Star Group LP (SGU) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

(Operator Instructions). I would now like to turn the conference over to Chris Witty, Investor Relations advisor. Please go ahead.

（操作員指令）。現在，我想將會議交給投資人關係顧問 Chris Witty。請繼續。

Thank you and good morning with me on the call. Today are Jeff Woosnam, President and Chief Executive Officer and Richard F. Ambury, Chief Financial Officer. I would now like to provide a brief safe harbor statement. This commerce call may include forward-looking statements that represent the company's expectations and beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties and may cause the company's actual performance to be materially different from the performance indicated or implied by such statements.

謝謝您，早安。今天是總裁兼執行長 Jeff Woosnam 和財務長 Richard F. Ambury。現在我想提供一份簡短的安全港聲明。本次商業電話會議可能包括前瞻性陳述，代表公司對未來事件的期望和信念，這些陳述涉及風險和不確定性，並可能導致公司的實際業績與此類陳述所表明或暗示的業績存在重大差異。

All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this conference call are forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable.

本次電話會議中除歷史事實陳述以外的所有陳述均為前瞻性陳述。儘管該公司認為此類前瞻性陳述所反映的預期是合理的。

It can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations are disclosed in this conference call. The company's annual report on form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30th 2024.

它無法保證這種預期將被證明是正確的。本次電話會議揭露了可能導致實際結果與公司預期有重大差異的重要因素。該公司截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的財政年度的 10-K 表年度報告。

And the company's other filings with the SEC all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the risk factors and other cautionary statements contained in the company's disclosures. Unless otherwise required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this conference call, I'd now like to turn the call over to Jeff Woosnam.

且本公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中的所有後續書面和口頭的前瞻性陳述均明確地受到本公司揭露中包含的風險因素和其他警示性聲明的限制。除非法律另有要求，否則公司不承擔公開更新或修改任何前瞻性聲明的義務，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件還是本次電話會議日期之後的其他情況，現在我想將電話轉給傑夫·伍斯南 (Jeff Woosnam)。

Thanks Chris and good morning, everyone. The first quarter was a busy one for star due to our acquisition related activities combined with slightly colder temperatures, temperatures were 4.1% colder than the prior year quarter and adjusted EBITDA rose $3 million year over year. Despite our increased workload from a busy quarter, I'm pleased with our overall ability to control expenses as well as our ongoing improvement in the performance and contribution of our service and installation business, increased productivity and efficiency within our base business has been a specific area of focus for our operating team. So, it's quite encouraging to see our work having a positive and meaningful impact on the bottom-line results.

謝謝克里斯，大家早安。第一季對 Star 來說是繁忙的一年，因為我們的收購相關活動加上略微寒冷的氣溫，氣溫比去年同期低 4.1%，調整後的 EBITDA 同比增長 300 萬美元。儘管我們在繁忙的季度中工作量增加，但我對我們整體控制費用的能力以及服務和安裝業務的業績和貢獻的持續改善感到滿意，提高基礎業務的生產力和效率一直是我們營運團隊關注的重點領域。因此，看到我們的工作對最終結果產生積極而有意義的影響，這是非常令人鼓舞的。

Looking ahead, we are benefiting from colder temperatures thus far in the second quarter. And in fact, January finished 20% colder than last year and 7% colder than normal. Through this period, our employees have been working tirelessly to serve our customers and keep up, keep pace with the added demand.

展望未來，我們將受益於第二季迄今的較低氣溫。事實上，一月份的氣溫比去年同期低20％，比正常水平低7％。在此期間，我們的員工一直孜孜不倦地為客戶提供服務並滿足不斷增長的需求。

I'm always delighted to see how well our entire team steps up when it matters the most and I could not be more proud of their efforts.

我總是很高興看到我們整個團隊在最重要的時刻表現出色，我為他們的努力感到無比自豪。

As previously reported, we completed a sizable strategic acquisition after the quarter ended this further strengthens our propane presence within the company's existing operating footprint. And we're excited to welcome our new employees as well as a quality, well regarded brand to the Star group family.

正如先前報導的那樣，我們在本季度結束後完成了一項大規模戰略收購，這進一步加強了我們在公司現有營運範圍內的丙烷影響力。我們非常高興地歡迎我們的新員工以及優質、知名的品牌加入星空集團大家庭。

We'll have to see how the remainder of the heating season progresses, but we remain 100% committed to providing our customers with the outstanding reliability and service they've come to expect. And at the same time, we will continue to focus on operational efficiency and controlling costs. I believe we are well positioned for the remainder of fiscal 2025.

