UGI Corp (UGI) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the UGI Corporation Q4 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

歡迎參加 UGI Corporation 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to Tameka Morris. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給塔梅卡·莫里斯。請繼續。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our fiscal 2024 fourth quarter earnings call. With me today are Mario Longhi, UGI's Board Chair; Bob Flexon, President and CEO; and Sean O'Brien, CFO.

大家早安。感謝您參加我們的 2024 財年第四季財報電話會議。今天與我在一起的有 UGI 董事會主席 Mario Longhi；鮑伯‧弗萊克森 (Bob Flexon)，總裁兼執行長；和財務長肖恩·奧布萊恩。

On today's call, we will review our fiscal '24 financial results and key accomplishments as well as the strategic priorities and financial outlook for fiscal '25 before concluding with a question-and-answer session.

在今天的電話會議上，我們將回顧 24 財年的財務表現和主要成就，以及 25 財年的策略重點和財務前景，然後以問答環節結束。

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 annual report for an extensive list of factors that could affect results.

在開始之前，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截至今天才合理。由於難以預測的風險和不確定性，實際結果可能會大不相同。請閱讀我們的收益發布和年度報告，以了解可能影響結果的廣泛因素。

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責任。我們也將使用某些非公認會計準則財務指標來描述我們的業務。我們的簡報中提供了這些衡量標準與可比較公認會計準則衡量標準的對帳。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Mario.

這樣，我就把電話轉給馬裡奧。

Thank you, Tameka, and good morning, everyone. Fiscal 2024 was a pivotal year for UGI as we embarked on a multiyear journey to enhance our financial profile. Strong execution against our strategy led to the company realizing the highest adjusted diluted EPS in its history. We took decisive actions to strengthen the leadership team, create greater operational efficiencies, and improve our balance sheet. I'm proud of our people who have come together and worked diligently to achieve these results.

謝謝你，Tameka，大家早安。2024 財年對 UGI 來說是關鍵的一年，我們開始了為期多年的提升財務狀況的旅程。我們策略的強有力執行使公司實現了歷史上最高的調整後攤薄每股收益。我們採取果斷行動，加強領導團隊，提高營運效率，改善資產負債表。我為我們的員工感到自豪，他們齊心協力，辛勤工作，並取得了這些成果。

Now I'm pleased that Bob has taken the role as President and CEO of UGI. Bob brings strong leadership, extensive experience, and in-depth knowledge of the energy industry. He has a proven track record of leading companies to create significant value. And with leadership, I'm confident that UGI can be better positioned to meet the needs of our stakeholders.

現在我很高興 Bob 擔任 UGI 總裁兼執行長。鮑伯帶來了強大的領導力、豐富的經驗和對能源產業的深入了解。他在帶領公司創造巨大價值方面有著良好的記錄。憑藉領導力，我相信 UGI 能夠更好地滿足利害關係人的需求。

And now I'll hand the call over to Bob, so he can share his opening remarks.

現在我將把電話轉給鮑勃，以便他可以分享他的開場白。

Thanks, Mario, and good morning to all of you. Let me start by saying that I'm honored to rejoin UGI with its rich history and a solid reputation for integrity, excellence, and a deep commitment to customers and the communities in which we serve. I also want to express my gratitude to Mario for his strong leadership and contribution as Interim President and CEO and for the effective and efficient transition that has taken place.

謝謝馬裡奧，祝大家早安。首先我要說的是，我很榮幸重新加入 UGI，UGI 擁有豐富的歷史、在誠信、卓越方面享有盛譽，並且對客戶和我們所服務的社區做出了堅定的承諾。我還要對馬裡奧作為臨時總裁兼首席執行官的強有力的領導和貢獻以及已經發生的有效和高效的過渡表示感謝。

Over the past few weeks, I have been getting up to speed by engaging, listening, and learning more about our customers, our operations, and strategies for each of our businesses. Post our call today, it was the opportunity to engage more closely with our business partners and shareholders to gain alignment as we drive the company forward, focusing on what matters, leveraging our competitive advantages and to generate greater shareholder value.

在過去的幾周里，我透過參與、傾聽和更多地了解我們的客戶、我們的營運以及我們每項業務的策略來加快步伐。今天發布電話會議後，我們有機會與我們的業務合作夥伴和股東進行更密切的接觸，以便在我們推動公司向前發展、專注於重要事項、利用我們的競爭優勢並創造更大股東價值的過程中取得一致。

Later in the call, I will share with you the strategic priorities for the current year, but now I'll hand it over to Sean to cover UGI's fiscal 2024 accomplishments.

稍後在電話會議中，我將與大家分享今年的策略重點，但現在我將把它交給 Sean 來介紹 UGI 2024 財年的成就。

Thanks, Bob, and good morning. As Mario mentioned, UGI had a strong fiscal 2024, delivering record adjusted EPS of $3.06 and a five-year EPS CAGR of 6%. Three of our business segments delivered their strongest EBIT on record due to higher margins and sustainable cost savings. These benefits helped offset the impact of lower financial results at AmeriGas as the business continued to experience volume decline.

