Spire Inc (SR) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the Spire Inc. Q2 FY25 earnings conference call.

大家好，歡迎參加 Spire Inc. Q2 FY25 收益電話會議。

(Operator Instructions). Oh, now I turn the conference over to Megan McPhail, Managing Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

（操作員指令）。哦，現在我將會議交給投資者關係董事總經理梅根·麥克菲爾 (Megan McPhail)。請繼續。

Good morning and welcome to Spire Inc's fiscal 2025 second quarter earnings call. On the call with me today is Scott Doyle, President and CEO, and Adam Woodard, Executive Vice President and CFO.

早安，歡迎參加 Spire Inc 2025 財年第二季財報電話會議。今天與我一起通話的是總裁兼執行長 Scott Doyle 和執行副總裁兼財務長 Adam Woodard。

We issued an earnings news release this morning, and you may access it on our website at spireenergy.com under newsroom. There's a slide presentation that accompanies our webcast, which can be downloaded from our website under investors, and then events and presentations.

我們今天早上發布了一份收益新聞稿，您可以在我們網站 spireenergy.com 的新聞編輯室中存取。我們的網路廣播隨附幻燈片演示，可從我們網站的「投資者」部分下載，然後可從「活動和演示」部分下載。

Before we begin, let me cover our safe harbor statement and use of non-GAAP earnings measures. Today's call, including responses to questions, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

在我們開始之前，讓我先介紹一下我們的安全港聲明和非公認會計準則收益指標的使用。今天的電話會議，包括對問題的回答，可能包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所定義的前瞻性陳述。

Although our forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there are various uncertainties and risk factors that may cause future performance or results to be different than those anticipated. These risks and uncertainties are outlined in our quarterly annual filings with the SEC.

儘管我們的前瞻性陳述是基於合理的假設，但仍存在各種不確定性和風險因素，可能導致未來的績效或結果與預期不同。這些風險和不確定性在我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的季度年度文件​​中有概述。

In our comments, we will be discussing non-GAAP measures used by management when evaluating the performance and results of operations. Explanations and reconciliations of these measures to their GAAP counterparts are contained in both our news release and slide presentation.

在我們的評論中，我們將討論管理階層在評估績效和營運成果時所使用的非公認會計準則指標。我們的新聞稿和幻燈片簡報中都包含這些指標與 GAAP 指標的解釋和對照組。

Now, here's Scott, who will start on page four of the presentation.

現在，請史考特開始講解簡報的第四頁。

Thank you, Megan. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for our fiscal second quarter earnings conference call.

謝謝你，梅根。大家早安，感謝大家今天參加我們的第二財季財報電話會議。

I am honored to address you today as the newly appointed President and CEO of Spire Inc. I'd like to express my gratitude to Steve Lindsey for his dedicated service and commitment to Spire Inc. over the years. Under his leadership, the company made significant strides and built a strong foundation for the future.

今天，我很榮幸能夠以 Spire Inc. 新任總裁兼執行長的身份向大家發表演講。我要對史蒂夫林賽 (Steve Lindsey) 多年來對 Spire Inc. 的忠誠服務和奉獻表示感謝。在他的領導下，公司取得了長足的進步，為未來奠定了堅實的基礎。

Steve is assisting me over the next several months, ensuring we have a seamless transition. I want to assure you our strategy remains unchanged. We'll continue to focus on organic growth, infrastructure investment, and continuous improvement. This includes modernizing our systems to benefit our customers, advancing our regulatory engagement, and maximizing value for our customers and other stakeholders while keeping the safety of our employees, customers, and communities at the center of it all.

史蒂夫將在接下來的幾個月協助我，確保我們順利過渡。我想向你們保證我們的策略保持不變。我們將繼續專注於有機成長、基礎設施投資和持續改進。這包括使我們的系統現代化以使我們的客戶受益，推進我們的監管參與，並為我們的客戶和其他利害關係人實現價值最大化，同時將員工、客戶和社區的安全放在首位。

Before I dive into results, I would like to express my gratitude to our employees for their dedication to providing safe and reliable gas service for our customers. Despite challenges of extreme cold at times throughout the winter, our natural gas system performed exceptionally well, thanks to their hard work and commitment.

在深入討論結果之前，我想對我們的員工表示感謝，感謝他們致力於為客戶提供安全可靠的天然氣服務。儘管整個冬季有時面臨極端寒冷的挑戰，但由於他們的辛勤工作和奉獻，我們的天然氣系統表現非常出色。

Turning to our performance for the quarter, this morning, we announced adjusted earnings of $3.60 per share compared to $3.45 per share a year ago. The year over year increase reflects strong growth in our utility and midstream segments, partially offset by slightly lower results in gas marketing.

談到本季的業績，今天上午，我們宣布調整後的每股收益為 3.60 美元，而去年同期為每股 3.45 美元。同比成長反映了我們公用事業和中游部門的強勁成長，但天然氣行銷業績略有下降，部分抵消了這一成長。

Our performance is driven by strategic infrastructure investments to modernize our natural gas systems, coupled with our ongoing commitment to disciplined cost management. Adam will provide a more detailed breakdown of our results and share insights into our outlook.

