Northwest Natural Holding Company 2026 Q2 Earnings Call

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to our second quarter 2026 earnings call. In addition to the press release, a supplemental presentation is available on our investor relations website at ir.nwnaturalholdings.com. Following this call, a recording will also be available on our website. As a reminder, some things that will be said this morning contain forward-looking statements. They are based on management's assumptions, which may or may not occur. For a complete list of cautionary statements, refer to the language at the end of our press release. Additionally, our risk factors are provided in our 10-Q and 10-K filings. We also refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. For additional disclosures around these non-GAAP measures, including reconciliations to comparable GAAP measures, please see the slides that accompany today's call, which are available on the investor relations page of our website.

Please note our guidance assumes continued customer growth, average weather conditions, and no significant changes in prevailing regulatory policies, mechanisms, or assumed outcomes, or significant changes in local, state, or federal laws, legislation, or regulations. We expect to file our 10-Q later today. With us today are Justin Palfreyman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Ray Kaszuba, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Justin will provide highlights from the second quarter 2026, a regulatory update, and a look forward. Ray will walk through our financial results and guidance. After Justin and Ray's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. With that, I will turn the call over to Justin.

Thanks, Nikki. Good morning, everyone. The second quarter represented another solid quarter of performance for Northwest Natural Holdings, adding to our growing track record of consistent earnings results. Earnings per share for both the quarter and year to date surpassed our expectations, reflecting disciplined execution across the company. Our teams are demonstrating operational excellence and delivering healthy financial results while continuing to advance key regulatory initiatives and growth projects that lay the groundwork for continued success for years to come. I'm pleased to announce that we now expect 2026 EPS to be in the top half of our guidance range of $2.95-$3.15 per share. This is driven by our strong year-to-date performance and improved visibility into the second half of the year as we have clarity regarding our key regulatory initiatives and continue to manage costs effectively.

With that, let's review our business segments and key regulatory and project updates. Starting in Texas, SiEnergy had another outstanding quarter, highlighted by organic customer growth of over 15%. We currently have over 260,000 future meters in our backlog, which we expect to fuel growth for many years to come. On the regulatory front, SiEnergy continues to make progress on its ongoing rate case. As a reminder, we filed with the Railroad Commission of Texas on May 4th. This case reflects the necessary investments we have made to continue serving one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. We continue to constructively work through the rate case, including the factors needed to implement the GRIP mechanism, and expect new rates to take effect later this year. Looking ahead, we remain very optimistic about the growth opportunities in Texas.

We continue to expect customer growth of approximately 15%-20% annually through 2030. Through disciplined infrastructure investment and strong stakeholder partnerships, we are well-positioned to support growth and create long-term value for customers and shareholders. Turning to Northwest Natural Gas. In Oregon, we continue to make steady progress on several important regulatory initiatives. First, we filed a multi-party settlement in our alternative rate mechanism docket with the Oregon Public Utility Commission. The settlement provides for a $13 million revenue requirement compared to the original ask of $15.6 million. A commission order is expected later this year, with new rates expected to be effective on October 31st, 2026. We are also actively engaged in Oregon's ongoing multi-year rate plan rulemaking process.

Phase 1 of that docket has been completed and focuses on the high-level development of key concepts, including five-year rate plans, a revenue indexing mechanism during the rate plan, and a capital funding mechanism. We have consistently advocated for multi-year ratemaking because we believe it provides the most effective balance between customer affordability and the critical investments needed to maintain a safe system and support growth. We are encouraged by the progress being made in this docket. We continue to see pathways to implement the Phase 1 framework in a manner that balances the interests of customers, regulators, and our investors. Phase 2 is now underway and is expected to more fully outline the details of the constructs laid out in Phase 1. The overall process is expected to conclude before the end of 2027.

The current schedule has Northwest Natural filing its first multi-year general rate case under the new rules in 2028, with rates becoming effective in 2029. In the interim years, we have several options to ensure timely recovery of our investments, including traditional rate cases. Turning to Washington, we received the Commission's order in our multi-year rate case and are pleased with the outcome. We received over 80% of our requested revenue requirement increase, a capital structure of 50% equity and 50% long-term debt, and a return on equity of 9.5%. The order also preserved the line extension allowance for prospective customers, recognizing the important role of natural gas in the energy system and in supporting customer affordability. New rates were effective on August 1st. Overall, I'm very pleased with the progress we've made on the regulatory front at Northwest Natural.

