UTL

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Transcript Summary

Unitil Corporation reported Q1 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.88, an 8% increase year-over-year. The results were bolstered by higher distribution rates and the successful integration of Bangor Natural Gas and Maine Natural Gas, making Unitil the largest gas provider in Maine. The company successfully settled its New Hampshire electric rate case, securing a $13 million increase and a 9.45% ROE. Management reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance of $3.20 to $3.36 per share and a long-term growth rate of 5% to 7%. Capital expenditure projections were raised to $1.2 billion through 2030, representing a 20% increase. While pursuing the Aquarion water asset acquisition, leadership expressed caution regarding regulatory conditions in Massachusetts that may impact the deal's scope. Despite a minor FERC-related transmission charge, the company’s core utility operations remain robust, benefiting from cold winter weather and a widening price advantage for natural gas over heating oil. The dividend was also raised by 5.6% to $1.90 annually, reflecting confidence in stable cash flows and a solid balance sheet.

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UNITIL CORPORATION: Regulated Earnings Masked by Regulatory Assets and Dilution

Full Earnings Call Transcript — Q1 • 2026-05-05

Operator: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the First Quarter 2026 Unitil Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Chris Goulding, Vice President Finance and Regulatory. Please go ahead. .
Christopher Goulding: Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us to discuss Unitil Corporation's First Quarter 2026 Financial Results. Speaking on the call today will be Tom Meissner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Dan Hurstak, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Also with us today are Bob Hevert, President and Chief Administrative Officer; and Todd Diggins, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller. We will discuss financial and other information on this call. As we mentioned in the press release announcing today's call, we have posted information, including a presentation to the Investors section of our website at unitil.com. We will refer to that information during this call. Moving to Slide 2. The comments made today about future operating results or events are forward-looking statements under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted. Statements made on this call should be considered together with cautionary statements and other information contained in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other documents we have filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of today, and we assume no obligation to update them. This presentation contains non-GAAP financial measures. The accompanying supplemental information more fully describes these non-GAAP financial measures and includes a reconciliation to the nearest GAAP financial measures. The company believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating its performance. . With that, I will now turn the call over to Chairman and CEO, Tom Meissner.
Tom Meissner: Great. Thanks, Chris. Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. I'll begin on Slide 3 where today, we announced adjusted net income, excluding transaction-related costs of $33.8 million and adjusted earnings per share of $1.88 for the first quarter of 2026. This represents an increase of $0.14 per share or 8% compared to the first quarter of 2025. We are fully earning our authorized returns on a trailing 12-month basis with a GAAP return on equity of 9.6%. We have several positive business updates to share this quarter. Integration work for our main gas acquisitions has proceeded as planned. Bangalore natural gas was fully integrated last year and the integration of main natural gas is now substantially complete with most corporate services now being provided by Unitil. In other business, we recently received an order for our New Hampshire electric rate case, approving the settlement agreement in its entirety. We also recently filed a rate case for Northern Utilities gas subsidiary in New Hampshire. We expect to file a gas rate case for Northern Utilities in Maine on or about June 1. Dan will provide additionaldetails about these rate filings later during this call. Given the strong results for the first quarter, we are reaffirming our 2026 guidance range of $3.20 to $3.36 per share with a midpoint of $3.28. We are also reaffirming our long-term earnings growth of 5% to 7%. Turning to Slide 4. We are now the largest natural gas utility in Maine serving approximately 90% of all gas customers. The acquisitions of Bangor Natural gas and main natural gas meaningfully increased our rate base and will be accretive to earnings over the long term. In the most recent quarter, Bangor natural gas contributed $5.1 million and Maine natural gas contributed $6.1 million to adjusted gross gas margin, resulting in a combined $4.1 million of incremental net income before considering financing costs to Maine natural gas that are currently being incurred by Unitil Corporation in the short term. As I mentioned, all integration work for Bangor Natural gas was completed last year, and we recently completed the integration work for most corporate services for Maine natural gas. The success of these integration efforts was made possible by leveraging our experienced workforce and by our seasoned locally managed operational framework. We continue to realize the operating and financial benefits of these transactions consistent with our original expectations. The next significant milestone for these companies will be to establish cost of service rates under Unitil's ownership with rate filings expected in the first half of 2027. Turning now to Slide 5. We continue to monitor regulatory approvals in Connecticut pertaining to the sale of Aquarion from Eversource Energy to the Aquarion Water Authority. This sale received approval from the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on March 25. More recently, on April 30, the authority denied a petition for reconsideration and we understand the current appeal period will now expire in mid-June absent any additional filings in this proceeding. The closing of this transaction between Eversource Energy and the Aquarion Water Authority must occur prior to our transaction with the Water Authority. As I've said before, the Aquarion water companies are an ideal fit with our existing utility operations given their geographic proximity, potential for synergies and strong growth profile. We view the pending acquisition is highly complementary to our fully regulated portfolio, supporting rate base growth above the upper end of our long-term range and enabling opportunities for future growth. Building on our successful integration of the Maine gas acquisitions, we are well positioned to integrate these water companies following the closing of the transaction. With that, I'll now pass it over to Dan, who will provide greater detail on our first quarter financial results.
