Essential Utilities Inc (WTRG) 2022 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Essential Utilities Inc. Quarter 2 2022 Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Essential Utilities Inc. 2022 年第二季度財報電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Brian. Please go ahead, sir.

在這個時候，我想把會議交給布賴恩。請繼續，先生。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for today's conference call. I am Brian Dingerdissen, Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer at Essential. If you did not receive a copy of the press release, you can find it by visiting the Investor Relations section of our website at essential.co. The slides that we will be referencing, and the webcast of this event, can also be found on their website.

大家早上好，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。我是 Essential 的投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管 Brian Dingerdissen。如果您沒有收到新聞稿的副本，您可以通過訪問我們網站 essential.co 的投資者關係部分找到它。我們將參考的幻燈片和本次活動的網絡廣播也可以在他們的網站上找到。

Here is our forward-looking statement. As a reminder, some of the matters discussed during this call may include forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to our most recent 10-Q, 10-K and other SEC filings for a description of such risks and uncertainties.

這是我們的前瞻性聲明。提醒一下，本次電話會議中討論的一些事項可能包括涉及風險、不確定性和其他因素的前瞻性陳述，這些因素可能導致實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述明示或暗示的任何未來結果存在重大差異。有關此類風險和不確定性的描述，請參閱我們最近的 10-Q、10-K 和其他 SEC 文件。

During the course of this call, reference may be made to certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures is included in the presentation and also posted in the Investor Relations section of the company's website.

在本次電話會議期間，可能會參考某些非公認會計準則財務措施。這些非公認會計原則與公認會計原則財務措施的對賬包含在演示文稿中，並發佈在公司網站的投資者關係部分。

Here is our agenda for today. We'll start with Chris Franklin, our Chairman and CEO, who will discuss the highlights from the quarter and provide a company update. Next, Dan Schuller, our CFO, will discuss our financial results. Following Dan, Matt Rhodes, our EVP of Strategy and Corporate Development, will provide an update on our acquisition program. Lastly, Chris will conclude the presentation with a summary of our guidance before opening the call up for questions.

這是我們今天的議程。我們將從我們的董事長兼首席執行官克里斯·富蘭克林開始，他將討論本季度的亮點並提供公司更新。接下來，我們的首席財務官 Dan Schuller 將討論我們的財務業績。在 Dan 之後，我們的戰略和企業發展執行副總裁 Matt Rhodes 將提供我們收購計劃的最新信息。最後，克里斯將在開始提問之前總結我們的指導總結。

With that, I would like to turn the call over to Chris Franklin.

有了這個，我想把電話轉給克里斯富蘭克林。

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. As Brian said, let's start off with some highlights of the quarter. First, we reported year-to-date net income growth of 6.5%, and our quarterly earnings per share were in line with expectations, and Dan will take you through that in a little bit more detail in a moment. We continue to enhance shareholder value as the Board approved a 7% increase in the quarterly dividend this week. Marking the 31st consecutive year of dividend increase is something we're very proud of.

謝謝，布賴恩，大家早上好。感謝您加入我們。正如布賴恩所說，讓我們從本季度的一些亮點開始。首先，我們報告年初至今的淨收入增長了 6.5%，我們的季度每股收益符合預期，Dan 稍後會為您詳細介紹。隨著董事會本週批准將季度股息提高 7%，我們繼續提升股東價值。連續第 31 年增加股息是我們非常自豪的事情。

We currently have asset purchase agreements signed for 7 municipal acquisitions, totaling more than $418 million in purchase price. And each of those continue toward regulatory approval and closing. Now we shared some pretty exciting news just a couple of weeks ago that after a lengthy bid process by the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, we were selected by the Authority Board to engage in exclusive negotiations to purchase their substantial wastewater assets. And Matt is going to take you through that in a little more detail as well in just a few moments.

我們目前簽署了 7 項市政收購的資產購買協議，總收購價超過 4.18 億美元。每一個都繼續朝著監管部門的批准和關閉方向發展。現在我們在幾週前分享了一些非常令人興奮的消息，經過雄鹿縣供水和下水道管理局的漫長投標過程，我們被管理局董事會選中進行獨家談判，以購買他們大量的廢水資產。稍後，Matt 也會更詳細地為您介紹這一點。

Now as part of the company's ongoing commitment to the renewal of critical infrastructure, we invested approximately $424 million -- $424.6 million to be exact, throughout our water, wastewater and natural gas systems in the first half of the year. This compared to $404.6 million from the same period last year. And I'm going to give you a little sense of those projects that we undertake -- undertook in the quarter in just a few minutes.

現在，作為公司對更新關鍵基礎設施的持續承諾的一部分，我們在今年上半年在我們的水、廢水和天然氣系統中投資了大約 4.24 億美元——確切地說是 4.246 億美元。相比之下，去年同期為 4.046 億美元。我將讓您了解我們在短短幾分鐘內在本季度開展的那些項目。

Now lastly, we remain on track to achieve our ESG targets and our commitments to ESG as well. You can read more about our progress in our 2021 ESG reporting update that was just posted this week. For those of you who follow ESG metrics closely, those updates can be found on our ESG microsite. Now when we talk about investing $1 billion in infrastructure each year, it often goes unrecognized that to achieve this level of spending, we have to plan, execute and account for thousands of projects each year. And this is different from a lot of large utilities. I think about the electric utility industry, where they have a very few but very large high-dollar projects that make up their capital budget. So I want to provide a few examples of the work that our operations team has accomplished already this year, execution of a vast number of projects in a large capital plan has become one of our core competencies at the company. Investing in our infrastructure is key not only to our company's growth but critical to protecting our environment, and ensuring reliability of service.

最後，我們仍有望實現我們的 ESG 目標和我們對 ESG 的承諾。您可以在本周剛剛發布的 2021 ESG 報告更新中了解更多關於我們進展的信息。對於那些密切關注 ESG 指標的人，可以在我們的 ESG 微型網站上找到這些更新。現在，當我們談到每年在基礎設施上投資 10 億美元時，人們常常沒有意識到，要實現這一水平的支出，我們每年必須計劃、執行和處理數千個項目。這與許多大型公用事業不同。我想到了電力行業，他們有非常少但非常大的高美元項目，這些項目構成了他們的資本預算。因此，我想提供一些我們運營團隊今年已經完成的工作的例子，執行大型資本計劃中的大量項目已成為我們公司的核心競爭力之一。投資我們的基礎設施不僅是我們公司發展的關鍵，而且對於保護我們的環境和確保服務的可靠性也至關重要。

Now starting on the water side. In Pennsylvania, we're working on the Valley Forge National Park transmission main replacement project. This consists of installing a large 9,100 linear feet, 30-inch transmission main to replace an existing 98-year old cast iron main. This main helps convey water from one of our largest plants, the Pickering water treatment plant to roughly 670,000 people, and is being completed in coordination with all of the services, you might imagine, the National Park Service, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, local townships and other utilities, all to ensure that we have minimal disturbance to this really historic area for our country.

現在從水邊開始。在賓夕法尼亞州，我們正在開展福吉谷國家公園輸電幹線更換項目。這包括安裝一個 9,100 線性英尺、30 英寸的大型傳動主管，以取代現有的 98 年曆史的鑄鐵主管。這條主幹管幫助將我們最大的工廠之一的皮克林水處理廠的水輸送給大約 670,000 人，並且正在與您可能想像的所有服務協調完成，國家公園管理局、賓夕法尼亞州交通部、當地鄉鎮和其他公用事業，所有這些都是為了確保我們對我們國家這個真正具有歷史意義的地區的干擾最小。

This $4.4 million project is expected to be completed in 2023. Now in Ohio, we completed the Ashtabula water treatment plant upgrades, which includes the first plate settler water treatment plant process in our Ohio fleet. This allows us to use a smaller footprint to process even more water, obviously, making it much more efficient. We also added new flocculation and renovation to improvements to our existing conventional filters. Our filter improvements include automation of valves, which is also much more efficient. This $14 million project has yielded improved settled water quality at the front end of the plant, which ultimately yields in savings in power and chemicals, along with improved water quality, just bringing overall efficiency through a reduction in O&M costs, a really good, strong project.

這個耗資 440 萬美元的項目預計將於 2023 年完成。現在，我們在俄亥俄州完成了 Ashtabula 水處理廠的升級改造，其中包括我們俄亥俄州船隊的第一個板式沉降水處理廠工藝。這使我們能夠使用更小的佔地面積來處理更多的水，顯然，使其效率更高。我們還對現有的傳統過濾器進行了改進，增加了新的絮凝和翻新。我們的過濾器改進包括閥門的自動化，這也更加有效。這個耗資 1400 萬美元的項目改善了工廠前端的沉降水質，最終節省了電力和化學品，同時改善了水質，通過降低 O&M 成本帶來了整體效率，一個非常好的、強大的項目。

And finally, in Illinois, we're making significant upgrades to our Kankakee water treatment plant. These are largely compliance-driven updates to meet federal requirements, specifically the Cryptosporidium compliance. Ultraviolet disinfection was our selected method, and we believe that's the optimal treatment process for this situation. The design includes 3 parallel UV reactor trains with a capacity of 24 million gallons a day. We also made accommodations for future upgrades that could actually increase our plant to about 36 million gallons a day. The project includes 4 intermediate pumps to accommodate the hydraulic profile requirements of this new UV treatment process. Construction is already underway and upgrades are planned to be online by December of this year. Additional water treatment plant improvements also include filter upgrades and some upgrades to our backlash pump. But this is also a really strong upgrade to our plant there in Illinois.

