DBA Sempra

Good day and welcome to SEMPRA's first quarter earnings call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn it over to Glenn Donovan. Please go ahead.

Good morning and welcome to SEMPRA's first quarter 2024 earnings call. A live webcast of this teleconference and slide presentation are available on our website under our events and presentations section. We have several members of our management team with us today. including Jeff Martin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Karen Sedgwick, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Trevor Mihalik, Executive Vice President and Group President, Semper California, Justin Byrd, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Semper Infrastructure, Alan Nye, Chief Executive Officer of Encore, Peter Wall, Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, and other members of our senior management team. Before starting, I'd like to remind everyone that we'll be discussing forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement we make today. The factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are discussed in the company's most recent 10-K and 10-Q files at the SEC. Earnings per common share amounts in our presentation are shown on a diluted basis, and we'll be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the presentation slides that accompany this call for reconciliation to GAAP measures. We also encourage you to review our 10Q for the quarter ended March 31st, 2024. I'd also like to mention that forward-looking statements contained in this presentation speak only of today, May 7th, 2024, And it's important to note that the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements in the future. With that, please turn to slide four and let me hand the call over to Jeff.

Thank you, Glenn, and thank you all for joining us today. We're pleased to report our first quarter financial results. It's a great start to the year and sets us up well to provide strong financial performance for 2024. In addition to the strength of our financial performance, the market backdrop for energy infrastructure continues to be very constructive. We're seeing strong macroeconomic fundamentals supporting U.S. energy demand, with the economy continuing to grow at a steady pace, with manufacturing production gains, easing of supply chain constraints, and continued job creation. We've previously discussed the view that our industry is experiencing a super cycle of growth and believe Semper's strategy and portfolio are well-positioned to benefit from current trends. In addition to the long-term demand from reshoring and electrification of transportation, artificial intelligence and data centers are driving new growth in digital infrastructure with demand estimates tripling from 2.5 percent of total U.S. electric consumption to 7.5 percent by 2030. Growth in Texas is also particularly remarkable with ERCOT recently raising its forecasted peak demand by the end of the decade to over 150 gigawatts, of note that's 65 gigawatts higher than the all-time record in the state. Against the backdrop of strong industry fundamentals, SEMPRA offers several competitive advantages. First, in California, we're at the forefront of the energy transition, serving 25 million consumers in the country's largest economy, and one of the largest manufacturing bases in the U.S. And through our general rate cases, we're expecting to make new investments that support electrification and decarbonization while also improving affordability, safety, and reliability. Turning to Texas, we're seeing diverse industrial, CNI, and residential growth, which is creating jobs, increasing electricity demand, and requiring significant investments to modernize and expand the electricity grid. With economic expansion, the safety and resilience of the grid becomes even more critical. And in part, that's why ENCOR's recently filed system resiliency plan is both timely and important. Al will speak to this in greater detail later in today's presentation. And finally, at Semper Infrastructure, we're supporting global demand for energy security are in the midst of a second wave of LNG developments expected to support over 700 million tons per annum of demand by 2050. Our dual-coast LNG strategy is contributing to this push with approximately 16 million tons per annum of new export capacity currently under construction, which would more than double our existing LNG operating footprint. The key takeaway is we're excited about the opportunities ahead as Semper Infrastructure looks to provide cleaner and more reliable sources of energy to its customers while charting a course for attractive built-in growth through the end of the decade. It's also important to note that Semper Infrastructure's growth forecasts are based solely on projects that have reached FID and are under construction and doesn't yet include expected upside from a series of other projects still in development. Turning now to our financial results, we reported first quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $1.34. In addition, we're pleased to also affirm our full year 2024 adjusted EPS guidance range of $4.60 to $4.90, and 2025 EPS guidance of $4.90 to $5.25. As a reminder, when you look at our adjusted EPS guidance range from 2023 to 2025, it reflects approximately 7% annual growth. which is consistent with our long-term EPS growth expectations of 6% to 8%. Please turn to the next slide where I'll turn the call over to Karen to provide several business updates.