我們的業績是由戰略基礎設施投資推動的，以實現天然氣系統的現代化，加上我們對嚴格的成本管理的持續承諾。Adam 將對我們的結果進行更詳細的分析，並分享對我們前景的見解。

Now for an update on regulatory matters. Since our last earnings call, we have worked closely with key stakeholders in our ongoing Missouri rate case. We will continue to collaborate in the coming months to ensure a constructive outcome.

現在來了解一下監理事宜的最新情況。自上次收益電話會議以來，我們一直與正在進行的密蘇裡州利率案件的主要利益相關者密切合作。我們將在未來幾個月繼續合作，以確保建設性成果。

In addition, earlier this month, the Missouri Public Service Commission staff recommended a $19 million revenue increase in our infrastructure system replacement surcharge, or ISRS request. This is our fifth such request since our last general rate case, and if approved, would bring our revenues in the rider to an annualized rate of $72.6 million.

此外，本月早些時候，密蘇裡州公共服務委員會工作人員建議將基礎設施系統更換附加費（即 ISRS 請求）的收入增加 1,900 萬美元。這是我們自上次一般稅率案件以來第五次提出此類請求，如果獲得批准，我們的附加條款收入將達到年化 7,260 萬美元。

On the legislative front, we are pleased that Missouri Governor Kehoe signed at Senate Bill four into law, marking a significant advancement for the state's utilities. This constructive legislation introduces a future test year rate setting model that is forward-looking, allowing natural gas and water utilities to set rates based on projected costs rather than historical expenses.

在立法方面，我們很高興密蘇裡州州長基霍在參議院簽署了第四號法案，這標誌著該州公用事業取得了重大進展。這項建設性的立法引入了具有前瞻性的未來測試年費率制定模型，允許天然氣和水務公司根據預計成本而不是歷史費用來製定費率。

By attracting investment in energy infrastructure, the bill aims to enhance system reliability and drive economic growth across Missouri. The bill allows utilities to file a rate case based on a future test year starting in July of 2026. We continue to be focused on achieving consistent and constructive regulatory outcomes in all of our jurisdictions, leading to a more sustainable financial performance trajectory.

透過吸引對能源基礎設施的投資，該法案旨在提高系統可靠性並推動密蘇裡州的經濟成長。該法案允許公用事業公司根據 2026 年 7 月開始的未來測試年提起費率訴訟。我們將繼續致力於在所有司法管轄區內實現一致且建設性的監管成果，從而實現更永續的財務表現軌跡。

Looking ahead, we are reaffirming our long-term EPS growth target of 5% to 7%. This is supported by our 10 year $7.4 billion dollar capital investment plan. We expect to deliver within our fiscal 2025 earnings guidance of $4.40 to $4.60 per share.

展望未來，我們重申 5% 至 7% 的長期每股盈餘成長目標。這得到了我們為期 10 年、耗資 74 億美元的資本投資計畫的支持。我們預計 2025 財年的獲利預期為每股 4.40 美元至 4.60 美元。

We are committed to delivering strong results in the second half of the year and beyond, with a focus on executing our capital investment plan, driving operational excellence, and strengthening the performance of our utilities and gas-related businesses. Spire Inc. is poised for sustainable growth.

我們致力於在今年下半年及以後取得強勁業績，重點是執行我們的資本投資計劃，推動卓越運營，並加強我們的公用事業和天然氣相關業務的業績。Spire Inc. 已準備好實現永續成長。

In Saint Louis, we're excited about the growth opportunities ahead. The labor market has now fully recovered, reaching pre-pandemic employment levels. In addition, Boeing recently was selected to build the next generation fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force, driving growth of high-quality jobs in the Saint Louis area, strengthening Missouri's economy and securing a prosperous future for our community.

在聖路易斯，我們對未來的發展機會感到興奮。勞動市場現已完全恢復，達到疫情前的就業水準。此外，波音公司最近被選中為美國空軍製造下一代戰鬥機，這將推動聖路易斯地區高品質就業的成長，增強密蘇裡州的經濟，並確保我們社區的繁榮未來。

I would also like to highlight that last week, we renewed our labor agreement with our local 548 union representing employees in our Alabama service territory. This three-year agreement is a win-win as it provides stability to our workforce and allows us to focus on operational excellence.

我還想強調的是，上週我們與代表阿拉巴馬服務區員工的當地 548 工會續簽了勞動協議。這項為期三年的協議是雙贏的，因為它為我們的員工隊伍提供了穩定性，並使我們能夠專注於卓越營運。

We are well positioned to achieve our financial and operational goals as we execute our strategy to grow organically, invest in infrastructure, and drive continuous improvement.

透過實施有機成長、投資基礎設施和推動持續改善的策略，我們完全有能力實現我們的財務和營運目標。

Turning to page five, we continue to make capital investments to improve reliability, resiliency, and safety for the benefit of our customers. Year-to-date, our CapEx totaled $479 million with the majority of the spend taking place at our gas utilities. Year over year, utility CapEx increased nearly 27% as we focus on upgrading distribution infrastructure and connecting more homes and businesses to safe, reliable, and affordable natural gas.

