Otter Tail Corp (OTTR) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to Otter Tail Corporation's second-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Today's call is being recorded. We will hold a question and answer session after the prepared remarks. I'll now turn the call over to the company for their opening comments.

早安，歡迎參加 Otter Tail Corporation 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音。我們將在準備好的演講後舉行問答環節。我現在將電話轉給公司，請他們發表開場評論。

Good morning and welcome to our second-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. My name is Beth Eiken, and I'm Otter Tail Corporation's Manager of Investor Relations.

早安，歡迎參加我們的 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。我叫 Beth Eiken，是 Otter Tail Corporation 的投資人關係經理。

Last night, we announced our second-quarter financial results. Our complete earnings release and slide accompanying this call, are available on our website at ottertail.com. A recording of this call will be available on our website later today. With me on the call are Chuck McFarlane, Otter Tail Corporation's President and CEO; and Todd Wahlund, Otter Tail Corporation's Vice President and CFO.

昨晚，我們公佈了第二季的財務表現。完整的收益報告和本次電話會議的幻燈片可在我們的網站 ottertail.com 上取得。本次電話會議的錄音將於今天稍晚在我們的網站發布。與我一起參加電話會議的還有 Otter Tail Corporation 總裁兼執行長 Chuck McFarlane 和 Otter Tail Corporation 副總裁兼財務長 Todd Wahlund。

Before we begin, I want to remind you that we will be making forward-looking statements during the course of this call. As noted on slide 2, these statements represent our current views and expert of future events. They are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ from those presented here. So please be advised against placing undue reliance on any of these statements.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，我們將在本次電話會議期間做出前瞻性陳述。如投影片 2 所示，這些陳述代表了我們目前的觀點和對未來事件的專家意見。它們受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與此處所示的結果不同。因此，請注意不要過度依賴這些聲明。

Our forward-looking statements are described in more detail in our filings of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we encourage you to review. Otter Tail Corporation disclaims any duty to update or revise our forward-looking statements due to new information, future events, developments, or otherwise.

我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中對前瞻性陳述進行了更詳細的描述，我們鼓勵您閱讀這些文件。Otter Tail Corporation 不承擔因新資訊、未來事件、發展或其他原因而更新或修改我們的前瞻性聲明的任何義務。

I will now turn the call over to Otter Tail Corporation's President and CEO, Mr. Chuck McFarlane.

現在我將把電話轉給 Otter Tail Corporation 的總裁兼執行長 Chuck McFarlane 先生。

Thank you, Beth. Good morning and welcome to our second-quarter earnings call. Please refer to slide 4 as I begin my remarks with a summary of quarterly highlights.

謝謝你，貝絲。早上好，歡迎參加我們的第二季財報電話會議。請參閱投影片 4，我將以季度亮點摘要開始我的發言。

We are pleased with our Q2 financial results as they outpaced our expectations. Our team members continue to perform well and remain committed to our mission of delivering value by building strong Electric and Manufacturing platforms.

我們對第二季的財務表現感到滿意，因為它超出了我們的預期。我們的團隊成員繼續表現出色，並繼續致力於透過建立強大的電氣和製造平台來實現價值的使命。

In June, severe weather moved through our service territory, resulting in significant infrastructure and property damage. Nearly one in three of our customers experienced a sustained interruption to their Electric service due to the storms. I'm appreciative of our team members' efforts in working to restore power for our customers as safely and quickly as possible.

6 月份，惡劣天氣襲擊了我們的服務區域，造成了嚴重的基礎設施和財產損失。由於風暴的影響，我們近三分之一的客戶經歷了電力服務持續中斷。我感謝我們的團隊成員為盡可能安全、快速地為客戶恢復電力所做的努力。

Beyond our storm response, we continue to deliver upon a significant rate-based growth plan and regulatory priorities. We secured regulatory approval from the Minnesota and South Dakota commissions to direct assignment of our two solar projects under development and filed our South Dakota rate case.

