UGI Corp (UGI) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the UGI Corporation Q3 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference call is being recorded.

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 UGI Corporation 2025 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的電話會議正在錄音。

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

現在我想將會議交給今天的第一位演講者 Tameka Morris。請繼續。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our fiscal 2025 third-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 third quarter and fiscal year-to-date financial results, along with other key business highlights before concluding with a question-and-answer session.

大家早安。感謝您參加我們的 2025 財年第三季財報電話會議。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，我們將回顧第三季和財年迄今的財務表現以及其他主要業務亮點，最後進行問答環節。

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 or quarterly reports 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或季度報告和年度報告，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. 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 hand the call over to Bob.

說完這些，我就把電話交給鮑伯。

Thanks, Tameka, and good morning. UGI has continued to deliver outstanding year-to-date results, reflecting the strength of our asset portfolio and our team's commitment to safely and reliably deliver positive energy solutions to our customers. Our increasing focus on safety, driving superior business performance, operational excellence, and creating greater financial flexibility is yielding results across each of our businesses.

謝謝，Tameka，早安。UGI 繼續取得出色的年初至今業績，反映了我們資產組合的實力以及我們團隊致力於安全可靠地為客戶提供積極的能源解決方案的承諾。我們越來越注重安全，推動卓越的業務績效、卓越的運營，並創造更大的財務靈活性，這正在使我們的每項業務都產生成果。

UGI's year-to-date adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.55 is a record performance, up $0.33 over the prior year period. This performance reflects meaningful contribution from all segments, specifically from strategic investments in the growth-oriented natural gas infrastructure, operating efficiencies, particularly at UGI International, the customer focus improvement is now underway at AmeriGas and income tax credits. For the fiscal third quarter, we reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of negative $0.01 compared to positive $0.06 in the prior year period. As a reminder, our third and fourth quarters typically represent the seasonally weaker periods for our business, and this year's results reflect normal seasonal patterns.

UGI 年初至今調整後每股攤薄收益為 3.55 美元，創歷史新高，比去年同期成長 0.33 美元。這項績效反映了所有部門的有意義的貢獻，特別是對成長型天然氣基礎設施的策略性投資、營運效率（尤其是 UGI International）、AmeriGas 目前正在進行的客戶關注度改進以及所得稅抵免。我們報告的第三財季調整後每股攤薄收益為負 0.01 美元，去年同期為正 0.06 美元。提醒一下，我們的第三季和第四季通常代表我們業務的季節性較弱時期，而今年的業績反映了正常的季節性模式。

Given our strong year-to-date performance and the momentum across our businesses, we expect to be at the top end of our fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share guidance range of $3 to $3.15, which Sean will discuss later in the call. Slide 5 provides several key operational highlights for the third quarter. We deployed over $600 million of capital on a year-to-date basis with more than 80% directed to our highest risk-adjusted return businesses, the regulated Utilities and UGI energy services.

鑑於我們今年迄今的強勁表現和各項業務的發展勢頭，我們預計 2025 財年調整後每股收益將達到 3 美元至 3.15 美元的指導範圍的上限，Sean 將在稍後的電話會議上討論這一點。幻燈片 5 提供了第三季的幾個關鍵營運亮點。今年迄今為止，我們已投入超過 6 億美元的資本，其中 80% 以上投向了風險調整後回報率最高的業務、受監管的公用事業和 UGI 能源服務。

In addition, our Utilities segment continued to demonstrate strong fundamentals with sustained customer growth of approximately 9,000 residential heating and commercial customers added this fiscal year. We also made progress on the Pennsylvania Gas Utility rate case where there was a joint petition for approval of settlement filed on July 9. This petition was for $69.5 million in revenue increase and is subject to review and approval by the Administrative Law Judges and Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

此外，我們的公用事業部門繼續表現出強勁的基本面，本財年增加了約 9,000 個住宅供暖和商業客戶，客戶數量持續成長。我們還在賓州天然氣公用事業費率案上取得了進展，該案於 7 月 9 日提交了一份批准和解的聯合請願書。請願書要求增加 6,950 萬美元的收入，並需經行政法官和賓州公用事業委員會的審查和批准。

We anticipate that new rates will be finalized and implemented in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, which will support continued system investments to promote pipeline safety, reliability, and modernization. Separately, across both LPG businesses, we are successfully executing on our strategic portfolio, optimization initiatives, entering into definitive agreements for asset sales which are expected to generate approximately $150 million in total proceeds during fiscal 2025. These targeted divestitures demonstrate our intention to operate in locations where we have a competitive advantage, focusing resources on our highest return opportunities while providing financial flexibility to support deleveraging objectives and fund growth investments.