最後，在伊利諾伊州，我們正在對我們的坎卡基水處理廠進行重大升級。這些主要是合規驅動的更新，以滿足聯邦要求，特別是隱孢子蟲合規性。紫外線消毒是我們選擇的方法，我們相信這是針對這種情況的最佳處理過程。該設計包括 3 個平行的紫外線反應器系列，每天的產能為 2400 萬加侖。我們還為未來的升級提供了便利，這些升級實際上可以將我們的工廠增加到每天大約 3600 萬加侖。該項目包括 4 個中間泵，以適應這種新的紫外線處理工藝的液壓配置要求。建設已經在進行中，升級計劃在今年 12 月前上線。其他水處理廠的改進還包括過濾器升級和對我們的反沖泵的一些升級。但這也是我們在伊利諾伊州工廠的一次非常強勁的升級。

Now these details might not necessarily be important to you, but this is really important work that our people are executing, and it continues to build the reputation that's so important as we talk to municipalities who are considering a sale of their assets because we know that our expertise, our compliance record and our overall execution act at our resume as we continue to work to grow our company.

現在，這些細節可能對您來說不一定重要，但這是我們的員工正在執行的非常重要的工作，並且在我們與正在考慮出售其資產的市政當局交談時，它繼續建立如此重要的聲譽，因為我們知道在我們繼續努力發展公司的過程中，我們的專業知識、合規記錄和整體執行力會在我們的簡歷中體現出來。

So on the gas side, there are a couple of examples that I'd like to highlight as well in the Pittsburgh area. Now the Fern Hollow Bridge project in the Squirrel Hill area of the city is a $5.5 million project that not only includes replacing the pipeline that was severed, and you might remember this from the last winter when the bridge collapsed in January, but also includes replacing an additional 3,800 feet of 1927 vintage cast iron pipe on each side of the bridge. You might recall, this was national news, President Biden was visiting the collapse shortly after it happened. It just happened to be in Pittsburgh that day. And the project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, which is a pretty big -- pretty fast time line given what we experienced out there.

所以在天然氣方面，我也想在匹茲堡地區強調幾個例子。現在該市松鼠山地區的 Fern Hollow Bridge 項目是一個耗資 550 萬美元的項目，不僅包括更換被切斷的管道，您可能還記得去年冬天 1 月份橋樑倒塌時的情況，還包括更換在橋的每一側增加了 3,800 英尺的 1927 年老式鑄鐵管。你可能還記得，這是全國性的新聞，拜登總統在事故發生後不久就參觀了坍塌。那天正好在匹茲堡。該項目預計將在今年第四季度完成，考慮到我們在那裡的經歷，這是一個相當大 - 相當快的時間線。

Now another project, the Fort Pitt Boulevard project in downtown Pittsburgh. And for those of you who know Pittsburgh, this would be in the Golden Triangle area. This is a $3.5 million project, installing about 2,210 feet of 16-inch coated steel pipe replacing 1936 and 1939 vintage, 16-inch bare steel pipe. This project will also be completed this calendar year. Now these projects improve the reliability of service, they reduce risk and they reduce emissions to the environment, and obviously support our ESG commitments as well.

現在是另一個項目，位於匹茲堡市中心的 Fort Pitt Boulevard 項目。對於那些了解匹茲堡的人來說，這將是在金三角地區。這是一個耗資 350 萬美元的項目，安裝了大約 2,210 英尺的 16 英寸塗層鋼管，以取代 1936 年和 1939 年的老式 16 英寸裸鋼管。該項目也將在本日曆年完成。現在，這些項目提高了服務的可靠性，降低了風險，減少了對環境的排放，顯然也支持了我們的 ESG 承諾。

Now let's talk about ESG for a moment. We recognize that transparent and detailed ESG reporting is important to many of our constituencies, including many of you who are on the line today. On August 1, we published our 2021 ESG reporting update to our microsite. For those of you who know it is at esg.essential.co. You'll recall last summer, we refreshed our microsite and published an expanded 2020 ESG report alongside supplemental reports that summarize key metrics. Now this year, we're updating just the supplemental reports. Then next year, we'll look to publish a new version of our full ESG report. We arrived at this reporting cadence after dialogue with many of our stakeholders, including some of you.

現在讓我們談談 ESG。我們認識到透明和詳細的 ESG 報告對我們的許多支持者很重要，包括今天在線的許多人。 8 月 1 日，我們在微網站上發布了 2021 年 ESG 報告更新。對於那些知道它的人，請訪問 esg.essential.co。您會記得去年夏天，我們更新了我們的微型網站，並發布了一份擴展的 2020 ESG 報告以及總結關鍵指標的補充報告。今年，我們只更新補充報告。然後明年，我們將尋求發布完整 ESG 報告的新版本。在與包括你們中的一些人在內的許多利益相關者進行對話後，我們得出了這種報告節奏。

Now through June of this year, we're reporting strong progress on each of our major ESG announcements. These were initially announced in 2021, and that includes large jump to 14% Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reduction. Now this is driven in large part by our January 1 switch to nearly 100% renewable electric power for our water segment operations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and New Jersey. We expect this figure to continue to rise in the right direction as the remaining 6 months of the year actualize. We also continue to replace aging gas main, as I just describing, each year which is the greatest contributor toward our targeted 60% reduction by 2035.

從現在到今年 6 月，我們報告的每項主要 ESG 公告都取得了巨大進展。這些最初於 2021 年宣布，其中包括將範圍 1 和範圍 2 的排放量大幅躍升至 14%。現在，這在很大程度上是由於我們在 1 月 1 日為賓夕法尼亞州、俄亥俄州、伊利諾伊州和新澤西州的水務部門業務改用近 100% 的可再生電力。隨著今年剩餘 6 個月的實現，我們預計這一數字將繼續朝著正確的方向上升。正如我剛才所描述的，我們還繼續更換老化的天然氣總管，這是我們到 2035 年目標減少 60% 的最大貢獻者。

Now lastly, it's not on this slide, but I did want to briefly revisit what I'd call industry -- our industry-leading PFAS commitment given the recent federal proposed health advisory limit. We consider our 2020 commitment, a great example of strong ESG in practice. We were the first and the only multistate utility to set its own company-wide PFAS standard, and I think we're uniquely positioned to address PFAS because of our experience and our capabilities with analytical testing and building and operating treatment systems, spending nearly $40 million to meet the company-wide standard of 13 parts per trillion.

最後，它不在這張幻燈片上，但我確實想簡要回顧一下我所說的行業——鑑於最近聯邦提議的健康諮詢限制，我們行業領先的 PFAS 承諾。我們認為我們的 2020 年承諾是實踐中強大的 ESG 的一個很好的例子。我們是第一個也是唯一一個在全公司範圍內製定 PFAS 標準的多州公用事業公司，我認為我們在解決 PFAS 方面具有獨特的優勢，因為我們在分析測試以及構建和操作處理系統方面的經驗和能力，花費近 40 美元百萬，以達到萬億分之十三的全公司標準。

The EPA's recent announcement about its revised the nonenforceable health advisory limit recommends that utilities considering addressing PFOA at a level over 0.004 parts per trillion, which is more than 1,000x lower than the previous advisory limit set in 2016. It's also 1,000x lower than the technical capability to detect this contaminant, which is currently at 4 parts per trillion. So largely, we see this as a political action by the federal EPA, and it's not necessarily based in science. So I think we all know at this point that the EPA will be proposing a true PFOS enforceable limit in the fall of this year, which is based on the legal process, and requires a cost-benefit analysis. We believe that the MCL, or maximum contaminant level, that will be issued this fall will require a much higher concentration than the health advisory level they recently announced.

EPA 最近關於修訂不可執行的健康諮詢限制的公告建議公用事業公司考慮將 PFOA 解決在萬億分之 0.004 以上的水平，這比 2016 年設定的先前諮詢限制低 1,000 多倍。這也比檢測這種污染物的技術能力，目前為萬億分之四。所以在很大程度上，我們認為這是聯邦環保署的一項政治行動，它不一定基於科學。所以我想我們現在都知道，EPA 將在今年秋天提出真正的 PFOS 可執行限制，這是基於法律程序，需要進行成本效益分析。我們認為，將於今年秋天發布的 MCL 或最大污染物水平將需要比他們最近宣布的健康諮詢水平更高的濃度。

We have our key people from the company who are involved in organizations that will be reviewing in discussing this proposal with the EPA up and through the fall. So I think we're well positioned to have adequate input into this decision that the EPA will make.

我們有來自公司的關鍵人員參與組織，這些組織將在整個秋季與 EPA 討論該提案時進行審查。因此，我認為我們有能力為 EPA 做出的這一決定提供足夠的投入。

And with that, Dan, let me turn it over to you for the financials.

有了這個，丹，讓我把它交給你的財務。

Thanks, Chris, and good morning, everyone. Let's move to Slide 11. We ended the second quarter with revenues of $448.8 million, up about 13% from last year. Our regulated water segment contributed $269.4 million, and our regulated natural gas segment contributed $167.7 million, with the balance coming from our limited nonregulated operations. Purchased gas costs increased by $30.2 million due to higher natural gas commodity prices. Thus, gross margin increased year-over-year by $21.5 million. The largest contributors to the increase in gross margin for the quarter were additional revenues from rates and surcharges, customer growth and increased volumes from both our water and natural gas segments.

