas from the customer's facility.

我們已經安裝了近 24,000 英尺的管道，並預計在今年第四季投入使用。我們也很高興與奧斯汀的一位客戶分享一個創新新專案的消息。德州天然氣服務公司將為現場發電供應天然氣，並建造互連繫統以從客戶的設施接收再生天然氣。

This project demonstrates the importance of natural gas and how the versatility of the natural gas system can support a customer's environmental and business goals. We've made progress on our own emissions goal, achieving a 51% reduction in leak-related emissions.

該專案證明了天然氣的重要性以及天然氣系統的多功能性如何支援客戶的環境和業務目標。我們在實現自身排放目標方面取得了進展，洩漏相關排放量減少了 51%。

Our safety-driven pipeline replacement plan has kept us on track to reach our 2035 goal of reducing emissions associated with mains and services by 55% even as we grow our system.

我們的安全驅動管道更換計劃使我們預計將實現 2035 年的目標，即在系統擴展的同時將與主管道和服務相關的排放量減少 55%。

As Chris noted, our teams have done a great job managing O&M expenses. We continue to in-source line locating and completed that process in the outlying areas of Oklahoma during the first quarter.

正如克里斯所說，我們的團隊在管理營運和維護費用方面做得非常出色。我們繼續進行源線路定位，並於第一季在俄克拉荷馬州的邊遠地區完成了此流程。

ONE Gas employees now perform about 40% of line locating services across our territories. Focusing on growth, we've installed nearly 8,000 new meters through April as new housing developments take shape. The major metropolitan areas in Texas and Oklahoma are leading this expansion. We are also setting new meters in Kansas, especially in the Wichita area.

目前，ONE Gas 員工承擔著我們整個地區約 40% 的管道定位服務。我們注重成長，隨著新住宅開發案的形成，截至 4 月份，我們已安裝了近 8,000 個新電錶。德克薩斯州和俄克拉荷馬州的主要大都市區正在引領這一擴張。我們也在堪薩斯州，特別是威奇托地區安裝了新的電錶。

As we've noted in previous discussions, an influx of new residents has resulted in a shortage of available housing across our three states. We anticipate builders and developers will respond to the ongoing demand for new housing, and we are well positioned to provide natural gas service.

正如我們在先前的討論中提到的，新居民的湧入導致我們三個州的住房短缺。我們預計建築商和開發商將滿足持續的新住房需求，並且我們已準備好提供天然氣服務。

We also continue to explore opportunities to serve power generation needs across our footprint. We are thoughtful in our approach to such opportunities and are particularly interested in projects that support our strategic initiatives, including system reinforcement and extending service to growing areas.

我們也將繼續探索在我們的業務範圍內滿足發電需求的機會。我們認真對待此類機會，尤其對支持我們策略舉措的項目感興趣，包括系統強化和將服務擴展到不斷發展的地區。

Our active projects include generation at large, advanced manufacturing facilities and lower power capacity areas, data centers, and serving grid-connected utility generation.

我們活躍的項目包括大型發電廠、先進的製造設施和電力容量較低的地區、資料中心以及服務電網連接的公用事業發電。

Operator, we're now ready for questions.

接線員，我們現在可以回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Jefferies.

朱利安·杜穆林·史密斯（Julien Dumoulin-Smith），傑富瑞集團（Jefferies）。

Hey, good morning, team. Thank you, guys, very much for the time. Appreciate it. Nicely done here. Just a couple follow-ups if I can here.

嘿，早上好，團隊。非常感謝你們抽出時間。非常感謝。這裡做得很好。如果可以的話，我只想跟進幾件事。

Hey, good morning, sir. Just, you know, Chris, nicely done on the O&M here real quickly, I mean. You -- with OM coming in at what looks like a 1.9% year over year 1Q.

嘿，早上好，先生。你知道，克里斯，我的意思是，這裡的 O&M 做得非常快。您—OM 的成長率看起來與去年第一季相比成長了 1.9%。

How do you think about the commentary about sub 4% here? And how do you think about it trending in a longer-term basis in that direction, right? I mean, certainly in this inflationary environment, you guys continue to put up this kind of O&M is remarkable, but I just wanted to see how sustainable it is, if you will?

您如何看待這裡關於低於 4% 的評論？您認為從長遠來看，這趨勢會是如何？我的意思是，在這種通貨膨脹的環境下，你們繼續進行這種 O&M 是了不起的，但我只是想看看它有多可持續，如果你願意的話？

Well, good morning, Julien. Thank you for that.