謝謝，鮑勃，早安。正如 Mario 所提到的，UGI 2024 財年表現強勁，調整後每股收益創紀錄地達到 3.06 美元，五年每股收益複合年增長率為 6%。由於更高的利潤率和可持續的成本節約，我們的三個業務部門實現了有史以來最強勁的息稅前利潤。這些效益幫助抵消了 AmeriGas 業務量持續下滑導致財務表現下滑的影響。

Earlier in the year, we shared several key areas of focus with you. One was to achieve permanent cost savings of $70 million to $100 million by the end of fiscal 2025. As noted on the slide, we achieved a $75 million reduction in operating and administrative expenses this year, accelerating the previously anticipated timeline. These cost savings were achieved through rightsizing operations and driving efficiencies within our business processes.

今年早些時候，我們與您分享了幾個重點關注領域。其中之一是到 2025 財年末實現永久成本節省 7,000 萬至 1 億美元。正如幻燈片中所指出的，我們今年的營運和管理費用減少了 7500 萬美元，並加快了先前預期的時間表。這些成本節約是透過調整營運規模和提高業務流程效率來實現的。

Next, a key priority was to realign our capital allocation model to the business strategy. In fiscal 2024, we returned approximately $320 million to shareholders through dividend payments, building a 140-year history of consecutively paying dividends. Over the past 10 years, UGI has provided a dividend CAGR of 6%.

接下來，一個關鍵的優先事項是根據業務策略重新調整我們的資本配置模型。2024財年，我們透過股利支付向股東返還約3.2億美元，建立了140年連續支付股利的歷史。過去10年，UGI提供的股利複合年增長率為6%。

We were disciplined in deploying capital of the roughly $900 million of capital, 80% was allocated to the natural gas businesses. Specifically, at our regulated utilities, we deployed approximately $500 million primarily in infrastructure replacement and betterment where we've replaced roughly 109 miles of pipe and made noteworthy updates to our infrastructure.

我們在大約 9 億美元的資本配置中受到嚴格約束，其中 80% 分配給了天然氣業務。具體來說，在我們受監管的公用事業公司，我們部署了大約5 億美元，主要用於基礎設施更換和改善，其中我們更換了大約109 英里的管道，並對我們的基礎設施進行了值得注意的更新。

At the midstream businesses, we completed construction of the Moody project, which is expected to produce up to 300 MMcf of RNG per year once fully operational. The team also began construction of the Carlyle LNG storage and vaporization facility that is expected to come online at the end of calendar 2025. The facility is backed by a 15-year contract with the gas utility with margin underpinned by take-or-pay arrangements.

中游業務方面，我們完成了Moody專案的建設，預計全面投產後年產RNG可達300MMcf。該團隊也開始建造凱雷液化天然氣儲存和汽化設施，預計將於 2025 年底投入使用。該設施由與天然氣公用事業公司簽訂的 15 年合約提供支持，保證金由照付不議安排支撐。

Similarly, expansion of LNG liquefaction capacity at the Manning facility is on track for completion in late fiscal 2025. We see increasing demand for natural gas. And with this expansion, we will double our liquefaction capacity at the facility to 20,000 dekatherms per day.

同樣，曼寧工廠的液化天然氣液化能力擴建預計將於 2025 財政年度結束時完成。我們看到對天然氣的需求不斷增加。透過此次擴建，我們將使該設施的液化能力增加一倍，達到每天 20,000 個十卡熱。

And now this brings me to our focus on strengthening the balance sheet, which is crucial to sustaining operations and driving earnings growth. At AmeriGas, we reduced absolute debt by approximately $460 million and replaced the pre-existing revolver, which had more restrictive debt covenant metrics. This action was important to provide the business with runway to drive better performance. Additionally, we completed over $2.5 billion of debt financing actions across the enterprise to support our ongoing operations and improve liquidity.

現在我要談談我們對強化資產負債表的關注，這對於維持營運和推動獲利成長至關重要。在 AmeriGas，我們減少了約 4.6 億美元的絕對債務，並更換了現有的左輪手槍，後者俱有更嚴格的債務契約指標。這項行動對於為企業提供提升績效的跑道非常重要。此外，我們在整個企業範圍內完成了超過 25 億美元的債務融資行動，以支持我們的持續營運並提高流動性。

And finally, as Bob mentioned, UGI has a deep commitment to the communities in which we operate. It is important that we do our part in helping to improve the lives of well-being of those around us. To that effect, we are proud of our employees who volunteered over 40,000 hours serving and partnering with various organizations to meet the needs within our community.

