Suburban Propane Partners LP (SPH) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Suburban Propane Partners Fiscal 2023 Full Year and Fourth Quarter Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note today's event is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Suburban Propane Partners 2023 財年全年和第四季度業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意今天的活動正在錄製中。

I'd now like to turn the conference over to Davin D'Ambrosio, Vice President and Treasurer. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我想將會議交給副總裁兼財務主管達文‧丹布羅西奧 (Davin D'Ambrosio)。請繼續，先生。

Great. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us this morning for our fiscal 2023 fourth quarter and full year earnings conference call. Joining me this morning are Mike Stivala, our President and Chief Executive Officer; Mike Kuglin, Chief Financial Officer; and Steve Boyd, our Chief Operating Officer. This morning, we will review our fiscal 2023 fourth quarter and full year financial results, along with our current outlook for the business. Once we concluded our prepared remarks, we will open the session to questions.

偉大的。謝謝。大家，早安。感謝您今天上午參加我們的 2023 財年第四季和全年財報電話會議。今天早上與我一起出席的是我們的總裁兼執行長 Mike Stivala；麥克‧庫格林，財務長；和我們的營運長史蒂夫·博伊德。今天上午，我們將回顧 2023 財年第四季和全年財務業績，以及我們目前的業務前景。一旦我們完成準備好的發言，我們將開始提問。

Our conference call contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, relating to the partnership's future business expectations and predictions and financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements involve certain risk and uncertainties. We have listed some of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements, which are referred to as cautionary statements in our earnings press release, which can be viewed on our website at suburbanpropane.com. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the partnership or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by such cautionary statements.

我們的電話會議包含經修訂的 1934 年證券交易法第 21E 條含義內的前瞻性陳述，涉及合夥企業的未來業務預期和預測以及財務狀況和營運結果。這些前瞻性陳述涉及一定的風險和不確定性。我們列出了一些可能導致實際結果與此類前瞻性聲明中討論的結果存在重大差異的重要因素，這些因素在我們的收益新聞稿中被稱為警告聲明，可以在我們的網站suburbanpropane.com 上查看。所有隨後由合夥企業或代表其行事的人員作出的書面和口頭前瞻性陳述均明確符合此類警告性陳述。

Our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, which contains additional disclosure regarding forward-looking statements and risk factors, will be filed on or about November 22. Once filed, copies may be obtained by contacting the partnership or the SEC.

我們將於 11 月 22 日左右提交截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日財年的 10-K 表格年度報告，其中包含有關前瞻性陳述和風險因素的額外披露。提交後，可透過聯繫合夥企業或 SEC。

Certain non-GAAP measures will be discussed on this call. We have provided a description of those measures as well as a discussion of why we believe this information to be useful in our Form 8-K, which was furnished to the SEC this morning. Form 8-K will be available through a link in the Investor Relations section of our website.

本次電話會議將討論某些非公認會計準則措施。我們在今天早上向 SEC 提交的 8-K 表格中提供了這些措施的描述，並討論了為什麼我們認為這些資訊有用。表格 8-K 可透過我們網站投資者關係部分的連結取得。

At this time, I'll turn the call over to Mike Stivala for some opening remarks. Mike?

此時，我會將電話轉給 Mike Stivala，讓其致開場白。麥克風？

Great. Thanks, Davin, and thank you all for joining us this morning. Fiscal year 2023 was another great year for Suburban Propane. In addition to overcoming a challenging weather pattern, with some of the warmest temperatures on record during the most critical months for heat-related demand, that's namely January and February, as well as a persistent inflationary cost environment to deliver strong earnings, we succeeded in accomplishing a number of significant goals in fiscal 2023 that provide further support for our long-term strategic growth initiatives.

偉大的。謝謝達文，也謝謝大家今天早上加入我們。 2023 財年對 Suburban Propane 來說又是偉大的一年。除了克服具有挑戰性的天氣模式，在與熱相關的需求最關鍵的月份（即1 月和2 月）出現有史以來最溫暖的氣溫，以及持續的通膨成本環境以實現強勁的盈利之外，我們也成功地在 2023 財年實現多項重要目標，為我們的長期策略成長計畫提供進一步支持。

So let me highlight a few noteworthy accomplishments for fiscal 2023. Through our wholly owned subsidiary, Suburban Renewable Energy LLC, we acquired a platform of RNG production assets from Equilibrium Capital Group, a leading sustainability-driven asset management firm. These assets included a large-scale RNG production facility in Stanfield, Arizona that is currently operating and includes 7 anaerobic digesters, manure rights from approximately 55,000 dairy cattle and interconnect with an interstate pipeline on-premise; an operating facility in Columbus, Ohio that is currently receiving tipping fees from several large food and beverage providers for processing food waste into fertilizer and biogas; and we have an active development project to upgrade the biogas into pipeline-quality RNG for sales.

