UGI Corp (UGI) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the UGI Corporation Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 UGI Corporation 2023 年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Tameka Morris. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給今天的發言人 Tameka Morris。請繼續。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our fiscal 2023 second quarter earnings call. With me today are Roger Perreault, President and CEO; Sean O'Brien, Chief Financial Officer; and Bob Beard, Chief Operations Officer. Roger and Sean will provide an overview of our results and the entire team will then be available to answer your questions.

大家早安。感謝您參加我們的 2023 財年第二季財報電話會議。今天與我在一起的有總裁兼執行長 Roger Perreault；奧布萊恩 (Sean O’Brien)，財務長；以及營運長鮑伯·比爾德（Bob Beard）。 Roger 和 Sean 將概述我們的結果，然後整個團隊將隨時回答您的問題。

Before we begin, let me remind you that our comments today include certain forward-looking statements, which management believes to be reasonable as of today's date only. Actual results may differ significantly because of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Please read our earnings release and our most recent annual and quarterly reports for an extensive list of factors that could affect results.

在我們開始之前，請允許我提醒您，我們今天的評論包括某些前瞻性陳述，管理層認為這些陳述僅在今天才是合理的。由於難以預測的風險和不確定性，實際結果可能存在很大差異。請閱讀我們的收益報告以及最新的年度和季度報告，以了解可能影響結果的詳細因素清單。

We assume no duty to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that are different from expectations. We will also describe our business using certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures to the comparable GAAP measures are available within our presentation.

我們不承擔更新或修改前瞻性陳述以反映與預期不同的事件或情況的義務。我們也將使用某些非 GAAP 財務指標來描述我們的業務。我們的簡報中提供了這些指標與可比較 GAAP 指標的對帳表。

Now I'm pleased to turn the call over to Roger.

現在我很高興將電話轉給羅傑。

Thank you, Tameka, and good morning, everyone. Before I begin, let me say that I am pleased to be joined by our recently appointed CFO, Sean O'Brien, who joined our team in April. I look forward to working with Sean who brings a tremendous amount of experience in the energy sector.

謝謝你，Tameka，大家早安。在我開始之前，請允許我說，我很高興能與我們最近任命的財務長 Sean O'Brien 一起，他於四月份加入我們的團隊。我期待與在能源領域擁有豐富經驗的肖恩合作。

I would also like to thank Ted, our outgoing CFO, for his leadership and important contributions over the past 5 years. Thank you, Ted. I have really appreciated your insights and partnership over the past few years.

我還要感謝即將離任的財務長泰德 (Ted) 在過去五年中的領導作用和重要貢獻。謝謝你，泰德。我非常感謝您過去幾年來的見解和合作。

Now on today's call, we will provide a business update, review our financial results for the quarter and discuss the outlook for the rest of this fiscal year before concluding with a question-and-answer session.

在今天的電話會議上，我們將提供業務更新，回顧本季的財務業績，並討論本財年剩餘時間的前景，最後進行問答環節。

This quarter is one where UGI demonstrated resiliency and the value of its diversified operating model as the company navigated several headwinds. We saw extremely warm temperatures across most of our service territories in the U.S., severe weather events in the West, which impeded our ability to efficiently serve customers and drive growth, significant energy conservation efforts in Europe due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and continued cost inflation.

本季度，UGI 在克服多重阻力的過程中展現了其韌性和多元化營運模式的價值。我們在美國大部分服務區域都經歷了極端高溫，西部地區出現惡劣天氣事件，這妨礙了我們有效地服務客戶和推動增長的能力，由於持續的俄羅斯-烏克蘭戰爭和持續的成本上漲，歐洲需要大力開展節能減排。

It was a difficult quarter, and in the midst of these pressures, our teams worked diligently and with resilience. I would like to take a moment to thank our teams who have continued to serve customers and execute on our strategy, which is in line with UGI's 140-year plus history of providing essential energy solutions to customers.

這是一個艱難的季度，面對這些壓力，我們的團隊依然勤奮工作，堅韌不拔。我想花點時間感謝我們的團隊，他們一直為客戶服務並執行我們的策略，這符合 UGI 為客戶提供基本能源解決方案的 140 多年歷史。

For the quarter, UGI delivered adjusted diluted EPS of $1.68, reflective of the strong performance from our natural gas businesses and the effects of the headwinds that I previously mentioned. In our natural gas businesses, we are pleased with the improved earnings reliability that we continue to experience, largely due to the weather normalization rider at our Pennsylvania gas utility and the large proportion of fee-based contract structures that we have in place at our midstream and marketing business.