我們預計新的費率將在 2026 財年第一季最終確定並實施，這將支持持續的系統投資，以促進管道安全、可靠性和現代化。另外，在兩大液化石油氣業務中，我們正在成功執行我們的策略性投資組合和優化計劃，並簽訂資產出售的最終協議，預計在 2025 財年將產生約 1.5 億美元的總收益。這些有針對性的資產剝離表明我們打算在具有競爭優勢的地區開展業務，將資源集中在最高回報機會上，同時提供財務靈活性以支持去槓桿目標和基金成長投資。

Turning to AmeriGas. Our customer focus improvement initiatives are progressing as expected, with ongoing execution of key actions, including procurement, routing and delivery, and call-center reshoring as we prepare for the upcoming winter season.

轉向 AmeriGas。我們以客戶為中心的改進計劃正在按預期進展，我們正在為即將到來的冬季做準備，並正在持續執行關鍵行動，包括採購、路線和交付以及呼叫中心回流。

Furthermore, we are focusing on profitable customer segments. Therefore, we will be substantially exiting the wholesale business, while this may reduce the total LPG gallons sold, we expect no meaningful impact on our overall results as these volumes have little to no earnings contributions. For reference, fiscal 2024, the wholesale business represented approximately 11% of total LPG gallons sold, and was essentially a breakeven business.

此外，我們也專注於有利可圖的客戶群。因此，我們將大幅退出批發業務，雖然這可能會減少液化石油氣的總銷量，但我們預計不會對我們的整體業績產生重大影響，因為這些銷量對收益的貢獻很小甚至沒有。作為參考，到 2024 財年，批發業務約佔液化石油氣總銷量的 11%，基本上是盈虧平衡的業務。

And with that, I'll hand the call over to Sean to walk through the financial results in more detail.

說完這些，我會把電話交給肖恩，讓他更詳細地介紹一下財務結果。

Thanks, Bob, and good morning. I'll now provide more details on our financial performance. For the third quarter, UGI reported adjusted diluted EPS of negative $0.01 compared to positive $0.06 in the prior year period. This quarter reflected the impact of typical seasonal patterns within our business. Warmer weather across a few of our service territories and the anticipated reduction in Midstream margins. Specifically, the Utility segment was down $0.04, primarily due to higher operating and administrative expenses.

謝謝，鮑勃，早安。我現在將提供有關我們財務業績的更多詳細資訊。UGI 報告第三季調整後稀釋每股收益為負 0.01 美元，去年同期為正 0.06 美元。本季反映了我們業務中典型季節性模式的影響。我們的部分服務區域天氣變暖，預計中游利潤率將下降。具體而言，公用事業部門下降了 0.04 美元，主要原因是營運和管理費用增加。

Midstream & Marketing was down $0.01 as the higher investment tax credits associated with the RNG projects largely offset lower gathering and processing margin. UGI International was also down $0.02, as the lower total margins more than offset the benefits from reduced operating and administrative expenses and lower tax expense. At AmeriGas, while EBIT was fairly flat year-over-year, the business benefited from lower income tax expense. At Corporate & Other, there is an offset to normalize the corporation's tax rate, and this is reflected in EPS decline shown year-over-year.

中游和行銷下跌 0.01 美元，因為與 RNG 項目相關的較高投資稅收抵免在很大程度上抵消了較低的收集和加工利潤。UGI International 的股價也下跌了 0.02 美元，因為總利潤率的下降超過了營運和管理費用減少以及稅費降低的好處。在 AmeriGas，雖然息稅前利潤與去年同期相比基本持平，但該公司受益於較低的所得稅費用。在企業及其他業務中，有一個抵銷措施來規範企業的稅率，這反映在每股盈餘同比下降中。

Turning to the quarterly results for each reportable segment. At the Utilities, EBIT was $30 million for the quarter versus $39 million in the prior year period. Total margin was up $4 million, largely due to benefits from the infrastructure replacement and betterment program at the West Virginia Gas Utility.

轉向每個可報告部門的季度業績。在公用事業方面，本季的息稅前利潤為 3,000 萬美元，而去年同期為 3,900 萬美元。總利潤增加了 400 萬美元，這主要得益於西維吉尼亞州天然氣公用事業公司的基礎設施更換和改善計劃的好處。

Operating and administrative expenses rose by $10 million, reflecting, among other things, higher personnel-related and maintenance expenses. Depreciation and amortization expenses also increased due to continued investment in our distribution system.

營運和管理費用增加了 1000 萬美元，其中包括人員相關費用和維護費用的增加。由於我們對分銷系統的持續投資，折舊和攤提費用也有所增加。

At the Midstream & Marketing segment, EBIT was $27 million for the quarter, down $16 million over the prior year. Total margin decreased $9 million as lower margins from natural gas gathering and processing operations as well as the 2024 divestiture of our power generation asset, Hunlock Creek, were partially offset by increased margins from gas marketing activities. Year-over-year, the segment also saw lower Other income, particularly due to the absence of income from a storage farm-out contract in the prior year.