除了應對風暴之外，我們還繼續實施重要的基於利率的成長計劃和監管重點。我們獲得了明尼蘇達州和南達科他州委員會的監管批准，以直接分配我們正在開發的兩個太陽能項目，並提交了南達科他州的費率案例。

Across our Manufacturing platform, our team members are capitalizing on our recent expansion projects to better serve and grow with our customers. We continue ramping up the new BTD Georgia facility to full production capability. Vinyltech continues to benefit from its enhanced facilities, as well as its new line capable of producing large diameter pipe.

在我們的製造平台上，我們的團隊成員正在利用我們最近的擴展項目來更好地服務客戶並與他們共同成長。我們將繼續提升新的 BTD 喬治亞工廠的生產能力。Vinyltech 繼續受益於其增強的設施以及能夠生產大直徑管道的新生產線。

Slide 5 provides a summary of our quarter and year-to-date earnings. We produced diluted earnings per share of $1.85 in the second quarter compared to $2.07 last year. Despite the expected decline in earnings, we are increasing the midpoint of our 2025 earnings guidance to $6.26 from $5.88, as the Plastic segment is performing better than we anticipated.

幻燈片 5 提供了我們本季和年初至今的收益摘要。我們第二季的每股攤薄收益為 1.85 美元，而去年同期為 2.07 美元。儘管預計獲利會下降，但由於塑膠部門的表現優於我們的預期，我們仍將 2025 年獲利預期的中點從 5.88 美元上調至 6.26 美元。

We are maintaining the earnings guidance range for all other segments. In a moment, Todd will provide a more detailed discussion of our second-quarter financial results and our updated 2025 outlook.

我們維持所有其他部門的獲利預期範圍。稍後，托德將更詳細地討論我們的第二季財務表現和更新後的 2025 年展望。

On slide 7, we highlight legislative and regulatory changes impacting the utility industry. The legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was enacted on July 4. This broad spending and tax legislation, among many other things, introduced a phase out of renewable energy credits under the Inflation Reduction Act for wind and solar investments.

在第 7 張投影片上，我們重點介紹了影響公用事業行業的立法和監管變化。這項被稱為「一項美麗大法案」的法案於 7 月 4 日頒布。這項廣泛的支出和稅收立法以及其他許多法案都引入了逐步取消《通貨膨脹削減法案》中針對風能和太陽能投資的可再生能源信貸的規定。

The legislation also created new foreign entity of concern rules, which may restrict tax credit eligibility for certain investments. While we continue to work through the final legislation and monitor for any changes to regulation, we expect our current five-year capital investment spending plan totaling $1.4 billion to remain intact.

該法案還制定了新的關注外國實體規則，這可能會限制某些投資的稅收抵免資格。在我們繼續努力完成最終立法並監控任何監管變化的同時，我們預計我們目前總額為 14 億美元的五年資本投資支出計劃將保持不變。

Our wind repowering project is expected to be unaffected by the new law. Our two solar development projects are expected to receive full production tax credits. However, renewable projects included in our $650 million incremental investment opportunity, as well as other future renewable resources, are under review to determine the potential impact of the legislation.

我們的風力發電項目預計不會受到新法律的影響。我們的兩個太陽能開發項目預計將獲得全額生產稅收抵免。然而，我們 6.5 億美元增量投資機會中包含的可再生項目以及其他未來可再生資源正在接受審查，以確定該立法的潛在影響。

Further, the EPA is reconsidering recent environmental regulations impacting fossil fuel based power plants. In June, the EPA proposed to repeal the greenhouse gas emissions standard under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, along with recent amendments made to the mercury in air toxin standards.