本季度，UGI 的調整後稀釋每股收益為 1.68 美元，反映了我們天然氣業務的強勁表現以及我之前提到的逆風的影響。在我們的天然氣業務中，我們對繼續經歷的盈利可靠性的提高感到高興，這主要歸功於我們賓夕法尼亞州天然氣公用事業的天氣正常化附加條款以及我們在中游和營銷業務中實施的大量收費合約結構。

These are attractive elements of our diversified business portfolio and were particularly meaningful during the quarter. Over the past few years, we have shared with you our intent to disproportionately invest in the natural gas businesses and in renewable energy solutions in order to rebalance our portfolio.

這些都是我們多元化業務組合中具有吸引力的元素，在本季尤其有意義。在過去幾年裡，我們一直與大家分享我們加大對天然氣業務和再生能源解決方案的投資意圖，以重新平衡我們的投資組合。

Of the year-to-date capital spend, roughly 64% was invested in our regulated utility businesses where there is a theme of sustained growth through customer additions as well as infrastructure replacement and expansion. On a fiscal year-to-date basis, we've added more than 8,000 new residential heating and commercial customers that are utilities, demonstrating attractive customer growth despite the tight construction market that is impacted by higher prices and increased mortgage rates.

在年初至今的資本支出中，約有 64% 投資於我們受監管的公用事業業務，該業務的主題是透過增加客戶以及基礎設施更換和擴建來實現持續成長。從財年迄今的數據來看，我們新增了 8,000 多個新的住宅供暖和商業客戶，儘管受到價格上漲和抵押貸款利率上升的影響，建築市場吃緊，但仍顯示出可觀的客戶成長。

The utilities also remains on track to deploy a record level of capital in infrastructure replacement and betterment this fiscal year as we execute on our goal to replace and reinforce critical infrastructure and extend our gas mains to reach underserved areas within our service territory.

隨著我們執行更換和加固關鍵基礎設施以及延伸天然氣管道至服務區域內服務不足地區的目標，公用事業公司仍有望在本財年部署創紀錄水平的資本用於基礎設施更換和改善。

UGI is a proven strategy for creating shareholder value. Yesterday, we were pleased to announce that our Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend to $0.375 per share, making this the 139th year of consecutively paying dividends and 36th consecutive year of increasing dividends. UGI continues to exceed its long-term target of providing 4% dividend growth.

UGI 是一種行之有效的創造股東價值的策略。昨天，我們很高興地宣布，董事會將季度股息提高至每股 0.375 美元，這是連續第 139 年派發股息和連續第 36 年增加股息。 UGI 繼續超額完成其提供 4% 股息成長的長期目標。

Lastly, given the results in the first half of the year, we now expect adjusted diluted EPS to be within a revised guidance range of $2.75 to $2.90, inclusive of the effects of margin management and expense control actions that our teams have implemented.

最後，鑑於上半年的業績，我們現在預計調整後的稀釋每股收益將在 2.75 美元至 2.90 美元的修訂指導範圍內，其中包括我們的團隊實施的利潤管理和費用控制措施的影響。

Sean will now comment on the financial results for the quarter as well as our revised fiscal 2023 outlook.

肖恩現在將對本季度的財務業績以及我們修訂後的 2023 財年展望發表評論。

Thanks, Roger, and good morning, everyone. I'll start with Slide 5 and highlight some key drivers by segment of our second quarter performance. For the fiscal 2023 second quarter, UGI delivered adjusted diluted EPS of $1.68 compared to $1.91 in the prior year. Our natural gas businesses had a strong second quarter, up $0.09 year-over-year, as the utilities benefited from higher gas base rates and the weather normalization rider, which offset weather that was 17% warmer than the prior year. In midstream and marketing, we optimized our gas storage facilities and benefited from acquisitions completed last year to deliver robust earnings for the quarter.

謝謝，羅傑，大家早安。我將從投影片 5 開始，重點介紹第二季業績表現的一些關鍵驅動因素。 2023 財年第二季度，UGI 的調整後稀釋每股收益為 1.68 美元，而去年同期為 1.91 美元。我們的天然氣業務在第二季度表現強勁，較去年同期上漲 0.09 美元，因為公用事業受益於更高的天然氣基準費率和天氣正常化附加條款，抵消了比前一年溫暖 17% 的天氣影響。在中游和行銷方面，我們優化了我們的天然氣儲存設施，並受益於去年完成的收購，為本季帶來了強勁的利潤。

Next, UGI International was up $0.02 year-over-year, aided by the previously anticipated benefits from the noncore European energy marketing business where we continue to work on our exit strategy. Lastly, AmeriGas reported $0.30 lower earnings year-over-year due to adverse impacts of warmer weather, continued volume pressures and driver shortages. Overall, 3 of our 4 reportable segments delivered higher results despite a challenging quarter. And looking forward, our teams continue to focus on controlling what we can control in order to deliver on our commitments for the remainder of the year.