謝謝，克里斯，大家早上好。讓我們轉到幻燈片 11。我們在第二季度結束時的收入為 4.488 億美元，比去年增長了約 13%。我們受監管的水部門貢獻了 2.694 億美元，受監管的天然氣部門貢獻了 1.677 億美元，餘額來自我們有限的非監管業務。由於天然氣商品價格上漲，購買的天然氣成本增加了 3020 萬美元。因此，毛利率同比增長 2150 萬美元。本季度毛利率增長的最大貢獻是來自費率和附加費的額外收入、客戶增長以及我們的水和天然氣部門的銷量增加。

O&M expenses increased to $135 million for the quarter, up from $127.5 million in the second quarter of last year, recently added acquisitions, increased maintenance expenses and higher water production costs primarily as a result of inflationary pressures were the main drivers for the quarter.

本季度的 O&M 費用從去年第二季度的 1.275 億美元增加到 1.35 億美元，最近增加的收購、增加的維護費用和主要由於通貨膨脹壓力導致的水生產成本增加是該季度的主要驅動力。

Net income was up 1.7% year-over-year from $80.9 million to $82.3 million and GAAP earnings per share decreased to $0.31 from $0.32 for the quarter, given the increase in shares due to the August 2021 settlement of our 6.7 million share forward sale that we did in 2020.

淨收入同比增長 1.7%，從 8090 萬美元增至 8230 萬美元，GAAP 每股收益從本季度的 0.32 美元下降至 0.31 美元，原因是由於 2021 年 8 月結算我們的 670 萬股遠期出售而導致股票增加我們在 2020 年做到了。

Next, we'll walk through the waterfall slide, starting with revenue. In the second quarter of 2022, revenues increased $51.7 million or 13% on a GAAP basis. Similar to the first quarter of the year, you'll notice the primary driver was the recovery of higher purchased gas costs of $30.2 million due to the significant increase in natural gas commodity prices. Rates and surcharges, organic and acquisition growth and increased volumes from both our regulated water segment and our regulated natural gas segment provided an additional $23.7 million towards the revenue increase, which was then offset slightly by other.

接下來，我們將通過瀑布幻燈片，從收入開始。在 2022 年第二季度，按公認會計原則計算，收入增加了 5170 萬美元或 13%。與今年第一季度類似，您會注意到主要驅動因素是由於天然氣商品價格大幅上漲，購買的天然氣成本增加了 3020 萬美元。費率和附加費、有機增長和收購增長以及我們受監管的水部門和受監管的天然氣部門的銷量增加為收入增長提供了額外的 2370 萬美元，然後被其他部分略微抵消。

Next, let's look at the operations and maintenance expenses on Slide 13. Looking at the operations and maintenance waterfall, expenses for the second quarter increased to $135 million compared to $127.5 million for the same period in 2021. Other expenses contributed $3.5 million for the quarter. Other reflect higher outside services costs in the water segment, some of which will be capitalized in the third quarter, offset by higher capitalization in the gas segment aligned with the accelerated pace of capital projects this year. Growth, which reflects the O&M costs of acquired systems in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Texas contributed $2.2 million, and increased production costs in our regulated water segment added an additional $1.5 million. In production costs, the largest inflation-related increases we are experiencing are for chemicals, many of which have seen significant increases year-on-year.

接下來，讓我們看一下幻燈片 13 上的運維費用。從運維瀑布來看，第二季度的費用從 2021 年同期的 1.275 億美元增加到 1.35 億美元。其他費用為本季度貢獻了 350 萬美元.其他反映了水務部門較高的外部服務成本，其中一些將在第三季度資本化，但與今年資本項目加快步伐一致的天然氣部門資本化增加所抵消。增長，這反映了賓夕法尼亞州、伊利諾伊州和德克薩斯州收購系統的 O&M 成本貢獻了 220 萬美元，而我們受監管的水部門增加的生產成本增加了 150 萬美元。在生產成本方面，我們正在經歷的與通貨膨脹相關的最大增長是化學品，其中許多都出現了同比顯著增長。

Employee-related costs added $554,000 and the gas customer assistance program expenses, which are recoverable through a revenue surcharge, increased $524,000. These increased expenses were offset by decreased bad debt of $788,000.

與員工相關的成本增加了 554,000 美元，可通過收入附加費收回的燃氣客戶援助計劃費用增加了 524,000 美元。這些增加的費用被減少的 788,000 美元的壞賬所抵消。

Next, we'll spend a minute on the earnings per share waterfall. Beginning on the left side of the slide, GAAP EPS for the second quarter of 2021 was $0.32. Rates and surcharges contributed $0.03, and growth and increased volume from our regulated water segment added another $0.021 combined. Continuing on, increased volume from our regulated natural gas segment contributed $0.006. These were offset by $0.044 of other items, including increased depreciation, interest and taxes and $0.017 of expenses. The result is a GAAP EPS of $0.31 for the second quarter of 2022, which was in line with the street's expectations. As I noted earlier, the $0.31 also includes the impact of 6.7 million additional shares from the forward equity sale that we settled last August, August of 2021. These shares were thus not in the denominator when the $0.32 from the second quarter of 2021 was calculated.

接下來，我們將花一分鐘了解每股收益瀑布。從幻燈片左側開始，2021 年第二季度的 GAAP 每股收益為 0.32 美元。費率和附加費貢獻了 0.03 美元，而我們受監管的水部門的增長和增加的數量又增加了 0.021 美元。繼續，我們受監管的天然氣部門增加的交易量貢獻了 0.006 美元。這些被 0.044 美元的其他項目抵消，包括增加的折舊、利息和稅收以及 0.017 美元的費用。結果是 2022 年第二季度的 GAAP 每股收益為 0.31 美元，這符合華爾街的預期。正如我之前提到的，0.31 美元還包括我們去年 8 月（2021 年 8 月）結算的遠期股權出售的 670 萬股額外股票的影響。因此，當計算 2021 年第二季度的 0.32 美元時，這些股票不在分母中.

We remain confident in our full year guidance and our ability to deliver on the 5% to 7% earnings growth per share expectation that we set at the beginning of the year.

我們對全年指引以及實現年初設定的每股收益增長 5% 至 7% 的能力充滿信心。

Moving on to rate activity and other regulatory matters on Slide 15. In 2022 so far, we completed rate cases or surcharge filings in our regulated water segment in Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and we completed a rate case in a regulated natural gas segment in Kentucky. The combined total annualized revenue increase is $83.3 million. As many of you are aware, we received our final order in the litigated base rate case for our regulated water segment subsidiary in Pennsylvania. Just to recap, we filed the rate case for our Aqua Pennsylvania subsidiary in August of 2021, which included 6 acquisitions as well as the request for the first water-focused universal services program in Pennsylvania. The primary driver of the rate case filing was the $1.1 billion in capital investments since the last rate case. We were awarded an ROE of 10% by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and additional authorized revenues of $69 million, with new rates effective on May 19, 2022.

繼續討論幻燈片 15 上的費率活動和其他監管事項。截至 2022 年，我們在伊利諾伊州、北卡羅來納州、俄亥俄州和賓夕法尼亞州的受監管水領域完成了費率案例或附加費申報，並在受監管的自然肯塔基州的天然氣部門。年化總收入增長總額為 8330 萬美元。正如你們中的許多人所知，我們收到了我們在賓夕法尼亞州受監管的水部門子公司的訴訟基本費率案件的最終訂單。回顧一下，我們於 2021 年 8 月為我們的 Aqua 賓夕法尼亞子公司提交了費率案例，其中包括 6 次收購以及賓夕法尼亞州第一個以水為重點的普遍服務計劃的請求。利率案提交的主要驅動力是自上次利率案以來的 11 億美元資本投資。賓夕法尼亞州公用事業委員會授予我們 10% 的 ROE 和 6900 萬美元的額外授權收入，新費率於 2022 年 5 月 19 日生效。

And with that, I'll hand it over to Matt to discuss developments in the municipal acquisition program. Matt?

有了這個，我將把它交給馬特討論市政收購計劃的發展。馬特?

Thanks, Dan. I appreciate it. I'll start on Slide 17. Many of you are familiar with the 7 signed asset purchase agreements pending that are shown here in the dark blue boxes, which together add nearly 224,000 customers or customer equivalents and total over $418 million in purchase price. We are pleased to report that last month, we received approval by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for the East Whiteland and Willistown wastewater transactions, which is reflected on this slide. We anticipate closing both of those transactions over the next month.

謝謝，丹。我很感激。我將從幻燈片 17 開始。你們中的許多人都熟悉此處顯示在深藍色框中的 7 份已簽署的資產購買協議，這些協議總共增加了近 224,000 名客戶或客戶等價物，總購買價格超過 4.18 億美元。我們很高興地報告，上個月，我們獲得了賓夕法尼亞州公用事業委員會對東懷特蘭和威利斯敦廢水交易的批准，這反映在這張幻燈片上。我們預計在下個月完成這兩項交易。

Regarding DELCORA, many of you are aware that we submitted a request to the Pennsylvania PUC earlier this year to restart the regulatory approval process after the Commonwealth Court decision on March 3, 2022, wherein the court acknowledged the enforceability of our asset purchase agreement with DELCORA. We are now currently awaiting an order from the Common Pleas Court that is consistent with the Commonwealth Court's decision. On July 14, the Pennsylvania PUC also remanded the approval proceeding back to the administrative law judge for review in a prompt manner. The order for this was then formally entered on July 26. Given these developments, we remain comfortable in the closing time line we laid out earlier this year and continue to have DELCORA included in our long-term guidance starting in 2023. We expect to close the other 4 transactions on this slide by later this year, or in the first half of 2023.