我們將不得不觀察供暖季節剩餘時間的進展情況，但我們仍然 100% 致力於為客戶提供他們所期望的卓越可靠性和服務。同時，我們將繼續注重營運效率和控製成本。我相信我們已經為 2025 財年的剩餘時間做好了準備。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Rich to provide additional comments on the quarter's financial results Rich.

說完這些，我將把電話轉給 Rich，請他針對本季的財務表現提供更多評論。

Thanks Jeff and good morning, everyone for the quarter. Our home heating oil and propane volume rose by 2 million gallons or 3% to approximately 82 million gallons as the additional volume provided from acquisitions and somewhat colder temperatures was slightly offset by the impact of net customer attrition and other factors. Temperatures for the three months ending December 31st, 2024, were 4% colder than the prior year and 10.5% warmer than normal.

謝謝 Jeff，大家本季早安。我們的家用暖氣油和丙烷銷量增加了 200 萬加侖，即 3%，達到約 8,200 萬加侖，因為收購和氣溫略有下降帶來的額外銷售被淨客戶流失和其他因素的影響略微抵消。截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的三個月的氣溫比前一年低 4%，比正常高 10.5%。

Our product gross profit increased by 5.6 million or 4% to approximately 151 million due to an increase in per gallon margins and higher home heating oil and propane volume sold. We realized that combined gross profit from service and installation of 6.9 million for the three months ending December 31st, 2024, compared to gross profit of 4.4 million in the prior year with a $2.5 million increase due in part to recent acquisitions as well as improvements in the base business branch delivery and G&A expenses increased by 5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Largely due to recent acquisitions expenses in the base business were largely unchanged.

由於每加侖利潤率增加以及家用暖氣油和丙烷銷量增加，我們的產品毛利增加了 560 萬美元（即 4%），達到約 1.51 億美元。我們實現，截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的三個月，服務和安裝的綜合毛利潤為 690 萬美元，而去年同期的毛利潤為 440 萬美元，增加了 250 萬美元，部分原因是最近的收購以及基礎業務分支交付的改善，而 G&A 費用在 2025 財年第一季增加了 500 萬美元。主要是由於近期收購，基礎業務的費用基本上沒有變化。

During the first quarter of fiscal 2025 we recorded a $5 million noncash credit related to the change in fair value of our derivative instruments. By comparison. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024 we recorded a $19 million noncash charge, net income did increase by $20 million in the quarter to $33 million as the favorable noncash change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $24 million and an increase in adjusted EBITDA of 3 million was only partially offset by higher income taxes of $8 million adjusted EBITDA increased by 3 million to $52 million as a $4 million increase in adjusted EBITDA from recent acquisitions and an increase in per gallon margins in the base business. More than offset the impact of 3.8-million-gallon decrease in home heating oil and propane volume sold in the base business. And with that, I'll turn the conversation and call back to Jeff.

在 2025 財年第一季度，我們記錄了與衍生性工具公允價值變動相關的 500 萬美元非現金信貸。相比之下。在 2024 財年第一季度，我們記錄了 1900 萬美元的非現金費用，本季度淨收入確實增加了 2000 萬美元，達到 3300 萬美元，因為衍生工具公允價值的有利非現金變動為 2400 萬美元，調整後的 EBITDA 增加了 300 萬美元，但僅被調整了5,200 萬美元，原因是最近的收購使調整後的 EBITDA 增加了 400 萬美元，而基礎業務的每加侖利潤率增加了。遠遠抵消了基礎業務中家用暖氣油和丙烷銷售量減少380萬加侖的影響。說完這些，我就轉過話題，回頭打電話給傑夫。

Thanks. Thanks, rich at this time. We're pleased to address any questions you may have Wyatt. Please open the phone lines for questions.

謝謝。謝謝，這下發財了。我們很高興解答您的任何問題，懷亞特。請開通電話熱線以解答疑問。

(Operator Instructions) Tim Mullen with Laurelton Management. Please go ahead.