其次，UGI International 股價較上年同期上漲 0.02 美元，這得益於先前預期的非核心歐洲能源行銷業務帶來的收益，我們將繼續制定退出策略。最後，由於天氣變暖、持續的運量壓力和司機短缺等不利影響，AmeriGas 報告其收益較去年同期下降了 0.30 美元。總體而言，儘管本季充滿挑戰，但我們的四個報告部門中有三個取得了更高的業績。展望未來，我們的團隊將繼續專注於控制我們能夠控制的事情，以便履行我們在今年剩餘時間的承諾。

Next, for each reportable segment, I'll walk you through the key drivers of our second quarter results when compared to the prior year. Starting with AmeriGas. Weather was a challenge this quarter as we saw a very warm weather in key regions of the U.S., particularly in the East and South where our customers and volumes are heavily concentrated.

接下來，對於每個可報告的部門，我將帶您了解與去年同期相比，我們第二季業績的關鍵驅動因素。從 AmeriGas 開始。天氣是本季的一個挑戰，因為我們看到美國主要地區的天氣非常溫暖，特別是在我們的客戶和交易量高度集中的東部和南部。

In the West, while weather was colder than the prior year, the region faced severe weather events, which impeded our ability to drive growth and efficiently deliver to our customers. In addition, we continue to experience driver shortages, which had a notable impact on volumes for the quarter. These driver shortages, when coupled with inflationary pressures, also led to increased operating and administrative expenses, particularly through higher overtime, contract labor and other employee-related expenses.

在西部，雖然天氣比前一年更冷，但該地區面臨惡劣天氣事件，這阻礙了我們推動成長和高效交付客戶的能力。此外，我們繼續面臨司機短缺的問題，這對本季的運輸量產生了明顯影響。司機短缺加上通貨膨脹壓力，也導致了營運和管理費用的增加，特別是加班費、合約工和其他與員工相關的費用。

And lastly, for AmeriGas, we also saw that the general macroeconomic conditions affecting distribution and packaging centers had an adverse impact on customer usage and, ultimately, our volumes. At UGI International, LPG volumes were impacted by the effects of significant energy conservation efforts, which began in response to the ongoing geopolitical situation in Europe. Additional factors driving lower volumes included the mild winter weather and the strike that took place in France between mid-March and early April.

最後，對於 AmeriGas 而言，我們還發現影響配送和包裝中心的一般宏觀經濟條件對客戶使用產生了不利影響，並最終影響了我們的銷售。在 UGI International，液化石油氣銷售受到了大規模節能減排措施的影響，這些措施是為了應對歐洲當前的地緣政治局勢而採取的。導致產量下降的其他因素包括冬季氣候溫和以及 3 月中旬至 4 月初法國發生的罷工。

Secondly, our UGI International segment experienced increased operating and administrative expenses due to the global inflationary cost environment. These adverse impacts of lower volumes and increased costs were more than offset by higher average LPG unit margins due to strong margin management efforts and higher earnings from the noncore energy marketing business where we continue to focus on our exit strategy.

其次，由於全球通膨成本環境，我們的 UGI 國際部門的營運和管理費用增加。由於強有力的利潤管理工作和非核心能源行銷業務的收益增加，液化石油氣平均單位利潤率的提高抵消了銷售下降和成本增加的不利影響，我們繼續將重點放在非核心能源行銷業務的退出策略上。

Next, Midstream & Marketing had a strong quarter, reporting a $15 million or 28% increase in EBIT over the prior year period. The business experienced increased earnings from natural gas marketing activities including peaking and capacity management through the optimization of our gas storage and pipeline network.

接下來，中游與行銷公司 (Midstream & Marketing) 本季表現強勁，息稅前利潤 (EBIT) 較去年同期增加 1,500 萬美元，增幅為 28%。透過優化天然氣儲存和管道網絡，業務從包括調峰和容量管理在內的天然氣行銷活動中獲得了更高的收益。

In addition, there was incremental EBIT of approximately $8 million from our UGI's Moraine East asset that was acquired last January, and the Pennant Midstream assets where we increased our ownership interest in August 2022.