嗯，早上好，朱利安。謝謝你。

If you revisit where we started in our efforts around insourcing of activities, primarily in Curtis' vertical, a couple of years ago, we had at that time a 5% CAGR in O&M expenses, planned over the five-year period.

如果您回顧我們幾年前開始進行內部採購活動的努力，主要是在柯蒂斯的垂直領域，當時我們的營運和維護費用的複合年增長率為 5%，計劃在五年內實現。

And based on the success of that, and we had communicated at the time, it would be more front and loaded as we did those activities. And we had to incubate the inefficiencies of bringing people in while still paying contractors as we trained our internal staffing. We were able to migrate that down to a 4% number.

基於這項成功經驗，而我們當時已經溝通過，我們在進行這些活動時會更加重視前期工作。而且，在培訓內部員工時，我們必須解決引進人才的低效率問題，同時也要支付承包商的費用。我們能夠將其降低至 4%。

We -- as you point out, achieved a number better than that, but we're still cautious about the opportunities that Curtis and his team continue to probe new areas to continue to in-source where it's appropriate to do so, both in terms of the type of work and the area of the work.

正如您所指出的，我們取得了比這更好的成績，但我們仍然對柯蒂斯和他的團隊繼續探索新領域的機會持謹慎態度，以便在適當的情況下繼續進行內部採購，無論是在工作類型還是工作領域方面。

And so you may look to us, Julien, to continue to push that opportunity. We still would say it's more front end loaded as we do that work and then I'll just remind you that about 60% of our O&M is labor and benefits related. And so we're still subjected to what the labor market dictates as a competitive wage growth number, going forward.

因此，朱利安，你可以期待我們繼續推動這個機會。我們仍然會說，當我們在做這項工作時，前端負載更大，然後我只想提醒你，我們大約 60% 的 O&M 與勞動力和福利有關。因此，未來我們仍要遵循勞動市場所規定的競爭性薪資成長數字。

Excellent. Hey, thanks, Chris. And maybe a little bit more of a question for Curtis here. I think there's a bill HB 4384 in Texas. Looks like an interesting, depreciation tracker for gas LDCs here.

出色的。嘿，謝謝，克里斯。也許我這裡還有更多問題想問柯蒂斯。我認為德克薩斯州有一項法案 HB 4384。這裡看起來是一個有趣的天然氣欠發達國家的折舊追蹤器。

Is that something that could be potentially meaningful for you all? And how do you think about that? I mean, just as you think about the legislative landscape recession, is that something that you guys would be notably watching here as an opportunity or anything else legislatively on the gas investment cycle in Texas?

這對你們所有人來說都具有潛在的意義嗎？您對此有何看法？我的意思是，正如你所考慮的立法前景衰退一樣，這是你們特別關注的機會嗎？還是德州天然氣投資週期中的其他立法機會？

Yeah, Julien, thanks for the question. That is one that would be of benefit to us just as the 8.209 that you referenced is a benefit to us today on the types of investments that qualify under that one.

是的，朱利安，謝謝你的提問。這對我們來說是有益的，就像您提到的 8.209 對我們今天在符合該條件的投資類型上是有益的一樣。

So extending that out would help with overall recoveries that we receive and earlier returns on those projects that we experienced today. So we -- that bill still has quite a ways to go, but we would see that as a positive.

因此，延長這一期限將有助於我們獲得整體復甦，並有助於我們今天經歷的那些項目的早期回報。因此，該法案還有很長的路要走，但我們認為這是一件積極的事情。

Some of the other bills that we're watching closely have to do with utility worker protections, strengthening the penalties to -- if there's any incidents involving them during their work and some other similar type of eminent domain legislation and things like that. But I would say more opportunistic in the way we're viewing these rather than something we're as concerned about.

我們正在密切關注的其他一些法案與公用事業工人保護有關，如果他們在工作期間發生任何事故，將加強處罰力度，以及其他一些類似的徵用立法等。但我想說，我們看待這些事情的方式更多的是機會主義的，而不是我們所關心的事情。

Got it. And beyond just the notable improvement in recovery and lag, do you see this enabling kind of another step function in spending in any specific way as you think about Texas and that legislation?

知道了。除了復甦和滯後方面的顯著改善之外，當您考慮德克薩斯州和該立法時，您是否認為這在支出方面會以任何具體方式發揮另一種促進作用？

I wouldn't say that. We look at several factors when we're setting our capital plans. First, what are the needs of our system as it relates to integrity spending? What are the opportunities with our customer development?