中游和行銷部門本季息稅前利潤為 2,700 萬美元，較上年下降 1,600 萬美元。總利潤減少了 900 萬美元，因為天然氣收集和加工業務的利潤率較低，以及 2024 年剝離我們的發電資產 Hunlock Creek，但被天然氣行銷活動的利潤率增加部分抵消。與去年同期相比，該部門的其他收入也有所下降，特別是由於前一年沒有來自倉儲農場合約的收入。

Turning to the Global LPG businesses. At UGI International, LPG volumes declined by 9% due to the effects of continued structural conservation, the absence of certain customers who previously converted from natural gas to LPG, and the impact of weather that was 16% warmer than prior year. The effect of this volume decline, along with the lower LPG unit margins, were partially offset by the translation effects of stronger foreign currencies, leading to a $19 million decline in total margin.

轉向全球液化石油氣業務。在 UGI International，由於持續的結構性保護的影響、先前從天然氣轉換為液化石油氣的部分客戶的消失以及比前一年溫暖 16% 的天氣的影響，液化石油氣銷量下降了 9%。銷售量下降以及液化石油氣單位利潤率下降的影響，被外幣走強的折算效應部分抵消，導致總利潤率下降 1,900 萬美元。

UGI International continued to drive operational efficiencies. And this quarter, we saw a $9 million decline in operating and administrative expenses driven by lower personnel and distribution expenses, which was partially offset by the translation effect of the stronger foreign currencies.

UGI International 持續提高營運效率。本季度，由於人員和分銷費用的減少，我們的營運和管理費用下降了 900 萬美元，但這部分被外幣走強的折算效應所抵消。

Overall, the segment reported EBIT of $43 million, in comparison to $57 million in the prior year period, largely due to a $19 million decline in margin and slightly higher depreciation and amortization expenses partially offset by lower operating and administrative expenses. At AmeriGas, the operating loss of $28 million for the quarter was fairly consistent with the prior year as the effect of lower retail volumes stemming from continued but reduced customer attrition was more than offset by higher retail unit margins.

總體而言，該部門的息稅前利潤為 4,300 萬美元，而去年同期為 5,700 萬美元，這主要是由於利潤率下降 1,900 萬美元，折舊和攤銷費用略有增加，但營運和管理費用的降低部分抵消了這一影響。AmeriGas 本季的營業虧損為 2,800 萬美元，與去年基本一致，因為零售單位利潤率的提高足以抵消客戶流失​​持續但減少導致的零售量下降的影響。

Turning to the full year-to-date performance. The EBIT from our reportable segments was comparable year-over-year, demonstrating the resilience of our diversified portfolio amid a mixed operating environment. At the Utilities, EBIT was up $12 million, primarily driven by a 10% increase in core market volumes from favorable weather conditions. Midstream & Marketing experienced a $22 million EBIT decline, reflecting the anticipated impact of lower minimum volume commitments on one contract renewal completed in Q4 last year, as well as the 2024 power generation asset sale.

回顧今年迄今的全年業績。我們報告分部的息稅前利潤與去年同期相比持平，證明了我們多元化投資組合在混合營運環境中的韌性。在公用事業領域，息稅前利潤增加了 1,200 萬美元，主要原因是有利的天氣條件使核心市場銷售增加了 10%。中游與行銷部門的息稅前利潤下降了 2,200 萬美元，這反映了去年第四季度完成的一份合約續約中較低的最低交易量承諾以及 2024 年發電資產出售的預期影響。

UGI International's EBIT decreased $9 million, largely due to the absence of the Swiss business divested in Q3 last year, along with softer retail volumes, and this was largely offset by the successful reduction of $35 million in operating and administrative expenses.

UGI International 的息稅前利潤減少了 900 萬美元，主要是因為去年第三季剝離的瑞士業務的消失，以及零售量下降，但這在很大程度上被成功削減 3,500 萬美元的營運和管理費用所抵消。

AmeriGas showed some momentum with EBIT up $18 million, reflecting both higher total margins and disciplined expense management. Notably, the segment achieved a slight increase in total retail gallons largely due to colder weather conditions during the critical winter months, which offset customer attrition.

AmeriGas 表現出一定的發展勢頭，息稅前利潤上漲 1800 萬美元，反映出更高的總利潤率和嚴格的費用管理。值得注意的是，該部門的零售總量略有增加，這主要是由於關鍵的冬季月份天氣較冷，抵消了客戶流失。

This underlying operational performance, combined with meaningful tax benefits primarily associated with investment tax credits, led to the year-to-date adjusted diluted EPS of $3.55.

