New Jersey Resources(NJR) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Financial Performance - Fiscal 2024 consolidated net income was $289.8 million, or$2.94 per share, compared to $264.7 million, or$2.73 per share, in fiscal 2023, representing a 9.8% increase in net income [2]. - Fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter net income totaled $91.1 million, or$0.92 per share, compared to $37.0 million, or$0.38 per share, for the same period in fiscal 2023, marking a 146.8% increase [2]. - Fiscal 2024 consolidated net financial earnings (NFE) were $290.8 million, or$2.95 per share, compared to $261.8 million, or$2.70 per share, in fiscal 2023, reflecting a 11.1% increase [2]. - The company achieved the higher end of its fiscal 2024 NFEPS guidance range of $2.85 to$3.00, which was raised in February 2024 [2]. - The total net financial earnings for the three months ended September 30, 2024, were $88,707 thousand, compared to$29,563 thousand for the same period in 2023, reflecting a substantial increase of 199.5% [40]. - Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2024, was $91,126 thousand, representing a significant increase of 146.1$37,024 thousand in the prior year [38]. - Basic earnings per share for the three months ended September 30, 2024, were $0.92, up from$0.38 for the same period in 2023, reflecting a growth of 142.1% [38]. - The company reported a financial margin of $96,302,000 for Q4 2024, compared to$4,255,000 in Q4 2023, reflecting a significant growth [41]. Customer Growth and Utility Operations - New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) added 8,079 new customers during fiscal 2024, bringing the total to approximately 583,000 customers, expected to contribute $6.8 million in incremental utility gross margin annually [14]. - NJNG received approval for a$157.0 million increase to its base rates, effective November 21, 2024, with an overall rate of return on rate base of 7.08% [15]. - NJNG reported fiscal 2024 NFE of $133.4 million, compared to$131.4 million in fiscal 2023, with a fourth-quarter net financial loss of $(19.0) million, an improvement from$(24.8) million in the same period last year [13]. - Total Utility Gross Margin for the year ended September 30, 2024, was $544,870,000, up 1.5$536,634,000 in the previous year [44]. - Operating revenues for Natural Gas Distribution were $105,091,000 in Q4 2024, a decrease of 2.4$108,741,000 in Q4 2023 [44]. Segment Performance - Energy Services reported fiscal 2024 NFE of $111.5 million, significantly up from$68.5 million in fiscal 2023, with fourth-quarter NFE at $68.3 million compared to a net financial loss of$(3.5) million in the same period last year [23]. - Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) reported fiscal 2024 NFE of $33.7 million, down from$44.5 million in fiscal 2023, with fourth-quarter NFE at $35.5 million compared to$50.2 million in the same period last year [20]. - Storage and Transportation reported fiscal 2024 NFE of $12.2 million, slightly down from$12.8 million in fiscal 2023, with fourth-quarter NFE at $2.5 million compared to$1.8 million last year [22]. - Operating revenues for the Energy Services segment reached $178,420,000 in Q4 2024, compared to$102,932,000 in Q4 2023, representing a 73% increase [41]. - The Clean Energy Ventures segment generated operating revenues of $71,295,000 in Q4 2024, down from$83,755,000 in Q4 2023, a decrease of 15% [42]. Capital Expenditures and Investments - Capital expenditures for fiscal 2024 were $575.1 million, up from$537.3 million in fiscal 2023, primarily due to higher expenditures at NJNG [25]. - A new $385.6 million energy efficiency program, SAVEGREEN®, was approved to begin on January 1, 2025, continuing through June 30, 2027 [3]. - SAVEGREEN® invested$71.3 million in fiscal 2024, recovering $28.6 million through its energy efficiency rate, and a new$385.6 million SAVEGREEN® program was approved for January 1, 2025 [19]. - NJNG's Infrastructure Investment Program (IIP) is a five-year, $150 million program, with$42.2 million spent in fiscal 2024, resulting in a $4.7 million revenue increase approved by the BPU effective October 1, 2024 [16]. Revenue and Expense Trends - Total operating revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2024, were$395,780 thousand, an increase of 19.4% compared to $331,325 thousand for the same period in 2023 [38]. - Total operating expenses decreased to$249,653 thousand for the three months ended September 30, 2024, down from $267,032 thousand in the prior year, a reduction of 6.5$291,027 thousand for the three months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $222,921 thousand in the same period of 2023, a growth of 30.5$146,127 thousand, compared to $64,293 thousand in the same quarter of 2023, marking an increase of 127.5$47.20, up from $40.63 at the same date in 2023, reflecting a 16$10,237 thousand for the three months ended September 30, 2024, slightly down from $10,938 thousand in the same period of 2023 [38].