UGI Corp (UGI) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to the UGI Corporation fiscal 2025 second-quarter earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加 UGI Corporation 2025 財年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）

Thank you. I would like to turn the conference over to Tameka Morris, Vice President of Investor Relations and ESG. You may begin.

謝謝。我想將會議交給投資者關係和 ESG 副總裁 Tameka Morris。你可以開始了。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our fiscal 2025 second-quarter earnings call. With me today are Bob Flexon, President and CEO; and Sean O'Brien, CFO. On today's call, we will review our second-quarter financial results and key business highlights before concluding with a question-and-answer session.

大家早安。感謝您參加我們的 2025 財年第二季財報電話會議。今天與我一起的還有總裁兼執行長 Bob Flexon 和財務長 Sean O'Brien。在今天的電話會議上，我們將回顧第二季度的財務表現和主要業務亮點，然後進行問答環節。

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和年度報告，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. Reconciliation 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指標與可比較 GAAP 指標的對帳。

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

說完這些，我會把電話轉給鮑伯。

Thanks, Tameka, and good morning to all of you. Before we walk through our financial and operational results in detail, I want to start with a summary of our year-over-year performance on several key financial metrics. Starting with adjusted diluted EPS, UGI reported a 12% year-over-year increase for the fiscal second quarter, delivering the highest adjusted diluted EPS for the second quarter and year-to-date period in the company's history.

謝謝，Tameka，大家早安。在我們詳細介紹我們的財務和營運結果之前，我想先總結一下我們幾個關鍵財務指標的年比表現。從調整後的稀釋每股盈餘開始，UGI 報告第二財季年增 12%，創下公司歷史上第二季和年初至今最高的調整後稀釋每股盈餘。

All four segments provided EBIT growth as solid operational execution enabled us to effectively meet higher demand, particularly from colder weather in fiscal Q2, while maintaining cost efficiencies. With this strong performance, we have increased our fiscal 2025 guidance range to $3 to $3.15. The balance sheet continues to strengthen with $1.9 billion in available liquidity and an overall leverage ratio of 3.8 times at the end of the quarter.

所有四個部門都實現了息稅前利潤成長，因為穩健的營運執行使我們能夠有效滿足更高的需求，特別是第二財季寒冷天氣帶來的需求，同時保持了成本效率。鑑於如此強勁的表現，我們將2025財年的預期區間上調至3美元至3.15美元。資產負債表持續增強，截至本季末，可用流動性達19億美元，整體槓桿比率為3.8倍。

Now, let me also share several other highlights. During the quarter, our LNG infrastructure operate at peak capacity, responding effectively to the sustained cold weather patterns experienced, particularly in January and February. Regional natural gas demand continues to demonstrate robust growth, positioning our strategically located midstream methods to deliver these essential services reliably.

現在，我還要分享其他幾個亮點。本季度，我們的液化天然氣基礎設施以尖峰容量運行，有效應對持續的寒冷天氣模式，尤其是在一月和二月。區域天然氣需求持續呈現強勁成長，使我們位於戰略位置的中游方法能夠可靠地提供這些基本服務。

Late last year, we initiated an expansion project to double the liquefaction capacity at our Manning facility. This significantly enhances our ability to fulfil additional peaking contracts and provide vital LNG services to customers in the Northeast. Construction has now been completed, and the facility is currently in commissioning with full operational status expected by Fiscal 2026.

去年年底，我們啟動了一項擴建項目，旨在使曼寧工廠的液化能力翻倍。這大大增強了我們履行額外尖峰合約和向東北客戶提供重要液化天然氣服務的能力。目前，該設施已完工，正在調試中，預計將於 2026 財年全面投入營運。

In aggregate, during the quarter, we deployed $160 million in capital investment, primarily in the natural gas businesses. At the utilities, we continue to expand our reach, strategically extending our infrastructure to previously underserved communities. Our customer base has grown by over 6,600 new residential heating and commercial accounts year-to-date, reflecting the persistent demand for natural gas service throughout our service territories.

總體而言，本季我們部署了 1.6 億美元的資本投資，主要用於天然氣業務。在公用事業方面，我們繼續擴大我們的覆蓋範圍，策略性地將我們的基礎設施擴展到以前服務不足的社區。今年迄今為止，我們的客戶群已增加了 6,600 多個新的住宅暖氣和商業帳戶，這反映了我們服務區域對天然氣服務的持續需求。

Now, before I hand the call over to Sean to walk through the financial results in more detail, I'd like to speak to our fiscal 2025 guidance range. Given our strong financial performance for the first half of the fiscal year and the continued momentum we're seeing across our businesses, we are pleased to announce an increase in the fiscal 2025 adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance range to $3 to $3.15. This increase is largely driven by several factors.

現在，在我將電話交給肖恩更詳細地介紹財務結果之前，我想談談我們 2025 財年的指導範圍。鑑於我們本財年上半年強勁的財務表現以及各項業務持續成長的勢頭，我們很高興地宣布，我們將2025財年調整後攤薄每股收益預期範圍上調至3美元至3.15美元。這一增長主要受以下幾個因素推動。

First, during the fiscal second quarter, we experienced favorable weather conditions when compared to the 10-year normal weather used in establishing our guidance. These weather conditions drove incremental earnings throughout all of our businesses.