我不會這麼說。我們在製定資本計劃時會考慮幾個因素。首先，我們的系統與誠信支出相關的需求是什麼？我們的客戶發展有哪些機會？

And then thinking about what are the resources that are needed, whether those are financial resources or the physical resources to complete the work and what's the impact on the customer bills.

然後思考需要哪些資源，無論是財務資源或是完成工作的物質資源，以及對客戶帳單的影響。

So that's kind of the filter we run our capital through. And while this would have a positive impact on the returns of, it wouldn't be of such a magnitude that it would change the answer to those first four filters.

這就是我們管理資本的過濾器。雖然這會對回報產生正面影響，但其影響不會大到改變前四個過濾器的答案。

Got it. Alright. Excellent. Well guys, thank you all, very much appreciate the time.

知道了。好吧。出色的。好吧，夥計們，謝謝大家，非常感謝你們抽出時間。

See you soon, right? Julien, you bet.

很快就會見到你，對吧？朱利安，沒錯。

Bill Apacelli, UBS.

瑞銀的比爾·阿帕塞利。

Hi, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Good morning, Bill.

早安，比爾。

Just going back maybe to the O&M question, but also more broadly around the guide up, within guidance for the year, is that driven by the O&M tracking a little bit better than expected or any more color as to why the guide up into the range?

也許回到 O&M 問題，但更廣泛地圍繞指南上調，在年度指南範圍內，這是由 O&M 跟踪比預期更好一點所驅動的，還是對於指南上調至該範圍的原因有更多的解釋？

Yeah. Hey Bill, this is Chris. It's a combination of things. If you were to look at first quarter, we had very strong margin predicated on strong customer demand given the weather profile. We've continued to see strong growth in the customer base. And then, as you pointed out, we've performed better on the cost side of things than was originally embedded.

是的。嘿，比爾，我是克里斯。這是多種因素的綜合。如果你看第一季度，你會發現，考慮到天氣狀況，由於客戶需求強勁，我們的利潤率非常高。我們持續看到客戶群的強勁成長。然後，正如您所指出的，我們在成本方面的表現比最初嵌入的要好。

Okay, great. And then maybe just on that project that you mentioned in Austin, I mean, can you just any more color around the size or scope of the project and magnitude of investment for you?

好的，太好了。然後也許只是關於您在奧斯汀提到的那個項目，我的意思是，您能否再詳細地介紹一下項目的規模或範圍以及投資規模？

Yeah, this is Curtis, Bill. In terms of investment dollars, it's not a significant investment. This project really highlights our approach to trying to tie strategic initiatives together.

是的，這是柯蒂斯，比爾。從投資金額來看，這並不是一項重大投資。該專案確實凸顯了我們嘗試將策略舉措結合在一起的方法。

So a few years ago, we started working on in this particular area of Austin, expanding our loop around the city because we saw growth happening and we needed to be able to get supply to different parts of that community.

因此幾年前，我們開始在奧斯汀的這個特定區域開展工作，擴大我們在城市周圍的環路，因為我們看到該地區正在發展，我們需要能夠向社區的不同地區提供供應。

Building that trunk line put us near where we would have the opportunity to serve this customer. So while the customer wasn't on the map a few years ago, tying all of those things together and our commercial people continuing to stay active in the area has created that opportunity to serve it.

建造這條主幹線使我們更接近有機會為該客戶提供服務的地方。因此，儘管幾年前該客戶還未出現在地圖上，但將所有這些聯繫在一起，並且我們的商業人員繼續在該地區活躍，已經創造了為其提供服務的機會。

So if you're just looking at the setting in a little bit of pipe that's related to directly serving this customer, it's not a lot of capital, but it's because of tying all these other projects together that enabled it.

因此，如果您只考慮與直接服務該客戶相關的一小部分管道的設置，那麼它不需要很多資金，但這是因為將所有這些其他項目結合在一起才使得它成為可能。

So that's really the strategy behind how we approach these types of projects. And we'll be able to say a little bit more about the project later as the customer is ready to do that.

這就是我們處理此類項目背後的策略。當客戶準備好時，我們稍後會透露更多有關該項目的資訊。

All right, perfect. And then just lastly for me on the -- you just speak to the tariff impact and to the degree that's having an influence on the capital budget or any other aspects of your operations.

好的，完美。最後，對我來說——您剛才談到了關稅的影響以及它對資本預算或您運營的任何其他方面的影響程度。

Yeah, Bill, this is Sid. We were fortunate in that. Let's go back to before COVID, we found that there was an economic advantage to having a more direct relationship with our suppliers and buying up in the production chain.