此外，我們去年 1 月收購的 UGI Moraine East 資產以及我們於 2022 年 8 月增加所有權的 Pennant Midstream 資產的息稅前利潤增量約為 800 萬美元。

Lastly, we turn to utilities. The Utility segment had a strong quarter with EBIT up $11 million or 6% versus the prior year period. While volumes were lower than the prior year due to the significantly warmer weather, the effect was largely offset by the weather normalization rider in our Pennsylvania gas utility. Additionally, of the $21 million increase in total margins, $19 million is attributable to higher gas base rates that went into effect at the end of October 2022.

最後，我們來談談公用事業。公用事業部門本季表現強勁，息稅前利潤較去年同期上漲 1,100 萬美元，漲幅 6%。雖然由於天氣明顯變暖導致產量低於上年，但這一影響在很大程度上被我們賓州天然氣公用事業的天氣正常化附加條款所抵消。此外，在總利潤增加的2,100萬美元中，1,900萬美元歸因於2022年10月底生效的更高的天然氣基準費率。

Pivoting to our fiscal 2023 guidance. As Roger mentioned, we expect adjusted diluted EPS for fiscal 2023 to be within an updated and tighter guidance range of $2.75 to $2.90.

轉向我們的 2023 財年指導。正如羅傑所提到的，我們預計 2023 財年的調整後攤薄每股收益將在更新且更嚴格的指導範圍內，即 2.75 美元至 2.90 美元。

As we look at the back half of 2023, on the Slide 7, we've highlighted the key assumptions that have been built into our revised guidance range. At AmeriGas, we expect continued near-term pressure on volumes as we stabilize and position the business for growth. To mitigate these pressures, our teams are focused on controlling expenses, identifying true operational efficiencies, attracting and retaining drivers and being disciplined in maintaining margins.

當我們展望 2023 年下半年時，在投影片 7 上，我們強調了修訂後的指導範圍中納入的關鍵假設。在 AmeriGas，隨著業務穩定和成長，我們預計短期內銷售將繼續面臨壓力。為了減輕這些壓力，我們的團隊專注於控制費用、確定真正的營運效率、吸引和留住司機，並嚴格維持利潤率。

For UGI International, sustained energy conservation efforts in Europe are expected to impact volumes. And so the team is focused on continuing to execute on strong margin management activities. We also expect further benefits from the ongoing exit of the noncore energy marketing business.

對於 UGI International 而言，歐洲持續的節能努力預計將對銷售產生影響。因此，該團隊專注於繼續執行強有力的利潤管理活動。我們也預期非核心能源行銷業務的退出將帶來更多利益。

Both the utilities and the midstream and marketing segments are projected to remain on track for the remainder of the year delivering a solid performance for 2023. Finally, we are focused on controlling what we can control, executing on strong cost mitigation efforts for the second half of the year.

預計公用事業、中游和行銷部門在今年剩餘時間內都將保持正常運轉，並在 2023 年取得穩健的業績。

On Slide 8, I want to highlight our liquidity position. At quarter end, UGI had available liquidity of $1.9 billion, driven by strong proactive steps taken by the company. Previously, we renewed approximately $1.7 billion of credit agreements at UGI Energy Services and UGI International, which strengthened our position when compared to the prior year.

在第 8 張投影片上，我想強調我們的流動性狀況。截至季末，由於公司採取了強有力的主動措施，UGI 擁有 19 億美元的可用流動資金。此前，我們與 UGI Energy Services 和 UGI International 續簽了約 17 億美元的信貸協議，與前一年相比，這增強了我們的地位。

In addition, as customary, UGI is supportive of its business units and may, from time to time, make a capital contribution in order to assure that we remain in compliance with our debt covenants.

此外，按照慣例，UGI 支持其業務部門，並可能不時提供資本貢獻，以確保我們繼續遵守債務契約。

As you'll see in our 10-Q filed after market close today, given the challenging results at AmeriGas for the second quarter, UGI provided a letter of support and made capital contributions totaling $31 million to the business as an equity cure.

正如您在我們今天收盤後提交的 10-Q 文件中看到的，鑑於 AmeriGas 第二季度的業績不佳，UGI 提供了一封支持信，並向該公司投入了總計 3100 萬美元的資本作為股權補救。

And with that, I'll turn it back over to Roger to close this out.

現在，我將把話題轉回給羅傑來結束本次會議。

Thanks, Sean. Before concluding, I would like to spend a few minutes on our key priorities for the back half of this fiscal year. First, of utmost importance is maintaining our focus on operational excellence, a core value of UGI is providing safe and reliable operations as this is essential for our customers, employees and the communities we serve. In addition, as a business, we have key operational metrics that align with our commitment to our people and customers.