首先，與我們制定指導意見時使用的 10 年正常天氣相比，第二財季的天氣條件良好。這些天氣條件推動了我們所有業務的收益增加。

However, in order to meet the winter demand, we prioritize production and distribution over certain planned operational investments, which will be executed during the second half of our fiscal year. Next, we're beginning to see some operational improvements at AmeriGas, which have contributed to lower customer attrition levels.

然而，為了滿足冬季需求，我們優先考慮生產和分銷，而不是某些計劃中的營運投資，這些投資將在財政年度下半年執行。接下來，我們開始看到 AmeriGas 的一些營運改進，這有助於降低客戶流失率。

These early-stage enhancements began with the pod model launched in September, which has removed silos and provided greater alignment, operational efficiency, and accountability. Combined with the favorable weather conditions, these improvements have resulted in a $19 million increase in the fiscal year-to-date EBIT when compared with the prior year.

這些早期階段的改進始於 9 月推出的 pod 模型，該模型消除了孤島並提供了更高的一致性、營運效率和問責制。加上有利的天氣條件，這些改善使得本財年迄今的息稅前利潤與前一年相比增加了 1,900 萬美元。

Looking ahead we are continuing our efforts to streamline and optimize key business processes to better position AmeriGas for the upcoming winter season. At UGI International, we are reducing the prior estimate of a $0.5 to $0.08 headwind from the jetty damage due to OpEx recovery. A revised estimate is approximately $0.04.

展望未來，我們將繼續努力簡化和優化關鍵業務流程，以便 AmeriGas 更好地應對即將到來的冬季。在 UGI International，由於營運支出恢復，我們將先前估計的碼頭損壞造成的逆風費用從 0.5 美元下調至 0.08 美元。修訂後的估計值約為 0.04 美元。

Lastly, we are operating in a fluid environment with continued evolution in trade and tariff policies. Given the nature of our business and the limited number of items internationally, we believe the tariff cost exposure is insignificant.

最後，我們處在一個不斷變化的環境中，貿易和關稅政策也不斷演變。鑑於我們業務的性質和國際上商品的有限數量，我們認為關稅成本風險並不大。

We have seen that these policies have placed downward pressure on propane prices, which can be beneficial to our customers. Given the nature of our pricing contracts and hedging strategy, we do not anticipate material benefits or headwinds in this operating environment. In summary, the revised guidance reflects our confidence in the underlying strength of our businesses and our ability to continue executing our strategic priorities in the second half of the year.

我們已經看到這些政策對丙烷價格造成了下行壓力，這對我們的客戶有利。鑑於我們的定價合約和對沖策略的性質，我們預計在這種經營環境中不會出現實質的利益或阻力。總而言之，修訂後的指引反映了我們對業務潛在實力以及下半年繼續執行策略重點的能力的信心。

I'll now turn the call over to Sean to delve further into the financial results.

現在我將把電話轉給肖恩，讓他進一步探討財務結果。

Thanks, Bob, and good morning. I'll now provide more detail on our financial performance for the fiscal second quarter. As Bob mentioned, we've delivered strong results across all business segments while continuing to strengthen our balance sheet and maintain disciplined capital allocation in a dynamic market environment.

謝謝，鮑勃，早安。我現在將提供有關我們第二財季財務業績的更多詳細資訊。正如鮑伯所提到的，我們在所有業務部門都取得了強勁的業績，同時繼續加強我們的資產負債表並在動態的市場環境中保持嚴格的資本配置。

UGI delivered adjusted diluted EPS of $2.21, $0.24 above the prior year period. The utility segment was up $0.04 given the colder weather, partially offset by higher operating and administrative expenses. Midstream and marketing increased $0.13 as the business benefited from the effects of higher investment tax credits associated with the RNG projects being placed in service this fiscal year.

UGI 調整後稀釋每股收益為 2.21 美元，比去年同期高出 0.24 美元。由於天氣寒冷，公用事業部門上漲了 0.04 美元，但部分被更高的營運和管理費用所抵消。中游和行銷業務增加了 0.13 美元，因為該業務受益於本財年投入使用的 RNG 項目相關的更高投資稅收抵免的影響。

UGI International was consistent year over year as lower operating and administrative expenses were more than offset by reduced tax benefits. At AmeriGas, while EBIT was up $16 million over the prior year period, largely due to colder weather, the effect of higher income tax expense led to a $0.06 decline in adjusted diluted EPS.

UGI International 的業績與去年同期相比保持穩定，因為營運和管理費用的降低被稅收優惠的減少所抵消。在 AmeriGas，雖然息稅前利潤比去年同期增加了 1,600 萬美元，這主要歸因於天氣寒冷，但所得稅費用增加的影響導致調整後的稀釋每股收益下降 0.06 美元。

As noted on the Q1 call, AmeriGas is experiencing a higher tax rate due to limitations on interest expense deductibility. On a consolidated basis, there is a corresponding offset to normalize the corporation's tax rate, and this is reflected in Corp and other. Overall, Corp and other was up $0.52 due to lower income taxes of $0.54, partially offset by $0.02 of higher interest expense.