此外，美國環保署正在重新考慮影響化石燃料發電廠的最新環境法規。今年 6 月，美國環保署提議廢除《清潔空氣法》第 111 條規定的溫室氣體排放標準，以及最近對空氣毒素標準中汞含量所做的修訂。

In addition, the EPA granted the request to reconsider its previous partial disapproval of North Dakota's Regional Hay State Implementation plan. The EPA had disapproved of North Dakota's conclusion that emissions controls at Coyote Station were unnecessary. We will continue to monitor the EPA's action, but think these developments could potentially extend the availability of our two coal facilities to support grid reliability.

此外，美國環保署也批准了重新考慮其先前對北達科他州區域乾草州實施計畫的部分否決的請求。美國環保署不同意北達科他州關於土狼站排放控制沒有必要的結論。我們將繼續關注美國環保署的行動，但認為這些發展可能會延長我們兩座煤炭設施的可用性，以支持電網的可靠性。

Transitioning now to an operational update for Otter Tail Power. As noted on slide 8, we filed a request with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission for permission to increase our base electric rates for the first time since 2018. In our request, we propose to increase net revenues by approximately $5.7 million, based on a requested ROE of 10.8% on an equity layer of 53.5%.

現在轉換到 Otter Tail Power 的營運更新。如投影片 8 所述，我們向南達科他州公共事業委員會提交了一份申請，希望獲得自 2018 年以來首次提高基本電價的許可。在我們的請求中，我們建議將淨收入增加約 570 萬美元，以 53.5% 的股權層級要求的 ROE 為 10.8%。

New rates would go into effect upon the earlier of either the South Dakota commission issuing its decision or December 1, 2025. Even with this requested increase in electric rates, we continue to be one of the lowest cost providers in the region. Separately, we are finalizing our Minnesota cost of service analysis and anticipate filing a rate case in Minnesota later this year.

新稅率將在南達科他州委員會發布決定或 2025 年 12 月 1 日（以較早者為準）生效。即使電價被要求上漲，我們仍然是該地區成本最低的供應商之一。另外，我們正在完成明尼蘇達州的服務成本分析，並預計今年稍後在明尼蘇達州提起費率訴訟。

Turning to slide 9, after a review of recent legislation, we are reaffirming our Electric segment capital investment and rate-based growth projections through 2029. We continue to expect this customer-focused investment plan to produce a rate-based compounded annual growth rate of 9% and anticipate our utility earnings to grow at a similar rate over this time frame.

轉到投影片 9，在審查了最近的立法之後，我們重申了到 2029 年電力部門的資本投資和基於利率的成長預測。我們繼續預計，這項以客戶為中心的投資計畫將產生 9% 的基於利率的複合年增長率，並預計我們的公用事業收益將在此時間範圍內以類似的速度成長。

Slides 10 and 11 provide an overview of ongoing and future capital projects. Project development work and regulatory planning continue on our two solar projects, which together will add 345 megawatts of cost-effective solar generation to our portfolio. In the second quarter, we secured regulatory approval to directly assign and recover the capital investment associated with Abercrombie Solar and Solway Solar to our Minnesota and South Dakota customers. These customers will receive the energy and the benefits from the new facilities.

投影片 10 和 11 概述了正在進行的和未來的資本項目。我們的兩個太陽能專案的專案開發工作和監管規劃仍在繼續，這兩個專案將為我們的投資組合增加 345 兆瓦的經濟高效的太陽能發電量。在第二季度，我們獲得了監管部門的批准，可以將與 Abercrombie Solar 和 Solway Solar 相關的資本投資直接分配並收回給我們在明尼蘇達州和南達科他州的客戶。這些客戶將獲得新設施帶來的能源和利益。

Development work continues on three MISO Tranche 1 projects Otter Tail Power will co-own. We continue to work through landowner and local government resistance associated with sighting and certain permits for one of the projects. Development work also continues on our MISO Tranche 2.1 projects. We are working closely with our co-owners on project planning and regulatory matters.