翻到第五頁，我們繼續進行資本投資，以提高可靠性、彈性和安全性，從而使我們的客戶受益。年初至今，我們的資本支出總計 4.79 億美元，其中大部分支出用於我們的天然氣設施。由於我們專注於升級配送基礎設施並為更多家庭和企業提供安全、可靠且價格合理的天然氣，公用事業資本支出較去年同期成長近 27%。

Investment in our midstream segment totaled $84 million year-to-date, largely for the expansion of Spire Inc. towards west. The expansion is now substantially complete, and we are pleased with the returns on the project. We expect to have the final components placed in service by the end of this summer.

今年迄今為止，我們對中游部門的投資總額已達 8,400 萬美元，主要用於 Spire Inc. 向西擴張。擴建工程現已基本完成，我們對工程的回報感到滿意。我們預計最後的組件將在今年夏末投入使用。

Looking ahead, we are increasing our fiscal 2025 capital investment target by $50 million to $840 million. The higher CapEx includes a $15 million increase at Spire Missouri and the $35 million dollar increase at midstream primarily for the storage expansion project.

展望未來，我們將 2025 財年的資本投資目標提高 5,000 萬美元，達到 8.4 億美元。更高的資本支出包括 Spire Missouri 的 1500 萬美元增加和中游的 3500 萬美元增加，主要用於儲存擴建項目。

As a reminder, our long-term investment plan is focused on organic growth of utilities. Approximately 98% of our 10-year capital expenditure plan is targeted utility spend driving our growth in rate base.

提醒一下，我們的長期投資計劃專注於公用事業的有機成長。我們的 10 年資本支出計畫中約有 98% 是針對公用事業的支出，推動了費率基礎的成長。

Moving to page six for a Missouri rate case update. Last week, the PSC staff proposed a $246 million annual revenue increase in our Spire Missouri rate case. This increase amount is made up of two parts, approximately $205 million included in the staff's direct testimony and staff's estimated $42 million true up through May 31, 2025.

前往第六頁，查看密蘇裡州費率案例的更新。上週，PSC 工作人員在我們的 Spire Missouri 費率案中提議每年增加 2.46 億美元的收入。這一增加的金額由兩部分組成，其中約 2.05 億美元包含在工作人員的直接證詞中，而工作人員估計的截至 2025 年 5 月 31 日的實際金額為 4200 萬美元。

The proposed revenue increase differs from our requested increase of $290 million primarily due to staff's proposed 9.63% return on equity and 53.19% equity layer compared to our requested return on equity of 10.5% and 55% equity layer in discrete adjustments, which we expect to be addressed in subsequent testimony.

提議的收入成長與我們要求的 2.9 億美元成長有所不同，主要是因為員工提議的股本回報率為 9.63%，股權層為 53.19%，而我們要求的股本回報率為 10.5%，股權層為 55%，我們預計這些問題將在後續證詞中得到解決。

You may recall our requested increase reflects in the estimated rate base of $4.4 billion inclusive of discrete adjustments. We expect future testimony to address the weather mechanism and other elements of the case. Evidentiary hearings are scheduled to begin on August 4 and an order from the commission and new rates expected to be effective by October.

您可能還記得，我們​​要求的成長反映在估計的 44 億美元利率基數（包括離散調整）。我們期待未來的證詞能夠解決天氣機制和案件的其他要素。證據聽證會定於 8 月 4 日開始，委員會的命令和新稅率預計將於 10 月生效。

We appreciate the constructive engagement thus far and remain committed to working closely with stakeholders throughout the remainder of the process.

我們感謝迄今為止的建設性參與，並將繼續致力於在整個進程的剩餘時間裡與利益相關者密切合作。

I'll now turn the call over to Adam for a financial review and update on guidance and outlook. Adam.

現在我將把電話轉給亞當，讓他進行財務審查並更新指導和展望。亞當。

Thanks, Scott, and good morning everyone. I'll start with a review of our quarterly results, which are detailed on pages seven and eight of our presentation. During the second quarter, we reported adjusted earnings of over $214 million an increase of almost $18 million compared to last year.

謝謝，斯科特，大家早安。我將首先回顧我們的季度業績，該業績在我們簡報的第七頁和第八頁中有詳細說明。我們報告第二季調整後的收益超過 2.14 億美元，比去年同期增加了近 1800 萬美元。

The gas utility segment had earnings of approximately $195 million in the second quarter, over $7 million higher than last year. The increased results reflect higher contribution margin at Spire Missouri, driven by an increase in vires revenues and usage net of weather mitigation, as well as new rates at Spire Alabama. These favorable items were partially offset by lower Spire Alabama usage net of weather mitigation. Excluding bad debt, utility earnings also reflected lower run rate OM expense and higher depreciation expense.

天然氣公用事業部門第二季的收益約為 1.95 億美元，比去年同期高出 700 多萬美元。業績成長反映了 Spire Missouri 的貢獻利潤率有所提高，這得益於收益收入和扣除天氣緩解因素後的使用量的增加，以及 Spire Alabama 的新費率。這些有利因素被 Spire Alabama 使用量扣除天氣緩解因素後的下降部分抵消。除壞帳外，公用事業收益還反映較低的營運率 OM 費用和較高的折舊費用。

During the quarter, we continue to see strong earnings growth in our midstream segment driven by new contracts on additional capacity, higher rates on contract renewals, and asset optimization aspire storage. Earnings in our marketing segment were strong, but slightly lower than the prior year due to reduced market volatility.