因此，讓我重點介紹2023 財年的一些值得注意的成就。透過我們的全資子公司Suburban Renewable Energy LLC，我們從Equilibrium Capital Group（一家領先的可持續發展驅動型資產管理公司）收購了RNG 生產資產平台。這些資產包括位於亞利桑那州斯坦菲爾德的一個大型 RNG 生產設施，該設施目前正在運營，包括 7 個厭氧消化池、約 55,000 頭乳牛的糞便權以及與本地州際管道的互連；俄亥俄州哥倫布市的一家營運工廠目前正在向幾家大型食品和飲料供應商收取小費，用於將食物廢棄物加工成肥料和沼氣；我們有一個積極的開發項目，將沼氣升級為管道品質的 RNG 進行銷售。

We formed a partnership with Equilibrium to serve as a long-term platform for the identification, development and operation of additional RNG projects and currently have a pipeline of potential RNG projects to invest in that are in various stages of evaluation.

我們與 Equilibrium 建立了合作夥伴關係，作為識別、開發和營運其他 RNG 專案的長期平台，目前擁有一系列處於不同評估階段的潛在 RNG 專案可供投資。

We have advanced the engineering and construction activities for our anaerobic digester pursuant to an agreement with Adirondack Farms, which is a family-owned dairy farm in Upstate New York, to produce RNG from dairy cow manure, which we expect to be up and running in fiscal 2025. Once all 3 of these renewable natural gas facilities are operating at run rate capacity, we will be generating revenues from tipping fees, RNG sales for approximately 850,000 MMBTUs per year, environmental attribute credits and fertilizer sales.

根據與紐約州北部的一家家族奶牛場 Adirondack Farms 達成的協議，我們已經推進了厭氧消化池的工程和建設活動，以利用奶牛糞便生產 RNG，我們預計將在到2025 財年。一旦所有3 個可再生天然氣設施均按運行率運行，我們將透過傾倒費、每年約850,000 MMBTU 的RNG 銷售、環境屬性積分和化肥銷售來獲得收入。

We also continued to support our uncontrolled subsidiaries Oberon Fuels and Independence Hydrogen as they begin to scale their platforms for the production and sale of ultra-low carbon renewable dimethyl ether and clean hydrogen, respectively.

我們也繼續支持我們的非控制子公司 Oberon Fuels 和 Independence Hydrogen，因為它們開始分別擴大生產和銷售超低碳可再生二甲醚和清潔氫的平台。

During fiscal 2023, we invested additional capital into Oberon Fuels to support the commercialization of rDME as a blend with propane or as a precursor to hydrogen production, and we were the first in the world to begin delivering Propane + rDME at a 4% blend level to our forklift customers in Southern California. We have also invested in a proprietary blend facility in our Anaheim location and are actively testing different blend levels in forklift engines to expand the potential commercial applications for Propane + rDME.

在 2023 財年，我們向 Oberon Fuels 投資了額外資金，以支持 rDME 作為丙烷混合物或氫氣生產前體的商業化，並且我們是世界上第一個開始提供 4% 混合水平的丙烷 + rDME 的公司致我們南加州的堆高機客戶。我們還在阿納海姆工廠投資了專有的混合設施，並積極測試堆高機引擎的不同混合水平，以擴大丙烷 + rDME 的潛在商業應用。

In our core propane business, our operating personnel did an excellent job safely delivering outstanding service to our customers and executing on our customer-based growth and retention initiatives. In fact, during fiscal 2023, we were able to deliver organic growth in our customer base, even after when -- after excluding the impact of new customers that we acquired in an acquisition. This is a testament to the stability of our platform and the quality of service that our field personnel works so hard to deliver to our customers and local communities every day.