Otter Tail Power 將共同擁有的三個 MISO Tranche 1 項目的開發工作仍在繼續。我們將繼續努力克服土地所有者和當地政府對其中一個項目的目擊和某些許可的抵制。我們的 MISO Tranche 2.1 專案的開發工作也持續進行。我們正在與我們的共同所有者就專案規劃和監管事宜密切合作。

FERC approved construction work in progress and abandoned plant in July for the MISO Tranche 2.1 portfolio projects, allowing for timely recovery of our capital investment. Our transmission capital investment under MISO's Tranche 1 and 2.1 remain critical for supporting grid reliability in the years to come.

FERC 於 7 月批准了 MISO Tranche 2.1 投資組合項目的在建工程和廢棄工廠，從而使我們能夠及時收回資本投資。我們在 MISO 第 1 和 2.1 階段下的輸電資本投資對於未來幾年支援電網可靠性仍然至關重要。

We continue to expect these investments to have a limited impact on our retail customer rates as the costs are allocated across the entire MISO footprint, of which our customers comprise a small percentage. Additionally, our JTIQ project, which received a DOE grant continues to be under development. The DOE has been reevaluating previously awarded grants, and we will continue to monitor these developments.

我們仍然預期這些投資對我們的零售客戶費率的影響有限，因為成本分攤到整個 MISO 覆蓋範圍內，而我們的客戶只佔一小部分。此外，我們獲得 DOE 資助的 JTIQ 計畫仍在繼續開發中。美國能源部一直在重新評估之前授予的撥款，我們將繼續關注這些進展。

Turning to slide 12. Otter Tail Power remains positioned to attract and support large loads. Throughout the second quarter, we continued to engage with companies looking to add new load -- large loads to our system. We reached a term sheet with a potential customer, providing a general framework for offering electric service to a new 430-megawatt load. While the term sheet is nonbinding and additional work and negotiations are required to secure the load, it does represent a possible opportunity for us.

翻到第 12 張投影片。Otter Tail Power 仍可維持吸引和支撐大負載的定位。在整個第二季度，我們繼續與希望為我們的系統增加新負載（大負載）的公司合作。我們與潛在客戶達成了一項條款清單，為向新的 430 兆瓦負載提供電力服務提供了一個總體框架。雖然該條款清單不具約束力，需要額外的工作和談判來確保負載，但它確實為我們提供了一個可能的機會。

Additionally, we continue to target bringing the 155-megawatt load secured in Q1 online later this year. As a reminder, the 155-megawatt load is comprised of 3 megawatts of firm load and approximately 152 megawatts of non-firm load. We obtained approval for the Electric Service Agreement from the South Dakota Commission in July of 2025 and continued to make progress on constructing the distribution assets needed to serve the load.

此外，我們繼續致力於在今年稍後實現第一季獲得的 155 兆瓦負載上線。提醒一下，155 兆瓦的負載由 3 兆瓦的固定負載和大約 152 兆瓦的非固定負載組成。我們於 2025 年 7 月獲得了南達科他州委員會的電力服務協議批准，並繼續推進建立滿足負載需求的配電資產。

We have and will continue to be thoughtful in our negotiations to ensure we are appropriately mitigating any potential adverse implications of adding large new loads to our existing customer base. Adding new loads, if appropriately managed, not only benefit us, but also our current customers, as it enables us to spread out our existing fixed costs. We remain committed to maintaining affordable electric service for our customers. We have demonstrated the ability to do so for many years.

我們已經並將繼續在談判中深思熟慮，以確保我們能夠適當減輕對現有客戶群增加大量新負載的任何潛在不利影響。如果管理得當，增加新的負載不僅對我們有利，而且對我們現有的客戶也有利，因為它使我們能夠分攤現有的固定成本。我們始終致力於為客戶提供價格合理的電力服務。多年來我們已經證明了我們有能力做到這一點。

As slide 13 illustrates, Otter Tail Power has some of the lowest electric rates in the nation with our 2024 rates 30% below the national average and 16% below our regional peers. Further, S&P recently published a report noting that we have the lowest overall electric rates of all investor-owned utilities in the US.