最後，正如 Bob 所提到的，UGI 對我們經營所在的社區做出了堅定的承諾。重要的是，我們要盡自己的一份力量，幫助改善周遭人們的生活和福祉。為此，我們為我們的員工感到自豪，他們志願服務了 40,000 多個小時，並與各種組織合作，以滿足我們社區的需求。

Now let me walk you through the year-over-year financial performance. As I mentioned earlier, for fiscal 2024, UGI delivered adjusted diluted EPS of $3.06 in comparison to $2.84 in the prior year. The Utility segment was up $0.09 due to higher gas and electric base rates and increased disc revenues. Midstream and Marketing had an increase of $0.22 in adjusted EPS largely due to higher capacity management margins and approximately $0.07 of year-over-year increase in investment tax credits associated with the Moody RNG facility that was placed in service this year.

現在讓我向您介紹一下同比財務表現。正如我之前提到的，2024 財年，UGI 調整後稀釋後每股收益為 3.06 美元，而前一年為 2.84 美元。由於天然氣和電力基本費率上漲以及光碟收入增加，公用事業部門上漲 0.09 美元。中游和行銷部門的調整後每股收益增加了 0.22 美元，主要是由於容量管理利潤率提高以及與今年投入使用的穆迪 RNG 設施相關的投資稅收抵免同比增加了約 0.07 美元。

At UGI International, there was significant improvement in year-over-year results led by higher LPG unit margins, lower operating and administrative expenses, and lower taxes through a favorable change in regulation that allowed us to utilize a previously expensed valuation allowance.

在 UGI International，由於液化石油氣單位利潤率提高、營運和管理費用降低，以及透過有利的監管變化降低稅收，使我們能夠利用先前費用化的估價津貼，導致同比業績顯著改善。

AmeriGas was down $0.44 and as the effects of lower volumes were partially offset by lower operating and administrative expenses. Lastly, corporate and other was down $0.07, primarily due to higher interest expense. Now before I walk through the key drivers for each reportable segment, I also want to note that we recorded a noncash pretax goodwill impairment charge of approximately $195 million to reduce the carrying values of AmeriGas, reflecting lower growth expectations.

AmeriGas 股價下跌 0.44 美元，銷售下降的影響被營運和管理費用的下降部分抵消。最後，企業及其他業務下降了 0.07 美元，主要是由於利息支出增加。現在，在介紹每個可報告部門的關鍵驅動因素之前，我還想指出，我們記錄了約1.95 億美元的非現金稅前商譽減損費用，以減少AmeriGas 的帳面價值，反映出較低的增長預期。

Turning to the next slide. At our regulated utilities, EBIT was up $35 million over the prior year, largely due to higher gas and electric base rates, incremental benefits from the DIS program as well as continued customer growth. During the year, we added over 12,000 residential heating and commercial customers increasing our utilities customer base to roughly 962,000 customers in Pennsylvania, West Virgini,a and Maryland. Core market volume was slightly lower than the prior year as the effects of general weather were partially offset by customer growth.

轉到下一張投影片。在我們受監管的公用事業公司，息稅前利潤比上一年增加了 3500 萬美元，這主要是由於天然氣和電力基本費率的提高、DIS 計劃帶來的增量收益以及客戶的持續增長。年內，我們增加了 12,000 多個住宅暖氣和商業客戶，將賓州、西維吉尼亞州和馬裡蘭州的公用事業客戶群增加到約 962,000 名客戶。核心市場成交量略低於上年，因為一般天氣的影響被客戶成長部分抵消。

Operating and administrative expenses were down $5 million, reflecting lower uncollectible accounts expenses. In our midstream and marketing segment, for the second year in a row, we saw record results with EBIT of $313 million, up $22 million over the prior year. The segment benefited from its highly fee-based portfolio and the optimization of its peaking assets during a cold staff that occurred in January.

營運和管理費用減少了 500 萬美元，反映出壞帳費用減少。在我們的中游和行銷部門，我們連續第二年取得了創紀錄的業績，息稅前利潤為 3.13 億美元，比前一年增加了 2,200 萬美元。該部門受益於其高收費的投資組合以及在一月份員工冷落期間對其資產高峰的優化。

These benefits were partially offset by lower margins from renewable energy marketing activities and reduced natural gas gathering earnings. Operating and administrative expenses were down $8 million, reflecting lower salaries and benefits from cost reduction actions taken as well as lower maintenance expenses.

這些好處被再生能源行銷活動利潤率下降和天然氣收集收入減少部分抵消。營運和管理費用減少了 800 萬美元，反映出採取的成本削減措施帶來的工資和福利的減少以及維護費用的減少。

Turning to the global LPG businesses. UGI International delivered record EBIT of $323 million, up $89 million over the prior year, largely due to higher LPG unit margins, lower operating and administrative expenses, and the effect of substantially exiting the noncore energy marketing business.