在本季度，我們繼續看到中游部門獲利強勁成長，這得益於新增產能合約、更高的合約續約率以及資產優化儲存。我們的行銷部門獲利強勁，但由於市場波動性降低，獲利略低於上年。

Lastly, other corporate costs were higher primarily due to higher borrowing balances. In both Missouri and Alabama, we experienced colder temperatures than last year and slightly colder than normal temperatures.

最後，其他企業成本較高主要是因為借款餘額較高。在密蘇裡州和阿拉巴馬州，我們經歷了比去年更冷的氣溫，並且比正常氣溫略低。

Our volumetric margins in Missouri for the quarter were higher by nearly $7 million but short of our expectations. This adjustment is highly dependent on the relationship between eating degree days and customer usage set in the previous rate proceeding. The weather mitigation adjustment in Missouri was not effective as revenues were not aligned with usage over the course of the quarter.

本季我們在密蘇裡州的體積利潤率高出近 700 萬美元，但低於我們的預期。這種調整在很大程度上取決於先前費率程序中設定的食用度日數和客戶使用量之間的關係。密蘇裡州的天氣緩解調整併不有效，因為本季的收入與使用量並不一致。

Looking out at Alabama, while we experienced a higher than anticipated adjustment under the weather mitigation mechanism during the quarter, the year-to-date results are largely in line with expectations.

看看阿拉巴馬州，雖然我們在本季經歷了高於預期的天氣緩解機制調整，但年初至今的結果基本上符合預期。

We're focused on cost management and continue to expect run rate owing them expense at the gas utility to be flat relative to fiscal 2024 levels. During the quarter, gas utility run rate OM expense was lower by $800,000 when compared to last year.

我們專注於成本管理，並繼續預計天然氣公用事業的運作率將與 2024 財年的水平持平。本季度，天然氣公用事業運行率 OM 費用與去年同期相比降低了 80 萬美元。

Turning now to our growth outlook on page nine. We are confident in our long-term adjusted earnings per share growth target of 5% to 7%. This is reinforced by 7% to 8% rate-based growth at Spire Missouri and steady sustained equity growth at Spire Alabama, coupled with efficient recovery mechanisms.

現在我們來看看第九頁的成長展望。我們對長期調整後每股收益成長5%至7%的目標充滿信心。Spire Missouri 的利率成長達到 7% 至 8%，Spire Alabama 的股權持續穩定成長，加上高效的恢復機制，進一步鞏固了這一地位。

We remain committed to executing on our strategy and are affirming our FY 2025 adjusted earnings guidance range of $4.40 to $4.60 per share. Weighted average shares for FY25 are expected to be approximately 58.5 million, slightly lower than our previously anticipated 59 million shares, providing the benefit and expected adjusted earnings per share for the year.

我們將繼續致力於執行我們的策略，並確認 2025 財年調整後的每股盈餘預期範圍為 4.40 美元至 4.60 美元。預計 25 財年的加權平均股數約為 5,850 萬股，略低於我們先前預期的 5,900 萬股，為全年帶來收益和預期調整後每股收益。

We are updating our adjusted earnings targets by business segment to reflect first half results and expectations for the remainder of the year. We're lowering the gas utility range by $11 million primarily due to weather-related margin headwinds experienced year-to-date. As a result of the ineffectiveness of the weather adjustment and usage, we anticipate approximately $9 million of lower margins for residential customers.

我們正在按業務部門更新調整後的獲利目標，以反映上半年的業績和今年剩餘時間的預期。我們將天然氣公用事業範圍降低了 1,100 萬美元，主要原因是今年迄今經歷了與天氣相關的利潤逆風。由於天氣調整和使用無效，我們預計住宅客戶的利潤損失約為 900 萬美元。

We are raising the range for gas marketing by $4 billion on stronger than expected earnings in the first half of the year, and we are increasing our midstream earnings outlook by $8 million to reflect the realization of higher rates and capacity and optimization of our storage assets during the first half of the year. The range for corporate and others loss was increased by $4 million primarily due to higher interest expense from higher short-term balances.

由於上半年獲利好於預期，我們將天然氣行銷範圍提高了 40 億美元，並且我們將中游獲利預期提高了 800 萬美元，以反映上半年更高的費率和容量的實現以及儲存資產的優化。公司及其他損失範圍增加了 400 萬美元，主要原因是短期餘額增加導致利息支出增加。

Moving to slide 10 for a financing update, our three-year financing plan is unchanged. To support our equity needs, we settled approximately $43 million of forward sales during the quarter.

請翻到第 10 張投影片了解融資最新情況，我們的三年融資計畫維持不變。為了滿足我們的股權需求，我們在本季結算了約 4,300 萬美元的遠期銷售。

Looking ahead, we anticipate using our ATM program for plant equity issuances through 2027. In April, we priced $150 million of Spire Missouri first mortgage bonds that we expect to fund on May 1.