正如第一季電話會議所指出的，由於利息費用扣除額的限制，AmeriGas 的稅率更高。在合併基礎上，有相應的抵銷來規範公司的稅率，這反映在公司和其他。總體而言，由於所得稅降低 0.54 美元，公司及其他業務上漲 0.52 美元，但利息支出增加 0.02 美元，部分抵消了這一影響。

I'll now walk you through the key drivers for each reportable segment when compared to the prior year. Starting with the utility segment, EBIT was $241 million for the quarter, up $15 million over the prior year period. Both core market and total system throughput showed strong growth, primarily driven by weather conditions that were 15% colder than the comparable period last year.

現在，我將向您介紹與前一年相比每個報告部分的關鍵驅動因素。從公用事業部門開始，本季息稅前利潤為 2.41 億美元，比去年同期增加 1,500 萬美元。核心市場和整個系統吞吐量均呈現強勁成長，主要原因是天氣條件比去年同期低 15%。

This favorable weather pattern contributed to $22 million increase in total margin, though this game was partially offset by the impact of weather normalization mechanism in our Pennsylvania and West Virginia territories.

這種有利的天氣模式使總利潤增加了 2200 萬美元，儘管這場比賽被我們賓夕法尼亞州和西弗吉尼亞州地區的天氣正常化機制的影響部分抵消。

Operating in administrative expenses rose by $6 million, reflecting higher investments in system maintenance and increased uncollectible account expenses. Depreciation and amortization expenses also increased as we continue our capital investment strategy to enhance and modernize our distribution infrastructure.

營運管理費用增加了 600 萬美元，反映了系統維護投資的增加以及壞帳費用的增加。隨著我們繼續實施資本投資策略以加強和現代化我們的分銷基礎設施，折舊和攤提費用也有所增加。

At the midstream and marketing segment, we reported EBIT of $154 million which was comparable to the prior year. Total margin increased $2 million driven by strong performance in capacity management and gas marketing activities, which more than offset lower margins from the gas gathering and processing operations. Margin was also impacted by the divestiture of our power generation asset, namely Hunlock Creek in September 2024, which contributed $3 million in the prior year period.

在中游和行銷部門，我們報告的息稅前利潤為 1.54 億美元，與前一年持平。由於產能管理和天然氣行銷活動的強勁表現，總利潤增加了 200 萬美元，足以抵消天然氣收集和加工業務的利潤率下降。利潤率也受到我們發電資產剝離的影響，即 2024 年 9 月剝離的 Hunlock Creek，該資產在去年同期貢獻了 300 萬美元。

Turning to the global LPG businesses at UGI International. LPG volumes declined by 4% as the impact of weather that was colder than prior year was more than offset by continued structural conservation and the absence of certain customers who previously converted from natural gas to LPG. Total margin was down $3 million as the effect of lower LPG volumes and the translation effects of the weaker foreign currencies were largely offset by higher LPG unit margins.

轉向 UGI International 的全球 LPG 業務。液化石油氣銷售量下降了 4%，因為持續的結構性保護和先前從天然氣轉換為液化石油氣的某些客戶的消失抵消了比去年更冷的天氣的影響。總利潤下降了 300 萬美元，因為液化石油氣銷售下降和外幣貶值的轉換效應在很大程度上被液化石油氣單位利潤率的增加所抵消。

The business demonstrated continued cost discipline, reducing operating and administrative expenses by $13 million through lower personnel costs, optimized maintenance programs, and favorable foreign currency translation effect.

該業務表現出持續的成本控制，透過降低人員成本、優化維護計劃和有利的外幣折算效應，減少了 1,300 萬美元的營運和管理費用。

As a reminder, we employ a multi-year foreign currency hedging strategy which mitigates FX volatility within our overall financial results. Overall, EBIT grew by $12 million, driven by operational efficiencies and improved operating income that more than compensated for a lower total margin compression and reduced gains on foreign currency hedge contracts.

提醒一下，我們採用了多年的外匯對沖策略，以減輕外匯對我們整體財務表現的波動。總體而言，息稅前利潤增加了 1,200 萬美元，這得益於營運效率的提高和營業收入的增加，這足以彌補總利潤率壓縮的降低和外匯對沖合約收益的減少。

At AmeriGas, the business benefited from the colder weather conditions which drove higher LPG volumes, and this effect was partially offset by continued customer attrition. We capitalized on advantageous weather conditions, which drove LPG volume growth, partially counterbalanced by continued customer attrition.

對 AmeriGas 來說，寒冷的天氣條件推動了液化石油氣銷售的增加，使其業務受益，但這種影響因客戶持續流失而部分抵消。我們利用有利的天氣條件，推動液化石油氣銷售成長，但因客戶持續流失而部分抵銷了成長。

Total margin expanded by $13 million, reflecting the combined impact of higher retail volumes and LPG unit margin improvements with minimal offset from reduced fee income. The segment reported EBIT of $154 million, up $16 million over the prior year period, fueled by higher total margins and increased gain from tank sales.