轉向全球液化石油氣業務。UGI International 的息稅前利潤達到創紀錄的3.23 億美元，比上年增加8,900 萬美元，主要是由於液化石油氣單位利潤率提高、營運和管理費用降低以及大幅退出非核心能源行銷業務的影響。

LPG volumes were comparable to the prior year as the effect of warmer weather was partially offset by additional volume from auto gas customers and small industrial customers converting from natural gas to LPG. Operating and administrative expenses were down $45 million, reflecting lower costs from exiting the noncore energy marketing business and lower personnel, maintenance, and advertising expenses.

液化石油氣銷售量與去年相當，因為天氣變暖的影響被汽車燃氣客戶和從天然氣轉向液化石油氣的小型工業客戶的額外銷售部分抵消。營運和管理費用減少了 4,500 萬美元，反映出退出非核心能源行銷業務的成本降低以及人員、維護和廣告費用的降低。

Lastly, at AmeriGas. LPG volumes were down 10% due to continuing customer attrition and the effects of warmer weather, and this led to a $119 million reduction in total margin. Operating and administrative expenses were down $17 million due to lower personnel and advertising expenses, while the business reported lower gains from asset sales during the year.

最後，在AmeriGas。由於客戶持續流失和天氣變暖的影響，液化石油氣銷量下降了 10%，導致總利潤減少 1.19 億美元。由於人員和廣告費用減少，營運和管理費用減少了 1,700 萬美元，而該業務年內資產銷售收益也有所下降。

Turning to liquidity and the balance sheet. At the end of the fiscal year, UGI had available liquidity of $1.5 billion, inclusive of cash and cash equivalents and available borrowing capacity on our revolving credit facilities. In fiscal 2024, we completed over $2.5 billion of debt financing to support ongoing operations and improved liquidity.

轉向流動性和資產負債表。截至本財年末，UGI 的可用流動資金為 15 億美元，包括現金和現金等價物以及循環信貸設施的可用借款能力。2024 財年，我們完成了超過 25 億美元的債務融資，以支持持續營運並改善流動性。

Subsequent to the fiscal year-end, we were pleased to fully address the 2025 maturities at UGI Corporation by entering into a new $475 million revolving credit facility and a 2027, $400 million term loan. As of today, upcoming maturities within the next 12 months is limited to the $218 million outstanding at AmeriGas Propane.

在本財年結束後，我們很高興透過簽訂一項新的 4.75 億美元循環信貸安排和 2027 年 4 億美元定期貸款來完全解決 UGI Corporation 2025 年的到期問題。截至今天，AmeriGas Propane 未來 12 個月內即將到期的未償債務僅限於 2.18 億美元。

Finally, earlier this month, we also increased the borrowing capacity on AmeriGas' revolver from $200 million to $300 million, providing additional liquidity for the business. Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on improving our free cash flow generation and reducing absolute debt through operational actions, monetization of LPG assets, and disciplined capital allocation.

最後，本月早些時候，我們還將 AmeriGas 左輪手槍的借款能力從 2 億美元增加到 3 億美元，為該業務提供了額外的流動性。展望未來，我們將繼續專注於透過營運行動、液化石油氣資產貨幣化和嚴格的資本配置來改善自由現金流的產生並減少絕對債務。

And that takes me to the fiscal 2025 outlook. Yesterday, we announced our fiscal 2025 guidance range for adjusted diluted EPS of $2.75 to $3.05, which assumes normal weather based on a 10-year average and the current tax regime. Other core assumptions reflected in the guidance range include continued actions to stabilize AmeriGas and subsequently drive greater financial performance, additional interest expense associated with recent financing activities, and incremental tax benefits from RNG plants being placed in service.

這讓我想到了 2025 財年的展望。昨天，我們宣布了 2025 財年調整後攤薄每股收益指引範圍為 2.75 美元至 3.05 美元，該範圍基於 10 年平均值和當前稅制，假設天氣正常。指導範圍中反映的其他核心假設包括繼續採取行動穩定 AmeriGas 並隨後推動更好的財務業績、與近期融資活動相關的額外利息支出，以及投入使用的 RNG 工廠帶來的增量稅收優惠。

We have taken into account additional distribution costs of $0.05 to $0.08 at UGI International due to the previously mentioned damage to a supply port in France. As we mentioned on the Q3 earnings call, repairs to the facility are expected to take up to 18 months, which necessitates a change to our supply and logistics plan for fiscal 2025.

由於前面提到的法國供應港口受損，我們已考慮 UGI International 0.05 至 0.08 美元的額外配送成本。正如我們在第三季財報電話會議上所提到的，該設施的維修預計需要長達 18 個月的時間，這需要我們改變 2025 財年的供應和物流計劃。

We anticipate that all capital expenditure will be covered by our insurance policy, however, the incremental distribution costs may not be fully recoverable. Lastly, I'm excited as we build off the strong execution in fiscal '24 and used '25 as a critical rebuilding year to better position the company for long-term growth and value creation.