謝謝，肖恩。最後，我想花幾分鐘談談我們本財政年度下半年的重點工作。首先，最重要的是保持對卓越營運的關注，UGI 的核心價值是提供安全可靠的運營，因為這對我們的客戶、員工和我們服務的社區至關重要。此外，作為一家企業，我們擁有與我們對員工和客戶的承諾一致的關鍵營運指標。

The focus on these metrics is unwavering, and we want to gain further momentum in improving on these metrics such as on-time deliveries, 0 fails, inefficient fails, response times, just to name a few. Second, maintaining discipline in capital allocation and executing on our capital commitments are crucial to the success of UGI. This includes infrastructure replacement and betterment of the utilities and in our previously announced renewables projects.

我們始終關注這些指標，並且希望進一步改善這些指標，例如準時交付、零故障、低效率故障、回應時間等等。其次，維持資本配置紀律和履行資本承諾對於 UGI 的成功至關重要。這包括基礎設施更換、公用設施改善以及我們先前宣布的再生能源項目。

We will continue to strengthen our balance sheet with a near-term focus on refinancing our 2024 bonds at AmeriGas. Investing in critical infrastructure in our utilities drives the need for cost recovery. As such, as anticipated with our investment in Mountaineer, during the quarter, we filed a request with the West Virginia Public Service Commission to increase base distribution rates by approximately $20 million. Included in this rate case is a request for a weather normalization rider similar to what we have at our Pennsylvania gas utility.

我們將繼續加強我們的資產負債表，近期重點是為 AmeriGas 的 2024 年債券再融資。對我們公用事業中關鍵基礎設施的投資推動了成本回收的需求。因此，正如我們對 Mountaineer 的投資所預期的那樣，在本季度，我們向西維吉尼亞州公共服務委員會提出了增加約 2,000 萬美元基本分配率的申請。此費率案例中包括一項要求提供類似於我們賓州天然氣公用事業公司的天氣標準化附加條款。

Next, as we look at the global LPG businesses, it's no doubt there have been a few challenges over the past few years. At UGI International, particularly with the mild winter, we've seen that customers are conserving volumes in response to government mandates and the overall high energy prices. We are monitoring the situation, and we'll look to how customers adopt as prices normalize and we approach the next winter season. On a positive note, we are encouraged with how the exit of the European energy marketing business is progressing.

接下來，當我們回顧全球液化石油氣業務時，毫無疑問過去幾年出現了一些挑戰。在 UGI International，特別是在氣候溫和的冬季，我們看到客戶為了回應政府要求和整體高能源價格而減少用量。我們正在監視情況，並將觀察隨著價格正常化和下一個冬季的臨近客戶的反應情況。從積極的一面來看，我們對歐洲能源行銷業務退出的進展感到鼓舞。

In our domestic propane business, as we noted during our last year-end earnings call, we expected that fiscal 2023 would be a reset year for AmeriGas with earnings being relatively flat on a year-over-year basis. Unfortunately, fiscal 2023 unfolded with the weather-related challenges and driver shortages previously mentioned, and this has led to a slower-than-expected turnaround.

在我們的國內丙烷業務中，正如我們在上次年終收益電話會議上指出的那樣，我們預計 2023 財年將是 AmeriGas 的重置年，收益與去年同期相比相對持平。不幸的是，2023 財年遭遇了前面提到的天氣相關挑戰和司機短缺問題，這導致扭轉局面的速度比預期要慢。

With that being said, we are working to control what we can, focusing on continuously improving our operating metrics and controlling costs while ensuring that we are appropriately staffed, so that we can serve customers extremely well. We remain committed to transforming AmeriGas operationally and position the company for volume and market share growth in the medium and long term.

話雖如此，我們正在努力控制我們能控制的，專注於不斷改善我們的營運指標和控製成本，同時確保我們擁有適當的員工，以便我們能夠為客戶提供極佳的服務。我們將繼續致力於對 AmeriGas 進行營運轉型，並使公司在中長期內實現產量和市場份額的成長。

Lastly, we are advancing on our sustainability commitment and look forward to providing more disclosures and information in our next ESG report that will be issued prior to our Q3 earnings call.

最後，我們正在推動我們的永續發展承諾，並期待在第三季財報電話會議之前發布的下一份 ESG 報告中提供更多的揭露和資訊。

As we close, I wanted to emphasize that we remain confident that we will execute our strategy and meet our long-term financial commitments. Our diversified business model, strategy and balance sheet strength provide a solid foundation to support earnings and dividend growth.

最後，我想強調的是，我們仍然有信心執行我們的策略並履行我們的長期財務承諾。我們多元化的商業模式、策略和資產負債表實力為獲利和股息成長提供了堅實的基礎。

I want to thank our global team for their dedication as they serve our customers and continue to make a difference in the communities that we serve. We thank you for your interest in UGI and your participation in today's call.