關於 DELCORA，你們中的許多人都知道，在聯邦法院於 2022 年 3 月 3 日作出裁決後，我們在今年早些時候向賓夕法尼亞州 PUC 提交了重新啟動監管批准程序的請求，其中法院承認我們與 DELCORA 的資產購買協議的可執行性.我們目前正在等待普通辯護法院的命令，該命令與聯邦法院的決定一致。 7 月 14 日，賓夕法尼亞州 PUC 還及時將批准程序退回行政法法官審查。隨後於 7 月 26 日正式簽訂了此訂單。鑑於這些事態發展，我們對今年早些時候制定的關閉時間表感到滿意，並繼續將 DELCORA 納入我們從 2023 年開始的長期指導中。我們預計將關閉這張幻燈片上的其他 4 筆交易將在今年晚些時候或 2023 年上半年進行。

Moving on to Slide 18. I would like to cover the exciting development with Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority. As Chris referenced earlier, last month, it was announced that we were selected as the sole company to move forward with discussions regarding the sale of the authorities wastewater assets. Aqua Pennsylvania was granted a 1-year exclusivity agreement based on the Authority Board's determination that our terms were the most beneficial to its customers, employees and other constituents along with the residents and taxpayers of Bucks County. We have not yet signed an asset purchase agreement. Therefore, it is not included in our current pending acquisition numbers, but we did want to provide you with some of the details regarding the potential acquisition.

繼續幻燈片 18。我想介紹雄鹿縣供水和下水道管理局的激動人心的發展。正如克里斯早些時候提到的那樣，上個月宣布，我們被選為唯一一家就出售當局廢水資產進行討論的公司。根據管理局董事會的決定，Aqua Pennsylvania 獲得了為期 1 年的獨家協議，即我們的條款對其客戶、員工和其他選民以及 Bucks 縣的居民和納稅人最有利。我們尚未簽署資產購買協議。因此，它不包括在我們當前的待定收購數量中，但我們確實想向您提供有關潛在收購的一些詳細信息。

Our bid is for $1.1 billion in total for the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority wastewater system assets with the majority of this paid upfront and the rest paid over time. The system serves approximately 75,000 customer connections and approximately 130,000 equivalent dwelling units, given the 14 other wholesale wastewater contracts. There are 15 plants with a combined total capacity of about 50 million gallons per day, approximately 115 pumping stations and the system has approximately 900 miles of sewer pipe. In addition to Bucks County, the authority also has service areas and own assets in both Montgomery County and Chester County. This is a very, very exciting opportunity for our company which will more than double our existing wastewater connections in Pennsylvania. We hope to have more news to share on this exciting development, including the potential signing of an asset purchase agreement in the near future.

我們的投標總額為 11 億美元，用於購買 Bucks 縣供水和下水道管理局廢水系統資產，其中大部分是預付的，其餘部分是分期支付的。考慮到其他 14 份廢水批發合同，該系統為大約 75,000 個客戶連接和大約 130,000 個等效住宅單元提供服務。有 15 家工廠，總產能約為每天 5000 萬加侖，大約有 115 個泵站，系統有大約 900 英里的下水道。除雄鹿縣外，該機構還在蒙哥馬利縣和切斯特縣設有服務區和自有資產。這對我們公司來說是一個非常非常令人興奮的機會，它將使我們在賓夕法尼亞州現有的廢水連接增加一倍以上。我們希望有更多關於這一激動人心的發展的消息可以分享，包括在不久的將來可能簽署資產購買協議。

Moving on to Slide 19. In addition to the signed municipal transactions, and with the most recent announcements, our pipeline of opportunities for growth remains strong and healthy. The competitive amount of upfront capital we provide, along with our technical and operational expertise and long-term rate stability continued to demonstrate our value proposition to municipal systems. We continue to focus on growth in all 8 of our water and wastewater states, given we have fair market value legislation in place in each. Currently, we are engaged in active discussions with municipalities, and pursuing approximately 410,000 potential water and wastewater customers as illustrated in the table you see here. And I will note that this pipeline no longer includes the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority wastewater customers.

轉到幻燈片 19。除了已簽署的市政交易以及最近的公告，我們的增長機會渠道仍然強勁和健康。我們提供的具有競爭力的前期資金數量，以及我們的技術和運營專業知識以及長期的利率穩定性，繼續證明了我們對市政系統的價值主張。鑑於我們在每個州都有公平的市場價值立法，我們將繼續專注於我們所有 8 個水和廢水州的增長。目前，我們正在與市政當局進行積極討論，並尋求大約 410,000 名潛在的水和廢水客戶，如您在此處看到的表格所示。我會注意到，這條管道不再包括雄鹿縣供水和下水道管理局的廢水客戶。

Now I'll hand it back to Chris.

現在我會把它還給克里斯。

Thanks, Matt. I mentioned earlier in the call that when the Board met this week, they declared a 7% increase to our quarterly dividend. This marks the 32nd increase in 31 years, and the 77th consecutive year of quarterly dividend payments, supporting our consistent record of delivering shareholder value. Now following the increase, the annualized dividend rate will be nearly $1.15 per share. And this slide demonstrates the annual dividend growth that we've consistently provided for shareholders over the years.

謝謝，馬特。我早些時候在電話會議中提到，當董事會本週開會時，他們宣布將我們的季度股息增加 7%。這是 31 年來的第 32 次增長，也是連續第 77 年季度派息，支持了我們為股東創造價值的一貫記錄。現在隨著增長，年化股息率將接近每股 1.15 美元。這張幻燈片展示了我們多年來一直為股東提供的年度股息增長。

Let me wrap up on Slide 22 by reaffirming our 2022 guidance. We continue to expect to earn between $1.75 and $1.80 per share. We remain confident that our 3-year earnings per share growth will be 5% to 7% through 2024, and our capital plans remain on track as we anticipate investing approximately $1 billion a year to rehabilitate and strengthen water, wastewater and natural gas systems through 2024. Rate base is expected to continue to grow between 6% to 7% for water and between 8% and 10% for natural gas. Customer growth is expected to be between 2% and 3% on average for water, and stable in natural gas. And finally, we remain committed, as we've discussed, to our ESG targets, and we'll continue to report on our progress as things develop, including a year-end report for all of you.

讓我通過重申我們的 2022 年指導來結束幻燈片 22。我們繼續預計每股收益在 1.75 美元至 1.80 美元之間。我們仍然相信，到 2024 年，我們的 3 年每股收益增長將達到 5% 至 7%，我們的資本計劃仍將按計劃進行，因為我們預計每年將投資約 10 億美元，通過以下方式修復和加強水、廢水和天然氣系統2024. 水費基數預計將繼續增長 6% 至 7%，天然氣將繼續增長 8% 至 10%。水的客戶增長預計平均在 2% 到 3% 之間，而天然氣的客戶增長則保持穩定。最後，正如我們所討論的，我們將繼續致力於實現我們的 ESG 目標，隨著事情的發展，我們將繼續報告我們的進展，包括為你們所有人提供的年終報告。

And this concludes our formal remarks. And why don't we open the line for questions at this point?

我們的正式發言到此結束。我們為什麼不在此時打開提問的熱線呢？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

We will take the first question from Insoo Kim from Golden Sach.

我們將回答 Golden Sach 的 Insoo Kim 的第一個問題。

First question on that pending, the discussions with the Bucks County. I guess, near term, we'll see if there's an APA that's signed. Looking through that, I guess, the difference in -- or the -- I guess, the breakout of the media payment versus the ones over time and thinking about potentially the percentage of those that kind of cascaded down into the rate base. Any rule of thumb or initial thoughts on how we should think about that?

關於這個懸而未決的第一個問題，與雄鹿縣的討論。我想，在短期內，我們會看看是否有簽署的 APA。縱觀這一點，我猜想，隨著時間的推移，媒體支付與媒體支付的突破之間的差異，並考慮潛在的那些下降到費率基礎的百分比。關於我們應該如何考慮的任何經驗法則或初步想法？

Yes. I can take that one. Thanks, Insoo. So really, the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority Board wanted to ensure an ongoing revenue stream over time. And therefore, we entered into a retained capacity agreement for a portion of its wastewater treatment capacity. So basically, as development occurs in their service territory, we'll purchase that retained capacity. And then once we purchase it, we'll be out included in our rate base going forward in order to service these new homes and businesses that come online.

是的。我可以拿那個。謝謝，Insoo。真的，雄鹿縣供水和下水道管理局委員會希望確保隨著時間的推移持續的收入流。因此，我們就其部分廢水處理能力簽訂了保留產能協議。所以基本上，隨著他們服務領域的發展，我們將購買保留的容量。然後，一旦我們購買了它，我們將被包含在我們的費率基礎中，以便為這些上線的新住宅和企業提供服務。

So the $195 million that we referenced on the slide, it will actually be paid out over a very long period of time. It could be in the range of 50 to 100 years, but it really all depends on the level of development in that service area.

