The following is a summary of the Avista Corporation (AVA) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript:
Financial Performance:
Avista Corporation reported Q4 earnings of $1.8 per diluted share, an increase from $1.5 per diluted share in Q4 2022.
Consolidated earnings for the full year increased to $2.24 per diluted share in 2023, from $2.12 per diluted share in 2022.
The improvement in 2023 earnings was driven by cost recovery from general rate cases, efficient cost management, and decreasing power supply costs.
Avista's Energy Recovery Mechanism led to a pre-tax expense of $8.4 million in 2023, a reduction from $10.9 million in 2022.
Despite favorable results with AEL&P, consolidated results fell below expectations due to losses in other business investments.
Capital expenditures in 2023 were $485 million with an increase projected to $500 million in 2024, $525 million in 2025, and $575 million in 2026.
As of December 31st, the company had $146 million of available liquidity, having issued $112 million of common stock and $250 million of long-term debt in 2023.
The financial guidance for 2024 predicts a consolidated range of $2.36-$2.56 per diluted share.
Business Progress:
The rate request in Washington is expected to fully cover the reset of power supply costs, the removal of Colstrip costs from customer rates, and recovery of deferred costs.
Avista has plans to improve cost recovery through the development of regulatory mechanisms, for elements like wildfire and insurance costs.
To meet customer demand, Avista will increase projects for wildfire mitigation and continue to execute a robust capital expenditure plan in their utility's infrastructure.
The company faced a large natural gas outage but managed to restore service to all impacted customers in less than one week.
They are also progress towards clean energy goals, with $9.7 million therms of natural gas annually sourced from renewable sources and partnerships with local school districts for fleet electrification.
The company plans to exit from their generation portfolio at the end of 2025 complying with Clean Energy regulations in Washington.
Avista has a positive outlook regarding their energy services and plans to invest more capital into providing efficient clean energy.
More details: Avista IR
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