我要感謝我們的全球團隊，感謝他們為客戶服務並繼續為我們服務的社區做出貢獻的奉獻精神。感謝您對 UGI 的關注以及參加今天的電話會議。

And with that, we will open the line for your questions.

現在，我們將開通熱線來回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) And your first question comes from the line of Christopher Jeffrey with Mizuho Securities.

(操作員指示)您的第一個問題來自瑞穗證券的克里斯多福‧傑弗瑞 (Christopher Jeffrey)。

Welcome to Sean. Just a couple maybe on AmeriGas to start. Just wondering as far as the some examples of the measures put in place for the cost expenses, kind of how much is left to do after the previous measures you put in place? And also, maybe the cadence of further capital contributions from the corporate level if there will be.

歡迎來到肖恩。也許只是 AmeriGas 上的幾個開始。只是想知道，就成本費用採取的一些措施的例子而言，在採取之前的措施之後，還剩下多少工作要做？此外，如果有的話，也許公司層級會進一步加大資本投入。

Thank you, Chris. So maybe I'll talk about the kind of the cost profile and what we're dealing with here in the second half and then I'll hand it over to Sean, who will talk about leverage and how we're treating that topic.

謝謝你，克里斯。因此，也許我會談論成本狀況以及我們在下半年要處理的問題，然後我會把它交給肖恩，他將談論槓桿率以及我們如何處理這個話題。

So let me start with cost here. So from a cost perspective, there's no doubt we've seen some inflation, right? We looked at the first half of the year. Driver costs are up quite substantially. We've seen other products also be up quite substantially. So our focus has been on how can we control the evolution of cost as we go forward, as we continue to see the volume evolution of the business and ensure that we are appropriately staffed as we talked about in the call, to meet excellent customer service.

因此，我先從成本開始。因此從成本角度來看，毫無疑問我們已經看到了一些通貨膨脹，對嗎？我們回顧了上半年的情況。駕駛員成本大幅上升。我們發現其他產品的價格也大幅上漲。因此，我們的重點一直是如何在我們繼續看到業務量變化的同時控製成本的變化，並確保我們配備適當的人員，正如我們在電話中談到的那樣，以滿足優質的客戶服務。

So overall, when I look forward, and I think of the second half year, there's a lot of emphasis, not only at AmeriGas but across the entire company on controlling the controllable and really controlling costs. You've seen us do that in prior periods and prior years where we have a good track record of being able to control costs, and that's exactly what we're going to see here in the next second half of the year as we are very diligent about all cost parameters, not only at AmeriGas but across all of the company.

因此總的來說，當我展望未來並想到下半年時，我們會發現不僅 AmeriGas 公司，而且整個公司都非常重視控制可控成本和真正控製成本。您已經看到我們在前幾個時期和前幾年做到了這一點，我們在控製成本方面有著良好的記錄，這正是我們將在今年下半年看到的，因為我們對所有成本參數都非常認真，不僅在 AmeriGas，而且在整個公司。

With that, I'd like to hand it over to Sean who can talk about liquidity.

說完這些，我想把話題交給 Sean，他可以談談流動性。

A couple of things to think about AmeriGas and sort of the financing needs. First, the parent -- the parental support is key, and you saw that in Q2, and we've seen it, I think, historically over the years when needed. So I want to start with that. There was a $31 million equity cure provided by UGI Corp. in Q2. So that's a very, very positive step.

關於 AmeriGas 及其融資需求，有幾件事需要考慮。首先，父母的支持是關鍵，您在第二季度看到了這一點，我認為，從歷史上看，多年來，在需要的時候，我們也看到了這一點。所以我想從那裡開始。 UGI Corp. 在第二季提供了 3,100 萬美元的股權補救。所以這是一個非常非常積極的舉措。

In terms of the future, Roger mentioned it, I think we mentioned it, we're looking at opportunistically taking out the $675 million debt maturity. I think that could be a very good delevering event for AmeriGas in the future. And I think also all the things that Roger talked about around focus on the positive trends, the leading indicators that we're seeing, we believe that can help the EBIT trend over the future. So we feel pretty comfortable. We're monitoring it. But I think we've got a good plan to focus on the leverage metrics and the debt at AmeriGas.

至於未來，羅傑提到過，我想我們也提到過，我們正在考慮趁機償還 6.75 億美元債務。我認為這對 AmeriGas 未來來說可能是一個非常好的去槓桿事件。而且我認為，羅傑談到的所有內容都集中在積極的趨勢上，我們看到的領先指標，我們相信這可以幫助未來的息稅前利潤趨勢。因此我們感覺非常舒服。我們正在監視它。但我認為我們有一個很好的計劃，重點是 AmeriGas 的槓桿指標和債務。

Got it. And then maybe sticking with AmeriGas. Just any initial impressions from first views of the market as far as customer acquisitions and I know that might be ramping up? Or kind of when do you expect that time line to ramp up more?