Daniel Hurstak: Thank you, Tom. Good afternoon, everyone. I'll begin on Slide 6. As Tom mentioned, we announced first quarter 2026 adjusted net income of $33.8 million and adjusted earnings per share of $1.88,  representing an increase of $5.4 million in adjusted net income or $0.14 per share compared to the same period of 2025. We are reporting adjusted earnings that exclude transaction costs related to our gas acquisitions and the announced water transaction, which we view as not indicative of the company's ongoing costs and operations. Our first quarter results were supported by higher distribution rates and customer growth, partially offset by higher operating expenses. Our first quarter results also include a charge of approximately $900,000 related to the FERC transmission formula rate proceeding in the ore that was issued by FERC in this proceeding on March 19, 2026. This charge represents the refund obligation for a retroactive reduction to the return equity for transmission assets from 10.57% to 9.57%. The company's transmission rate base subject to this FERC decision is approximately 0.5% of total rate base. And the company does not expect this order will have a significant effect on future earnings. Turning to Slide 7. I will discuss our electric and gas adjusted gross margins. I will begin with our electric operations. Electric adjusted gross margin for the first quarter was $29.6 million an increase of $2.1 million as compared to the same period in 2025. The increase reflects higher rates of $2.8 million, partially offset by the onetime reduction of FERC transmission revenue of $0.7 million for the return on equity matter that I previously mentioned. The company also recorded approximately $200,000 of interest associated with the transmission return equity matter, which is recorded in interest expense. As noted during prior calls, all of our electric customers are under decoupled rates, which eliminates the dependency of distribution revenue on the volume of electricity sales. Moving to gas operations. Gas adjusted gross margin for the first quarter was $82.1 million, an increase of $11.2 million compared to the same period in 2025. The increase in gas adjusted gross margin was driven by higher rates and customer growth of $10.3 million and the favorable effects of colder winter weather in 2026 of $0.9 million. Gas adjusted gross margin for the quarter includes $6 million related to Maine natural gas. The higher rates in the first quarter of 2026 were driven by inflation adjustments under our performance-based rate plan for our Fittsburgh subsidiary and capital trackers. The company added approximately 7,100 new gas customers compared to the same period in 2025, including 6,400 customers from the acquisition of Maine Natural Gas. Approximately 52% of the company's gas customers are under decoupled rates with main representing our only non-decoupled service area. Moving to Slide 8. We provide an earnings bridge comparing first quarter 2026 results to the same period in 2025. The combined adjusted gross margin for our electric and gas divisions increased by $13.3 million, which reflects higher rates, colder winter weather and customer growth. Operation and maintenance expenses increased $0.8 million due to higher utility operating costs of $1.1 million, partially offset by lower transaction costs of $0.3 million. Operation and maintenance expense includes $1.3 million of utility operating costs related to maine Natural Gas. Excluding Maine Natural Gas and transaction costs, Operation and maintenance expenses for legacy operations would have decreased by $0.2 million compared to the first quarter of 2025. The increase in depreciation and amortization expense and taxes other than income taxes reflect higher levels of utility plant in service as well as the inclusion of amounts related to Maine Natural Gas in 2026. Moving to Slide 9. I'm pleased to note that last week, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission issued an order approving the settlement agreement in its entirety for permanent rates for our New Hampshire Electric Company. The order approved a base rate increase of $13 million based on pro forma rate base as of December 31, 2024, of $289 million, which reflects a post-test year adjustment to include the Kingston Solar facility. The authorized return on equity is 9.45% with an equity layer of 52.7% compared to the previously approved return on equity of 9.2%, an equity layer of 52%. The settlement maintains revenue decoupling. However, the decoupling methodology changed from an authorized revenue per customer model to a total authorized revenue target. As a reminder, in Hampshire, permanent rate case awards are reconciled back to the effective date of the temporary rate award and are subject to recruitment or refund. In this case, because the permanent rate award was greater than the temporary award, the company will record approximately $1.7 million of pretax income in the second quarter. The settlement also included a multiyear rate plan that provides for accelerated cost recovery for investments made in 2025 and 2026. The first step adjustment request which is currently pending approval of the New Hampshire Commission includes a $3.2 million rate increase effective September 1, 2026. We believe that the constructive outcome reached in this proceeding will allow us to continue to provide the safe and reliable service our customers expect and offers the company opportunity to earn its authorized rate of return. Turning to Slide 10. As Tom noted at the outset of the call, we filed a base rate case in New Hampshire for our gas subsidiary, Northern Utilities on April 1, 2026. The filing requests a permanent base