這項基本營運業績，加上主要與投資稅收抵免相關的有意義的稅收優惠，導致年初至今的調整後稀釋每股收益為 3.55 美元。

Looking to the fiscal fourth quarter, we anticipate that earnings from our underlying businesses, excluding taxes, will be largely consistent with the prior year period. Of note, while we recorded a diluted loss of $0.16 in Q4 of fiscal 2024, this included $0.20 of tax benefit from regulatory changes that allowed us to utilize previously expensed valuation allowance.

展望第四財季，我們預計，扣除稅收後，我們基礎業務的收益將與去年同期基本持平。值得注意的是，雖然我們在 2024 財年第四季錄得 0.16 美元的稀釋虧損，但其中包括監管變化帶來的 0.20 美元的稅收優惠，這使我們能夠利用先前已計入費用的估值準備金。

With that outlook for the fiscal fourth quarter and our year-to-date results, we expect that UGI will achieve the top end of its fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS guidance range of $3 to $3.15 per share. This guidance excludes potential incremental benefits from the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act. While our team continues to review the impact of the bill on our business. The bill's changes to the deductibility of interest expense is expected to provide additional tax expense favorability as we move forward.

根據對第四財季的展望以及我們今年迄今的業績，我們預計 UGI 將實現其 2025 財年調整後每股收益指導範圍的最高值，即每股 3 美元至 3.15 美元。本指南不包括最近頒布的「一項偉大的美麗法案」所帶來的潛在增量利益。我們的團隊正在繼續審查該法案對我們業務的影響。該法案對利息費用扣除的改變預計將在未來提供額外的稅收費用優惠。

Turning to the balance sheet. We continue to build financial strength and flexibility, as evidenced by our leverage ratio of 3.8 times for the quarter and robust free cash flow generation, combined with strong available liquidity of approximately $1.9 billion as of June 30, 2025. These metrics underscore our commitment to exercise financial discipline, and maintain a solid foundation for value creation.

轉向資產負債表。我們持續增強財務實力和靈活性，本季我們的槓桿率為 3.8 倍，自由現金流產生強勁，截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日，可用流動資金約為 19 億美元。這些指標強調了我們遵守財務紀律和維護創造價值的堅實基礎的承諾。

Lastly, I am pleased with the progress made in optimizing our LPG portfolio, generating approximately $150 million in cash proceeds, while streamlining our footprint, enhancing our strategic focus and providing meaningful support for our deleveraging objectives.

最後，我對我們在優化液化石油氣投資組合方面取得的進展感到滿意，產生了約 1.5 億美元的現金收益，同時精簡了我們的業務範圍，增強了我們的戰略重點，並為我們的去槓桿目標提供了有意義的支持。

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, John. (technical difficulty)

謝謝，約翰。（技術難度）

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Jefferies.

朱利安·杜穆林·史密斯（Julien Dumoulin-Smith），傑富瑞集團（Jefferies）。

Good morning Julian. Good morning.

早安，朱利安。早安.

Hi, good morning. It's actually Paul Zimbardo on for Julien. The first one I want to ask is, if you could unpack a little bit the potential disclosure, you have -- a potential benefit from One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Is that bonus depreciation on regulated activities? Is that 45Zs on the RNG? Just any even just qualitative description you can help with there?

嗨，早安。實際上是 Paul Zimbardo 代替 Julien 上場。我想問的第一個問題是，如果您可以稍微解釋潛在的披露，那麼您可以從「一項偉大的美麗法案」中獲得潛在的好處。這是受監管活動的獎金貶值嗎？RNG 上有 45Z 嗎？您能提供任何哪怕只是定性的描述嗎？

Yeah, Paul, this is Sean. I'll hit a couple of things and the biggest impact initially will be -- over time, we have lost some of the interest deductibility, specifically at AmeriGas, almost predominantly at AmeriGas, that started to have impact us, Paul, back in '23. It had impact in '24. And it would have had impact this year.

是的，保羅，這是肖恩。我會談幾件事，最初最大的影響將是——隨著時間的推移，我們失去了一些利息扣除，特別是在 AmeriGas，幾乎主要是在 AmeriGas，這在 23 年開始對我們產生影響，保羅。它在 24 年產生了影響。這可能會對今年產生影響。

So that's step one is we'll be able to retroactively go back and probably we're still finalizing the numbers. But remove some of the allowance that we had -- the valuation allowance we had to put on the books over the last two years and a little bit this year. So that's step one. By the way, that will continue. That's retroactive, but it will also continue as we go forward.