We continue to support growth and provide safe, reliable service to our communities. Through the first half of 2026, Northwest Natural invested more than $165 million in infrastructure to support customer growth, enhance system reliability, and maintain a modern, resilient natural gas network. Moving to an update on NW Natural Water, the business continues to grow and mature. Overall customer growth was 3.4% for the 12 months ended June 30th, 2026. While the financial results for the first half of 2026 were modestly below plan, the peak volume months of the year still lie ahead. Across the water business, we continue to make solid regulatory and strategic progress to support growth over the long term. We currently have four active rate case proceedings across Oregon, Texas, and Arizona, all of which are progressing as expected.

In Arizona, we continue advancing formula rates for Foothills, aiming to align recovery with ongoing infrastructure investment. We also continue to progress our consolidation efforts in multiple jurisdictions, consistent with our long-term strategy of creating a scaled, efficient water utility platform that benefits both customers and shareholders. We remain confident in the long-term growth prospects of NW Natural Water and the value we're creating. Finally, let me provide a brief update on the MX3 storage expansion project as we continue to make solid progress there as well. As a reminder, MX3 is a $300 million FERC-regulated gas storage expansion project that will add four to five Bcf of capacity and is fully contracted with 25-year agreements, 12.5% return on equity, and 50% equity capital structure. We recently received our conditional use permit in Columbia County.

Importantly, the County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the permit, reflecting the strength of the project, its economic benefits to the region, and broad support from the community. As expected, an appeal has been filed with the Land Use Board of Appeals. Our timeline already contemplated the potential for additional process and therefore remains unchanged. We continue to expect notice to proceed by the end of 2027 with the project advancing as planned. MX3 remains an attractive opportunity to enhance regional energy reliability and, upon receiving notice to proceed, supports increasing our long-term earnings growth target to 5%-7%. In conclusion, I am happy to report that all of our businesses are in a strong financial position and poised for future growth. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ray to review our financials.

Thank you, Justin, and good morning, everyone. The second quarter reflected strong operational and financial execution across the company. Earnings per share was $0.01, flat to the prior year period, but above our expectations. As a reminder, our gas utility earnings are seasonal with the majority of revenues and earnings generated in the first and fourth quarters during the winter heating months. Our water utility revenues and earnings are weighted towards the third quarter when customer demand is highest during the summer months. Northwest Natural Gas reported EPS of $0.09 compared to $0.12 in the prior year period. Higher margin from rates in Oregon was offset by increased operations and maintenance expense and continued investment in the system, resulting in higher depreciation expense and financing costs.

Looking ahead, we expect stronger performance in the back half of the year as compared to last year, driven in part by the implementation of new rates in Washington and the benefit of the alternative rate mechanism in Oregon beginning October 31st. SiEnergy reported earnings of $0.05 per share compared to $0.03 in the second quarter of 2025. Results were primarily driven by customer growth of over 15% and the benefit of deferring depreciation interest and general taxes. SiEnergy also benefited from a full quarter of earnings contribution from Pines, which was acquired on June 2nd, 2025. NW Natural Water's EPS was $0.05 for the second quarter of 2026 compared to $0.07 in the prior period. Higher operating revenues from organic growth and acquisition were offset by higher O&M as we support platform integration and centralization.

Importantly, these initiatives are consistent with our long-term strategy to scale our water business and position the platform for numerous opportunities that we expect to translate into sustained long-term growth. Turning to year-to-date results. EPS was $2.33 for 2026 compared to adjusted EPS of $2.28 in 2025. The year-to-date increase in EPS reflected higher margin from new rates for our gas utility in Oregon and higher contributions from SiEnergy. These items are partially offset by higher O&M costs, depreciation, and interest expense. Overall, we are very pleased with the strong start to the year and believe EPS for the full year will be in the top half of our guidance range of $2.95-$3.15 per share. At NW Natural, new Washington rates have been implemented, and parties have filed a settlement for the ARM.