（操作員指示）Laurelton Management 的 Tim Mullen。請繼續。

Hi, thanks very much. I have two quick questions. One is just curious to hear your views in terms of what's driving the increase in the service and installation, business. I don't know if it was maybe a focus for some of the recent acquisitions, or maybe it's a function of kind of colder weather and that we're requiring more service, you know, services to be completed. And then the second question is just in terms of customer credit didn't seem like there was any dramatic changes in terms of, provisions and write offs, but just curious, anecdotally, if you've seen any weakening in terms of, people's ability to pay and pay on time. Thanks.

你好，非常感謝。我有兩個簡單的問題。我只是好奇想聽聽您對推動服務和安裝業務成長的看法。我不知道這是否是最近一些收購的重點，或者可能是天氣變冷的結果，我們需要更多的服務，你知道，需要完成更多的服務。第二個問題是，就客戶信用而言，撥備和註銷方面似乎沒有發生任何重大變化，但只是好奇，據傳聞，您是否發現人們的支付能力和按時付款能力有所減弱。謝謝。

Yeah, Tim in regards to service and installation, the improvement in the results. Certainly, there's a component of that rather significant component that's related to recent acquisitions. And that's helped to improve the results overall, but we have also undertaken an initiative internally on our base business to really focus on improving performance, notably productivity, which our employees have really bought into, and we've seen some progress and gain some traction there. And then just also look to every opportunity really to sell more products and services to our existing customers. And that's been a program that has been recently launched that has so far going well for us. So, we're optimistic about that and we'll have to see how it goes, but certainly we're pleased with the results overall.

是的，蒂姆在服務和安裝方面取得了進步。當然，這個相當重要的部分有一個與最近的收購有關。這有助於提高整體業績，但我們也在內部針對基礎業務採取了舉措，真正注重提高績效，特別是提高生產力，我們的員工對此非常認同，而且我們已經看到了一些進展並獲得了一些關注。然後，我們也尋找每一個機會向現有客戶銷售更多產品和服務。該計劃最近已啟動，目前進展順利。因此，我們對此感到樂觀，我們必須觀察其進展情況，但總體而言，我們對結果感到滿意。

Now with regard to credit. We, yeah, there has been some in the general economy you keep hearing about, weakness and, and credit. I can't say that that that doesn't exist but, you know, to a certain extent, our customers did get a bit of a relief if you will in the quarter. As of course, the product is down and, and selling prices, generally are down this year versus last year because of the lower cost of product, we did sell, a little bit more because it was a bit colder and we had some acquisitions but you know, sales are down even though we die is up because of the lower underlying cost of product.

現在談論信用。是的，你們一直聽說總體經濟存在一些疲軟和信貸問題。我不能說這種情況不存在，但你知道，在某種程度上，我們的客戶在本季確實得到了一些安慰。當然，產品數量下降了，而且由於產品成本較低，今年的銷售價格與去年相比總體也有所下降，我們確實賣出了更多，因為天氣有點冷，我們也進行了一些收購，但你知道，儘管我們的銷售額下降了，但由於產品的基本成本較低，我們的銷售額還是上升了。

But you know, we'll have to see after you know how this all settles up at the end of the heating season frankly.

但你知道，坦白說，我們必須等到供暖季節結束時這一切才能解決。

Sure. Alright, thanks very much.

當然。好的，非常感謝。

(Operator Instructions) Michael Prouting with 10-K capital. Please go ahead.

（操作員指示）Michael Prouting 擁有 10-K 資本。請繼續。

Morning guys. Congratulations on just terrific execution across the board. Just a couple of questions. So as far as capital allocation is concerned, congratulations on the recent spate of acquisitions. I'm just wondering what your thinking is at this point in terms of your in terms of both, additional further acquisitions, your ability to execute on those and also capital allocation in terms of dividends and share buybacks. Thanks.

早安，大家。恭喜您在各方面都取得了優異的成績。僅有幾個問題。因此，就資本配置而言，祝賀最近的一系列收購。我只是想知道，就進一步的收購、執行這些收購的能力以及股息和股票回購方面的資本配置而言，您現在的想法是什麼。謝謝。

So Michael, I would say in terms of capital allocation, we typically wait, when we talk about the distribution, we typically wait until after the heating season to make, any decisions on changes or increase to the to the distribution.

