Q3 2024 Essential Utilities Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Essential Utilities Inc (WTRG) reported a strong financial quarter with earnings per share of $0.25, surpassing expectations.
- The company achieved a significant capital investment of $932.5 million through the third quarter, with plans to invest $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion in infrastructure improvements this year.
- The Pennsylvania gas rate case approval included a $93 million annualized revenue increase and a weather normalization mechanism, providing financial stability.
- The company settled a Pennsylvania water rate case, resulting in a $73 million annualized revenue increase.
- Essential Utilities Inc (WTRG) reinstated its multiyear EPS guidance, projecting a 5% to 7% growth rate through 2027, excluding DELCORA earnings.
- The Office of the Consumer Advocate filed a petition for review of the Pennsylvania gas rate case approval, creating potential regulatory challenges.
- Quarterly earnings per share decreased from $0.30 in the third quarter of 2023 to $0.25 in 2024, partly due to the absence of prior year tax repair benefits.
- The company faces headwinds from increased purchased power costs and new PFAS-related chemical expenses.
- The DELCORA transaction remains delayed due to a federal bankruptcy court stay, impacting potential earnings inclusion.
- Moody's negative outlook on the company persists, with expectations to resolve it by 2026, contingent on financial performance improvements.
Thank you for standing by. My name is Ellie, and I will be your conference operator for today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Essential Utilities third quarter 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Thank you.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Brian Dingerdissen. You may now begin.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Essential Utilities' third quarter 2024 earnings call, during which we'll provide an update on new long-term guidance. The slides that we will be referencing and a webcast of this event can be found on our website.
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 and implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to our most recent 10-Q, 10-K and other SEC filings for
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