在我們的核心丙烷業務中，我們的營運人員出色地完成了工作，安全地為我們的客戶提供了卓越的服務，並執行了我們基於客戶的成長和保留計劃。事實上，在 2023 財年期間，即使在排除我們在收購中獲得的新客戶的影響之後，我們也能夠實現客戶群的有機成長。這證明了我們平台的穩定性以及我們的現場人員每天努力為客戶和當地社區提供的服務品質。

We also acquired and successfully integrated a well-run propane business in the strategic market in our Upper Northwest operating territory, which provides excellent synergy potential. And we continue to foster the growth of our greenfield market expansion efforts in 7 markets around the country.

我們也在西北北部營運區域的策略市場收購並成功整合了營運良好的丙烷業務，這提供了出色的協同潛力。我們持續促進全國 7 個市場的綠地市場擴張工作的成長。

And from a balance sheet perspective, despite deploying nearly $230 million on investments to support our strategic growth initiatives and capital expansion in our RNG business in 2023, our total debt increased by just $123 million compared to where we ended fiscal 2022 as we were able to utilize excess cash flows to manage our overall leverage profile.

從資產負債表的角度來看，儘管部署了近2.3 億美元的投資來支持我們2023 年RNG 業務的戰略增長計劃和資本擴張，但與2022 財年結束時相比，我們的總債務僅增加了1.23 億美元，因為我們能夠利用多餘的現金流來管理我們的整體槓桿狀況。

Our long-term strategic growth plan is to continue to foster the growth of our core propane business while making strategic investments in the energy transition to lower-carbon renewable energy alternatives. Our core propane business is the engine that helps provide the cash flow to support these strategic investments. And as society transitions to these lower-carbon solutions, Suburban Propane is leveraging our 95-year legacy of an unwavering commitment to safety and excellence in customer service and our reputation as a trusted distributor of energy to local communities in order to position the business for long-term growth and sustainability in a lower-carbon economy.

我們的長期策略成長計畫是繼續促進核心丙烷業務的成長，同時對向低碳再生能源替代品的能源轉型進行策略性投資。我們的核心丙烷業務是幫助提供現金流以支援這些策略投資的引擎。隨著社會向這些低碳解決方案過渡，Suburban Propane 正在利用我們 95 年堅定不移地致力於安全和卓越客戶服務的傳統，以及我們作為當地社區值得信賴的能源分銷商的聲譽，將業務定位為低碳經濟的長期成長和可持續性。

A little later, I'll provide some closing remarks. However, let me turn it over to Mike Kuglin to discuss the full year and fourth quarter results in a little more detail. Mike, over to you.

稍後，我將發表一些結束語。不過，讓我將其轉交給麥克·庫格林 (Mike Kuglin)，更詳細地討論全年和第四季度的業績。麥克，交給你了。

Thanks, Mike, and good morning, everyone. I'll start by focusing on our full year results, which included 53 weeks of operations in fiscal 2023 compared to 52 weeks in the prior year and give some color on the fourth quarter toward the end of my remarks.

謝謝麥克，大家早安。我將首先關注我們的全年業績，其中包括 2023 財年的 53 週營運時間，而上一年為 52 週，並在演講結束時對第四季度進行一些說明。

To be consistent with previous reporting, I'm excluding the impact of unrealized noncash mark-to-market adjustments on our commodity hedges, which resulted in an unrealized loss of $3.7 million in fiscal 2023 compared to an unrealized loss of $27.9 million in the prior year, along with certain other noncash items and acquisition-related transaction costs. Excluding these items, net income for fiscal 2023 was $138.4 million or $2.17 per common unit compared to $171.1 million or $2.71 per common unit in the prior year.

為了與先前的報告保持一致，我排除了未實現的非現金以市價調整對我們的商品對沖的影響，這導致2023 財年的未實現損失為370 萬美元，而上一財年的未實現損失為2790 萬美元。年，以及某些其他非現金項目和收購相關的交易成本。排除這些項目，2023 財年的淨利潤為 1.384 億美元，即每普通單位 2.17 美元，而上一年為 1.711 億美元，即每普通單位 2.71 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2023 was $275 million compared to $291 million in the prior year. As Mike mentioned, our earnings for the fiscal year were impacted by lower heat-related demand resulting from extremely warm weather during the most critical months of the heating season and from the continued impact of inflationary pressures on our expenses. Although those headwinds presented operating challenges, our earnings for the year benefited from organic growth in our customer base, propane unit margin expansion and contribution from the RNG facilities acquired in December.