總利潤增加了 1,300 萬美元，反映了零售量增加和液化石油氣單位利潤率提高的綜合影響，而費用收入減少的抵消作用很小。該部門報告的息稅前利潤為 1.54 億美元，比去年同期增加 1,600 萬美元，這得益於總利潤率的提高和油罐銷售收益的增加。

Turning to the balance sheet, I am pleased that our focus on balance sheet optimization is continuing to yield positive results, as evidenced by our available liquidity of $1.9 billion and the reduction in UGI's net debt to EBITDA ratio from 4 times at the end of fiscal 2024 to 3.8 times as of March 31.

談到資產負債表，我很高興我們對資產負債表優化的關注正在繼續產生積極的成果，這體現在我們的可用流動資金為 19 億美元，以及 UGI 的淨債務與 EBITDA 比率從 2024 財年末的 4 倍降至 3 月 31 日的 3.8 倍。

Margin expansion, operational efficiencies, and disciplined capital deployment led to year-to-date free cash flow of approximately $490 million, up 55% year over year. Specifically at AmeriGas, there was also considerable improvement in the year-to-date free cash flow, which supported the segment's debt reduction of over $65 million, including a $21 million partial pre-payment of its two-year intercompany loan with UGI International.

利潤率的擴大、營運效率的提高以及嚴格的資本配置使得年初至今的自由現金流達到約 4.9 億美元，年增 55%。具體來說，對於 AmeriGas 而言，年初至今的自由現金流也有了顯著改善，這支持了該部門減少超過 6500 萬美元的債務，其中包括與 UGI International 預先支付的 2100 萬美元兩年期公司間貸款的部分款項。

AmeriGas's net debt to EBITDA ratio at March 30, 2025, was 5.4 times, down from 6 times at the beginning of this fiscal year. At April 30, 2025, AmeriGas had approximately $90 million in cash and no short-term borrowings. We are pleased with this enhanced cash generation, which supports our continued deleveraging goals while maintaining strategic investments and solid shareholder returns.

截至 2025 年 3 月 30 日，AmeriGas 的淨負債與 EBITDA 比率為 5.4 倍，低於本財年初的 6 倍。截至 2025 年 4 月 30 日，AmeriGas 擁有約 9,000 萬美元現金，沒有短期借款。我們對現金創造能力的增強感到滿意，這支持我們繼續實現去槓桿目標，同時保持策略投資和穩健的股東回報。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Bob for his closing remarks.

說完這些，我會把電話交給鮑伯來做結束語。

Thanks, Sean. Before we open the line for questions, I want to emphasize how our focus on operational excellence is delivering measurable improvements across several key metrics. This progress combined with our disciplined approach to creating operational efficiencies, has expanded our margins on a year-over-year basis.

謝謝，肖恩。在我們開始提問之前，我想強調我們對卓越營運的關注如何在幾個關鍵指標上帶來可衡量的改進。這項進步與我們提高營運效率的嚴謹方法結合，使我們的利潤率逐年擴大。

In addition, we're particularly proud of the 55% improvement in free cash flow generated, reflecting both the strength and sustainability of our business model. Looking ahead, our natural gas businesses continue to be our primary growth engine, with strategic infrastructure investments predominantly in the regulated utility business, driving rate-based expansion.

此外，我們對自由現金流增加 55% 感到特別自豪，這反映了我們商業模式的實力和永續性。展望未來，我們的天然氣業務將繼續成為我們的主要成長引擎，戰略基礎設施投資主要集中在受監管的公用事業業務，推動基於費率的擴張。

At AmeriGas, we are making steady progress on operational improvements, enhancing business processes and service quality to drive higher levels of customer retention. Internationally, our discipline approach is generating strong cash flows that support our corporate priorities. Through focused capital allocation, infrastructure, monetization, and strategic portfolio optimization, we are well positioned to navigate market uncertainties and create incremental value for our stakeholders.

在 AmeriGas，我們在營運改善、業務流程和服務品質提升方面取得了穩步進展，以提高客戶保留率。在國際上，我們的紀律方法正在產生強勁的現金流，以支持我們的企業重點。透過有針對性的資本配置、基礎設施、貨幣化和策略性投資組合優化，我們能夠很好地應對市場不確定性並為我們的利害關係人創造增量價值。

Thank you for your time with us today, and we will open the line for questions.

感謝您今天抽出時間與我們交談，我們將開放式熱線回答您的提問。

(Operator Instructions) Gabriel Moreen, Mizuho.

（操作員指示）瑞穗的 Gabriel Moreen。

Just wanted to start out with AmeriGas, clearly some improved performance and some benefits from some weather here. Can you just talk about kind of, I guess, more about the learnings coming out of the winter and also maybe what you're targeting going into this upcoming fiscal year?

只是想從 AmeriGas 開始，顯然這裡的一些天氣因素使其性能有所提高並帶來了一些好處。您能否談談冬季的經驗教訓以及您對即將到來的財政年度的目標？

And then on a related question, I think last quarter you talked about your targeting, trying to refinance the '26 maturities by the end of this fiscal year. Can you just give us an update there? Are you still comfortable with that objective?