我們預計所有資本支出將由我們的保單承擔，但是增量分銷成本可能無法完全收回。最後，我很高興我們在 24 財年建立了強有力的執行力，並將 25 財年作為關鍵的重建年，以更好地定位公司的長期成長和價值創造。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Bob.

然後，我會將電話轉給鮑伯。

Thanks, Sean. Before we open the line for questions, I want to highlight our key priorities for fiscal 2025. When I look at the pathway to improving UGI's overall performance at the core is understanding our talent and acting on identified gaps. We need to establish the environment or culture that drives the desired performance and outcomes. We must be relentless in the accountability for executing against the strategy.

謝謝，肖恩。在我們開始提問之前，我想先強調一下我們 2025 財年的主要優先事項。當我審視提高 UGI 整體績效的途徑時，核心是了解我們的才能並針對已發現的差距採取行動。我們需要建立一個能夠推動預期績效和成果的環境或文化。我們必須堅持不懈地追究執行策略的責任。

This will likely result in assessing and redesigning our core business processes, our ways of working to drive operational excellence, strategic alignment and greater efficiencies. At AmeriGas, fundamental change is needed to reduce customer churn, win back customers, and drive performance in that business, assuring we remain customer focused.

這可能會導致評估和重新設計我們的核心業務流程、推動卓越營運、策略調整和更高效率的工作方式。在 AmeriGas，需要進行根本性變革，以減少客戶流失、贏回客戶並提高業務績效，確保我們始終以客戶為中心。

We must get back to where customers want to do business with us, and we are their prepaid provider of choice. While the company has taken action in some of these areas, we are in the early stages until fiscal 2025 will be an important year to drive stability and subsequently better business performance.

我們必須回到客戶希望與我們開展業務的地方，而我們是他們選擇的預付費提供者。雖然公司已在其中一些領域採取行動，但我們仍處於早期階段，直到 2025 財年將成為推動穩定並隨後實現更好業務績效的重要一年。

Next is focusing on optimizing our overall LPG portfolio, pursuing opportunities where the economics make sense to monetize assets, and moving the company to become more heavily weighted to natural gas. With the execution of these priorities and the continued focus on rightsizing our balance sheet, the intent is to improve UGI's financial profile for the benefit of our stakeholders.

接下來的重點是優化我們的整體液化石油氣投資組合，尋求經濟上有意義的資產貨幣化機會，並推動公司更加重視天然氣。透過執行這些優先事項並繼續專注於調整我們的資產負債表，目的是改善 UGI 的財務狀況，以造福我們的利害關係人。

In closing, I'm excited for this opportunity and driving the company forward. There's a lot of work to do, but the progress is well underway, and I look forward to providing more updates as we progress. We appreciate your time with us today, and now we will open the line for questions.

最後，我對這個機會感到興奮，並推動公司向前發展。還有很多工作要做，但進展順利，我期待著隨著我們的進展提供更多更新。感謝您今天接受我們的採訪，現在我們將開通提問熱線。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Jefferies

朱利安杜穆蘭-史密斯，傑弗里斯

Hey, good morning team. Thank you guys very much. Hope you guys are all well and Bob, congratulations again on the role. Nice to see you back in the seat here. Nice to chat with you guys. So maybe just following up on a couple of things here. I mean, obviously, you continue to highlight some of the challenges at AmeriGas.

嘿，早上好，團隊。非常感謝你們。希望你們一切都好，鮑勃，再次祝賀這個角色。很高興看到你回到這裡的座位。很高興和你們聊天。所以也許只是在這裡跟進一些事情。我的意思是，顯然，您繼續強調了 AmeriGas 面臨的一些挑戰。

Maybe just to kick it off there first. How do you think about your mandate and coming into the firm here, specifically as it pertains to the strategic direction of AmeriGas? I mean, obviously, there was perhaps a former strategy here. How does your appointment and how do you think about the opportunity that exists within AmeriGas at this point?

也許只是先從那裡開始。您如何看待您的職責以及加入公司，特別是因為它與 AmeriGas 的策略方向有關？我的意思是，顯然，這裡可能有一個以前的策略。您的任命如何？

Thanks, Julien. Focusing specifically just on AmeriGas on your question, that the immediate action for AmeriGas is really to solidify the business, bring stabilization to it. We've had a good running start of fixing a lot of the past practices that were contributing to the churn of customers. Long way to go, but we've got teams mobilized and there'll be some supplemental talent coming in as well. But right out of the gate, what we need to do is to stabilize that business.

謝謝，朱利安。關於你的問題，重點關注 AmeriGas，AmeriGas 立即採取的行動實際上是鞏固業務，為其帶來穩定。我們已經有了一個好的開端，修復了過去導致客戶流失的許多做法。雖然還有很長的路要走，但我們已經動員了團隊，也會有一些補充人才加入。但從一開始，我們需要做的就是穩定這項業務。

I operate under the principle that from a capital allocation standpoint, each business needs to support itself. So AmeriGas needs to support itself. You're not going to see funds going from the parent company down to AmeriGas. So AmeriGas has to perform. AmeriGas has to work on their balance sheet, and AmeriGas has to work on providing excellent customer service and really fix our business processes that have gone away over the past few years.