2023 財政年度調整後 EBITDA 為 2.75 億美元，前一年為 2.91 億美元。正如麥克所提到的，我們本財年的收入受到了取暖季節最關鍵幾個月的極端溫暖天氣以及通膨壓力對我們支出的持續影響導致與供暖相關的需求下降的影響。儘管這些不利因素帶來了營運挑戰，但我們今年的獲利受益於客戶群的有機成長、丙烷裝置利潤率的擴張以及 12 月收購的 RNG 設施的貢獻。

Retail propane gallons sold in fiscal 2023 were 396 million gallons, which is 1.2% lower than the prior year, primarily due to the impact of warm and inconsistent temperatures throughout the heating season, partially offset by favorable customer base trends. With respect to the weather, average temperatures for fiscal 2023 were 8% warmer than normal and 2% colder than the prior year.

2023 財年零售丙烷加侖銷售量為 3.96 億加侖，比上年下降 1.2%，這主要是由於整個采暖季氣溫溫暖且不穩定的影響，但部分被有利的客戶群趨勢所抵消。天氣方面，2023 財年平均氣溫比正常高 8%，比前一年低 2%。

Although we experienced an overall increase in heating degree days compared to the prior year, the weather pattern was characterized by extremely warm temperatures during the critical heating months of January and February and were most pronounced in our East Coast and Midwest operating territories. Our operations in the West generally experienced normal to cooler-than-normal temperatures. For the month of January and February, average temperatures were 16% warmer than normal and 11% warmer than the same period last year, and we're on par for the warmest on record for that 2-month period.

儘管與去年相比，我們的供暖度日數總體有所增加，但天氣模式的特點是在一月和二月的關鍵供暖月份期間氣溫極其溫暖，並且在我們的東海岸和中西部運營地區最為明顯。我們在西方的業務普遍經歷正常至低於正常溫度。 1 月和 2 月的平均氣溫比正常水平高 16%，比去年同期高 11%，與這兩個月有史以來的最熱水平持平。

From a commodity perspective, propane inventory levels in the U.S. were elevated throughout the year and were much improved compared to 2022. According to the Energy Information Administration, U.S. propane inventories at the end of September 2023 were at 101 million barrels, which is 20% higher than September 2022 levels and 11% higher than historical averages for that time of the year.

從大宗商品角度來看，美國丙烷庫存水準全年處於上升狀態，較2022年有較大改善。根據能源情報署數據，截至2023年9月底美國丙烷庫存為1.01億桶，較2022年增長20%高於2022 年9 月的水平，比當年同期的歷史平均高11%。

As a result of the increased inventories and other factors, average wholesale prices, basis Mont Belvieu, for fiscal 2023 were $0.75 per gallon, which were 39% lower than the prior year. Excluding the impact of the mark-to-market adjustments on our commodity hedges that I mentioned earlier, total gross margin of $842.7 million for fiscal 2023 increased $25.5 million or 3.1% compared to the prior year, primarily due to higher propane unit margins and margin contribution from the RNG asset acquired in December, from RNG sales and related environmental attributes as well as tipping fees.

由於庫存增加和其他因素，2023 財年的平均批發價格（以 Mont Belvieu 為基礎）為每加侖 0.75 美元，比前一年低 39%。排除我之前提到的按市價調整對我們的商品對沖的影響，2023 財年的總毛利率為8.427 億美元，比上一年增加了2550 萬美元，即3.1%，這主要是由於丙烷單位利潤率和利潤率較高貢獻來自12月收購的RNG資產、RNG銷售和相關環境屬性以及小費。

Excluding the impact of the unrealized mark-to-market adjustments, propane unit margins for fiscal 2023 increased $0.04 per gallon or 2% compared to the prior year, primarily due to effective selling price management during a period of declining commodity prices that helped offset the impact of inflationary pressures on our delivery costs and other expenses.

排除未實現的按市價調整的影響，2023 財年丙烷單位利潤率比上一年增加了每加侖 0.04 美元，即 2%，這主要是由於大宗商品價格下跌期間有效的銷售價格管理幫助抵消了通脹壓力對我們的送貨成本和其他費用的影響。

With respect to expenses, combined operating and G&A expenses increased $45.5 million or 8.7% compared to the prior year, primarily due to the impact of inflationary pressures across many areas of the business and, most significantly, within payroll and benefit-related expenses in vehicle lease and repair costs. The comparison of our expenses to the prior year were also impacted by the costs associated with the acquisition and operations of the new RNG assets included within general and administrative expenses for fiscal 2023 or acquisition-related costs of $4.7 million, which were excluded from adjusted EBITDA.