是的，比爾，這是席德。我們很幸運。讓我們回到新冠疫情之前，我們發現與供應商建立更直接的關係並在生產鏈中購買具有經濟優勢。

There were some savings there and so we put that into place and it really served us well during COVID. We continue to follow that, and we believe it's going to give us some protection in '25 as we wait to see what the actual tariff environment is going forward. But we think we're fairly well insulated in terms of this year and so no impact on performance is built into our guide.

由於我們節省了一些開支，所以我們就實施了這些措施，這在新冠疫情期間確實為我們提供了很好的服務。我們將繼續關注這一點，並相信它將在 25 年為我們提供一些保護，同時我們等待觀察實際關稅環境的未來發展。但我們認為，就今年而言，我們的安全狀況相當良好，因此我們的指南中沒有考慮對業績的影響。

Okay. Alright. Perfect. That's it for, me, thank you.

好的。好吧。完美的。對我來說就這樣了，謝謝。

You bet. Thank you.

當然。謝謝。

Christopher Jeffrey, Mizuho Securities.

瑞穗證券的克里斯多福‧傑弗瑞 (Christopher Jeffrey)。

Hi. Good morning, everyone. And congratulations on the quarter. Maybe just to speak more to the impact of whether as far as higher sales volume and kind of what that means for working capital inventory levels?

你好。大家早安。恭喜本季取得佳績。也許只是想多談談更高的銷售量是否會產生影響，以及這對營運資本庫存水準意味著什麼？

And I noticed that the interest expense quarter over quarter came down a bit. Was that more related to that working capital piece or are you seeing lower rates on your CP?

我注意到利息支出較上季有所下降。這是否與營運資金部分更相關，或者您是否看到 CP 的利率下降？

Hey Chris, this is Chris. I'll maybe start in reverse order. Yes, the CP rate came down given the Federal Reserve's last cut was in early December. And it takes a little bit of time for that to get fully profiled in.

嘿克里斯，我是克里斯。我可能會以相反的順序開始。是的，由於聯準會上次降息是在 12 月初，因此 CP 利率有所下降。並且需要一點時間才能完全了解情況。

So there was a modest benefit, certainly on a quarter-over-quarter basis. There was a benefit in the average rate dynamic for commercial paper. You're right that with strong demand meant a significant amount of volume sold to customers, certainly a step change from the 16% weather dynamic improvement year over year and a quarter, and that does result in a bit more of working capital needs to service.

因此，與上一季相比，確實存在一定的好處。商業票據的平均利率動態是有好處的。您說得對，強勁的需求意味著向客戶銷售了大量產品，這與去年同期和上一季 16% 的天氣動態改善相比無疑是一個巨大的變化，這確實會導致對服務營運資金的需求增加一些。

We're starting to get obviously, as we moved out of winter and in through April and early part of May paid off on those amounts and so we see some reprieve from that. But you're right to note that the weather dynamic is supportive of a lot of the sort of cornerstone elements of what we do, but it also entails more in the way of work capital financing needs to do to support it.

顯然，隨著冬季的結束，我們在 4 月和 5 月初開始償還這些款項，因此我們看到了一些緩解。但您說得對，天氣動態對我們所做的許多基石要素都有支持作用，但它也需要更多的工作資本融資來支持它。

Great. Thanks, Chris. And then maybe just have kind of one more on the O&M [fees], as far as like the insourcing program. Do you see kind of a timing that that program will be [sunset]? You kind of mentioned, front loaded O&M or do you see that more as kind of a recurring continuous program for the foreseeable future?

偉大的。謝謝，克里斯。然後，就內部採購計劃而言，也許還會有更多關於 O&M [費用] 的問題。你認為這個專案的時間表是[日落]？您提到了前期投入的 O&M，還是您認為這更像是一種可預見的未來的重複性持續計劃？

Chris, this is Curtis. And we do still have ongoing activities we're doing in the line locating area. The difference between today and two years ago, when we really had to step into it in masse to get to a critical point is we can be more measured in the process.

克里斯，這是柯蒂斯。我們仍在線路定位區域進行持續活動。今天與兩年前的差異在於，當時我們必須大規模地介入才能達到關鍵點，而現在我們可以在這個過程中更加謹慎。

So in terms of the number of jobs that we create and the number of locates that we insource, we can do it a little more slowly, so as we incur those front-end costs in advance of gaining the benefit of those efficiencies, it won't be as significant to us.

因此，就我們創造的就業機會數量和我們內部採購的職位數量而言，我們可以做得慢一些，這樣，當我們在獲得這些效率的好處之前承擔這些前期成本時，這對我們來說就不那麼重要了。

But that program, we still have quite a ways to go just in that function. I mentioned we're at 40% companywide. I don't know that our goal would be to get to 100% companywide, but there's a balance related to it. But we still have plenty of opportunity to do that.