如投影片 13 所示，Otter Tail Power 的電價是全國最低的，2024 年的電價比全國平均低 30%，比我們地區同業低 16%。此外，標準普爾最近發布的一份報告指出，我們擁有美國所有投資者擁有的公用事業中最低的整體電價。

Transitioning to our Manufacturing platform, Slide 15 provides an overview of the industry conditions impacting our Manufacturing segment. BTD continues to navigate soft-end market demand. The construction and lawn and garden end-markets are improving as dealer inventory levels are normalizing. However, recreational vehicle and agricultural end-markets continue to be negatively impacted by higher levels of new and used inventory amidst challenging macroeconomic conditions and tariff uncertainty.

過渡到我們的製造平台，幻燈片 15 概述了影響我們製造部門的行業狀況。BTD 持續滿足軟端市場的需求。隨著經銷商庫存水準恢復正常，建築、草坪和花園終端市場正在改善。然而，在嚴峻的宏觀經濟條件和關稅不確定性的背景下，休閒車和農業終端市場繼續受到新舊庫存水準上升的負面影響。

The horticulture market served by T.O. Plastics has improved, but the extent and timing of sales volume recovery remains unclear. During Q2, we saw an increase in volumes compared to the same time last year. However, increased import competition continues to be a challenge for our team.

T.O. Plastics 服務的園藝市場有所改善，但銷售量復甦的程度和時間仍不清楚。在第二季度，我們發現交易量與去年同期相比有所增加。然而，進口競爭加劇對我們的團隊來說仍然是一個挑戰。

We continue to monitor industry conditions, including the potential impact of tariffs, and will remain well positioned to respond when demand improves. In the meantime, we are focused on managing costs and have a tenured management team with experience operating through down cycles and uncertain market conditions.

我們將繼續監測產業狀況，包括關稅的潛在影響，並將在需求改善時做好應對準備。同時，我們專注於管理成本，並擁有一支經驗豐富的長期管理團隊，能夠在經濟低迷時期和不確定的市場條件下運作。

Slide 16 provides an overview of our Plastics segment pricing and volume trends. Our sales pricing of PVC pipe continue to steadily decline, decreasing 15% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same time last year.

幻燈片 16 概述了我們的塑膠部門的定價和銷售趨勢。我們的 PVC 管銷售價格持續穩定下降，2025 年第二季與去年同期相比下降了 15%。

Sales volumes increased 11% due to strong distributor and end-market demand for our products. We also benefited from lower material input costs, including resin. The cost of PVC resin has decreased from the same time last year due to global supply and demand dynamics resulting in continued elevated domestic supply.

由於分銷商和終端市場對我們產品的強勁需求，銷售量增加了 11%。我們也受惠於較低的材料投入成本，包括樹脂。由於全球供需動態導致國內供應持續增加，PVC樹脂成本較去年同期下降。

Returning to slide 17, our Manufacturing platform remains well positioned for future growth opportunities. The BTD Georgia facility is scaling up to full production capability. Work also continues on phase two of our Vinyltech expansion, which is expected to increase our production capacity by another 26 million pounds. Once phase two is complete in early 2026, our annual production capacity for the Plastics segment will total approximately 400 million pounds.

回到第 17 張投影片，我們的製造平台仍然為未來的成長機會做好了準備。BTD 喬治亞工廠正在擴大規模以實現全面生產能力。我們的 Vinyltech 擴建工程第二階段仍在繼續，預計將使我們的生產能力再增加 2,600 萬磅。一旦第二階段於 2026 年初完成，我們塑膠部門的年產能將達到約 4 億磅。

I will now turn it over to Todd to provide his financial updates.

現在我將把時間交給托德來提供他的財務更新。

Thank you, Chuck, and good morning, everyone. Turning to slide 19. We produced diluted earnings per share of $1.85 in the second quarter compared to $2.07 the same time last year. These results outpaced our expectations.