展望未來，我們預計將在 2027 年之前使用 ATM 計畫發行工廠股權。4 月份，我們為 Spire Missouri 的 1.5 億美元首期抵押貸款債券定價，預計將於 5 月 1 日為其提供資金。

Our financing plan includes additional issuances in 2026 and 2027 to refinance maturities and criminal debt of approximately $500 million to fund our capital plan. Our FFO to debt target remains at 15% to 16%.

我們的融資計畫包括在 2026 年和 2027 年額外發行債券，為約 5 億美元的到期債務和刑事債務進行再融資，為我們的資本計畫提供資金。我們的 FFO 與債務目標仍維持在 15% 至 16%。

In summary, we are executing our financing plan effectively and are confident in our financial position going forward.

總而言之，我們正在有效地執行我們的融資計劃，並對我們未來的財務狀況充滿信心。

With that, let me turn it back over to you, Scott.

說完這些，讓我把話題還給你，史考特。

Thanks, Adam. As you've heard today, we have made significant progress towards achieving our priorities for the year, strengthening our position as a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable company that creates value for both customers and shareholders. Our unwavering commitment to delivering natural gas safely and reliably remains at the core of our efforts.

謝謝，亞當。正如大家今天所聽到的，我們在實現今年的優先事項方面取得了重大進展，鞏固了我們作為一家更具彈性、更高效、更可持續的公司的地位，為客戶和股東創造價值。我們堅定不移地致力於安全可靠地輸送天然氣，這仍然是我們努力的核心。

We are executing on our capital investment plan while actively collaborating with key stakeholders to secure constructive regulatory outcomes that benefit both our customers and shareholders. Additionally, we are focused on meeting our fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share guidance range and preserving the strength of our balance sheet.

我們正在執行資本投資計劃，同時積極與主要利益相關者合作，以確保有利於我們的客戶和股東的建設性監管成果。此外，我們專注於實現 2025 財年調整後每股收益指引範圍並維持資產負債表的強勁。

Executing on these objectives is not just a focus for FY 2025, but a long-term commitment to driving success and delivering meaningful results in the years to come.

實現這些目標不僅是 2025 財年的重點，也是推動未來幾年取得成功和有意義成果的長期承諾。

Thank you for your ongoing support of Spire Inc., and we look forward to seeing many of you at the AGA Financial Forum in a few weeks. We're now ready to take questions.

感謝您對 Spire Inc. 的持續支持，我們期待幾週後在 AGA 金融論壇上見到你們。我們現在準備好回答問題。

Yes, thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session.

是的，謝謝。我們現在開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions). At this time we will pause momentarily to assemble the roster.

（操作員指令）。此時我們將暫時暫停以匯總名冊。

And the first question comes from Richard Sunderland with JP Morgan.

第一個問題來自摩根大通的理查桑德蘭。

Hey, good morning, and Scott, congrats on your new leadership of the company.

嘿，早上好，斯科特，祝賀你成為公司的新領導。

Morning, Rich. Thank you.

早上好，里奇。謝謝。

And digging into the results a little bit in finer detail, some moving pieces on the segment guidance. I realize share count is tweaked as well. Can you speak a little bit about 1H trends and then where you're trending on a full year basis, giving all these moving pieces?

進一步深入研究結果的細節，可以發現部分指導中的一些移動部分。我意識到股票數量也進行了調整。您能否簡單談談上半年的趨勢，然後談談全年的趨勢，並給出所有這些動態因素？

Hey Rich, it's Adam.

嘿，里奇，我是亞當。

We, that, we wanted to take stop and take a minute and really took, we saw the margin weakness in Missouri and had elected to take that guidance down. Now, unfortunately, the midstream had exceeded our expectations and we're able to move that up. So I mean from a trend line perspective, obviously we're moving into the summer months and, you won't, we won't see a lot of performance out of the gas utilities, but we do see the midstream. Turning well into the end of the year and as I mentioned in the last call, marketing, we feel very good about where they're at and where they're going for the year.

我們，我們想停下來花一分鐘，真正花點時間，我們看到了密蘇裡州的利潤率疲軟，並選擇降低該指導。現在，不幸的是，中游已經超出了我們的預期，我們能夠將其提升。所以我的意思是，從趨勢線的角度來看，顯然我們正在進入夏季，你不會看到天然氣公用事業的許多表現，但我們確實看到了中游。進入年底，正如我在上次電話會議中提到的那樣，行銷，我們對他們今年的現狀和發展方向感到非常滿意。

Understood. So it sounds like, the sort of weather at the utility is obviously unfortunate. Is that really the sole deviation on the utility side? I think you referenced 9 million of customer margins, so it looks like there should be a few other small pieces in there too. Just trying to understand the weather versus where else you're having difficulty forecasting the utility.

明白了。因此聽起來，該公用事業單位的天氣顯然不太好。這真的是實用方面的唯一偏差嗎？我認為您提到了 900 萬的客戶利潤，因此看起來其中還應該有一些其他小部分。只是想了解天氣，而不是在其他地方難以預測效用。

That's the main driver. There's as you mentioned, there's a few other pieces, but that the main driver really is the weather related margin.

這是主要驅動力。正如您所提到的，還有其他一些因素，但主要驅動因素確實是與天氣相關的利潤。

Okay, understood. And then with the midstream guidance, that $8 million increase, is that solely a one-off for 2025 or are you seeing a higher run rate for the business going forward?