然後，關於一個相關問題，我想上個季度您談到了您的目標，試圖在本財年結束前為 26 年到期的債券進行再融資。您能提供我們一下最新進展嗎？您對這個目標還滿意嗎？

Sure, I'll take the first question, and I'll let Sean take the second one. So what I would say, Gabe, is that we got through the winter, we took advantage of the better weather, but we're really focused on between now and the beginning of next year is how do we make the AmeriGas business processes better. And we're full-fledged working on that. These are the type of projects that I love because it's little to no investment with big returns.

當然，我來回答第一個問題，然後讓肖恩來回答第二個問題。所以我想說，加布，我們度過了冬天，利用了更好的天氣，但是從現在到明年年初我們真正關注的是如何使 AmeriGas 的業務流程變得更好。我們正在全力致力於此。我喜歡這類項目，因為幾乎不需要投資就能獲得豐厚的回報。

So we're working on things like how we do routing and delivery, becoming more efficient on the density of our miles, which will drive OpEx down and customer satisfaction upward. We're working on how we purchase propane. We see tremendous opportunity to leverage our scale and consolidate our suppliers. We currently have 53 different suppliers for propane, so we're not taking advantage of our size.

因此，我們正在研究如何安排路線和交付，提高里程密度的效率，這將降低營運成本並提高客戶滿意度。我們正在研究如何購買丙烷。我們看到了利用我們的規模和整合我們的供應商的巨大機會。我們目前有 53 家不同的丙烷供應商，因此我們並沒有利用我們的規模優勢。

We're also looking at what's the most effective way to take advantage of propane prices, because what we're seeing with the tariff environment is pressure on propane prices to go downward. So we see a lot of asymmetric risk there and we've got the capacity to start creating and utilizing a more strategic hedging program to lock in some of this lower propane cost better than what we have in the past.

我們也在研究如何最有效地利用丙烷價格，因為我們看到關稅環境對丙烷價格造成了下行壓力。因此，我們看到那裡存在著許多不對稱風險，我們有能力開始創建和利用更具策略性的對沖計劃，以比過去更好地鎖定部分較低的丙烷成本。

We're looking at the customer value proposition, so segmenting our customers and making sure that the ones with the highest margin are getting the best service that they deserve, and they should be getting. And for those that are just marginal or at a loss, either we make them more profitable, or we reduce those types of customers. Because for us, it's profitable volume that we need, it's just not being able to look and say what's the volume this year versus last year, what's the profitable volume this year versus last year.

我們正在關注客戶價值主張，因此對我們的客戶進行細分，並確保利潤最高的客戶獲得他們應得的、應該得到的最佳服務。對於那些利潤微薄或處於虧損狀態的客戶，我們要麼讓他們獲得更多利潤，要麼減少這類客戶。因為對我們來說，我們需要的是獲利量，只是不能看出來今年與去年相比銷量是多少，今年與去年相比盈利量是多少。

So we're looking to improve all elements of that business, how it's run, take pressure off the customer service center, particularly as we re-domesticate our customer service and make that a better performing entity as well. But right now, customer service has had to deal with an onslaught of the questions or concerns from customers that we're making sure that we get to the root cause of all those things. So I'm very optimistic on what we can do by the time next winter arrives. And that's our goal here is to really improve how we do business in AmeriGas between now and next winter.

因此，我們希望改善該業務的所有要素、其運作方式，減輕客戶服務中心的壓力，特別是當我們重新本土化我們的客戶服務並使其成為一個表現更好的實體時。但現在，客戶服務部門必須處理來自客戶的大量問題或疑慮，我們要確保找到所有這些問題的根本原因。因此，我對我們明年冬天到來時能做的事情非常樂觀。我們的目標是從現在到明年冬天真正改善我們在 AmeriGas 的經營方式。

And now's the time that we're doing it. We've got five key business process projects underway, fully staffed, this is being led by AmeriGas. This is not some outsourced thing that sends you down the wrong path. So there's not a lot of cost to it. It's all about getting business better, driving margin, driving the appropriate volume and be much more efficient and quality processes that don't result in customer service issues.

現在正是我們行動的時候了。我們有五個關鍵業務流程項目正在進行中，人員配備齊全，由 AmeriGas 領導。這並不是什麼讓你走上錯誤道路的外包的事情。因此成本並不高。這一切都是為了讓業務變得更好，提高利潤率，推動適當的銷量，並提高效率和品質流程，而不會導致客戶服務問題。

So I think we're going to see a very different AmeriGas as we go into next winter. And we've got new talent in the organization. We've reinvigorated the talent in that organization. So I'm actually quite bullish on what we can do with AmeriGas. I think you're going to see a very strong propane business out there by next winter.

