Unitil Corporation Q1 FY2025 earnings call

• Completed acquisition of Bangor Natural Gas and announced agreements to acquire Maine Natural Gas and 3 water utilities (Aquarion Water of Massachusetts, Aquarion Water of New Hampshire, and Abenaki Water of New Hampshire).
• Reaffirmed long-term guidance for earnings growth, dividend growth, and rate base growth; acquisitions expected to support earnings growth near the upper end of the 5% to 7% range over the next 5 years.
• Bangor Natural Gas and Maine Natural Gas complement existing Maine operations, adding about 15,000 customers in areas with strong growth, with distribution systems near existing operations offering operational synergies.
• Aquarion Water acquisition: $100 million deal, includes assumption of ~$30 million debt, adds 23,000 customers, $78 million rate base as of December 31, 2024, expected to close late 2025.
• Filed a rate case in New Hampshire for Unitil Energy Systems, seeking a $18.5 million revenue requirement increase, with a temporary rate increase effective July 1, 2025, and permanent rates expected May 1, 2026.
• Current 5-year capital budget totals ~$1 billion, 46% higher than prior 5 years; acquisitions expected to increase total capital spending above this plan.

Electric Segment: For the 3 months ended March 31, 2025, Electric adjusted gross margin was $27.5 million, an increase of $0.4 million or 1.5% compared to the same period in 2024. The company added approximately 970 electric customers. Gas Segment: Gas adjusted gross margin was $70.9 million, an increase of $9.9 million or approximately 16.2% compared to the same period in 2024. The increase reflects higher distribution rates, customer growth, and normal winter weather. The company added approximately 9,230 new Gas customers, including 8,730 from the Bangor acquisition. Approximately 55% of the company's gas customers are under decoupled rates, and decoupling supported Gas margin by approximately $0.02 per share in the first quarter. Excluding the Bangor acquisition, Gas adjusted gross margin was $68 million, an increase of $7 million or 10.2% compared to the first quarter of 2024.

• Reaffirmed 2025 earnings guidance: $3.01 to $3.17 per share.
• Acquisitions of Maine Natural Gas and Aquarion companies not expected to significantly affect 2025 results as they close late 2025.
• Acquisitions expected to support earnings growth near the top end of the 5% to 7% range over the next 5 years; acquisitions will be earnings-neutral in the short run but earnings-accretive over the long run.
• Rate base growth expected to accelerate to about 10% annually through 2029 due to acquisitions.

• Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from predicted.需结合《1995年私人证券诉讼改革法案》安全港条款的风险。
• Regulatory approvals needed for acquisitions in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine could delay or prevent the transactions.
• Weather fluctuations could impact gas margins, though 2025 had normal winter weather.
• Changes in interest rates could affect debt and interest expense, impacting financial metrics.

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