因此，我們在幻燈片中提到的 1.95 億美元實際上將在很長一段時間內支付。它可能在 50 到 100 年的範圍內，但這實際上完全取決於該服務領域的發展水平。

Okay. Then in that the immediate $935 million, any -- what percentage that we could think of that ultimately goes immediately into rate base if this does happen on close?

好的。那麼在這直接的 9.35 億美元中，如果這確實發生在收盤時，我們能想到的最終會立即進入利率基礎的百分比是多少？

Yes. That's going to be dependent upon, as you know, the fair market value process and the Public Utility Commission's view of things. But we feel good about our purchase price, and we think we'll make a strong case with our UBs for inclusion in rate base. But it's hard for us to predict exactly what that will be before we run through the process.

是的。如您所知，這將取決於公平的市場價值流程和公用事業委員會對事物的看法。但我們對我們的購買價格感覺良好，並且我們認為我們會為我們的 UB 提供強有力的理由，將其納入費率基礎。但在我們完成整個過程之前，我們很難準確預測會發生什麼。

Got it. And then I guess somewhat related to that, and then from a balance sheet and financing perspective, given that this pretty large potential acquisitions out there. When we look over the next 12 months or beyond, is the larger potential equity issuance going to be tied to potentially this agreement and the acquisition? Or could we see something a little bit sooner?

知道了。然後我想這有點相關，然後從資產負債表和融資的角度來看，考慮到這相當大的潛在收購。當我們展望未來 12 個月或更長時間時，更大的潛在股票發行是否會與潛在的該協議和收購相關聯？或者我們能早一點看到一些東西嗎？

Yes. Insoo, I think that's something we're still evaluating today. I mean, this is relatively new news in terms of Bucks County. And then, of course, we've got expectations around DELCORA. So we're really reevaluating how much equity need and what the timing is for that equity, and really the means of raising that equity.

是的。 Insoo，我認為這是我們今天仍在評估的東西。我的意思是，就雄鹿縣而言，這是一個相對較新的消息。然後，當然，我們對 DELCORA 抱有期望。所以我們真的在重新評估股權需要多少，股權的時機是什麼，以及真正提高股權的方式。

Yes. And just to add to that, Dan. We know that upon signing of the asset purchase agreement, we probably have, call it, 9 to 12 months as you all know, of regulatory process. So given we're not quite at the signing of the APA, we have plenty of time to consider timing of equity needs, as Dan said correctly.

是的。只是補充一點，丹。我們知道，在簽署資產購買協議後，眾所周知，我們可能有 9 到 12 個月的監管流程。因此，鑑於我們還沒有完全簽署 APA，我們有足夠的時間來考慮股權需求的時間安排，正如 Dan 所說的那樣。

Okay. And just one more if I could on that on the balance sheet aspect. Over -- whether it's trailing 12 months or whether -- what your expectations are for '22 from an FFO to debt perspective, accounting for the future potential equity with the acquisitions, are you looking to get to at least the 13% level?

好的。如果我可以在資產負債表方面再做一個。結束 - 無論是過去的 12 個月還是 - 從 FFO 到債務的角度，您對 22 年的期望是什麼，考慮到收購的未來潛在股權，您是否希望至少達到 13% 的水平？

I think when we look at our FFO to debt, and the conversations with both agencies have effectively had 12% is our downgrade threshold. But what that's been communicated is if we were consistently below 12%, we would be having conversations with respect to that. So it's our intent, as we finance transactions and as we finance our significant CapEx program to keep that FFO to debt above that 12% level on an ongoing basis. But I wouldn't say that 13% is a near-term target for us, Insoo.

我認為當我們查看我們對債務的 FFO 時，與兩家機構的對話實際上已經有 12% 是我們的降級門檻。但是已經傳達的是，如果我們始終低於 12%，我們將就此進行對話。因此，我們的意圖是，在我們為交易融資和為重要的資本支出計劃融資時，將 FFO 的債務持續保持在 12% 以上的水平。但我不會說 13% 是我們 Insoo 的近期目標。

Your next question is from Durgesh Chopra from Evercore ISI.

您的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Durgesh Chopra。

And I saw the added responsibility for Mr. Dingerdissen, so he's never going home now. Congrats, Dan. Okay. So just -- congrats on the Bucks County deal, you've answered all the questions that I had there. I just wanted to just check in on the Inflation Reduction Act. Obviously, you won't qualify from a size perspective for the alternative minimum tax. So that's not an area of concern. Anything that us and investors should be watching that impacts your business on the Inflation Reduction Act?

而且我看到了丁格迪森先生的額外責任，所以他現在永遠不會回家。恭喜，丹。好的。所以——恭喜你與雄鹿郡的交易，你已經回答了我在那裡遇到的所有問題。我只是想檢查一下《減少通貨膨脹法》。顯然，從規模的角度來看，您沒有資格獲得替代最低稅。所以這不是一個值得關注的領域。我們和投資者應該注意哪些會影響您在《通貨膨脹減少法案》中的業務的事情？

No. I mean I think that's the primary one that's sort of the quickest to identify and kind of look at it and say, no, we're not hitting that $1 billion threshold yet, so we wouldn't be impacted by that minimum tax immediately. And then like everybody else, I think we're still waiting through it to understand what the real impact could be. But nothing at this point is hitting the radar screen as being significant.

不，我的意思是我認為這是最快速識別和看待它的主要方法，然後說，不，我們還沒有達到 10 億美元的門檻，所以我們不會受到最低稅收的影響立即地。然後像其他人一樣，我認為我們仍在等待通過它來了解真正的影響可能是什麼。但在這一點上，雷達屏幕上沒有什麼是重要的。

Got it. I just wanted to check in. And then just on pension, can you remind us what your accounting policy is as we think about 2023, some of your electric and water utility peers use this mark-to-market accounting where they could have a significant headwind next year. Maybe just any color there? And can you remind us what your accounting policy is?

知道了。我只是想檢查一下。然後就養老金而言，你能提醒我們你的會計政策是什麼，因為我們對 2023 年的看法是，你的一些電力和水務公用事業同行使用這種按市值計價的會計，他們可能會產生重大影響明年逆風。也許那裡只是任何顏色？您能提醒我們您的會計政策是什麼嗎？

Yes. Let me give you a few points on the pension. The Aqua pension, which is the majority of the employees think about are really -- that pension has been frozen since 2003 to new entrants. So we have people that are in it, but they joined it before 2003. And in the last few years, we started a glide path in terms of our investment allocation there. And so in that, as we've become more fully funded, we've materially reduced our exposure to equities and other risk assets. So at this point, Durgesh, we're effectively 100% funded for the bulk of our obligations. And we continue to have pension contributions as part of our rate structure. So when we think about pension, it's something that we manage, but it's not something that we worry about.

是的。讓我給你一些關於養老金的觀點。大多數員工真正想到的 Aqua 養老金實際上是 - 自 2003 年以來，新進入者的養老金已被凍結。所以我們有一些人參與其中，但他們是在 2003 年之前加入的。在過去的幾年裡，我們在那裡的投資分配方面開始了一條下滑的道路。因此，隨著我們的資金更加充足，我們大幅減少了對股票和其他風險資產的敞口。因此，在這一點上，Durgesh，我們實際上已經為我們的大部分義務提供了 100% 的資金。我們繼續將養老金繳款作為我們費率結構的一部分。因此，當我們考慮養老金時，這是我們管理的事情，但不是我們擔心的事情。

The next question is from Ryan Connors from Northcoast Research.

下一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Ryan Connors。

I wanted to talk about the M&A pipeline from a little different perspective. And I want to get your thoughts on sort of the public narratives out there. Obviously, as you add larger deals to the pipeline and a major press market like Philly, you also raised more press coverage, which tends to skew kind of locally here and then you bring more of the food and water watch types in greater numbers, and that's been apparent at some of the recent coverage locally. And I'm curious, my question is -- and we do believe that, that has been a factor in some of the pushback on DELCORA funnels up to some of those leaders. So what is your strategy for kind of taking control of that narrative and making sure that your side of the story gets out there? I mean, you did some great comments on this call, Chris, but this obviously isn't the forum to reach that broader audience. I mean just curious how you can strategize around making sure you get equal play with some of the detractors there.

我想從不同的角度談談併購渠道。我想听聽你對那裡的一些公共敘述的看法。顯然，當你向管道和像費城這樣的主要媒體市場添加更大的交易時，你也增加了更多的媒體報導，這往往會在當地產生偏差，然後你會帶來更多的食物和水錶類型，並且這在最近的一些本地報導中很明顯。我很好奇，我的問題是 - 我們確實相信，這是一些對 DELCORA 漏斗的一些抵制的一個因素。那麼你有什麼策略來控制這種敘述並確保你的故事出現在那裡？我的意思是，克里斯，你在這次電話會議上發表了一些很棒的評論，但這顯然不是接觸更廣泛受眾的論壇。我的意思是好奇你如何制定策略，以確保你與那裡的一些批評者平等競爭。

Yes. A couple of observations, and Matt may have some as well. But I think, number one, we have a pretty defined strategy, communication strategy, which includes -- we're up with microsites and websites that put full information out there. We -- for the hearings that we had for Bucks County, we organized them much like an expo so that constituencies interested would get a full view of the company's expertise, its people and how we perform. So it wasn't a rose of chairs and everybody throwing rocks at each other. It's it was much more collaborative.