謝謝你，查克，大家早安。翻到第 19 張投影片。我們第二季的每股攤薄收益為 1.85 美元，而去年同期為 2.07 美元。這些結果超出了我們的預期。

Please follow along on slides 20 and 21 as I provide an overview of quarterly financial results by segment. Electric segment earnings increased $0.02 per share in the second quarter. We continue to have timely recovery on our capital investments, and this resulted in higher rider revenues.

請繼續關注投影片 20 和 21，我將按部門概述季度財務表現。第二季電力部門每股收益增加 0.02 美元。我們繼續及時收回資本投資，這帶來了更高的乘客收入。

We also experienced favorable weather conditions compared to the same time last year. This was partially offset by increased operating and maintenance expenses, largely due to a planned major maintenance outage at Coyote Station. We did not incur these expenses in 2024. We also had higher depreciation and interest expense as a result of our capital investments.

與去年同期相比，我們也經歷了有利的天氣條件。這部分被營運和維護費用的增加所抵消，這主要是由於 Coyote Station 計劃進行大規模維護停工所致。我們在 2024 年沒有發生這些費用。由於資本投資，我們的折舊和利息支出也增加了。

Manufacturing segment earnings decreased $0.08 per share, primarily due to product pricing benefits in the second quarter of 2024. Operating margins in the second quarter of 2024 were higher due to the timing of pass-through steel cost fluctuations and the selling of lower cost inventory.

製造部門每股收益減少 0.08 美元，主要原因是 2024 年第二季產品定價優勢。由於鋼鐵成本波動的轉嫁時機和低成本庫存的銷售，2024 年第二季的營業利潤率較高。

Lower sales volumes and the resulting deleveraging of our fixed production costs also negatively impacted segment earnings in the second quarter of 2025. Our team continues to focus on managing costs in the business, aligning our cost structure with the current demand environment and positioning to respond well when the end market demand rebounds.

銷售量下降以及由此導致的固定生產成本去槓桿也對 2025 年第二季的分部收益產生了負面影響。我們的團隊繼續專注於管理業務成本，使我們的成本結構與當前的需求環境保持一致，並在終端市場需求反彈時做出良好反應。

Despite the current down cycle period, the long-term fundamentals of our Manufacturing segment remains strong, and we continue to benefit from the incremental earnings and cash flow generated by these businesses. We have a solid track record in the Manufacturing segment of performing well when the end-markets rebound.

儘管目前正處於下行週期，但我們製造業部門的長期基本面依然強勁，我們將繼續受益於這些業務產生的增量收益和現金流。在終端市場反彈時，我們在製造業領域有著良好的業績。

Turning to slide 21. The Plastics segment continues to perform well, but we are experiencing the anticipated decline in earnings from the segment as we progress towards a projected more normalized margin level. While the performance exceeded expectations, earnings for the segment decreased $0.18 per share compared to the same time last year. The decrease was driven by lower sales prices, partially offset by the impact of higher sales volumes and lower material input costs.

翻到第 21 張投影片。塑膠部門繼續表現良好，但隨著我們朝著預計的更加正常的利潤水平邁進，我們正經歷該部門收益的預期下降。雖然業績超出預期，但該部門每股收益與去年同期相比下降了 0.18 美元。下降的原因是銷售價格下降，但被銷售量增加和材料投入成本降低的影響部分抵消。

The average sales price of PVC pipe declined 15% compared to the second quarter of 2024. This continues the downward trend we have experienced since the middle of 2022 when our PVC pipe pricing reached its high point.

PVC管的平均銷售價格與2024年第二季相比下降了15%。這延續了我們自 2022 年中期 PVC 管道價格達到最高點以來經歷的下降趨勢。

Partially offsetting the decline in pricing was an 11% increase in sales volumes. The higher sales volumes were largely driven by continued strong end-market and distributor demand for our products and the incremental volume from the large diameter pipe capacity we added late last year.