在費用方面，綜合營運和一般管理費用比上年增加了 4550 萬美元，即 8.7%，這主要是由於許多業務領域的通貨膨脹壓力的影響，最重要的是車輛的工資和福利相關費用租賃和維修費用。我們的支出與前一年的比較也受到 2023 財年一般和管理支出中包含的新 RNG 資產收購和運營相關成本或 470 萬美元收購相關成本的影響，這些成本不包括在調整後 EBITDA 中。

Net interest expense of $73.4 million for fiscal 2023 increased $12.7 million compared to the prior year due to a higher level of average outstanding borrowings under our revolving credit facility to fund the RNG acquisition in the second quarter, coupled with higher benchmark interest rates for borrowings under the revolver as well as the impact of the $80.6 million in green bonds assumed in the RNG acquisition, which carry an interest rate of 5.5%.

2023 財年的淨利息支出為 7,340 萬美元，比前一年增加了 1,270 萬美元，原因是我們為第二季收購 RNG 提供資金的循環信貸安排下的平均未償還借款水平較高，加上左輪手槍以及RNG 收購中假設的8,060 萬美元綠色債券的影響，該債券的利率為5.5%。

Total capital spending for the year was $45 million and reflected $20 million of maintenance CapEx and $25 million of growth. Our growth capital included $3 million associated with the expansion and upgrade of the RNG production facility in Stanfield, Arizona and the ongoing construction of the RNG facility at Adirondack Farms. For fiscal 2024, capital spending for our propane operations is expected to be consistent with historical levels, which is between $40 million and $45 million, and CapEx for the RNG projects is expected to range between $25 million to $35 million, excluding the benefit of potential investment tax credits.

本年度總資本支出為 4,500 萬美元，其中包括 2,000 萬美元的維護資本支出和 2,500 萬美元的成長。我們的成長資本包括與亞利桑那州斯坦菲爾德的 RNG 生產設施的擴建和升級以及阿迪朗達克農場正在進行的 RNG 設施建設相關的 300 萬美元。 2024 財年，我們丙烷業務的資本支出預計將與歷史水準保持一致，即4,000 萬美元至4,500 萬美元之間，RNG 專案的資本支出預計將在2,500 萬美元至3,500 萬美元之間，不包括潛在的收益投資稅收抵免。

Turning to our fourth quarter results. Given the nature of our fiscal calendar, the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 included 14 weeks of operations compared to 13 weeks in the prior year. Consistent with the seasonality of our business, we typically report a net loss for the fourth quarter. With that said, excluding the effects of noncash adjustments in both years, we reported a net loss of $33.2 million or $0.52 per common unit, compared to a net loss of $27.1 million or $0.43 per common unit in the prior year.

轉向我們第四季的業績。鑑於我們會計日曆的性質，2023 財年第四季的營運時間為 14 週，而前一年為 13 週。與我們業務的季節性一致，我們通常會報告第四季度的淨虧損。話雖如此，排除這兩年非現金調整的影響，我們報告的淨虧損為 3320 萬美元或每普通單位 0.52 美元，而上一年的淨虧損為 2710 萬美元或每普通單位 0.43 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 increased slightly to $3 million. Total gross margin increased $15.4 million or 12%, primarily due to an increase in volumes sold, higher unit margins and an increase in service-related revenues.

2023 財年第四季調整後 EBITDA 小幅成長至 300 萬美元。總毛利率增加 1,540 萬美元，即 12%，主要是由於銷售增加、單位利潤率提高以及服務相關收入增加。

Combined operating and G&A expenses increased $15.2 million or 12.2% due to higher variable operating costs in support of the increase in volumes sold, the impact of the additional week of operations, costs associated with the operations of the new RNG assets and a continued impact of inflation.

由於支援銷售增加的可變營運成本增加、額外營運一週的影響、與新 RNG 資產營運相關的成本以及通貨膨脹。

And turning to our balance sheet. As Mike mentioned, we invested more than $230 million to fund our strategic growth initiatives during fiscal 2023. Although the investments were initially funded with debt, including borrowings under the revolver and the assumption of the green bonds, our total debt outstanding at the end of the fiscal year reflected an increase of $123 million as we utilized excess cash flow from operating activities to repay revolver borrowings. As a result of the increase in debt, our consolidated leverage ratio at the end of fiscal 2023 was 4.28x.