我的經營原則是，從資本配置的角度來看，每個企業都需要自給自足。因此 AmeriGas 需要自給自足。你不會看到資金從母公司流向 AmeriGas。因此，AmeriGas 必須表現出色。AmeriGas 必須改善他們的資產負債表，AmeriGas 必須致力於提供卓越的客戶服務，並真正修復我們在過去幾年中消失的業務流程。

So that's where I see spending a lot of my time will be on AmeriGas to really focus on those things and getting the performance up, stabilization, and driving the cash flow there.

因此，我認為我將在 AmeriGas 上花費大量時間，真正專注於這些事情，提高業績、穩定並推動現金流。

Right. So it sounds -- just to make sure I'm hearing that right. So no further equity going into AmeriGas at this point? And no specific time line on any kind of strategic actions to potentially review for a divestment in this point? It sounds like more internal focus, turnaround the metrics first before going back to any kind of conversation about what to do with it, right?

正確的。聽起來是這樣——只是為了確保我沒聽錯。那麼目前 AmeriGas 沒有進一步的股權嗎？目前沒有關於可能審查撤資的任何策略行動的具體時間表嗎？這聽起來像是更多的內部關注，首先扭轉指標，然後再回到任何關於如何處理它的對話，對嗎？

Yeah. So I'll reiterate that. So no equity going down to AmeriGas. It has to support itself. It has to manage its own balance sheet, and that I can really expand that to the entire LPG business. And then I would also say that what we can control right now is to make that business perform better, strategic thoughts and actions and opportunities may arise if not ruling anything out in that from that standpoint. But what we can control right now is making that business perform better, and that's where the focus is to do that.

是的。所以我會重申這一點。因此，AmeriGas 沒有任何股權。它必須支持自己。它必須管理自己的資產負債表，我真的可以將其擴展到整個液化石油氣業務。然後我還要說，我們現在可以控制的是讓業務表現更好，如果不從這個角度排除任何可能性，戰略思想、行動和機會可能會出現。但我們現在可以控制的是讓業務表現更好，這就是重點。

And I think that will drive the most value for our shareholders to get this thing stabilized as quickly as we can. And like I said, a lot of good things have been happening over the past year, and we're going to keep that momentum going and expand the improvements.

我認為這將為我們的股東帶來最大的價值，讓事情盡快穩定下來。正如我所說，過去一年發生了很多好事，我們將保持這一勢頭並擴大改進。

Awesome. Excellent. And then just if I can follow up more strategic -- holistically here rather. As you think about the balance of the businesses here, how do you think about the opportunity for more of a review from a cost perspective or otherwise strategically around the balance of businesses here?

驚人的。出色的。然後，如果我可以在這裡進行更具策略性的跟進——而不是整體性的跟進。當您考慮這裡的業務平衡時，您如何看待從成本角度或以其他方式圍繞這裡的業務平衡進行更多審查的機會？

Well, Julien, I know you know this quite well, when you take a look at the utility and the overall natural gas business with Energy Services as well, I mean, the utility particularly when you benchmark it across the country, it's the best-in-class. And I look at our trading multiple of 8 times, and you think where the UGI utility natural gas business where that multiple should be dramatically higher.

好吧，朱利安，我知道你很清楚這一點，當你看看公用事業以及能源服務的整體天然氣業務時，我的意思是，公用事業，特別是當你在全國範圍內進行基準測試時，它是最好的-課堂上。我看看我們的交易倍數為 8 倍，你認為 UGI 公用天然氣業務的倍數應該會大幅更高。

It should be best-in-class, given the construct of the regulatory environment in Pennsylvania, the low risk, the pretty deep capital program that provides plenty of opportunity for investment. So that's really just a top decile utility in this country. And Energy Services brings great synergy to that business. It's a great customer and supplier to the utility.

考慮到賓州的監管環境結構、低風險以及提供大量投資機會的相當深入的資本計劃，它應該是同類中最好的。所以這實際上只是這個國家最頂級的公用事業公司。能源服務為該業務帶來了巨大的綜效。它是公用事業公司的重要客戶和供應商。

And when you think about the demand of what's happening in PGM for natural gas and the opportunities that Energy Services has to be involved in that given the footprint of that business, that the demand for power, the demand for additional natural gas is going to provide opportunities for Energy Services. So the overall natural gas business is really sitting in just a fabulous situation.

