Q2 2024 Essential Utilities Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Essential Utilities Inc (WTRG) posted GAAP earnings of $0.28 per share despite warmer-than-normal weather impacting gas usage.
- The Board voted to increase the dividend by 6%, continuing a 33-year track record of annual increases.
- The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved reforms to the fair market value statute, which should moderate purchase prices and rate impacts associated with municipal acquisitions.
- The company is on track to invest $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion this year to improve critical infrastructure across its water and natural gas platforms.
- Essential Utilities Inc (WTRG) received recognition on USA Today's list of America's climate leaders for substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
- Operating revenues were down due to a decline in natural gas commodity prices and warmer-than-normal weather.
- Lower water consumption was experienced in the second quarter compared to last year.
- O&M expenses increased due to several one-time factors, impacting quarterly results.
- The company faced unfavorable weather-related impacts for both water and gas, affecting financial results.
- The dividend increase was only 6%, breaking a streak of 7% increases since 2017, due to a rising dividend payout ratio.
For Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions).
And I would now like to turn the conference over to Brian Dingerdissen. You may begin.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Essential Utilities' Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. This is Brian Dingerdissen, Vice President of 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 our website.
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
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