因此，第一步是我們可以追溯過去，並且可能我們仍在最終確定數字。但是，取消我們擁有的一些準備金——過去兩年我們必須在帳簿上計入的估值準備金，今年也取消了一點。這是第一步。順便說一句，這種情況還會持續下去。這是有追溯力的，但隨著我們前進，它還會繼續下去。

The other two items, I think, that have big impact for us is because of the ITCs this year, we're very, very -- we're closing out our RNG projects that they all come into service. Bonus hasn't been an election that we've really focused on. But this act will give us the ability as we move forward, probably to utilize bonus depreciation a little more. So I think you're spot on there.

我認為，對我們影響很大的另外兩件事是由於今年的 ITC，我們非常非常——我們正在結束所有投入使用的 RNG 專案。獎金並不是我們真正關注的選舉。但這項法案將使我們有能力在未來取得進展，可能更多地利用獎金折舊。所以我認為你的意見是正確的。

R&D credits is another area with the amount of capital we're spending at the Utility and Nat Gas. We see some benefit there. And then on the 45Zs, I think it's just more strengthening the position as we get into next year and beyond, around 45Z. So we haven't given the exact number, but we definitely know the trend. This is going to be a positive impact to the company.

研發信貸是我們在公用事業和天然氣領域投入大量資金的另一個領域。我們看到了一些好處。然後關於 45Z，我認為隨著我們進入明年及以後，大約 45Z，它將進一步加強我們的地位。因此，我們沒有給出確切的數字，但我們肯定知道趨勢。這將對公司產生正面的影響。

Okay. It's good to hear across the board. And then, I know, I had asked about AmeriGas, I'll leave that for someone else. I wanted to drill in a little more on the Midstream side of the business. Obviously, you had a lot of activity with the Pennsylvania AI & Innovation Day. Are there any way that you could frame what you think the investment opportunity set is for the Pennsylvania Midstream business, given a lot of the activity in the near your footprint, that would be helpful. Thanks.

好的。很高興聽到大家的意見。然後，我知道，我曾經詢問過有關 AmeriGas 的問題，我會把這個問題留給別人回答。我想對中游業務進行更深入的了解。顯然，您在賓州人工智慧與創新日上做了很多活動。考慮到您所在地區附近有很多活動，您能否以某種方式概括出您認為賓州中游業務的投資機會，這將會很有幫助。謝謝。

Yeah, Paul, I think, the best I can do with that right now is to say that, both Midstream and the Utility, we expect will benefit, we have well into the double digits of NDAs with potential generators and other opportunities to utilize our infrastructure for providing natural gas or providing on-site LPG -- sorry, LNG. So we see pretty robust opportunities there, multiple, like say, multiple counterparties and in-depth discussions that are ongoing.

是的，保羅，我認為，我現在能做的最好的就是說，我們預計中游和公用事業都將受益，我們已經擁有兩位數的保密協議，擁有潛在的發電機和其他機會利用我們的基礎設施來提供天然氣或提供現場液化石油氣 - 抱歉，是液化天然氣。因此，我們看到了相當強勁的機會，例如多個交易對手和正在進行的深入討論。

So we have the right assets in the right place to take advantage of all of this. So it's just to continue to cultivate those opportunities.

因此，我們在正確的位置擁有正確的資產，可以充分利用這一切。所以這只是繼續培養這些機會。

Okay. Great. And then if I could squeeze in one last one. Any commentary you provide on the multiple for the strategic divestitures you had as of date?

好的。偉大的。然後如果我能再擠進最後一個。您對迄今為止的策略資產剝離倍數有何評論？

No. I mean, the way that we looked at all the divestitures is that we looked at, kind of, how we view the value in our hands versus the value that we're receiving from again, the counterparty on it. And we wouldn't sell any asset that would be dilutive. So when you think

不。我的意思是，我們看待所有資產剝離的方式是，我們如何看待我們手中的價值與我們從交易對手那裡獲得的價值。我們不會出售任何會稀釋股權的資產。所以當你認為

about the various multiples of our business even when you break them apart, it's got to either be equal or better than in our own hands. So that way on a risk-adjusted basis, you're creating value versus not selling. So, that's the way we look at it.

即使你將我們的業務分開來，其各個倍數也必須與我們自己掌握的持平甚至更好。這樣，從風險調整的角度來看，您就是在創造價值，而不是不出售。這就是我們看待這個問題的方式。

Again, we look at the NPV in our hands versus the sale price and make sure that it's not going to be dilutive to us. On leverage, Paul, when you think about it. So it's got to be much better than our leverage ratio as well.

再次，我們將手中的 NPV 與銷售價格進行​​比較，確保它不會對我們造成稀釋。關於槓桿，保羅，當你考慮它的時候。所以它也必須比我們的槓桿率好得多。

Yeah, I understand that. Thank you.