轉向我們的資產負債表。正如麥克所提到的，我們在2023 財年投資了超過2.3 億美元，為我們的策略成長計畫提供資金。儘管這些投資最初是透過債務融資的，包括循環貸款和綠色債券的假設，但我們截至2023財年末的未償債務總額本財政年度增加了 1.23 億美元，因為我們利用經營活動產生的多餘現金流來償還循環借款。由於債務增加，2023 財政年度結束時我們的綜合槓桿率為 4.28 倍。

Although the leverage metric has been elevated relative to our historical levels following the RNG acquisition, it has improved in each of the last 2 quarters as we utilized excess cash flows to repay revolver borrowings, including a repayment of $28 million during the fourth quarter. We remain well within our debt covenant requirement of 5.75x, and as I mentioned last quarter, factoring the projected run rate EBITDA contribution from the RNG assets, the pro forma consolidated leverage ratio approaches 4x.

儘管槓桿指標相對於收購RNG 後的歷史水平有所上升，但在過去兩個季度中每個季度都有所改善，因為我們利用多餘的現金流來償還循環借款，包括第四季度償還的2800 萬美元。我們仍然完全符合 5.75 倍的債務契約要求，正如我上季度提到的，考慮到 RNG 資產的預期運行率 EBITDA 貢獻，預計綜合槓桿率將接近 4 倍。

With that, I'll turn it back to Mike.

有了這個，我會把它轉回給麥克。

Great. Thanks, Mike. As mentioned in our October 26 press release, our Board of Supervisors declared our quarterly distribution of $0.325 per common unit in respect of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, which equates to an annualized rate of $1.30 per common unit. The quarterly distribution is payable on November 14 to our unitholders of record as of November 7.

偉大的。謝謝，麥克。正如我們在 10 月 26 日的新聞稿中提到的，我們的監事會宣布 2023 財年第四季的季度分配為每普通單位 0.325 美元，相當於每普通單位的年化率為 1.30 美元。季度分配將於 11 月 14 日支付給截至 11 月 7 日記錄在案的單位持有人。

So just a few closing remarks regarding our long-term strategy. Our success in longevity as an organization is due to the hard work and dedication of our people. They are guided by our 3 corporate pillars: the Suburban Commitment to excellence in safety and customer service, our devotion to giving back to the local communities through our SuburbanCares platform and our innovation for the future through the Go Green with Suburban Propane pillar. Throughout our 95-year history, we have expanded our role as a trusted local provider of energy with our commitment to the highest standards for safety, exceptional customer satisfaction and reliability.

關於我們的長期策略，我想談幾句結束語。我們作為一個組織的長期成功歸功於員工的辛勤工作和奉獻精神。它們以我們的三大企業支柱為指導：Suburban 對卓越安全和客戶服務的承諾、我們透過 SuburbanCares 平台回饋當地社區的奉獻精神以及我們透過 Suburban Propane 走向綠色支柱的未來創新。在我們 95 年的歷史中，我們致力於實現最高安全標準、卓越的客戶滿意度和可靠性，並不斷擴大我們作為值得信賴的本地能源供應商的角色。

Suburban Propane is continuing its legacy as the true pioneer in the U.S. propane industry through our comprehensive growth strategy that builds on the low-carbon attributes of propane and our investments in innovative renewable energy products and technologies through our Suburban Renewable Energy subsidiary.

透過我們基於丙烷低碳屬性的全面成長策略以及透過我們的郊區再生能源子公司對創新再生能源產品和技術的投資，郊區丙烷正在繼續其作為美國丙烷行業真正先驅的傳統。

All across the energy sector, we are seeing a shift toward cleaner energy alternatives. While propane will continue to be relied upon as a versatile, affordable and available clean energy source that is produced domestically, Suburban Propane will continue to build off of our well-established legacy and core strengths to solidify our place in the localized energy distribution network by making strategic investments in both the propane sector and into renewable energy alternatives for businesses and local communities across the country.