但是對於這個程序，我們在功能方面還有很長的路要走。我提到我們全公司的比例是 40%。我不知道我們的目標是否是達到全公司 100% 的水平，但這與平衡有關。但我們仍然有很多機會去實現這一點。

The other thing I would mention is there are some other areas of activities that we do that we're continuing to evaluate. Are those functions that we should insource? How would we go about it? What would be the pace of that, and what's the upside to doing that?

我想提到的另一件事是，我們正在繼續評估其他一些活動領域。這些功能是我們應該內部採購的嗎？我們該如何處理呢？這樣做的速度是怎麼樣的？這樣做有什麼好處？

So I don't look for an early sunset to the different activities because I think our teams are pretty innovative in what they're looking at and finding new ways to bring things in-house and that helps us from an efficiency standpoint and to manage our workforce and our compliance efforts better.

因此，我並不期待不同活動早日結束，因為我認為我們的團隊在他們所關注的領域非常具有創新性，並且找到了將事情帶入內部的新方法，這有助於我們提高效率，更好地管理我們的員工和合規工作。

Great. Thanks, Curtis. Thanks a lot.

偉大的。謝謝，柯蒂斯。多謝。

Paul Fremont, Ladenburg.

保羅‧弗里蒙特，拉登堡。

Thank you very much and congratulations on a great quarter. Just some clarification on O&M for this year. So you've talked about sort of it only increasing 2% in the first quarter. Where do you expect to end the year as a whole, in the 4% range or maybe even in the 2% range?

非常感謝，並祝賀本季取得優異成績。只是對今年的 O&M 進行一些澄清。所以您談到第一季僅成長 2%。您預計今年全年的成長率會達到多少，在 4% 左右，還是在 2% 左右？

Paul, this is Sid. Thank you for the comment. We like the 4% number because to Chris' point, when you think about the impact of employee costs, we know that we're going to bear those costs through the year.

保羅，這是席德。感謝您的評論。我們喜歡 4% 這個數字，因為正如克里斯所說，當你考慮員工成本的影響時，我們知道我們將在全年承擔這些成本。

We also anticipate that we'll have other opportunities as Curtis just spoke to and I'd add to Curtis's answer about those efficiency opportunities. It's not just about reducing the cost of compliance activities, it's also giving us the flexibility to deploy our workforce in a more efficient way, so that when we have downtime in one area, we can shift the focus of our employee base to other compliance activities.

我們也預期我們會有其他機會，正如柯蒂斯剛才談到的，我想補充柯蒂斯關於那些效率機會的回答。這不僅可以降低合規活動的成本，還可以讓我們更靈活地以更有效的方式部署我們的勞動力，這樣當我們在一個領域停工時，我們可以將員工的注意力轉移到其他合規活動上。

So it really is an efficiency gain. We're not assuming numbers, specific numbers that would cause us to guide below the 4%. So the 4% is there because we believe that it is -- it competently speaks to employee costs that we know are coming and additional efficiency investments that we think we'll have the opportunity to make.

所以這確實是一種效率的提升。我們不會假設數字，不會假設會導致我們指導低於 4% 的具體數字。因此，我們之所以設定 4% 的稅率，是因為我們相信，它能夠充分說明我們知道即將到來的員工成本，以及我們認為有機會進行的額外效率投資。

But as Chris said, we will always seek to be below that number. We'll always seek to be more efficient. So that's our goal at the end of the day.

但正如克里斯所說，我們將始終努力低於這個數字。我們將始終致力於提高效率。這就是我們最終的目標。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

There are no additional questions at this time, so I'll pass the call back over to Erin Dailey for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題，因此我將把電話轉回 Erin Dailey 做結束語。

Thank you all again for your interest in ONE Gas. We look forward to seeing many of you at the AGA Financial Forum in a couple of weeks. Our quiet period for the second quarter starts when we close our books in early July and extends until we release earnings on August 5. We'll provide details about the conference call at a later date. Have a great day.

再次感謝大家對 ONE Gas 的關注。我們期待幾週後在 AGA 金融論壇上見到大家。我們第二季的靜默期從 7 月初結帳開始，一直延續到 8 月 5 日發布收益。我們將稍後提供有關電話會議的詳細資訊。祝你有美好的一天。

That concludes the ONE Gas first quarter earnings conference call on webcast. You may now disconnect your line.

ONE Gas 第一季財報網路電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路了。