是的，我明白。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Gabriel Moreen, Mizuho.

加布里埃爾·莫林，瑞穗。

Good morning, everybody. I guess, I'll take the AmeriGas question then just twofold there. One is, there's a lot of moving parts, I think, between the wholesale divestiture, potential high-grading of the customer base. So I'm curious, Bob, as you go into the upcoming winter heating season, what sort of metrics you're most focused on here, whether it's, I guess, profit -- I'm sure profitability is a big one. But anything you can kind of direct us to whether it's absolute or relative metrics?

大家早安。我想，我會從兩個方面來回答 AmeriGas 的問題。一是，我認為，批發業務剝離和客戶群的潛在高級化之間存在著許多變動因素。所以我很好奇，鮑勃，隨著即將到來的冬季供暖季節，您最關注的指標是什麼，我猜是利潤——我相信盈利能力是一個重要的指標。但是您能否告訴我們它是絕對指標還是相對指標？

And then, the second part on the divestiture program, just on LPG, wondering if you think you're kind of done for now if there's more to go at this point?

然後，關於剝離計劃的第二部分，僅涉及液化石油氣，想知道如果現在還有更多工作要做，您是否認為現在已經完成了？

Thanks, Gabe. I'll go into it, and certainly in the AmeriGas topic, I'll try not to use the rest of the call time for that. First of all, the wholesale business, again, creates -- it's been creating a lot of activity in our business, but not providing any bottom line benefit. So again, working on simplifying that business we're not going to supply largely our competitors basically at our cost using our infrastructure. So it doesn't make any sense to continue doing that.

謝謝，加布。我會深入討論這個問題，當然是關於 AmeriGas 的話題，我會盡量不把剩餘的通話時間用在這上面。首先，批發業務再次創造了——它為我們的業務創造了很多活動，但並沒有提供任何底線利益。因此，我們再次致力於簡化業務，我們不會利用我們的基礎設施以成本為主要競爭對手提供產品。所以繼續這樣做沒有任何意義。

To the extent we've got customers in there that are lost customers, they'll either become new national accounts on a profitable level or they, again, will not be continuing on with them. So it's really, I think, as you said, high-grading the portfolio, taking the complexity out of the portfolio, so we're focusing on our highest value customers out there providing the commensurate level of service that our customers expect and deserve it. So I think, it's a good step as we go into the winter to better handle our profitable businesses, our profitable customers within AmeriGas.

就我們失去的客戶而言，他們要么會成為盈利水平的新全國帳戶，要么不會繼續與我們合作。所以我認為，正如您所說，這實際上是對投資組合進行高評級，消除投資組合的複雜性，因此我們專注於我們最高價值的客戶，提供客戶期望和應得的相應服務水平。因此我認為，在進入冬季之際，這是一個很好的舉措，可以更好地處理我們的盈利業務以及 AmeriGas 內部的盈利客戶。

When you think about some of the indicators we're looking at, safety is one that we don't talk a lot about on these calls. But certainly, the third quarter of this year at AmeriGas had substantial improvements in our safety record. And to me, that's a leading indicator of how well you're focusing on your businesses, your processes, and getting inefficiencies out of your business and maintaining a safe workforce and not creating rework or anything that's just adding cost and more complexity to the business. So -- really happy to see the dramatic improvement that we've experienced in the third quarter on safety. It has been a key focus area for us.

當您考慮我們正在關注的一些指標時，安全性是我們在這些電話會議中很少談論的指標之一。但可以肯定的是，今年第三季度，AmeriGas 的安全記錄有了顯著改善。對我來說，這是一個領先指標，表明您如何專注於您的業務、您的流程，如何消除業務中的低效率，如何維護安全的勞動力，如何避免返工或任何只會增加成本和業務複雜性的事情。所以——真的很高興看到我們在第三季的安全方面取得了顯著的改善。這一直是我們關注的重點領域。

On a lot of the improvement projects that are underway, we've gone from really the analysis of what is the root cause of issues and what's the solution to implementation. And we talked about it in the past that it's -- this is a two-winter effort. Going into this winter, when you think about customer service, we'll have a bit of a hybrid, we'll have some still international support for customer service, but a much more substantial footprint domestically to provide much better customer service. So another metric will be our customer service statistics, our Net Promoter Scores, our time on hold, things of that nature. So we continue to work on some of the KPIs and the things that really affect the customer.