銷量成長 11%，部分抵銷了價格的下降。銷售成長主要得益於終端市場和經銷商對我們產品的持續強勁需求，以及我們去年年底增加的大口徑管道產能帶來的增量。

Second-quarter earnings also benefited from lower material input costs, which decreased 15% from the same time last year. PVC resin prices have declined due to global supply and demand dynamics, which continues to result in elevated levels of domestic supply.

第二季的收益也受惠於材料投入成本的降低，與去年同期相比下降了 15%。由於全球供需動態，PVC樹脂價格下跌，導致國內供應水準持續上升。

Finally, our Corporate costs improved $0.02 per share in the second quarter of 2025. This was driven by the returns earned on our short-term investments from our strong cash position, as well as market-based gains on our corporate-owned life insurance policy investments.

最後，我們的公司成本在 2025 年第二季改善了每股 0.02 美元。這是由我們強大的現金狀況帶來的短期投資回報，以及我們公司擁有的人壽保險單投資的市場收益所推動的。

Turning to slide 22. Our balance sheet remains very strong. We have over $300 million of cash on hand and continue to produce a utility sector-leading return on equity on a 63% equity layer. Our solid balance sheet helps to ensure we are well positioned to deliver on our customer-focused growth strategy.

翻到第 22 張投影片。我們的資產負債表依然非常強勁。我們手頭上有超過 3 億美元的現金，並繼續在 63% 的股權層上創造公用事業行業領先的股本回報率。我們穩健的資產負債表有助於確保我們能夠很好地實現以客戶為中心的成長策略。

On slide 23, we're increasing our 2025 diluted earnings per share guidance to a range of $6.06 to $6.46. We uplifted guidance due to stronger-than-anticipated Plastics segment performance, as well as our gross margin expectations for the remainder of the year.

在第23張投影片中，我們將2025年稀釋每股盈餘預期上調至6.06美元至6.46美元之間。我們上調預期的原因是塑膠部門的表現強於預期，以及我們對今年剩餘時間毛利率的預期。

With the domestic supply of PVC resin continuing to be elevated, we expect the cost of resin to be lower than we previously anticipated for the second half of the year. As we updated our forecasted sales mix and sales by region, we also are projecting higher average prices for the remainder of the year than we previously forecasted.

隨著國內PVC樹脂供應持續增加，我們預計下半年樹脂成本將低於我們先前的預期。當我們更新預測的銷售組合和按地區劃分的銷售時，我們也預測今年剩餘時間的平均價格將高於我們先前的預測。

Both changes to our assumptions have a positive impact on our margin expectations. We are maintaining our original 2025 earnings guidance for all other segments, which includes a year-over-year growth expectation for the Electric segment at over 7%.

我們假設的這兩項變化都對我們的利潤預期產生了正面的影響。我們維持所有其他部門原有的 2025 年獲利預測，其中包括對電動部門年增 7% 以上的預期。

With the increase to our 2025 earnings guidance, we are forecasting our consolidated five-year compounded annual growth rate to be near 22%. As shown on slide 24, we have a proven track record of delivering outstanding earnings per share growth with and without the impact of Plastics segment earnings.

隨著我們對 2025 年獲利預期的提高，我們預測我們的綜合五年複合年增長率將接近 22%。如投影片 24 所示，無論是否受到塑膠部門收益的影響，我們都擁有出色的每股盈餘成長記錄。

Slide 25 presents our customer-focused capital investment plan for years 2025 through 2029. The $1.4 billion of capital investment in our Electric segment will benefit our customers and investors and will be a key driver of earnings growth for this business over the five-year period. From 2024 to 2029, we project a 9% compound annual growth rate in earnings per share for the Electric segment.