rate increase of $9.8 million a temporary rate award of $6 million. I'm pleased to say that the company has reached a settlement agreement for temporary rates with the Department of Energy and the Office of Consumer Advocate that allows for a temporary rate increase of $5.5 million. Temporary rates are expected to take effect June 1, pending commission approval, and permanent rates are expected to take effect April 1, 2027. The filing also includes the continuation of revenue decoupling but similar to our New Hampshire Electric Company, we have proposed a decoupling methodology change from a revenue per customer model to a total authorized revenue target. We've also proposed a multiyear rate plan with 2-step adjustments to recover all 2026 and 2027 system investments. We are expecting to file a base rate case for Northern Utilities with the Maine Public Utilities Commission on or around June 1. On April 1, we filed a notice of intent in Maine, which included a rate request of approximately $7.5 million. Similar to our previous rate cases in Maine, we intend on utilizing a historical test year with adjustments to forecast rate base revenues and expenses through the rate effective year to reduce earnings attrition. We will provide additional details regarding these proceedings on future calls. Turning to Slide 11. As noted during our previous earnings call, our current 5-year capital investment plan through 2030 totaled approximately $1.2 billion, which is an increase of $200 million or 20% compared to our previous 5-year plan. This updated investment plan includes approximately $65 million for Bangor Natural Gas and Maine Natural Gas, but does not reflect any amounts for the pending Aquarion Water acquisition. With the addition of the 2 main gas companies, rate base increased 17% compared to the prior year, and average rate base growth has been 8.1% over the past 5 years, which is near the upper end of our long-term rate base growth guidance of 6.5% to 8.5%. Moving to Slide 12. We continue to prudently manage our balance sheet, targeting a balanced mix of common equity and long-term debt to maintain our investment-grade credit ratings. Our primary funding source for our 5-year investment plan is our stable cash flow from operations with additional funding from long-term debt and equity. On April 30, we issued $40 million of senior notes at our Fitchburg subsidiary to repay short-term debt and for general corporate purposes. As of today, the company has approximately $160 million of capacity available on its revolving credit facility. The company also has access to equity via its ATM program, which has $48.5 million of available capacity. As a reminder, the company has committed debt financing for the pending Aquarion acquisition. We anticipate that the ultimate funding for the pending water transaction could be satisfied by a combination of ATM proceeds and senior notes at the holding company or operating companies. We plan to maintain a level of holding company debt consistent with rating agency expectations. As we discussed last quarter, our annualized dividend for 2026 is $1.90 per share, representing an increase of 5.6% compared to 2025. Our dividend payout ratio target range remains at 55% to 65%. Turning to Slide 13. With our strong first quarter and constructive rate case outcome for our New Hampshire Electric Company, we reaffirm our 2026 earnings guidance of $3.20 to $3.36 per share with a midpoint of $3.28 per share. The midpoint of our 2026 guidance represents 6.1% growth relative to the midpoint of our 2025 guidance. We have also presented our expected 2026 quarterly earnings per share distribution, which highlights the seasonal nature of our earnings. I will now turn the call back over to Tom.
Tom Meissner: Great. Thanks, Dan. Ending now on Slide 14. The first quarter provided a strong start to the year. Our core businesses are performing well, and we are executing on our strategic initiatives. Our value proposition remains unchanged, investing in low-risk regulated assets to generate stable cash flows while ensuring our customers are provided with top-tier utility service. We look forward to providing additional updates on our progress throughout the remainder of the year. With that, I'll pass the call back to Chris.
Christopher Goulding: Thanks, Tom. That wraps up the prepared material for this call. Thank you for attending. I will now turn the call to the operator who will coordinate questions.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Andrew Weisel with Scotiabank.
Unknown Analyst: This is Rebecca Gabler on for Andrew Weisel. Given the recent updates with respect to Alarion Will the terms and conditions of the Aquarion approval have any impact on your earnings outlook?
Daniel Hurstak: Rebecca, are you speaking about an state in particular?
Unknown Analyst: No. Just in general?
Daniel Hurstak: So I think as Tom mentioned earlier, the transaction between Eversource Energy and the Aquarion wire Authority is a condition for our transaction to move forward. So we are keenly watching what happens in Connecticut, and we understand that the current appeal period for the Pure order goes through mid-June. As far as the other states, if you look at the Massachusetts order that was issued earlier this year, it contains conditions, 1 related to the sale of Hingham assets and 1 related to a stay-out period. As we said in the motion for reconsideration and clarification, the risk matters posed to us is something that is unacceptable for us and would likely prevent us from moving forward with the Massachusetts operations as part of the transaction. .
Unknown Analyst: Got it. That's helpful. And then just a quick second question. Given the spike in oil prices since the conflict in Iran started, have you guys seen any changes in customer behavior pace of conversion from oil or even the tone of conversations with regulators around customer behavior related to these issues?
Tom Meissner: Rebecca, this is Tom Meissner. I think it's too soon to see any of those trends emerge because it's been really just a short period of time. But to your point, the cost of oil has increased dramatically for home heating and realistically, we probably enjoy almost a 2:1 price advantage right now. So we do hope to take advantage of that, and we do believe that natural gas offers a much more affordable choice for customers to heat their homes.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.