因此我認為，進入明年冬季，我們將會看到一個非常不同的 AmeriGas。我們的組織中又湧現新的人才。我們重新激發了組織的人才活力。因此，我對於我們能與 AmeriGas 合作的成果非常樂觀。我認為到明年冬天你會看到那裡的丙烷業務非常強大。

So I'm excited on what that can do for this company. And as Sean mentioned in his comments as well, the great cash flow that we had to bring down our leverage ratio as well, I think we're in a position to really make a real difference when we go into next winter.

因此，我對這能為公司帶來什麼感到很興奮。正如肖恩在他的評論中提到的那樣，我們擁有的大量現金流也降低了我們的槓桿率，我認為當我們進入下一個冬天時，我們能夠真正發揮作用。

And Sean, I'll hand it over to you to talk about the refinancing.

肖恩，我將把再融資事宜交給你來談。

Yeah, Gabe, a couple of things. In terms of the refinancing, your question, nothing's changed on our goals -- maybe I'll hit some of the key things to remind everyone. So we have about $664 million that comes due next August, late August. We're very focused on making sure we take care of that.

是的，加布，有幾件事。關於再融資，正如您所問的，我們的目標沒有任何改變——也許我會強調一些關鍵的事情來提醒大家。因此，我們有大約 6.64 億美元將於明年 8 月（8 月底）到期。我們非常重視確保解決這個問題。

What I'm excited about are a couple of things that I want to focus on AmeriGas, but we've hit a bunch of them. The cash generation at AmeriGas has been very strong. We really took advantage of a really strong winter. A couple of examples. If you listen to my remarks, I mentioned we're sitting close to $100 million of cash here as we end April. Pretty excited about that. We were able to start to already pay back part of the intercompany loan with International by about $20 million.

令我興奮的是，我想專注於 AmeriGas 的幾件事，但我們已經實現了很多。AmeriGas 的現金產生能力非常強勁。我們確實利用了一個非常寒冷的冬天。舉幾個例子。如果你聽我的講話，我提到截至 4 月底，我們擁有近 1 億美元的現金。對此我感到非常興奮。我們已經能夠開始償還國際公司間貸款的部分約 2000 萬美元。

And as Bob was alluding to, we took a half a turn or more, we're about five, four versus six on the leverage metrics. So fundamentally, these were all incredible things about AmeriGas that we're seeing as we head into -- starting to address the 2026 maturity.

正如鮑伯所暗示的，我們進行了半輪或更多的轉變，在槓桿指標上我們大約是五、四對六。因此，從根本上來說，這些都是有關 AmeriGas 的令人難以置信的事情，我們在開始解決 2026 年成熟問題時看到了它們。

On the fundamental market, there's actually some good news there. Obviously, there's been volatility since we last spoke in the capital markets, but the AmeriGas bonds themselves are actually -- they've held in very, very well. I've been very pleased with what I've seen on those bonds. And maybe the last point I'll make is we're actually trading at or better than where we were prior to a lot of the volatility we've seen over the last couple of months. So we're set up to get that taken care of, nothing's changed in our objectives, other than I think that the business is set up much better as we go in to address those 2026 bonds.

從基本面來看，市場上確實有一些好消息。顯然，自從我們上次談論資本市場以來，市場一直在波動，但 AmeriGas 債券本身實際上表現得非常非常好。我對這些債券的表現感到非常滿意。我要說的最後一點是，我們的交易實際上處於或優於過去幾個月出現大量波動之前的水平。因此，我們已做好準備來解決這個問題，我們的目標沒有任何改變，只是我認為，隨著我們開始解決 2026 年債券問題，業務狀況會好得多。

Great. Thanks, guys. And maybe if I could follow up, just sort of sticking on a bigger picture theme on in-basin sort of Appalachia natural gas demand. It seems like that's been very topical no matter whose conference call, earnings conference call you listen to this quarter. Just wondering kind of latest thoughts on UGI's positioning in terms of partnering with any of those folks looking to take advantage of -- or cheap Appalachian gas and just what those conversations might be looking like lately.

偉大的。謝謝大家。也許我可以跟進一下，只是堅持關於阿巴拉契亞盆地天然氣需求的更大主題。無論您本季收聽誰的電話會議、收益電話會議，這似乎都是一個非常熱門的話題。只是想知道 UGI 在與那些希望利用廉價阿巴拉契亞天然氣的人合作方面的定位的最新想法，以及最近這些對話可能是什麼樣的。

The only thing I would say, Gabe, is that, certainly echo all your comments that you just made. Both our midstream business, which has the pipelines as well as our utility that has the distribution as well, are having a lot of discussions with potential generators, data centers, and the like. So we expect to see some really robust growth in those areas, and we're fortunate to be located in the middle of all of that.

加布，我唯一想說的是，我完全同意你剛才提出的所有評論。我們的中游業務（包括管道）和公用事業（包括配送）正在與潛在的發電機、資料中心等進行大量討論。因此，我們預計這些地區將出現真正強勁的成長，我們很幸運能夠位於這些地區的中心。

So we're proactive with folks that want to come in to talk about where does it make sense to locate, say, new generation assets and where you can get the natural gas. So we're well positioned to be a big part of that just by where our infrastructure is. So as you'll see, and as you know, our capital allocation is heavily skewed towards the natural gas business and that's not going to change for those reasons that you just really articulated.