當你考慮到鉑族金屬對天然氣的需求以及能源服務必須參與的機會時，考慮到該業務的足跡，對電力的需求，對額外天然氣的需求將提供能源服務的機會。因此，整個天然氣業務確實處於一個極好的境地。

When I was here back in 2011, Energy Services did not have the physical assets behind it like it does today. So it's really a dramatically evolved business that has great synergies not only for the utility, but then also allows you to experience excellent upside with market demand, whether that's for additional power that's coming via the investment in data centers or weather-driven when you have spikes in cold weather. So it really is a strong franchise on the natural gas.

當我 2011 年來到這裡時，能源服務公司並沒有像今天這樣擁有實體資產。因此，這確實是一項飛速發展的業務，不僅對公用事業具有巨大的協同效應，而且還可以讓您體驗到市場需求的巨大優勢，無論是透過資料中心投資獲得的額外電力，還是天氣驅動的電力寒冷天氣中出現高峰。因此，它確實是天然氣領域的強大特許經營權。

So I think that actually -- they run very well. They have got great opportunities. So again, when I think of allocating my own time, it's got to be to make sure that we're running the LPG side of the business really, really well and we'll think about opportunities how to maximize value longer term.

所以我認為實際上——他們運行得很好。他們有很好的機會。所以，當我考慮分配自己的時間時，必須確保我們的液化石油氣業務運作得非常非常好，並且我們會考慮如何實現長期價值最大化的機會。

Awesome. Alright, I'll leave it there guys. Thank you so very much. Best of luck to you and the team. Okay.

驚人的。好吧，我會把它留在那裡。非常感謝。祝您和團隊好運。好的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Gabriel Moreen, Mizuho.

加布里埃爾·莫林，瑞穗。

Good morning, everyone and welcome, Bob. Look forward to working with you. A couple of questions, if I could, maybe on guidance, both near and long term. Just around AmeriGas, I know you're assuming normal weather, but can you speak to maybe what you're assuming around stemming customer attrition going into fiscal '25, how that may compare year-on-year?

大家早安，歡迎，鮑伯。期待與您合作。如果可以的話，我想問幾個問題，也許是關於近期和長期的指導。就 AmeriGas 而言，我知道您假設天氣正常，但您能否談談您對 25 財年阻止客戶流失的假設，與去年同期相比如何？

Yeah, I can take that, Gabe. AmeriGas going into '25 on the volumetric side, there's still work to be done. If you listen to some of Bob's comments. So we are assuming continued volume declines from '24 to '25 as the team really works on turning that business around and stabilizing it. So you would expect if you're modeling that to see volume declines continue.

是的，我可以接受，加布。AmeriGas 進入 25 年，在容量方面，仍有工作要做。如果你聽聽鮑伯的一些評論。因此，我們假設從 24 年到 25 年銷售量持續下降，因為團隊確實致力於扭轉業務並使其穩定。因此，如果您對此進行建模，您會期望看到銷量繼續下降。

On the positive side, if you look at the '24 results on the AmeriGas side of the equation, there was -- we were able to drive some efficiencies in costs, I think costs were down $17 million. And then on the capital conservation side regarding AmeriGas. I believe capital was down about $50 million. So we're trying to make sure that we're controlling the levers while the business is really focused on volumes and really getting that -- as you said, you heard Bob say stabilize.

從積極的一面來看，如果你看看 AmeriGas 方面 24 年的結果，我們能夠提高成本效率，我認為成本下降了 1700 萬美元。然後是關於 AmeriGas 的資本節約方面。我相信資本減少了大約 5000 萬美元。因此，我們正在努力確保我們在控制槓桿的同時，業務真正專注於銷售並真正實現這一點 - 正如你所說，你聽到鮑勃說穩定。

So for '25, continued volume declines as the business stabilizes. We're pulling all the levers we can to make sure that the variable nature of cost and capital that we see those efficiencies as we continue to turn the business around.

因此，25 年，隨著業務穩定，銷售量持續下降。我們正在竭盡全力確保成本和資本的可變性，從而在我們繼續扭轉業務的過程中看到這些效率。

Great. Thanks, Sean. And then maybe if I can ask on midstream, and I appreciate some of the additional disclosures in this morning's presentation. One, just in terms of the guide for next year, when you think about some of the marketing uplift you experienced in '24, I'm wondering kind of what you are or not slotting in for '25.

偉大的。謝謝，肖恩。然後也許我可以在中途詢問，我很欣賞今天早上的演示中的一些額外披露。一，就明年的指南而言，當您想到您在 24 年經歷的一些行銷提升時，我想知道您在 25 年是否投入了哪些精力。

And then also kind of thinking bigger picture longer term to Bob's comments earlier about, I think, some of the value in these midstream services. Can you just talk to how you're pricing these services currently and whether you think over the medium to long term, there'll just be a natural uplift maybe in terms of some of the pricing behind, some of these peaking services in particular.