在整個能源領域，我們看到了向清潔能源替代品的轉變。雖然丙烷將繼續被視為一種在國內生產的多功能、負擔得起且可用的清潔能源，但郊區丙烷將繼續利用我們悠久的傳統和核心優勢，透過以下方式鞏固我們在本地能源分配網路中的地位：對丙烷產業以及全國各地企業和當地社區的再生能源替代品進行策略性投資。

We are committed to delivering solutions to help mitigate the long-term effects of climate change, positioning Suburban Propane for long-term growth and sustainability, enhancing the career development opportunities for our valued employees and creating long-term value for all of our key stakeholders.

我們致力於提供解決方案，幫助減輕氣候變遷的長期影響，使郊區丙烷實現長期成長和永續發展，增加我們尊貴員工的職涯發展機會，並為我們所有主要利害關係人創造長期價值。

Finally, I want to thank the more than 3,300 employees for helping make fiscal 2023 another very successful year for Suburban Propane. Of course, I hope you and your families remain safe and healthy and wish everyone a very happy holiday season.

最後，我要感謝 3,300 多名員工，感謝你們幫助 Suburban Propane 在 2023 財年又取得了非常成功的一年。當然，我希望您和您的家人保持安全和健康，並祝大家節日快樂。

We appreciate your support and attention this morning, and we'll now open the question for -- the call for questions. So Rocco, would you mind helping us with that?

我們感謝您今天上午的支持和關注，我們現在將提出問題—徵集問題。 Rocco，你介意幫助我們嗎？

(Operator Instructions) Today's first question comes from Gabe Moreen with Mizuho.

（操作員說明）今天的第一個問題來自 Mizuho 的 Gabe Moreen。

Quick question -- a couple of questions for me, if I can. One is just on your expectations for O&M growth. Appreciating that last year's 9%-ish plus or minus growth was partially inorganic. Just wondering what you're seeing out there and expectations for FY '24 on the O&M and G&A side.

快速提問－如果可以的話，請問我幾個問題。一是關於您對運維成長的期望。認識到去年 9% 左右的正負成長部分是無機的。只是想知道您對 24 財年 O&M 和 G&A 的看法以及期望。

So with inflation continuing to be an ongoing factor across the country, I do expect -- we do expect expenses to continue to trend upward. However, if you look at the decline, and we talked about this a bit on the last call, the percentage increase certainly is starting to moderate a bit, but it's certainly not going away. So volumes, of course, are going to have a big impact on what our operating expenses are ultimately going to be. But I do expect the net increase to be less than what we've experienced over the last couple of years, but ultimately, expenses are going to be driven by what volumes are going to be.

因此，隨著通貨膨脹繼續成為全國範圍內的持續因素，我確實預計支出將繼續呈上升趨勢。然而，如果你看看下降的情況，我們在上次電話會議上對此進行了一些討論，那麼百分比的增長肯定開始有所放緩，但肯定不會消失。因此，銷售當然會對我們的營運支出最終產生重大影響。但我確實預計淨成長將低於我們過去幾年的經歷，但最終，費用將由銷售決定。

Great. And then I think there was a pretty decent step-up in your equity earnings this quarter. Can you just speak to that a little bit about whether that was Oberon, Independence Hydrogen, maybe where that was coming from?

偉大的。然後我認為本季你們的股本收益有了相當不錯的成長。可以簡單談談這是否是奧伯倫，獨立氫，也許是從哪裡來的？

Yes. It was related to Oberon, nothing unusual, just us picking up our equity and earnings of the sub.

是的。這與奧伯倫有關，沒什麼不尋常的，只是我們獲得了子公司的股權和收益。

And maybe if I can just ask a bigger question. Think you talked about investing in both propane and RNG. Clearly, there's one of your competitors out there that's undergoing a strategic review of its propane operations. Can you just talk about interest in scaling and propane versus making more of those RNG investments and how you think about kind of allocating capital on both sides, particularly with some of the stuff out there that might be out there in the market at the moment?

也許我可以問一個更大的問題。想想你談到了丙烷和 RNG 的投資。顯然，您的競爭對手之一正在對其丙烷業務進行策略審查。您能否談談對規模化和丙烷的興趣與進行更多 RNG 投資的興趣，以及您如何考慮雙方的資本分配，特別是目前市場上可能存在的一些東西？

Sure, Gabe. No, look, our long-term strategy is clear. We are totally committed to our core propane business. And we've done a couple of small acquisitions in each of the last couple of years, and that is done in very strategic markets and at very good valuations.