因此，我們積極主動地與那些想要討論在哪裡設置新一代資產以及在哪裡可以獲得天然氣的人進行交流。因此，憑藉我們現有的基礎設施，我們完全有能力在其中發揮重要作用。所以，正如您所看到的，並且正如您所知，我們的資本配置嚴重偏向天然氣業務，而且由於您剛才所闡述的原因，這種情況不會改變。

(Operator Instructions) Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Jefferies.

（操作員指示）Julien Dumoulin-Smith，Jefferies。

Hi, good morning team. It's actually Paul Zimbardo filling in for Julien on a busy morning. Thanks for the time. Is there any quantification that you'd be willing to put on how much incremental margin or EBITDA you see from AmeriGas as you turn into fiscal 2026? I know that there's been a little bit of weaker performance, but there's been some strong [trends] in the past. Do you think you can get back to some of the EBITDA level that you've seen in the historical periods?

嗨，大家早安。這實際上是保羅·津巴多 (Paul Zimbardo) 在一個繁忙的早晨代替朱利安 (Julien) 工作。謝謝你的時間。您是否願意對 2026 財年 AmeriGas 的增量利潤或 EBITDA 進行量化？我知道現在的表現有點弱，但過去也有一些強勁的[趨勢]。您認為您可以恢復到歷史時期的 EBITDA 水準嗎？

Well, Paul, I couldn't put a number on it now. What we need to do is strengthen our business processes, so we're working on that. We need to focus on the customer value proposition and ensure that our highest margin customers, which comes from the residential retail, is getting the right level of service, delivery is efficient, people don't need to worry about their propane. And so it was really just focusing on those types of things that are going to make a real difference.

嗯，保羅，我現在無法給出確切的數字。我們需要做的是加強我們的業務流程，所以我們正在努力做到這一點。我們需要專注於客戶價值主張，並確保來自住宅零售的最高利潤客戶獲得正確水準的服務，交付高效，人們不需要擔心他們的丙烷。因此，我們真正關注的只是那些能帶來真正改​​變的事情。

Beyond that, I think it's not until we get closer to the beginning of the next fiscal year, when we put guidance out that we put a number around that. But these are certainly the things that we need to do to make a difference for this business.

除此之外，我認為直到接近下一個財年開始時，我們才會發布指導意見，並給出一個具體的數字。但這些確實是我們需要做的事情，以便為這項業務帶來改變。

And, again, I'm really excited about what AmeriGas can be, and it doesn't require investment. It requires that our talented employees within AmeriGas bringing a structured problem-solving approach to how do you make your business better. And we've identified what are the five things that we've got to get done before next winter, and we're all very engaged in all that. We're going to be -- I believe we're going to be a very formidable competitor out there as we enter into next winter.

再次強調，我對 AmeriGas 的未來發展感到非常興奮，而且它不需要投資。它要求 AmeriGas 內部的優秀員工採用結構化的問題解決方法來幫助您改善業務。我們已經確定了明年冬天之前必須完成的五件事，並且我們都非常投入其中。我相信，當我們進入下一個冬季時，我們將成為一個非常強大的競爭對手。

No, that's great to hear. And then, well, the second one I had for Sean, just if you could comment a little bit on the fiscal second half drivers (technical difficulty) implied that loss is particularly high versus historical levels. It sounded like you're pulling forward some costs into the second half of the fiscal year from the next fiscal year, but just if you could discuss the driver would be helpful. Thank you.

不，聽到這個消息真是太好了。然後，好吧，我想問肖恩的第二個問題是，如果你能就財政下半年的驅動因素（技術難度）發表一點評論，這意味著損失相對於歷史水平來說特別高。聽起來你好像是把一些成本從下一個財政年度提前到財政年度的下半年，但如果你能討論一下驅動因素，那將會很有幫助。謝謝。

Yeah, Paul, we try to give some color. Let me start with in terms of pulling expenses, I think what we were trying to emphasize, it was a -- for all of our businesses, it was definitely -- we saw colder weather than we would have seen last year and more so even domestically than we did internationally. So for our utility, for our midstream business, there was not only colder weather, there's some extended periods of that.

是的，保羅，我們嘗試提供一些色彩。首先，從拉動開支方面來說，我想我們想要強調的是，對於我們所有的企業來說，今年的天氣肯定比去年更冷，國內的寒冷程度甚至比國際的更冷。因此，對於我們的公用事業和中游業務而言，不僅天氣更冷，而且寒冷的時期還會持續一段時間。

So I think what we're trying to allude to on that front, Paul, is that some of the work, both capital and OpEx that would have gotten done in the first half of the year, we delayed and we pushed into the second half of the year. So if you're thinking about our original guidance, there is going to be some timing in terms of those types of things happening in the second half of the year.