第 25 張投影片展示了我們 2025 年至 2029 年以客戶為中心的資本投資計畫。我們在電力部門的 14 億美元資本投資將使我們的客戶和投資者受益，並將成為該業務五年內獲利成長的主要驅動力。從 2024 年到 2029 年，我們預期電力部門每股盈餘的複合年增長率為 9%。

As included on slide 26, we continue to reaffirm our long-term earnings expectations of our Plastics segment to be in a range of $45 million to $50 million beginning in 2028. We continue to expect earnings to decline through 2027 based on the assumption that we expect margins to compress and eventually return to levels in the business that we achieved pre-2021. This includes an assumption that our average sales prices continue to trend downward at a rate similar to what has been experienced since late 2022.

正如幻燈片 26 所示，我們繼續重申塑膠部門的長期獲利預期，即從 2028 年開始，獲利將在 4,500 萬美元至 5,000 萬美元之間。我們繼續預計到 2027 年利潤將下降，因為我們預計利潤率將壓縮，並最終恢復到 2021 年前的業務水平。這包括一項假設，即我們的平均銷售價格繼續以與 2022 年底以來類似的速度下降。

It also assumes costs increase with the level of inflation. Due to seasonality and other factors, this rate of margin compression change could and very likely will vary from period to period. It continues to be difficult to predict with certainty and the timing or level of earnings could vary materially from this projection. The Plastics segment continues to provide value to our shareholders with solid returns and favorable cash flows to help support funding of our long-term growth strategy.

它還假設成本隨著通貨膨脹水平而增加。由於季節性和其他因素，利潤率壓縮變化率可能會因時期而異。仍然很難準確預測，且收益的時間或水平可能與該預測有重大差異。塑膠部門繼續為我們的股東提供價值，提供穩定的回報和良好的現金流，以幫助支持我們長期成長策略的資金。

Slide 27 summarizes our investment targets. We continue to target an earnings mix of 65% from our Electric segment. We project reaching that in 2028 as Electric segment earnings grow by 9% on average per year, combined with our projected Plastic earnings. We expect the 9% Electric segment growth to be among the leaders in the utility sector.

投影片 27 總結了我們的投資目標。我們繼續將電氣部門的獲利目標定為 65%。我們預計到 2028 年就能實現這一目標，因為電氣部門的收益加上我們預計的塑膠部門收益每年平均成長 9%。我們預計電力部門的成長率將達到 9%，成為公用事業領域的領導者。

Otter Tail Power continues to be a high-performing regulated electric utility with a significant capital investment plan and a proven track record of producing earnings in line with its rate base growth. Our manufacturing in plastic pipe businesses consistently produce accretive returns, generating incremental earnings and cash flow that we are able to reinvest into our rate base growth plan. We have no external equity needs projected through 2029 as a result.

Otter Tail Power 繼續成為受監管的高績效電力公司，擁有重大的資本投資計劃，並擁有與其費率基準增長相符的盈利記錄。我們在塑膠管道業務中的製造持續產生增值回報，產生增量收益和現金流，我們能夠將其再投資到我們的費率基礎增長計劃中。因此，我們預計到 2029 年都不需要外部股權。

We are now ready to take your questions.

我們現在準備好回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) There are currently no questions in the queue, but we'll wait for another moment or two to see if anyone would like to line up in the queue. If there are still no questions, I will turn it back over to Chuck for his closing remarks

（操作員指示）目前隊列中沒有問題，但我們會再等一兩分鐘，看看是否有人願意排隊。如果還沒有問題，我將把時間交還給查克，讓他做最後發言。

Thank you for joining our call and your interest in Otter Tail Corporation. If you have any questions, please reach out to our Investor Relations team. We look forward to speaking with you next quarter.

感謝您參加我們的電話會議並關注 Otter Tail Corporation。如果您有任何疑問，請聯絡我們的投資者關係團隊。我們期待下個季度與您交談。

Thank you. This does conclude the program and you may now disconnect.

謝謝。這確實結束了程序並且您現在可以斷開連接。