當然，加布。不，你看，我們的長期策略很明確。我們完全致力於我們的核心丙烷業務。過去幾年，我們每年都進行了幾筆小型收購，這些收購是在非常具有戰略意義的市場和非常好的估值中完成的。

But we're also very much focused on the energy transition as, I think, has been evidenced by the past couple of years of investments, not only in the RNG platform but the stakes that we've taken in Independence Hydrogen to get involved in clean hydrogen production and distribution, with Oberon and some other opportunities that we see. And we do believe that the long -- for the long term of this company, we're focused on building a growth platform, okay?

但我們也非常關注能源轉型，我認為過去幾年的投資證明了這一點，不僅是在 RNG 平台上，還有我們在 Independence Hydrogen 中持有的股份以參與其中清潔氫氣的生產和分配，包括Oberon 和我們看到的其他一些機會。我們確實相信，從長遠來看，對於這家公司來說，我們專注於建立一個成長平台，好嗎？

Propane is a great business. It is the engine that provides the excess cash flow to be able to make the investments that we're doing. And it's been a great business. We run it, as you know, really, really well. And we've all been here for decades. And we really do have great things ahead of us for the propane industry. But the propane industry has always struggled with headwinds around weather volatility and a highly mature competitive market that doesn't have tremendous growth opportunities. And so our strategic growth is to transition to create a growth platform and set this business up for the next 95 years, with propane being a significant piece of that because I really don't honestly see propane losing out in the transition to cleaner energy because it is a clean energy source.

丙烷是一門偉大的生意。它是提供多餘現金流的引擎，使我們能夠進行正在進行的投資。這是一項偉大的事業。如您所知，我們運行得非常非常好。我們都在這裡待了幾十年了。對於丙烷產業來說，我們確實面臨著偉大的事情。但丙烷行業一直在與天氣波動的不利因素以及高度成熟的競爭市場（沒有巨大的成長機會）作鬥爭。因此，我們的策略成長是轉型，創建一個成長平台，並為未來95 年的業務做好準備，丙烷是其中的重要組成部分，因為我真的不認為丙烷會在向清潔能源的過渡中遭受損失，因為它是一種清潔能源。

But I do see alternatives clearly going to develop, like the renewable natural gas, like hydrogen. Obviously, the government just committed billions of dollars to hydrogen hubs around the country. So I think our focus is a combination of continuing to foster the growth of propane while setting the business up and creating a growth platform, and our growth platform as we execute is going to generate growth that we expect to be able to deliver increased returns through -- for our unitholders in the form of distribution growth as well as perhaps as we create a more -- a different growth profile, perhaps a rerating of the risk profile that the market perhaps perceives in the propane industry, and that can be a 2-way approach to creating long-term value for our shareholders.

但我確實看到替代品顯然將會發展，例如可再生天然氣，例如氫氣。顯然，政府剛剛向全國各地的氫中心投入了數十億美元。因此，我認為我們的重點是繼續促進丙烷的增長，同時建立業務和創建增長平台，而我們執行的增長平台將產生增長，我們希望能夠通過這些增長帶來更高的回報- 對於我們的單位持有人來說，以分配成長的形式，以及也許我們創造了更多- 不同的成長概況，也許是對市場可能在丙烷行業中感知到的風險狀況的重新評級，這可能是 2為股東創造長期價值的方法。

So that is our strategy. I'm not really going to comment on your other question about the strategic direction that one of our competitors is going to take. I think they've been pretty clear about their intentions. And I think they've also been pretty clear about some of the challenges that they've faced in their business over the past several years. So I'll just leave it at that.

這就是我們的策略。我真的不會評論你關於我們的競爭對手之一將採取的策略方向的另一個問題。我認為他們已經很清楚自己的意圖了。我認為他們也非常清楚過去幾年他們在業務中面臨的一些挑戰。所以我就這樣吧。

(Operator Instructions) And everyone, that concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to the management team for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）各位，我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回給管理團隊進行總結發言。

Great. Thanks, Rocco. I appreciate your help today. And again, appreciate everybody's support and attention. I really do wish you all a happy holiday season. We look forward to talking with you again in early February after our first quarter results. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝，羅科。我很感謝你今天的幫忙。再次感謝大家的支持與關注。我衷心祝福大家節日快樂。我們期待在第一季業績公佈後於二月初再次與您交談。謝謝。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. We thank you all for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝大家參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開線路，度過美好的一天。