好的，明白了。那麼，根據中游指導，那 800 萬美元的成長，是 2025 年的一次性支出，還是您認為未來業務的運作率會更高？

That's a great question. There's a little bit about we mentioned optimization there that there's one we are seeing, relative to where we started the year, feeling better about, kind of where we're at on capacity and pricing, but, a piece of that is optimization, so I, this is, this would indicate some run rate lifts over time, but I want to stress that it's not complete. A complete lift on run rate. There is some optimization in there around circumstances or volatility that we saw in the first couple quarters.

這是一個很好的問題。我們提到了一點優化，相對於年初的情況，我們看到了更好的優化，我們的產能和定價都得到了改善，但其中一部分是優化，所以我認為這表明隨著時間的推移運行率會有所提升，但我想強調的是，這並不完整。運行率全面提升。我們在前幾季看到的情況或波動有一些優化。

Okay, understood, and sorry, just one last one on midstream while we're on that, the higher CapEx for midstream is that impacting your return expectations for the storage expansion project?

好的，明白了，抱歉，我們討論中游時還有最後一個問題，中游的資本支出較高是否會影響您對存儲擴展項目的回報預期？

Yeah, it's Adam again. No, it's not that, we did, we did see some higher capital costs going into that and really it continues to exceed our return expectations.

是的，又是亞當。不，不是這樣的，我們確實看到了一些更高的資本成本投入其中，而且它確實繼續超出了我們的回報預期。

Great, I'll leave it there. Thank you.

太好了，我就把它留在那裡了。謝謝。

Thank you. And the next question comes from David Arcaro with Morgan Stanley.

謝謝。下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 David Arcaro。

Hey, good morning, thanks so much, hey, best wishes to Steve and congratulations Scott.

嘿，早上好，非常感謝，嘿，向史蒂夫致以最良好的祝愿，並祝賀斯科特。

Thank you, David. I appreciate that.

謝謝你，大衛。我很感激。

Yeah, absolutely, I was curious just maybe on the weather mechanism, could you elaborate a bit more on kind of what you see as the path forward here, within the rate case, just prospects and where that could go?

是的，當然，我很好奇，也許只是關於天氣機制，您能否更詳細地闡述一下您認為這裡的前進道路，在利率情況下，前景如何以及可能走向何方？

Yeah, thanks, David. It's Adam. We, obviously it's front and center in the rate case and it's something beyond the normal kind of cost of service, cost of capital, reviews that we're going through, is really the, one of the main issues for us and we do. I feel like, we're in a good, position to have that conversation with staff and the commission and other stakeholders. But there clearly we need to, there's something that we need to get fixed here. We realize that and it's a big focus for us.

是的，謝謝，大衛。是亞當。顯然，這是利率案例中最重要的問題，它超出了我們正在進行的正常的服務成本、資本成本和審查的範圍，這確實是我們面臨的主要問題之一，而我們也確實如此。我覺得，我們處於一個很好的位置，可以與員工、委員會和其他利害關係人進行這樣的對話。但顯然我們需要，這裡有一些我們需要解決的問題。我們意識到了這一點，而這是我們關注的重點。

Yeah, and David. I'll just add. You know, we've proposed in this current case, a couple of different options that we want to work with commission staff on and all the stakeholders as we get into the next elements of this case, and it ranges. From, decoupling to, updating, the weather, time horizon that uses the comparison as well. So a lot of detail that we've got provided in the case, but clearly, some work to be done there and we look forward to those discussions going forward.

是的，還有大衛。我僅補充一點。您知道，在目前案件中，我們提出了幾種不同的選擇，我們希望與委員會工作人員和所有利益相關者一起討論，以了解案件的後續內容，而且範圍很廣。從脫鉤到更新，天氣、時間範圍也使用比較。我們已經為這個案例提供了許多細節，但顯然還有一些工作要做，我們期待這些討論的進展。

Yeah, got it. Makes sense, thanks, and then I was just curious your latest thinking on the prospects for a settlement, within the rate case.

是的，明白了。有道理，謝謝，然後我只是好奇你對利率案中和解前景的最新看法。

Yeah, hey, great question, and, we still have a lot of work to do, so we're, that's a little early in the process. Maybe just kind of lay out the process what where we are in these stages. We do have, the community meetings that take place that are coming up here very shortly. Then we have the public hearing or the commission hearing later this summer. There'll be opportunity that's built into the schedule for settlement discussions and those settlement talks can take place, both prior to and after.

是的，嘿，這個問題問得很好，我們還有很多工作要做，所以我們還處於早期階段。也許只是大致介紹一下我們在這些階段所處的過程。我們確實有即將舉行的社區會議。然後我們將在今年夏天晚些時候舉行公開聽證會或委員會聽證會。日程安排中會預留和解討論的機會，和解談判可以在之前或之後進行。

The commission hearing as well. The commission, at least if we're just watching over the last, 12 to 18 months has appears to be working towards settlements, so we're, certainly willing to entertain those types of discussions as well. So look forward to collective and collaborative discussions going forward.