在許多正在進行的改進項目中，我們已經真正從分析問題的根本原因以及實施的解決方案開始。我們過去也討論過這個問題——這是兩個冬天的努力。進入今年冬季，當您考慮客戶服務時，我們會採取一些混合方式，我們仍然會為客戶服務提供一些國際支持，但在國內的足跡會更加廣泛，以提供更好的客戶服務。因此，另一個指標是我們的客戶服務統計數據、我們的淨推薦值、我們的等待時間以及諸如此類的東西。因此，我們繼續致力於一些 KPI 以及真正影響客戶的事情。

Another one is routing and delivery. It's another work stream that we've been focusing on, and we have that rolled out now to a handful of our locations across the country, and we're experiencing, call it, an 8% to 10% efficiency improvement on miles on efficiency on gallons delivered per mile and the cost of delivery.

另一個是路由和交付。這是我們一直關注的另一個工作流程，目前我們已經將其推廣到全國各地的幾個地點，並且我們正在經歷每英里運輸加侖數效率和運輸成本 8% 到 10% 的提高。

So as we get to October 1, we plan to have that launched nationwide. So that will be another statistic that we're looking at, is the efficiency of our delivery routes as well. And then always the kind of bottom line free cash flow, we generating cash flow from this business, as we've talked about need -- to stand on its own.

因此，我們計劃在 10 月 1 日在全國範圍內推出該服務。所以，我們正在關注的另一個統計數據是我們的送貨路線的效率。然後總是那種底線自由現金流，我們從這項業務中產生現金流，正如我們所討論的需要一樣——獨立存在。

And one of the things that really excited about as well for AmeriGas is that their leverage ratio has improved by nearly one turn. So we'll continue to watch the balance sheet, the importance of maintaining the right credit metrics, but as we go into the winter, there will be various performance metrics, some of which I just went through. So we're gearing up for the winter.

對於 AmeriGas 來說，真正令人興奮的事情之一是他們的槓桿率提高了近一倍。因此，我們將繼續關注資產負債表，保持正確的信貸指標的重要性，但隨著進入冬季，將會出現各種績效指標，其中一些我剛剛經歷過。所以我們正在為冬天做準備。

One of the other things though that came as a little bit of a surprise to me in this quarter when I think about substantial opportunity during the summer months to improve our ACE business as well. And again, through better productivity, better efficiency, better processes that there's meaningful improvement that we can make over the summer months. And I would say that before going into the summer, my focus was relentlessly on the winter, but going out and visiting some of the locations and seeing the opportunity to really hit our production targets I think, can really help us in the summer months as we go forward.

然而，當我想到本季夏季有巨大的機會改善我們的 ACE 業務時，另一件事讓我有點驚訝。而且，透過提高生產力、提高效率、改善流程，我們可以在夏季取得有意義的進步。我想說，在進入夏季之前，我的注意力一直集中在冬季，但我認為，出去參觀一些地點，尋找真正實現生產目標的機會，可以真正幫助我們在夏季取得進步。

So I'm looking forward not only to a good winter next year, but also a stronger summer than we had this year. So looking at those production metrics will be another one that we look at as we go into next summer at our various ACE facilities. So there's a lot of opportunity procurement of propane, hedging, proactively hedging to help our customers maintain stability of their bills. So we've got a lot going on and a lot of progress. I think we're in really good shape going into the winter.

因此，我不僅期待明年有一個美好的冬天，也期待明年有一個比今年更強勁的夏天。因此，當我們進入明年夏天時，查看這些生產指標將是我們在各個 ACE 工廠中要查看的另一個指標。因此，有很多機會購買丙烷、進行對沖、主動對沖，以幫助我們的客戶保持帳單的穩定性。所以我們有很多事情要做，也取得了很多進展。我認為我們進入冬季的狀態非常好。

Okay. Hopefully, that's helpful. I mean, I can talk about for quite a long time, but I'll stop there.

好的。希望這會有所幫助。我的意思是，我可以談論很長時間，但我就此打住。

That was very comprehensive. Thank you, Bob. Maybe if I can comment Midstream from a different angle. When you think about your producer activity be signed behind some of the supply push systems that you have, can you maybe talk about what you're seeing, given the uptick in in-basin demand, maybe some egress capacity, too.

那非常全面。謝謝你，鮑伯。也許我可以從不同的角度評論 Midstream。當您考慮到您的生產者活動是在您所擁有的一些供應推動系統背後簽署的時，您能否談談您所看到的情況，考慮到盆地內需求的上升，也許還有一些出口能力。

And as a second part to that question, are there any notable contract expiries on the Midstream side that you're kind of watching over the next, call it, 12 to 18 months?

作為該問題的第二部分，在接下來的 12 到 18 個月內，您是否會關注中游方面有哪些值得關注的合約到期情況？

Yeah, I can hit a few of those, Gabe. No significant notable contract expiries or at least nothing that we anticipate where there's a significant shift, meaning on the re-up, we think it will be generally in line with what we're at. We did have that one last year. Maybe that's what you're referring to. So I think as we look at '26, we're not thinking about any big dip due to big contract expirations.