然後，我認為，鮑勃之前關於這些中游服務的一些價值的評論也從長遠角度進行了思考。您能否談談目前如何對這些服務進行定價，以及您是否認為從中長期來看，背後的一些定價可能會自然上漲，特別是其中一些高峰服務。

Yeah, sure. The first one -- I'll cover the first one on -- I mean, when you look at Q2, Gabe, Q2 was incredibly strong, right? There was -- we saw some pockets and Bob was alluding to it earlier, where you had some cold weather spikes and our capacity business that takes advantage of various basis points and our access to gas had an incredibly strong Q2. If you go back and look at it, it really stood out.

是的，當然。第一個 - 我將介紹第一個 - 我的意思是，當你看到 Q2 時，Gabe，Q2 非常強大，對吧？我們看到了一些口袋，鮑勃之前提到過，寒冷的天氣出現了峰值，我們的產能業務利用了各種基點，而且我們對天然氣的獲取在第二季度表現異常強勁。如果你回頭看一下，它確實很引人注目。

So we would not -- in the normal forecasted normal budget, we would take that back down to normal levels. But it's a great opportunity if we continue -- this year, if we see similar opportunities like that for that business to really set up well for those types of opportunities.

因此，在正常預測的正常預算中，我們不會將其降至正常水平。但如果我們今年繼續下去，如果我們看到類似的機會，讓該企業真正為這些類型的機會做好準備，這將是一個很好的機會。

In terms of growth, maybe I'll just highlight some of the growth that we have in play. We've got two LNG facilities, Carlyle and Manning. I think Carlyle comes online in Q1 of 2026. Manning will be Q3 of this year. So it will have some impact on this year, but we are -- even though we've been very capital disciplined, we have applied some capital to that midstream energy services business. On the RNG front, you have three facilities coming in, in fiscal year 2025, two in Q1 and one in Q3. So we have kept a little bit of the growth engine going there.

在成長方面，也許我只會強調我們正在發揮的一些成長作用。我們有兩個液化天然氣設施，凱雷和曼寧。我認為凱雷將於 2026 年第一季上線。曼寧將在今年第三季登場。因此，這將對今年產生一些影響，但我們——儘管我們一直非常嚴格地遵守資本紀律，但我們已經將一些資本應用於中游能源服務業務。在 RNG 方面，2025 財政年度將有 3 個設施投入使用，其中 2 個在第一季度，1 個在第三季度。因此，我們保留了一些成長引擎。

In terms of future opportunities, I think Bob hit it. You've got PJM really looking to control power costs and to add some increased generation, which will drive gas demand. You have the potential. We're in a very good spot in Pennsylvania and West Virginia for data centers. So all of this should have some favorable impact on future contracts and future pricing.

就未來的機會而言，我認為鮑伯抓住了機會。PJM 確實希望控制電力成本並增加發電量，這將推動天然氣需求。你有潛力。我們在賓夕法尼亞州和西維吉尼亞州的資料中心位置非常好。因此，所有這些都應該對未來的合約和未來的定價產生一些有利的影響。

And I think we're set up very well to play a role in that increased demand as it goes forward. But in '25, I'll be clear, we don't have -- outside of the growth I mentioned, there is none of that in the forecast. So that would be post '25 potential upside for the company.

我認為我們已經做好了充分準備，可以在未來不斷增長的需求中發揮作用。但在 25 年，我要明確的是，除了我提到的成長之外，預測中沒有任何成長。因此，這將是該公司 25 年後的潛在上漲空間。

Thanks Sean, appreciate it.

謝謝肖恩，很感激。

And I would now like to turn the call back to Bob Flexon, President and CEO, for closing remarks.

現在，我想將電話轉回給總裁兼執行長鮑勃‧弗萊森 (Bob Flexon)，讓其致閉幕詞。

Thank you, Latania, and I appreciate the attendance of the call today. I'm thrilled to be back at UGI. I want to thank Mario for the work that he's done over the past year on stabilizing the company and getting improvements launched underway. So this is a handoff in flight.

謝謝拉塔尼亞，我很感謝今天參加電話會議。我很高興回到 UGI。我要感謝馬裡奧過去一年為穩定公司和啟動改進所做的工作。所以這是飛行中的切換。

So we have great progress already, and that will be certainly my focus over the balance of the new fiscal year to bring that stabilization and improvements to the business so we can generate the right level of cash flow, get the right valuation on our stock, which seems to be dramatically undervalued given the multiple that we trade at.

因此，我們已經取得了很大的進展，這肯定是我在新財年的平衡上的重點，為業務帶來穩定和改善，以便我們能夠產生適當水平的現金流，對我們的股票進行正確的估值，考慮到我們交易的倍數，這似乎被嚴重低估了。

And we have lots of opportunity here. And as I said, I'm thrilled to be back and look forward to engaging with all of you as we go forward. And with that, Latania, we'll end today's call.

我們這裡有很多機會。正如我所說，我很高興能回來，並期待在我們前進的過程中與你們所有人互動。拉塔尼亞，我們今天的通話就到此結束。

Certainly, this concludes today's conference. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

當然，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。