HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc.

Greetings and welcome to HACI's fourth quarter 2024 and full year earnings conference call and webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Aaron Chu, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations.

Thank you, Operator, and good afternoon to everyone joining us today for HACI's fourth quarter 2024 conference call. Earlier this afternoon, HACI distributed a press release reporting our fourth quarter and full year 2024 results, a copy of which is available on our website, along with the slide presentation we will be referring to today. This conference call is being webcast live on the investor relations page of our website, where a replay will be available later today. Some of the comments made in this call are forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors section of the form, Companies Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. Actual results may differ materially from those stated. Today's discussion also includes some non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures is available in our earnings release and presentation. Joining us on the call today are Jeff Lipson, the company's President and CEO, and Mark Pangburn, our CFO, as well as Susan Nicke, our Chief Client Officer, and Chuck Melco, our Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer. To kick things off, I will first turn it over to our President and CEO, Jeff Lipson, who will open the presentation today on slide three. Jeff?

Thank you, Aaron, and thank you all for joining us today on the call. 2024 was an extraordinary year for HACI, as we achieved a number of our long-term and short-term goals. Notably, we closed our Carbon Count Holdings 1 co-investment partnership with KKR, increased our bank revolver to over $1.3 billion, closed $2.3 billion of new transactions, including $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter alone, maintained robust margins as interest rates fluctuated, and increased our adjusted earnings per share by 10%. We continue to deliver results consistent with our expectations despite interest rate volatility and policy uncertainty. The cornerstone of our success is our incredibly talented team, and I will take a moment now to address the organizational changes disclosed today. Mark Pangburn has performed at a superior level during his tenure as CFO, including closing our CCH1 transaction, achieving investment grade ratings, and restructuring our SunStrong joint venture. With all of our success on the capital front, I have asked Mark to refocus on our deployment. In his new role as Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer, Mark will oversee our investment and portfolio management activities and continue to work with me on various strategic matters, including our asset management strategy. I am confident Mark will excel in this role. Chuck Melco has been an outstanding Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer for several years, addressing many complex accounting and reporting matters, while also closing numerous bank debt and capital raising transactions. I have full confidence in Chuck's ability to be a successful CFO for HACI. Nate Rose, who many of you know, has been with HACI since 2000, has expressed a desire for a reduced role, and Nate will be moving to a position where he can continue to be a leader and strong contributor to our team, and is also consistent with his career objectives. I want to acknowledge the tremendous success Nate has achieved during his tenure as our Chief Investment Officer. as he has participated in nearly every investment the company has made over the last 25 years. I would also like to recognize our Chief Client Officer, Susan Nickey, on completing her tenure as Chair of the American Clean Power Association. Her outstanding leadership of this organization allowed our industry to positively impact several policy matters. Congratulations to all. Turning to slide four, with our capital position stronger than ever, our business strategy well established, several market dynamics moving in a positive direction, and our aforementioned talented team, I'm excited to announce that we are extending our adjusted EPS guidance of 8 to 10 percent annual growth another year to include 2027. The confidence we have in our business plan is based on economic fundamentals, which we will expand upon shortly, and a resilient, time-tested business model that we expect will continue to thrive in all interest rate and policy scenarios. Our confidence in extending guidance is also a reflection of the substantial recurring revenue from the existing $6.6 billion portfolio, coupled with a large pipeline of identified investments that are generally insulated from future changes in policy due to their development status or safe harbor. I'm also pleased to announce an increase in our dividend to 42 cents per share as we continue to retain more capital. And as I indicated last February, target a 50 percent payout ratio by 2030. As an interim target, investors should expect a payout ratio of between 55 and 60 percent by the end of the guidance period. Now let's discuss a few of the favorable market dynamics. First, as depicted on slide five, the demand for power, as forecasted by virtually every independent consultant, is poised to grow significantly over the next 20 years, after more than 20 years of near-zero growth. Therefore, clean energy projects will no longer simply replace other sources of power, but rather meet the need of higher demand as we inevitably move towards an all-the-above energy strategy in the United States. Renewables, as depicted on page 6, are the least expensive and fastest to deploy alternatives to meet this rising demand, and our clients are expected to continue to increase their development of new renewables projects accordingly, creating more opportunity and a larger investable market for HACI. These lower costs ultimately cause renewables to be directionally anti-inflationary, and this supply can act to offset the trend of rising energy prices. Susan will discuss these items in more detail in a few moments. Turning to page seven, another item worth highlighting is that carbon reducing solutions will continue to be critical to our economy as related to reversing the trend of climate related disasters. These events have become more frequent and more costly which is just another reason clean energy projects will continue to be a growth sector of the economy. In summary, although certain federal policy matters remain unsettled for the moment, these fundamental economic dynamics will continue to drive the business. Our business is resilient, and we have confidence we will adapt if there are any changes in policy or regulation, and we'll continue to find investments with attractive risk-adjusted returns. To expand on these policy themes, I would like to turn the call over to Susan followed by Mark to discuss our investment strategy, and Chuck to cover our financial results. Susan.