CA - Fortis Inc. (FTS) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

2024-02-09 13:11:03 ET

Fortis Inc. (FTS)

Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call

February 9, 2024 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Stephanie Amaimo – Vice President-Investor Relations

David Hutchens – President and Chief Executive Officer

Jocelyn Perry – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Roger Dall'Antonia – Chief Executive Officer-FortisBC

Conference Call Participants

Maurice Choy – RBC Capital Markets

Rob Hope – Scotiabank

Linda Ezergailis – TD Cowen

Mark Jarvi – CIBC

Ben Pham – BMO

David Quezada – Raymond James

Patrick Kenny – National Bank Financial

Michael Sullivan – Wolfe Research

Tanner James – Bank of America

Presentation

Operator

Good morning everyone. Thank you for standing by. My name is Lara, and I will be your conference operator today. Welcome to the Fortis Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. During the call all participants will be in a listen-only mode. There will be a question-and-answer session following the presentation. [Operator Instructions]

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Stephanie Amaimo. Please go ahead, Ms. Amaimo.

Stephanie Amaimo

Thanks, Lara, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to Fortis' fourth quarter and annual 2023 results conference call. I'm joined by David Hutchens, President and CEO; Jocelyn Perry, Executive VP and CFO; other members of the senior management team as well as CEOs from certain subsidiaries. Before we begin today's call, I want to remind you that the discussion will include forward-looking information, which is subject to the cautionary statement contained in the supporting slide show. Actual results can differ materially from the forecast projections included in the forward-looking information presented today. All non-GAAP financial measures referenced in our prepared remarks are reconciled to the related U.S. GAAP financial measures in our annual 2023 MD&A. Also, unless otherwise specified, all financial information reference is in Canadian dollars.

With that, I will turn the call over to David.

David Hutchens

Thank you and good morning everyone. Today we are pleased to report strong 2023 operational and financial results. During the year, we provided reliable service to our customers, invested $4.3 billion of capital in our energy systems, concluded key regulatory applications, sold the non-regulated Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility, and further reduced our carbon emissions. Adjusted EPS grew approximately 9%, excluding foreign exchange impacts, with rates growth and the regulatory outcomes in British Columbia and Arizona serving as key drivers. And with our track record of executing a regulated growth strategy, we increased our fourth quarter dividend by 4.4%, marking 50 consecutive years of increases in dividends paid, a milestone of which we are very proud.

Our utilities operate electric and natural gas transmission and distribution systems across North America, and we know that the safety and reliability of the service we provide is imperative to our customers and employees and is embedded in everything we do. In 2023, our metrics were top quartile for safety and reliability relative to our North American peer benchmarks. As we make the necessary investments in our utilities, we remain focused on managing customer bill impacts. While we have limited control of energy commodity costs and higher interest rates, both of which are passed through to our customers, we continue to manage operating costs through these innovation and process improvements.

We also work with our customers to help them manage their bills through our energy efficiency and demand-side management, or DSM, programs. Just last week, the British Columbia Utilities Commission of [ph] FortisBC's 600 million DSM plan for 2024 through 2027. This plan continues cost-effective initiatives for customers to save on energy use, while incorporating new programs to further align with the CleanBC roadmap to 2030. Customer affordability is critical as we execute our clean energy goals and invest in the resiliency of our energy systems. We continue that track record of dependable shareholder returns despite a challenging year for the utility sector....

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