是的。一些觀察，馬特可能也有一些觀察。但我認為，第一，我們有一個非常明確的戰略，溝通戰略，其中包括 - 我們建立了微型網站和網站，將完整的信息放在那裡。我們 - 對於我們為雄鹿縣舉行的聽證會，我們將它們組織得更像一場博覽會，以便感興趣的選民全面了解公司的專業知識、員工和我們的表現。所以這不是椅子上的玫瑰花，每個人都互相扔石頭。這是更多的協作。

I realize that that's not what our opponents want. They want a rose of chair so they can yell and scream. But also an observation I would make that we've seen more recently is outsiders -- food and water watch in this case and to some degree other local organizers who have become professionals at this, I think are viewed and have been viewed in some of the Bucks County work as outsiders. Remember, even in this case, and I'll use this as an example, but it would apply to Chester and DELCORA and others. We live here, we work here. We're part of the fabric of this community. We're not from Washington, D.C. coming up here trying to agitate.

我意識到這不是我們的對手想要的。他們想要一朵椅子上的玫瑰，這樣他們就可以大喊大叫了。但我還要觀察一下，我們最近看到的是局外人——在這種情況下，食物和水觀察，在某種程度上，其他地方組織者已經成為這方面的專業人士，我認為在一些雄鹿縣作為局外人工作。請記住，即使在這種情況下，我也會以此為例，但它適用於 Chester 和 DELCORA 以及其他人。我們住在這裡，我們在這里工作。我們是這個社區結構的一部分。我們不是華盛頓特區的人來這裡試圖煽動。

And so I think those are important factors. I'm not saying that there weren't involved constituencies who had to say, particularly in some of these, because there are. But I would say it's being led, the most active agitation is being led by outsiders. I think that's being recognized.

所以我認為這些都是重要的因素。我並不是說沒有涉及的選區不得不說，尤其是在其中一些方面，因為有。但我會說它是被領導的，最積極的鼓動是由外人領導的。我認為這是被認可的。

Yes. Look, I think we have a very compelling value proposition for municipalities. And I think municipalities see it, right? They understand everything we bring to the table but we're not always going to be able to convince these outsiders that don't really know the whole story, right? They have a set agenda. And we're less concerned with those folks and more worried about making sure the value proposition gets to the people that need it in our communities.

是的。看，我認為我們對市政當局有一個非常引人注目的價值主張。我認為市政當局看到了，對吧？他們了解我們帶來的一切，但我們並不總是能夠說服這些並不真正了解整個故事的局外人，對吧？他們有一個既定的議程。而且我們不太關心那些人，而是更擔心確保價值主張能夠傳遞給我們社區中需要它的人。

And those outsiders are largely anti-privatization. So it's not how do I operate by wastewater or my water plant. It's really about I don't want my assets privatized. So it's a philosophy rather than an economic or a commonsense approach. So I hope, Brian, over time, that those win the day but we have to take these one at a time. And as you know, we take them very seriously.

而那些局外人在很大程度上是反私有化的。所以這不是我如何通過廢水或我的自來水廠運營。這真的是關於我不希望我的資產私有化。所以這是一種哲學，而不是一種經濟或常識的方法。所以我希望，布賴恩，隨著時間的推移，那些人會贏得勝利，但我們必須一次接一次。如您所知，我們非常重視它們。

Yes. Yes. Okay. Yes, that's great color. I wanted to ask also about -- it was interesting hearing this week on SB 597, which I guess is the water quality accountability legislation in PA. Mark and Chris did a great job there. And wanted to see if, Chris, if you had any updated thoughts on whether that becomes a law or not, and what the impact of that could be for Aqua?

是的。是的。好的。是的，這是很棒的顏色。我還想問一下——本週關於 SB 597 的聽證會很有趣，我猜這是賓夕法尼亞州的水質責任立法。馬克和克里斯在那裡做得很好。克里斯，想看看你是否對這是否成為法律有任何更新的想法，這對 Aqua 有什麼影響？

Yes. We're very proud of the team we testified up there, and we try to be very thoughtful in our comments. Listen, you know Ryan, you studied this stuff. This is simply leveling the playing field. We can make this a cost item or however the opposition wants to portray it. But the reality is we're just asking all utilities to provide the same level of service and replacement cycles and everything else that we do under the guidance of the Public Utility Commission. And so we think it's very reasonable. It's hard to read legislators in terms of how they'll react, but I think they're probably at this point in the process of digesting all of that information and testimony, and I think we'll get a much better read on the options for proceeding through the committee and then to the floor of the house as we did in the Senate in the coming weeks when the legislature comes back into session in September. But listen, I think it's important legislation, and we're going to continue to press hard. But ultimately, it will be up to the committee Chairman and legislators.

是的。我們為我們在那裡作證的團隊感到非常自豪，我們試圖在我們的評論中非常周到。聽著，你知道瑞恩，你研究過這些東西。這只是公平的競爭環境。我們可以把它作為一個成本項目，或者反對派想要描繪它。但現實情況是，我們只是要求所有公用事業公司提供相同水平的服務和更換週期，以及我們在公用事業委員會的指導下所做的一切。所以我們認為這是非常合理的。很難理解立法者的反應，但我認為他們可能正處於消化所有信息和證詞的過程中，我認為我們會更好地閱讀這些選項在接下來的幾週內，當立法機關在 9 月重新開會時，我們會像我們在參議院所做的那樣，通過委員會，然後進入眾議院。但是聽著，我認為這是重要的立法，我們將繼續努力施壓。但最終，這將取決於委員會主席和立法者。

Yes. Okay. And then lastly, this is more of a housekeeping. But Dan -- and apologies if you mentioned this, I might have missed it. But the tax rate did kind of jump, and kind of one of the higher ones we've seen in a few years. So is that -- is this -- any forward guidance for us or -- on what we expect now in the tax line?

是的。好的。最後，這更像是家務。但是丹——如果你提到這一點，我很抱歉，我可能錯過了。但稅率確實有所上升，是我們幾年來見過的更高的稅率之一。那麼 - 這是 - 對我們的任何前瞻性指導，還是 - 關於我們現在對稅項的期望？

Yes. So Ryan, I would look for full year 2022 to be just below 0, meaning a little bit of a benefit on the tax line. And as you know, kind of at this point, we're getting tax benefit on the people side because of where we are in terms of the repair cycle, we're -- we have a normal provision, if you will, on the water side, and you blend these 2 together. So I think it's an interesting quarter tax-wise, when you look at it. But I think look also -- look year-to-date, but I think slightly -- a slight negative effective tax rate or think of it as a benefit for full year 2022.

是的。所以瑞安，我希望 2022 年全年略低於 0，這意味著在稅線上有一點好處。正如你所知道的，在這一點上，由於我們在維修週期方面所處的位置，我們正在從人員方面獲得稅收優惠，我們 - 如果你願意的話，我們有一個正常的規定，關於水邊，你把這兩個混合在一起。因此，當您查看它時，我認為這是一個有趣的季度稅收。但我認為看起來也 - 看看年初至今，但我認為輕微 - 輕微的負有效稅率或將其視為 2022 年全年的好處。

The next question is from Travis Miller from Morningstar.

下一個問題來自晨星的 Travis Miller。

First question, I was thinking about customer bills. I think you have a unique perspective in that you have the gas side and the water side. How are you seeing the trajectory, especially on the commodity side, between the gas bills and water bills, obviously, gas prices being high? How is that going to affect the winter? And then what are you seeing in terms of water bills relative to what we've been seeing on gas bills.

第一個問題，我在考慮客戶賬單。我認為你有一個獨特的視角，因為你有氣側和水側。您如何看待天然氣賬單和水費之間的軌跡，尤其是在商品方面，顯然，天然氣價格很高？這對冬天有什麼影響？然後你在水費方面看到了什麼，相對於我們在煤氣費上看到的。

Let's start with water. Clearly, we don't have the same kind of commodity or fuel charge that we have in natural gas. So the commodity is relatively inexpensive. The cost really associated with that is the pipe to get there in our replacement projects along with the enhancements of our plants as we talked about with PFOS, PFOA. So clearly, the trajectory is going higher. What we've tried to do in this inflationary period is contain cost as best we can, right? So we're continuing to focus on capital projects that reduce operating expense.

讓我們從水開始。顯然，我們沒有與天然氣相同的商品或燃料費用。所以商品相對便宜。真正與此相關的成本是在我們的替代項目中到達那裡的管道，以及我們對 PFOS、PFOA 所討論的工廠的改進。很明顯，軌跡正在走高。在這個通貨膨脹時期，我們試圖做的是盡我們所能控製成本，對吧？因此，我們將繼續專注於降低運營費用的資本項目。

And so on the water side, the cost increases or rate increases, if you will, are largely based on capital investment, and some now on inflation, but we're working very hard to mitigate some of those.

等等在水方面，成本增加或費率增加，如果你願意的話，主要是基於資本投資，現在有些是通貨膨脹，但我們正在努力減輕其中的一些。

On gas, obviously, the commodity cost is up. Now there's been some moderation as we put about 49% of our gas in the ground during the summer that we'll ultimately use in the winter time. So we try to take advantage of that as best we can. But clearly, when we look at it on a year-over-year basis, natural gas is much higher this year than it was last. And so therefore, the winter bills our customers will see in the winter coming up will be higher based on that commodity cost than they were last year. Dan, do you want to put more color on that?