委員會也進行了聽證。如果我們僅從過去 12 到 18 個月來看，委員會似乎一直在努力達成和解，因此我們當然也願意進行此類討論。因此，期待未來的集體和合作討論。

Okay excellent I appreciate the call thanks.

好的，非常好，感謝您的來電。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, David.

謝謝，大衛。

Thank you. And the next question comes from Gabe Moreen with Mizuho.

謝謝。下一個問題來自瑞穗的 Gabe Moreen。

Hey, good morning, and congrats, Scott, as well.

嘿，早上好，也祝賀你，斯科特。

I would just ask, I know it's a little premature to ask about subsequent rate cases in Missouri, given that you're still involved in the midst of one right now. But just as far as SB6 and its passage, can you talk about timing on future rate cases? Do you have to wait until that's implemented before you even start another rate case? So I'm just curious in terms of timing and how that may or may not influence your thoughts about future regulatory activity in Missouri.

我只是想問一下，我知道現在詢問密蘇裡州後續的利率案件有點為時過早，因為您現在仍身陷其中。但就 SB6 及其通過而言，您能談談未來利率案例的時間表嗎？您是否必須等到政策實施後才能開始另一個利率案例？所以我只是好奇時間方面以及這是否會對你對密蘇裡州未來監管活動的想法產生影響。

Yeah, hey Gabe, good morning and thank you for the question. Yeah, maybe that's, and you set it up very well. Clearly our focus is this case right now and that's where our mind's attention is.

是的，嘿，Gabe，早上好，謝謝你的提問。是的，也許是這樣，而且你設定得很好。顯然，我們現在的重點是這個案子，我們的注意力也集中在這個案子上。

If you look at Senate Bill four and see what's laid out there, July 26 is the first time that either a gas or water utility can file based on a future test year basis for their rate case and so it won't be until that time before we clearly would be able to file, but we have an interest in working under that new paradigm for Missouri and so more to come in that space as we move forward, but clearly our efforts right now are focused on this case and getting it to conclusion.

如果你看一下參議院第四號法案，看看裡面的內容，你會發現 7 月 26 日是天然氣或水務公司第一次可以根據未來的測試年份提交費率案例，所以直到那時我們才能夠明確提交，但我們有興趣在密蘇裡州的新模式下開展工作，因此隨著我們向前推進，我們將在該領域開展更多工作，但顯然我們現在的努力使其案例。

Thanks, Scott. Maybe if I could just add a follow on Missouri regulation. I know you're trying to reform the weather mechanism in this rate case here, and I think staff's going to opine sometime soon on that. Is that a negotiation? Is it sort of a thumbs up, thumbs down? I'm just curious how you envision that sort of shaking out within the rate case.

謝謝，斯科特。也許我可以添加對密蘇裡州法規的跟進。我知道您正在嘗試改革此費率案例中的天氣機制，我認為工作人員很快就會對此發表意見。這是談判嗎？這算是贊成還是反對嗎？我只是好奇您如何設想利率案例中會出現這種震盪。

Yeah, good question. I think, as in all cases, these are things that both parties clearly take sides and then work together and it's something that could be worked on together to get to the right solution that, addresses both the needs of the customer but as well as the company as well, and I think that's the posture we're going to take as we work through this, as well. So just like in all cases, there's opportunity for both sides to bring the issues to the table and work together to get to a constructive solution. That's what we're working towards.

是的，好問題。我認為，在所有情況下，這些都是雙方明確表明立場並共同努力的事情，可以共同努力找到正確的解決方案，既能滿足客戶的需求，也能滿足公司的需求，我認為這也是我們在解決這個問題時要採取的態度。因此，就像所有情況一樣，雙方都有機會將問題擺到桌面上來，共同努力找到建設性的解決方案。這正是我們努力的目標。

Understood thanks Scott. I appreciate it.

明白了，謝謝斯科特。我很感激。

Thank you. And the next question, comes from Stephen D'Ambrisi with Ladenburg Thalmann.

謝謝。下一個問題來自 Ladenburg Thalmann 的 Stephen D'Ambrisi。

Hey guys, thanks very much for taking my question, Scott. Congratulations on the new role and best of luck leading the company.

嘿夥計們，非常感謝你回答我的問題，斯科特。恭喜您擔任新職務並祝福您領導公司一切順利。

Thank you, sir. Good morning.

謝謝您，先生。早安.

Good morning. Just, I guess my question would be just on the guidance modification, I guess listening to some of the answers and the earlier questions, it kind of sounds like the takeaway is that to the extent you can fix the weather norm mechanism in this the context of this rate case, the, earnings power of the business of the utility business hasn't really changed.

早安.只是，我想我的問題只是關於指導修改，我想聽聽一些答案和之前的問題，聽起來像是這樣的結論：在某種程度上，你可以在這個費率案例的背景下修復天氣規範機制，公用事業業務的盈利能力並沒有真正改變。

And then maybe you're seeing some slight, structural uplift in the marketing and midstream businesses. So can you just, am I reading that right, or, just how are you framing this guidance revision?