因此，保羅，我認為我們在這方面試圖暗示的是，一些本來應該在上半年完成的工作，包括資本和營運支出，都被我們推遲到下半年。因此，如果您考慮我們最初的指導，那麼就這些事情發生的時間而言，下半年會有一定時間。

Secondly, and I think you were alluding to this, Paul, the company -- I've been here two years. As I look at the company's earnings profile, most of the time it earns all or even more than its full-year earnings in the first half of the year. So I think we're just trying to make sure everybody understands that it's a winter-driven, generally, company, and therefore you're earning most of your earnings or even more than 100% in the first half of the year.

其次，保羅，我想你指的是這家公司──我在這裡已經兩年了。當我查看公司的盈利狀況時，大多數時候它在上半年的盈利就達到了全年的盈利甚至超過全年的盈利。所以我認為我們只是想確保每個人都明白，這通常是一家冬季驅動的公司，因此你的大部分收益甚至超過 100％ 的收益都是在上半年獲得的。

I'd be remiss if I didn't close on some positives. We did raise guidance from the midpoint of [290]. We were seeing some really good things that we will take to the bank per se, the Norgal that Bob mentioned overseas in International. We're very pleased with how the team executed around that. That was worth every bit of $0.05.

如果我不總結一些正面的話，那我就太失職了。我們確實從[290]。我們看到了一些非常好的東西，我們會把它們帶到銀行，也就是鮑伯在國際上提到的 Norgal。我們對團隊的執行情況非常滿意。這 0.05 美元是值得的。

AmeriGas is performing better than our guidance. We're very pleased with how that's performing. So we're holding on to a lot of the benefits that we saw in the first half of the year, and I alluded to a few things which we're still focused on making sure that the efficiencies that the company's tried to deliver over the last two years are sustainable and ongoing, and so far so good. We're hitting on all those cylinders, but that timing is what we were referring to, Pau.

AmeriGas 的表現優於我們的預期。我們對其表現非常滿意。因此，我們保留了上半年看到的許多好處，我提到了一些事情，我們仍然專注於確保公司在過去兩年中努力實現的效率是可持續的、持續的，到目前為止一切都很好。我們正在全力以赴，但我們指的是時機，保羅。

And Paul, I'm just going to add a couple of things. First of all, I do rely heavily on Sean to make sure that we don't lose our way on cost management, but also the attrition for AmeriGas in our second quarter was in the very low single digits. So we're already seeing benefits of a lot of the work that the team has done to shore up how we deliver and maintain our customer service levels. So we've got a good running start for next year.

保羅，我只想補充幾點。首先，我確實非常依賴肖恩來確保我們不會在成本管理上迷失方向，而且我們第二季度 AmeriGas 的員工流失率非常低，僅為個位數。因此，我們已經看到團隊為鞏固我們提供和維護客戶服務水準的方式而進行的大量工作所帶來的好處。因此，我們為明年有了一個好的開始。

And the other thing I'd add to that is what I mentioned earlier around, we can be far more strategic in how we manage our propane cost than what we've been doing. And we have already achieved, locked in some savings as we go into the latter part of the year on our propane purchases. So I expect some real benefits, financial benefits from that. That, again, requires no cost, just requires some brainpower, and we've got good people within AmeriGas who's going to make that happen.

我想補充的另一件事是我之前提到的，我們可以比現在更有策略地管理丙烷成本。隨著我們進入下半年，在購買丙烷方面我們已經實現了一定的節省。因此我期望從中獲得一些實際利益和經濟利益。再說一次，這不需要任何成本，只需要一些腦力，而且我們 AmeriGas 內部有優秀的人才可以實現這一目標。

No, excellent. It's great to see and hear the momentum. So thank you both.

不，非常好。看到和聽到這樣的勢頭真是太好了。所以謝謝你們兩位。

Right, thank you, Paul.

好的，謝謝你，保羅。

And there are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Bob Flexon for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。現在我將把電話轉回給鮑勃·弗萊克森 (Bob Flexon) 作結束語。

Thank you, Tricia, and thanks for those who attended the call. Just to reiterate, very pleased to see our strong year-to-date performance. What's particularly exciting for me is seeing our balance sheet improving, both at the consolidated level and also down at the AmeriGas level. Strong balance sheet is a priority for us.

謝謝你，特里西婭，也謝謝那些參加電話會議的人。再次重申，我們很高興看到我們今年迄今為止的強勁表現。對我來說特別令人興奮的是看到我們的資產負債表正在改善，無論是在合併水平還是在 AmeriGas 水平上。強勁的資產負債表是我們的首要任務。

We've got a lot of business process improvements underway, not only in AmeriGas, but in all of our divisions that we expect to see benefit from. We've got new talent within the organization, we are reinvigorating the culture here. We've got a lot of good people that have been here for a long time as well. So we're really excited about the things to come. And we're going to go to work and keep working at the things that we're doing and expect to see some good results from that.

我們正在進行許多業務流程改進，不僅在 AmeriGas，而且在我們期望從中受益的所有部門。我們的組織內有了新的人才，我們正在重振這裡的文化。我們有很多優秀的人才，他們也在這裡待了很久。所以我們對即將發生的事情感到非常興奮。我們將繼續努力做好我們正在做的事情，並期望看到一些好的結果。

So with that, I thank you again for everyone for joining the call.

因此，我再次感謝大家參加這次電話會議。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。