所以邁克爾，我想說，在資本配置方面，我們通常會等待，當我們談論分配時，我們通常會等到供暖季節結束後再做出有關改變或增加分配的任何決定。

We just want to have a better sense of how the year is progressing. You know, we know we want to, we need to make what we would consider to be replacement acquisitions to replace any business that has, been lost. And then, it really basically boils down to unit repurchases and growth acquisitions and those are decisions we make you know, or make it on a regular basis just in terms of the economics and the return as well as just the timing because as you're aware, some of the most ideal acquisitions and sizable deals aren't always available, they kind of tend to come in chunks. So, it's timing and things that we talk about all the time in terms of what's the best investment for the company.

我們只是想更了解今年的進展。你知道，我們知道我們想要，我們需要進行我們認為的替代性收購，以取代任何已經失去的業務。然後，它實際上基本上歸結為單位回購和成長收購，這些都是我們做出的決定，或者定期做出的決定，只是在經濟和回報以及時機方面，因為正如你所知，一些最理想的收購和規模可觀的交易並不總是可行的，它們往往會分批出現。所以，我們總是在討論時機和其他一些問題，即什麼對公司來說是最好的投資。

Okay. Terrific. So it doesn't sound like then and obviously, this is a, as I'm sure Rich is wanting to remind us, obviously, it is a decision for the board of directors, but it doesn't sound like the recent acquisitions you've made should prevent further modest increases in the distribution going forward.

好的。了不起。因此，這聽起來不像是當時的情況，顯然，這是一個，我相信 Rich 想要提醒我們，顯然，這是一個董事會的決定，但聽起來您最近進行的收購不應阻止未來分銷的進一步適度增長。

Yeah, I would say you're trying to put words in my mouth, but the port will make that decision and, at the next time we get together, which I believe is in April. But we'll have to see Michael.

是的，我想說你是想把話強加給我，但港口會做出決定，下次我們聚在一起時，我相信是在四月。但我們必須見到麥可。

Okay, terrific. Thanks. And, just finally, Jeff, any observations on customer churn, you know, either as a function of the current heating season or acquisitions you've made or just, I guess anything new on the customer care in front. Thanks.

好的，太棒了。謝謝。最後，傑夫，您對客戶流失有什麼看法？無論是作為當前暖氣季節的函數，還是您所做的收購，或者只是，我想在客戶服務方面有什麼新進展。謝謝。

Yeah, I, I'd say reflecting on the first quarter, you know, our customer losses remained in check and in fact, on a percentage basis and a gross basis, we probably had one of our better quarters in a number of years from a loss standpoint.

是的，我想說，回顧第一季度，我們的客戶損失仍然得到控制，事實上，從百分比和總額來看，從損失的角度來看，我們可能經歷了多年來更好的季度之一。

The gains have been, the new customer editions have continued to be sluggish. I think to some degree that's a reflection of, while the temperatures were slightly cooler than, last year, the prior quarter, last year, but they're still 10% warmer than normal and there was relative price stability in that period.

儘管收益不斷，但新客戶版本仍持續低迷。我認為在某種程度上，這反映出雖然氣溫比去年同期略低，但仍比正常水平高出 10%，而且那段時期的價格相對穩定。

So, there wasn't as much movement in the marketplace as there was, let's just say in fiscal 2023 in the first quarter that we observed. So those things kind of all combined, for fewer games. In the first quarter, I am pleased to report, and we'll just have to see how the rest of the quarter progresses. But we're off to, you know, a pretty, we've got off to a pretty cold January and it looks like we've got a pretty stable forecast for February and thus far in January, it seems like our new customer additions have, have rebounded a bit, but we'll see how the quarter progresses.

因此，市場上的波動並不像我們觀察到的 2023 財年第一季那麼大。所以所有這些因素綜合起來，就減少了遊戲數量。我很高興地報告第一季的業績，我們只需要看看本季剩餘部分的進展。但是，你知道，我們即將迎來一個相當寒冷的一月，而我們對二月的預測似乎相當穩定，到目前為止，一月份我們的新客戶數量似乎有所回升，但我們會看看本季度的進展情況。

Okay, great. Thanks for the updates.

好的，太好了。感謝您的更新。

(Operator Instructions) Jeff Wasman for any closing remarks.

(操作員指示) Jeff Wasman 致結束語。

Well, thank you for taking the time to join us today. Your ongoing interest in Star Group. We look forward to sharing our 2025 fiscal second quarter results in May. Thanks everybody.

好吧，非常感謝您今天抽出時間來參加我們的節目。您對星空集團的持續關注。我們期待在 5 月分享 2025 財年第二季的業績。謝謝大家。