是的，我可以打其中幾個，加布。沒有重大的合約到期，或至少我們預計不會發生重大轉變，這意味著在續約方面，我們認為它將與我們現在的情況大致一致。去年我們確實有過這個。也許這就是您所指的。因此我認為，當我們展望 26 年時，我們不會考慮由於大合約到期而導致的任何大幅下滑。

And again, Gabe, just a follow-up on maybe the earlier question from Paul as well. When we look at the potential developers within the state of Pennsylvania, both on the regulated and unregulated side for power generation and the like. We're seeing substantial inquiries and opportunities there. So will continue to work with all of those counterparties to see what we can do to participate and help make the energy investment that's happening across the state.

再說一次，加布，也許這也是保羅之前提出的問題的後續問題。當我們考察賓州境內受監管和不受監管的發電等行業的潛在開發商時。我們在那裡看到了大量的詢問和機會。因此，我們將繼續與所有交易對手合作，看看我們能做些什麼來參與並幫助全州範圍內的能源投資。

Again, we're in a exciting time for the state of Pennsylvania. The Energy Summit really highlighted that. And the great thing of Pennsylvania is how, from a political standpoint, all parties are aligned on bringing investment into the state of Pennsylvania. So it's really an exciting time here in Pennsylvania. And again, our Midstream business and our Utility business should be substantial benefactors of the movement underway.

再次，我們正處於賓州激動人心的時刻。能源高峰會確實凸顯了這一點。賓州的偉大之處在於，從政治角度來看，所有政黨都一致支持為賓州帶來投資。所以這對賓州來說確實是一個令人興奮的時刻。再次強調，我們的中游業務和公用事業業務應該成為正在進行的運動的重要受益者。

Great, thanks Bob. Thanks, Sean.

太好了，謝謝鮑勃。謝謝，肖恩。

I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would like to turn it back to Bob Flexon for closing remarks.

我目前沒有其他問題。我想請鮑伯‧弗萊克森 (Bob Flexon) 作最後發言。

Thanks, Dana, and thanks, everyone, for dialing in. And just a few -- maybe a few closing comments. We had a record year. So certainly, that's exciting in its own, right? But work is underway to make the future even more successful than what we had this year. As I just mentioned, talking with Gabe, I'm very excited about our safety performance and the improvements we're seeing in safety, I just view that as a leading indicator to a well-run company. So we feel great about that.

謝謝，達娜，也謝謝大家撥入電話。最後還有幾點──也許是一些結束語。我們度過了創紀錄的一年。所以這本身就很令人興奮，對吧？但我們正在努力使未來比今年更成功。正如我剛才提到的，在與 Gabe 交談時，我對我們的安全表現以及我們在安全方面所看到的改進感到非常興奮，我認為這是一家運作良好的公司的領先指標。因此我們對此感到非常高興。

The financial performance this year, we talked about was great. The cash flow of $558 million is an 11% improvement year-on-year. And that really takes me to the kind of the third point of what really focusing on is the balance sheet. And we've got our corporate leverage down to 3.8 times, $200 million debt reduction, as I mentioned a moment ago.

我們談到的今年的財務表現非常好。現金流5.58億美元，年增11%。這實際上讓我想到了第三點，即我們真正關注的是資產負債表。正如我剛才提到的，我們的企業槓桿率已降至 3.8 倍，債務減少了 2 億美元。

The AmeriGas achieving nearly one turn improvement in its leverage ratio. So we're going to continue focusing on the intrinsic value drivers in our business, the State of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. We've had a constructive rate case proceeding. We're looking to get that through its final stages and have that part of our fiscal '26 results. And we've completed our Midstream projects, and we just continue to look at our emerging opportunities.

AmeriGas 的槓桿率幾乎提高了一倍。因此，我們將繼續關注我們業務的內在價值驅動因素，即賓夕法尼亞州和西維吉尼亞州。我們已經進行了建設性利率案件審理。我們希望完成最後階段並將其作為我們 26 財年業績的一部分。我們已經完成了中游項目，我們只是繼續關注新興機會。

And finally, I'll just say that our eyes are completely focused on this upcoming winter and to be ready for winter to have a really successful launch into fiscal '26 to our discussions in the future.

最後，我只想說，我們的目光完全集中在即將到來的冬天，並為冬天做好準備，以便真正成功地進入 26 財年，以便我們未來的討論。

So with that, I'll conclude the call and again, thanks everybody for participating and supporting us through all this and look forward to our discussions in the future.

因此，我將結束本次電話會議，並再次感謝大家的參與和支持，並期待我們將來的討論。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝大家參加今天的會議。該計劃確實就此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。