Northwest Natural Holding Company

And welcome to the NW Natural Holdings Company first quarter 2021 conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. If you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist followed by Xero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note that this event is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the call over to Ms. Nikki Sparley, IR Director. Please go ahead.

Thanks, Nick. Good morning and welcome to our first quarter 2021 earnings call. As a reminder, some of the things that will be said this morning contain forward-looking statements. They are based on management. For a complete list of our cautionary statements, please refer to the language at the end of our press release. We expect to file our 10Q later today. As mentioned, this teleconference is being recorded and will be available on our website following the call. Please note these calls are designed for the financial community. If you are an investor and have additional questions after the call, please contact me directly at 503-721-2530. News media may also contact me. We look forward to seeing many of you at the American Gas Association Financial Forum in a few weeks. Please also contact me if you have any questions about the event or meeting with our management team. Speaking this morning are David Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Frank Burkartsmeyer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. David and Frank have prepared remarks and then will be available along with other members of our executive team to answer your questions. With that, I will turn it over to David.

Well, thanks, Nikki, and good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining us. Well, our year is off to a great start. Our financial results are solid. and we continue to make progress on all key objectives. We reported net income of $1.94 per share in the first quarter. That compares to net income from continuing operations of $1.58 per share for the same period last year. New rates in Oregon drove results at the gas utility along with continued healthy customer growth and improved results from our interstate storage business. I'm pleased with how all of our systems operated over the winter and specifically during the widespread cold snap in February. Our extensive resource planning and the value of our gas storage assets were proven once again. Our team successfully managed gas supplies to mitigate the impact of the event on customers. And additionally, through a third party, we were able to optimize our gas supply portfolio, capturing asset management revenues, which aided results but also offset higher gas costs for our customers. While many areas of the country will experience significantly elevated bills, our customers are going to fare quite well. Our commitment to safety and reliability served Northwest Natural Water customers well in February also. Our water utilities operating in the Pacific Northwest served customers through the February event without disruption. In Texas, power outages resulted in freezing and bursting pipes on roughly half of our systems, but we were able to restore water service within 24 to 48 hours to all customers. Now, a few notes on the economy. The COVID vaccine has been rolled out in all states that we operate. Economic reports for our region continue to show good recovery and growth in several important areas. Oregon's unemployment rate was 6.1% in February, which is comparable to the national rate. Single-family housing activity remains strong. In the Portland metro region, home sales were up 7.4% from 2020, with price growth of about 12% on average. And new single-family permits issued were up 5.7% in Oregon over the last 12 months compared to the prior period. we continue to see good customer growth. New construction plus conversions translated into connecting over 11,000 meters during the 12 months ended March 31st, which equates to a growth rate of 1.4%. Our water and wastewater utilities also continue to grow. Strong residential housing construction primarily in Idaho, Texas, and Washington translated into a strong 3% growth rate. We also closed on tuck-in acquisitions this past year, leading to an overall customer growth rate of almost 6 percent, actually 5.8 percent to be exact. So, with that, let me turn it over to Frank to cover the financials. Frank, over to you.