知道了。然後也許會堅持使用 AmeriGas。就客戶獲取而言，從市場的第一眼看到，您有什麼初步印象嗎？或者您預計什麼時候這個時間線會進一步延長？

Yes, Christopher. So yes, we are, of course, very active in customer acquisitions, right, growing markets in specific segments where we have density and where we can obviously build not only on volume growth but also on efficiencies. So that's a key focus for the company.

是的，克里斯多福。所以是的，我們當然非常積極地進行客戶獲取，對的，在特定領域不斷增長的市場，我們有密度，我們顯然不僅可以提高產量，還可以提高效率。所以這是公司的重點。

We have seen -- as we talked about in the earnings call, we have seen certain segments be a bit sluggish. For example, forklift is a specific example where we're seeing warehousing, et cetera, this be quite a bit of a slowdown. We're also seeing, like everybody in the industry right now, housing starts are down, and that's also an opportunity for growth that we're not seeing as much as we would like.

正如我們在財報電話會議上談到的那樣，我們已經看到某些細分市場有點低迷。例如，堆高機就是一個具體的例子，我們看到倉儲等的增速相當放緩。我們也看到，就像目前業內所有人一樣，住房開工量正在下降，這也是一個成長機會，但我們並沒有看到像我們所希望的那樣多的成長機會。

That being said, we're very focused on growth in those -- in the other areas where we do have some momentum, and we are seeing that momentum. We are seeing growth continue. What we had to deal with in the first -- in the second quarter, I should say, or first half of the year, is very severe weather events where it was really warm in the East and the South, that's where we have a lot of volume. And unfortunately, we did not see that volume transpire because of weather.

話雖如此，我們非常關注這些領域的成長——在其他領域，我們確實有一些發展勢頭，而且我們正在看到這種勢頭。我們看到成長仍在持續。我們在第一季——應該說是第二季度，或者說今年上半年——必須應對的是非常惡劣的天氣事件，東部和南部的氣溫非常高，這些地區的降雨量很大。不幸的是，由於天氣原因，我們沒有看到那麼多的蒸發。

Although it was colder in the West, as we talked about, the weather events were severe. We saw a lot of snowfall, a lot of rain. I really applaud our teams for getting out there and delivering as well as we did. But there's no doubt that that had an impact on our ability to serve and obviously impact your volumes.

儘管西部的天氣比較冷，但正如我們剛才所說，天氣事件卻十分嚴重。我們看到了很多降雪和降雨。我由衷地對我們的團隊表現出色表示讚賞。但毫無疑問，這對我們的服務能力產生了影響，顯然也對您的銷售產生了影響。

And your next question comes from Julien Dumoulin-Smith with Bank of America.

您的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith。

This is actually Cameron Lochridge on for Julian this morning. I wanted to very quickly start off on international. And just maybe parse out the contribution from the noncore assets versus the core. If you can give a little more detail around kind of what the 2 distinct pieces of the year-over-year increase in margin wise?

這實際上是卡梅倫洛克里奇 (Cameron Lochridge) 今天早上代替朱利安 (Julian) 發言。我希望能夠盡快開始走向國際化。或許可以分析出非核心資產與核心資產的貢獻。您能否更詳細地介紹一下利潤率年增的兩個不同部分？

Yes. Yes, so as we talked about last year, we really expect the noncore, which is what you're referring to, I take it, is the energy marketing business that we are exiting. We did expect to see that business perform better than prior year. And what we're seeing to date is it's actually going as planned, right? It's actually a little better than planned, but pretty much on par with what we expected.

是的。是的，正如我們去年談到的那樣，我們確實期待非核心業務，也就是您所指的，我認為，是我們正在退出的能源行銷業務。我們確實預期業務表現會比去年更好。到目前為止我們看到的情況是一切實際上都按計劃進行，對嗎？它實際上比計劃的要好一點，但與我們的預期差不多。

As what we're seeing in Europe and in particular, in all of the energy space is lower commodity -- well, what's happened in the quarter as we've seen commodity costs come down. We've seen very warm weather. That, in many respects, assisted our energy marketing business. And as such, we are seeing that performance trend as we expected.