然後，也許你會看到行銷和中游業務出現一些輕微的結構性提升。那麼，您能否解釋一下，我讀得對嗎，或者，您是如何制定這項指導修訂的？

Yeah, hi Steve, it's Adam, and I'll give you my point of view and let, Scott chime in as well. I think that's a fair assumption. It is, we are, we do expect to get to a constructive outcome on the weather, mechanism, whether, mitigation mechanism, and we do see some, obviously with how I characterize the midstream, guidance revision. We do see some structural uplift there relative to our earlier expectations. So I think that that, I think that's a fair assumption.

是的，嗨，史蒂夫，我是亞當，我會給你我的觀點，讓史考特也加入進來。我認為這是一個合理的假設。是的，我們確實期望在天氣、機制、緩解機制方面取得建設性成果，而且我們確實看到了一些，顯然我如何描述中游指導修訂。與我們先前的預期相比，我們確實看到了一些結構性的提升。所以我認為這是一個合理的假設。

Yeah, and Stephen, what I think what I'd add maybe just take it up a level. Is just think about what's happening at the macro level within our company and it's the things we laid out in the script and also just kind of what's been happening, in particular as we've been working through this case, but it really is about building momentum as we are finishing out this fiscal year going into '26, clearly we have, you can see the pull through of our customer affordability project that we implemented last year, those expenses are we're seeing the benefit of those expenses staying where they need to be in the right places.

是的，史蒂芬，我想我要補充的是，也許只是將其提升一個層次。只是想想我們公司宏觀層面上發生的事情，這是我們在腳本中列出的內容，也是正在發生的事情，特別是在我們處理這個案例時，但這實際上是為了在我們結束本財年進入26年時積聚勢頭，顯然我們已經看到了我們去年實施的客戶負擔能力項目的成果，這些費用是我們看到的好處，這些費用保持在正確的位置。

I think if you go a little deeper into the numbers, you can see we're down in administrative in general, but slightly up in our field activities, and that means we're putting the money to the places that benefit our customers.

我想，如果你更深入地研究這些數字，你會發現我們的行政管理費用總體上有所下降，但我們的實地活動費用略有上升，這意味著我們把錢用在了使客戶受益的地方。

So then coming out of that, if you think about the pull through of capital across both mid. Stream and our utilities, that's what we're working on right now. You're seeing the project, the storage projects coming to life and we're seeing the pull through of the returns there and then as we're updating our capital recovery in this instant case that we have before the commission right now, those are things that are providing momentum to us to get us back to the returns that, we expect in this business. So, and we feel good about the future and that's what we're focused on right now.

那麼從這一點來看，如果你考慮一下資本在兩個中間階段的拉動。流和我們的實用程序，這就是我們現在正在努力的。您正在看到該專案、儲存專案正在啟動，我們也看到了回報的拉動，然後，當我們在委員會面前的這個即時案例中更新我們的資本回收時，這些事情為我們提供了動力，讓我們回到我們期望在這個業務中獲得的回報。所以，我們對未來充滿信心，這也是我們現在關注的重點。

Okay, that sounds great, thank you. And then just one follow up just on implementation, I guess that's before I know you guys have a case that you're prosecuting and there's some time here, but do you expect the commission, do they need to do a rulemaking or will there be some type of process that gets done and does that go concurrently or is there anything that needs to get done from a regulatory perspective before you guys are actually able to file with a future test here?

好的，聽起來不錯，謝謝。然後只跟進一下實施情況，我想那是在我知道你們有一個正在起訴的案件並且這裡有一些時間之前，但是你是否期望委員會，他們是否需要製定規則，或者是否會有一些類型的流程完成並且這些流程是否同時進行，或者在你們真正能夠在這裡提交未來的測試之前，從監管角度來看有什麼需要完成的嗎？

Thanks. Yeah, so maybe just, I'll just point to the bill, how it's laid out in the bill. The bill does allow for a case to be filed after or in July 26 or later. It speaks to some rulemaking that has to be completed by a certain date, which is July of the following year. But what we anticipate, and I don't want to get ahead of our commission or kind of how they're thinking on it is, once they start up the rulemaking, we'll be active in that and we'll certainly work within the confines of the legislation as we think about the timing of our next case.

謝謝。是的，所以也許只是，我只會指出該法案，看看它在法案中是如何佈局的。該法案確實允許在 7 月 26 日或之後提起訴訟。它提到一些規則制定必須在某個日期之前完成，也就是隔年 7 月。但是我們的預期是，我不想超越我們的委員會或他們對此的想法，一旦他們開始製定規則，我們就會積極參與其中，我們肯定會在立法的範圍內開展工作，同時考慮下一個案件的時間。

Okay, that's great. Thank you very much for the time. I appreciate it.

好的，太好了。非常感謝您抽出時間。我很感激。

Thanks Steve.

謝謝史蒂夫。

Thank you and once again, please press star, then one if you would like to ask a question.

謝謝您，如果您想提問，請再次按星號，然後按一。

Alright, well this does conclude our question and answers, so I would like to turn the floor back over to make them fail for any closing comments.

好吧，我們的問答確實到此結束了，所以我想將發言權轉回給他們，讓他們不再發表任何結束語。

I'd like to thank you for joining the call today. Have a great day.

感謝您今天參加電話會議。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you so much. Thank you for attending today's presentation. The conference is now concluded. You may now disconnect lines.

太感謝了。感謝您參加今天的演講。會議現已結束。現在您可以斷開線路。