顯然，在天然氣方面，商品成本上漲。現在有了一些節制，因為我們在夏季將大約 49% 的天然氣放在地下，最終將在冬季使用。所以我們盡量利用這一點。但很明顯，當我們逐年查看時，今年的天然氣價格比去年高得多。因此，基於商品成本，我們的客戶將在冬季看到的冬季賬單將比去年更高。丹，你想在上面加點顏色嗎？

Yes. Real quick, Chris. I guess I think of it as our customers tend to use kind of 90 Mcf a year, maybe 100. So in rough numbers, think about for each $1 and the increase to commodity cost, the bill would increase by $90 to $100. So if we're at -- gas it's $2 more per year this year, you think about it as the annual bill being maybe $200 more in 2022, 2023 heating season than we saw last year.

是的。真快，克里斯。我想我認為這是因為我們的客戶傾向於每年使用 90 Mcf，也許是 100。所以粗略計算，考慮每 1 美元和商品成本的增加，賬單將增加 90 美元到 100 美元。因此，如果我們在 - 今年的天然氣費用每年增加 2 美元，您可以將其視為 2022 年和 2023 年供暖季節的年度賬單可能比我們去年看到的多 200 美元。

Yes. Now Travis, we have significant safety that's in place, right? Not only the federal lie heap dollars for natural gas and lie up dollars on the water side, but we also have CAP programs, or customer assistance programs. And on the gas side, call that in the range of $35 million a year. And on the water side, it's growing because we just put the universal service program in with the last rate case that was finalized in May of this year. So it's not as significant as natural gas, but we are working hard to make sure that the safety net is there for folks who really have a hard time paying their bills.

是的。現在，特拉維斯，我們已經有了重要的安全措施，對吧？不僅聯邦在天然氣方面存錢，在水方面存錢，而且我們還有 CAP 計劃或客戶援助計劃。在天然氣方面，每年大約 3500 萬美元。在水方面，它正在增長，因為我們剛剛在今年 5 月完成的最後一個費率案例中加入了普遍服務計劃。所以它不像天然氣那麼重要，但我們正在努力確保為那些真正難以支付賬單的人們提供安全網。

Okay. Got it. Makes sense. And then if we go back to the comments you made earlier on the EPA federal regulations, would you classify that more as capital investment opportunity? Or is there some risk there that could increase O&M costs that you might not get recovery of?

好的。知道了。說得通。然後，如果我們回到您之前對 EPA 聯邦法規所做的評論，您會更多地將其歸類為資本投資機會嗎？或者是否存在一些可能會增加您可能無法收回的運維成本的風險？

Now we'd expect full recovery of all investments to comply with federal law. And so we don't think there's any exposure there. I will say that -- when we talked about our initial commitments, when we put the 13 parts of petroleum standard in against an HAL, health advisory level, of 70 parts, we did take some level of risk that, that -- some of that wouldn't be recovered because it wasn't -- it was in some ways, exceeding federal law. But the discussion with regulators has been very, very positive. And so far, there have been no regulators who had thought we should not recover those operating -- or capital expenses.

現在，我們預計所有投資都將完全收回，以符合聯邦法律。所以我們認為那裡沒有任何風險。我會說——當我們談到我們最初的承諾時，當我們將石油標準的 13 部分與 70 部分的 HAL、健康諮詢水平相比較時，我們確實承擔了一定程度的風險，即——這不會被追回，因為它不是——它在某些方面超出了聯邦法律。但與監管機構的討論非常非常積極。到目前為止，還沒有監管機構認為我們不應該收回那些運營或資本支出。

Now we'll see where the maximum contaminant level comes in this fall. And if that should drop our standard from, call it, 13 to 10 or less, we would, of course, move immediately to comply with that federal law like everybody else would be, but we would expect full recovery. We also expect that, that could open up some opportunities for us to help other municipals who may not be able to afford it or don't have the expertise that we have in meeting those compliance rules.

現在我們來看看今年秋天最大的污染物水平在哪裡。如果這會使我們的標準從 13 降至 10 或更低，我們當然會像其他人一樣立即採取行動遵守該聯邦法律，但我們預計會完全恢復。我們還希望，這可以為我們提供一些機會來幫助可能無法負擔或不具備我們在滿足這些合規規則方面的專業知識的其他市政當局。

The next question is from Ryan Greenwald from Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Ryan Greenwald。

Brian, congratulations on the new role. Maybe just a follow-up on the equity. So I think you guys have talked about potential for a $500 million ATM. Is that still kind of in the cards in the near term? Or is that on pause right now kind of pending firm or developments on Bucks and maybe some other moving pieces?

布賴恩，祝賀你擔任新角色。也許只是對股權的跟進。所以我認為你們已經談到了 5 億美元 ATM 的潛力。在短期內，這仍然存在嗎？或者，現在暫停的公司或雄鹿隊的發展，也許還有其他一些動人的事情？

Yes. It's really the latter of those. I think given that the recent progress on books and as we think about DELCORA, the exact timing and format and quantum of the equity raise is still in flux.

是的。確實是後者。我認為，鑑於最近在書籍方面的進展以及我們對 DELCORA 的思考，股權融資的確切時間、形式和數量仍在不斷變化。

Got it. And then any initial expectations on benefits that could accrue to you guys from the recent move by the governor to reduce the tax rate in Pennsylvania? And how that could kind of factor in any rate case dynamics here?

知道了。然後，對於州長最近採取的降低賓夕法尼亞州稅率的舉措可能會給你們帶來的好處的任何初步預期？以及這如何影響這裡的任何利率案例動態？

Yes. Actually, in Pennsylvania, we have -- it's called [STAS], but it's really a process by which as their state tax rate changes, those result in an adjustment to the rates that our customers charge. So as the corporate comes down, we'll be passing those benefits back to our customers.

是的。實際上，在賓夕法尼亞州，我們有 - 它被稱為 [STAS]，但這實際上是一個過程，隨著州稅率的變化，這會導致我們客戶收取的稅率發生調整。因此，隨著公司倒閉，我們將把這些好處回饋給我們的客戶。

Understood. And then any updated thoughts just in terms of Chester?

明白了。然後就切斯特而言有任何更新的想法嗎？

Yes. So we continue to move through the legal process. You know the case is still at the Supreme Court, and they have not yet ruled. The receiver continues his work. We expect him to wrap up actually next year. And in the meantime, there will be a Board member changed every 5 years, the Board of the Chester Water Authority comes up for renewal. We expect that there will be at least 3 new members of that Board. And -- so they're up, call it, August 15, or in that range. And so we'll see what the new Board has an appetite for. And I think we'll watch to see those developments. But other than that, I think it's on the course to wait for the court hearings.

是的。因此，我們繼續通過法律程序。你知道這個案子還在最高法院，他們還沒有裁決。接收者繼續他的工作。我們預計他將在明年結束。同時，董事會成員每 5 年更換一次，切斯特水務局董事會將進行更新。我們預計該委員會將至少有 3 名新成員。而且 - 所以他們起來了，稱之為，8 月 15 日，或者在那個範圍內。因此，我們將看看新董事會對什麼有興趣。我認為我們會觀察這些事態發展。但除此之外，我認為等待法庭聽證會是在路上。

Next question from Jonathan Reeder from Wells Fargo.

來自富國銀行的 Jonathan Reeder 的下一個問題。

So on DELCORA, besides the commission voting to restart the process and kicking it back at ALJ, have there been any other developments, like as a time frame for getting a new proposed decision been outlined?

因此，在 DELCORA 上，除了委員會投票重新啟動流程並將其退回 ALJ 之外，是否還有任何其他進展，例如概述了獲得新提議決定的時間框架？

Well, the ALJ has asked for the preliminary hearing, which I think is in the next week here, on Tuesday. And so we expect that, that schedule would be -- come as a result of that hearing. So I would say in the next week or so, we'll know what that schedule looks like. And we hope that the ALJ would adhere to the commission's desire to move swiftly, promptly, as they say.

好吧，ALJ 已要求舉行初步聽證會，我認為是在下週，即周二舉行。因此，我們預計，該時間表將是 - 作為聽證會的結果。所以我會說在接下來的一周左右，我們會知道那個時間表是什麼樣子的。我們希望 ALJ 會堅持委員會的願望，如他們所說的那樣迅速、迅速地採取行動。

Okay. And then can you remind us -- I know you said you're comfortable kind of your assumptions around DELCORA and closing. Can you remind us what is assumed in your guidance as it relates to kind of the timing of the close? I'm assuming it's the current purchase price that you guys assume stuff like that. Just run through that stuff again.

好的。然後你能提醒我們——我知道你說過你對關於 DELCORA 和結束的假設很滿意。您能否提醒我們您的指導中假設的與收盤時間有關的內容？我假設這是你們假設的當前購買價格。再次瀏覽那些東西。

Yes. So what we have included in our guidance would be -- full year 2023, we'd have DELCORA included in our numbers. And if you do kind of simple rate base math on the purchase price, you will get pretty close to the net income assumption there.

是的。因此，我們在指導中包含的內容是——2023 年全年，我們的數據中包含了 DELCORA。而且，如果您根據購買價格進行簡單的基於利率的數學計算，您將非常接近那裡的淨收入假設。

Okay. So you're kind of assuming year-end 2022 close and then the 20 -- or the $277 million purchase price. All right.