正如我們在歐洲，特別是在整個能源領域看到的那樣，大宗商品價格下跌——嗯，本季我們看到大宗商品成本下降了。我們看到了非常溫暖的天氣。這在很多方面幫助了我們的能源行銷業務。因此，我們看到了預期的表現趨勢。

Perfect. I appreciate it. And then for my follow-up, just given some of the challenges in the LPG business, and I realize maybe it's -- much of it is -- almost all of it is out of your control, just with weather and structural demand and things of that nature. But just thinking about it strategically, is there a scenario you think where you all would consider either selling or spinning either all or part of that LPG business. Just curious kind of how you think about that just given some of the structural issues.

完美的。我很感激。然後，對於我的後續問題，考慮到液化石油氣業務面臨的一些挑戰，我意識到也許其中很大一部分是——幾乎所有的挑戰都不受你控制，只是受到天氣和結構性需求等性質的影響。但從策略角度考慮，您是否認為會出現這樣一種情況：您都會考慮出售或剝離全部或部分 LPG 業務？只是好奇考慮到一些結構性問題，您是如何看待這個問題的。

Yes. We -- as we've stated before, Cameron, the LPG businesses are a really strong source of cash for us. So we continue to like the balance of LPG and natural gas where we are disproportionately investing in our natural gas business. The cash engine behind our LPG businesses is instrumental to our strategy.

是的。正如我們之前所說，卡梅倫，液化石油氣業務是我們真正強大的現金來源。因此，我們繼續喜歡液化石油氣和天然氣的平衡，我們對天然氣業務進行了不成比例的投資。液化石油氣業務背後的現金引擎對於我們的策略至關重要。

As a result, we very much play -- our playbook is to continue to be smart about investing in our LPG businesses, continue to grow that volume, continue to clearly look at how we maximize cash generation from the LPG businesses as we continue to invest in the other.

因此，我們非常重視——我們的策略是繼續明智地投資我們的液化石油氣業務，繼續增加產量，繼續清楚地考慮如何在繼續投資其他業務的同時，最大限度地從液化石油氣業務中創造現金。

So our playbook is one that we are very committed to, strategically, which is to have a balance between LPG and natural gas that really benefits from that cash engine and then the cash utilization across all businesses, but in particular, in our natural gas business.

因此，從戰略上講，我們非常致力於執行我們的策略，即在液化石油氣和天然氣之間取得平衡，真正受益於現金引擎，然後提高所有業務的現金利用率，特別是我們的天然氣業務。

Yes. No, that makes sense. I appreciate it. Maybe just one quick follow-up. If you could talk about the synergies of those businesses or not so much to synergies, but speaking of cash contribution. As far as the renewables business goes, I mean you're injecting significant investment dollars there. Any update on the outlook there as you look into the '24, '25 time frame, what that contribution could look like?

是的。不，這很有道理。我很感激。也許只需一次快速的跟進。如果您可以談論這些業務的協同效應，或者不是太多地談論協同效應，而是談論現金貢獻。就再生能源業務而言，我的意思是你正在向該領域投入大量投資資金。當您展望 24、25 年的時間框架時，前景有何變化？

Yes. What we've talked about is hitting kind of a $1 billion to $1.25 billion investment in renewables. We're on a trend that is really trending towards that number. We've now committed over $500 million in renewables, RNG in particular. I expect to see some gain and momentum in some of the bio LPG areas in addition to RNG over the next several quarters. So as a result, I think we're very much still on par for what we committed, which is an investment of the order of $1 billion to $1.25 billion.

是的。我們討論的是在再生能源領域投資 10 億至 12.5 億美元。我們正處於朝這個數字邁進的趨勢。目前，我們已向再生能源，尤其是 RNG 投入了超過 5 億美元。我預計，未來幾個季度，除了 RNG 之外，生物液化石油氣的一些領域也會有所成長和發展。因此，我認為我們仍然履行了我們所承諾的義務，即投資 10 億至 12.5 億美元。

(Operator Instructions) And I see no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Roger Perreault.

（操作員指示）目前我沒有其他問題。現在我將把電話轉回給 Roger Perreault。

Thank you, Bella, and thank you all for joining our call today. We really appreciate the opportunity to update all of you.

謝謝你，貝拉，也謝謝大家今天參加我們的電話會議。我們非常感謝有機會向大家通報最新情況。

In closing, I would just like to send another thank you to Ted for his contribution over the last 5 years, and very much welcome Sean aboard. And with that, I look forward to seeing and hearing all of you at the next earnings call. Thank you.

最後，我要再次感謝 Ted 在過去五年中所做的貢獻，並非常歡迎 Sean 加入。最後，我期待在下次財報電話會議上見到大家並聽到大家的聲音。謝謝。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Have a good day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。祝你有美好的一天。