好的。因此，您有點假設 2022 年底收盤，然後是 20 美元——或 2.77 億美元的購買價格。好的。

Correct.

正確的。

Got you. And then, Dan, for you the last, in terms of like O&M expense, it looks like it kind of normalized a bit in Q2 after the Q1 abnormalities. Did you say some of the stuff in that kind of other bucket that had the $3.5 million increase this quarter will reverse or be capitalized in the back half of '22?

得到你。然後，丹，最後一個，就運維費用而言，在第一季度異常之後，它看起來在第二季度有點正常化。您是否說本季度增加了 350 萬美元的其他類別中的一些東西將在 22 年下半年逆轉或資本化？

Yes, that's correct. We identified some things after the quarter closed that were outside services expenses, which should be capitalized. So we'll turn those around in the third quarter.

對，那是正確的。我們在本季度結束後發現了一些外部服務費用，應該資本化。所以我們將在第三季度扭轉局面。

Okay. So I think it was around like close to 6% increase this quarter, we should actually be thinking it kind of lower than that if that reversal and...

好的。所以我認為本季度大約增長了近 6%，我們實際上應該認為它比那個低一些，如果這種逆轉和......

Yes, take the 6% or 5.9% that you see, I'd remove the impact of the acquired systems from that and then the impact of the customer assistance program for gas because that just floats based on gas price, and there's a revenue offset to it. And you come down an increase of about 3.7%. Then if you take into account these reversals, it would bring that number to a more moderate level.

是的，以你看到的 6% 或 5.9% 為例，我會從中消除收購系統的影響，然後是天然氣客戶援助計劃的影響，因為這只是根據天然氣價格浮動，並且有收入抵消給它。而你下降了大約 3.7%。然後，如果您考慮到這些逆轉，它將使該數字達到更溫和的水平。

Okay. Okay. So inflation as of now, you have it kind of under control.

好的。好的。所以到目前為止，通貨膨脹，你已經控制住了。

I would say yes, but those inflation impacts are certainly out there in spots related to both capital and expense.

我會說是的，但這些通脹影響肯定存在於與資本和費用相關的地方。

Yes. Jonathan, just think about fuel, right? As 1 chemical goes another...

是的。喬納森，想想燃料，對吧？隨著一種化學物質進入另一種...

Yes. Goes another -- yes, as we said, I think we mentioned chemicals in the prepared remarks, but certain things like chlorine have effectively doubled in price. Now it's volumes, small part of our cost structure, but some significant increases are out there.

是的。另一個 - 是的，正如我們所說，我認為我們在準備好的評論中提到了化學物質，但氯等某些東西的價格實際上翻了一番。現在是數量，只是我們成本結構的一小部分，但已經有了一些顯著的增長。

Okay. Well, great. Good luck in the upcoming months in terms of DELCORA and getting Bucks signed, field and delivered.

好的。嗯，太好了。在接下來的幾個月裡，祝你好運，在德科拉和雄鹿簽約、上場和交付方面。

(Operator Instructions) We will take the next question from Gregg Orrill from UBS.

（操作員說明）我們將回答瑞銀的 Gregg Orrill 的下一個問題。

So on Bucks County, when would you see that being accretive to earnings? And how would that ramp up with fair value accounting?

所以在雄鹿縣，你什麼時候會看到這會增加收入？公允價值會計將如何提高這一點？

Well, I think a couple of ways to think about that. One, we have an asset purchase agreement that we have signed, right, that they have not yet signed. So it -- I think it could be tweaked, right, before it's signed. So we're not entirely clear. Secondly, it will be accretive certainly in rates. But I don't think we're ready to say what that accretion looks like before we put it in rates like so many of these. And then depending on the period of time it takes for us actually to get a signed APA, hopefully, that sooner than later. That time period between now and when we file our next case, also could be longer or shorter. So I think there's a lot of considerations to that. But certainly, as we look at this, the long-term accretion is positive. It's a matter of getting it to rates initially.

好吧，我想了幾種方法來考慮這一點。一，我們有一份資產購買協議，我們已經簽署了，對，他們還沒有簽署。所以它——我認為它可以在簽署之前進行調整。所以我們並不完全清楚。其次，它肯定會增加利率。但我不認為我們已經準備好在我們把它放在像這麼多這樣的速率之前說出這種增長的樣子。然後取決於我們實際獲得簽署的 APA 所需的時間，希望這一時間早於之後。從現在到我們提交下一個案件的這段時間也可能更長或更短。所以我認為有很多考慮因素。但可以肯定的是，當我們看到這一點時，長期增長是積極的。最初是讓它達到價格的問題。

We have a follow-up question from Insoo Kim.

我們有來自 Insoo Kim 的後續問題。

I might ask this a little bit cautiously. I guess in the utility industry, I think over the past year, there have been maybe a couple of utilities that when they had the financing needs through equity, have sold at least just a portion of one of the jurisdictions or assets that may have. I know we've discussed the strategy of better water and gas and whatnot. And now that Bucks and potentially a couple of other chunkier acquisitions may be in the front window. Is there any consideration or thought that maybe a partial sale of the gas utility ownership may be on the table to finance the equity portion?

我可能會謹慎地問這個問題。我想在公用事業行業，我認為在過去一年中，可能有幾家公用事業公司在通過股權獲得融資需求時，至少只出售了其中一個司法管轄區或可能擁有的資產的一部分。我知道我們已經討論了更好的水和天然氣的戰略等等。現在雄鹿隊和其他一些潛在的大宗收購可能會出現在前窗。是否有任何考慮或想法可能會部分出售天然氣公用事業所有權以資助股權部分？

It's a good question. And I'll reiterate where we've been, and that is that we really like these gas assets. They're outperforming all of our expectations; earnings, safety, capital program and everything else. So we're really comfortable. Having said that, you make an important point. And we think about all of our options. And so as we think about whether Bucks becomes real, whether we can get DELCORA closed in the next quarter here. There's a lot to think about. So I would say we're evaluating all of our thoughts on capital raise at this point. Matt, do you have any thoughts?

這是個好問題。我會重申我們曾經去過的地方，那就是我們真的很喜歡這些天然氣資產。他們的表現超出了我們的所有預期；收益、安全、資本計劃和其他一切。所以我們真的很舒服。話雖如此，你提出了一個重要的觀點。我們會考慮所有的選擇。所以當我們考慮雄鹿隊是否成為現實時，我們是否可以在下個季度讓德爾科拉關閉。有很多事情要考慮。所以我想說，我們目前正在評估我們對籌資的所有想法。馬特，你有什麼想法嗎？

No. I think you've said it correctly, Chris.

不，我認為你說得對，克里斯。

Yes.

是的。

Okay. So different -- a lot of different offerings on the table.

好的。如此不同——桌面上有很多不同的產品。

Yes.

是的。

Next question from Verity Mitchell from HSBC.

匯豐銀行的 Verity Mitchell 的下一個問題。

And congratulations to Brian on the new role. Fantastic. I would just comment on your ESG report on which you have done a huge amount of work, which I've been powered through. This is a question for Chris, and you might not thank me for this, but just kind of [blue sky]. And how do you think the risks are changing? Or would you say the risks are changing more in gas rather than in water? And are they growing? How do you think about the environmental risk of the 2 businesses?

並祝賀布賴恩擔任新角色。極好的。我只想評論您的 ESG 報告，您在該報告上做了大量工作，我已經完成了這些工作。這是克里斯的問題，你可能不會為此感謝我，但只是一種[藍天]。您認為風險正在如何變化？或者你會說氣體而不是水中的風險變化更大？他們在成長嗎？您如何看待這兩家企業的環境風險？

The question is, what is that ultimate energy mix down the road, many years down the road. And I would suggest to you that natural gas will continue to play a significant role for 30 or 40 years, maybe the technology advances and things like carbon capture and hydrogen, and we play a larger roles. But natural gas in places that get cold, in particular, will continue to play an important role in the energy mix.

問題是，未來多年的終極能源組合是什麼。我會向你建議，天然氣將繼續發揮重要作用 30 或 40 年，也許技術進步以及碳捕獲和氫之類的東西，我們發揮更大的作用。但特別是寒冷地區的天然氣將繼續在能源結構中發揮重要作用。

Now I think the -- as I just mentioned, the technology advances could mitigate risks, the replacement of pipe and the tightening of our systems to reduce methane -- stray methane are important aspects, and we're, as you know, fully engaged in that. But if you just simply said, how do we think about the work around ESG and the environment and our 2 businesses, clearly an elevated focus in natural gas.

現在我認為——正如我剛才提到的，技術進步可以降低風險、更換管道和加強我們的系統以減少甲烷——雜散甲烷是重要的方面，正如你所知，我們正在全力以赴在那裡面。但是，如果您只是簡單地說，我們如何看待圍繞 ESG 和環境以及我們的兩項業務的工作，顯然是對天然氣的高度關注。

That's all the time we have for questions. Mr. Chris, at this time, I will turn the conference back to you for any additional or closing remarks.

這就是我們提出問題的所有時間。克里斯先生，此時，我將把會議轉回給您，以進行任何補充或結束髮言。

Thanks so much. Obviously, folks will be available for follow-up questions. Brian, Dan, myself, Matt, all available and at your disposal. Have a great day. Thanks for joining us.

非常感謝。顯然，人們可以回答後續問題。布賴恩、丹、我自己、馬特，都可以隨時為您服務。祝你有美好的一天。感謝您加入我們。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。