NYSE:CMS CMS Energy Q2 2023 Earnings Report $74.99 +1.49 (+2.02%) As of 01:49 PM Eastern This is a fair market value price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Earnings HistoryForecast CMS Energy EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.75Consensus EPS $0.69Beat/MissBeat by +$0.06One Year Ago EPS$0.53CMS Energy Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$1.56 billionExpected Revenue$2.04 billionBeat/MissMissed by -$485.03 millionYoY Revenue Growth-19.00%CMS Energy Announcement DetailsQuarterQ2 2023Date7/27/2023TimeBefore Market OpensConference Call DateThursday, July 27, 2023Conference Call Time8:30AM ETUpcoming EarningsCMS Energy's next earnings date is estimated for Thursday, April 24, 2025, based on past reporting schedules. Conference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)SEC FilingEarnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by CMS Energy Q2 2023 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrJuly 27, 2023 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 7 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good morning, everyone. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the CMS Energy 2023 Second Quarter Results Conference Call and News Earnings Release. The earnings news release was issued earlier today, and the presentation used in this webcast are available on CMS Energy's website in the Investor Relations section. Today's call is being recorded. Operator00:00:28After the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session and instructions will be provided at that time on how to queue up. Please press star 0. As a reminder, there will be a rebroadcast of this conference call today beginning at 12 p. M. Eastern Time running through August 3. Operator00:00:54This presentation is also being webcast and is available on CMS Energy's website in the Investor Relations section. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Sri Madhukati, Treasurer and Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir. Speaker 100:01:15Thank you, Michelle. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We apologize for the delay as we're experiencing technical difficulties. If you have any questions and were unable to Please feel free to give me or Travis Knuthaus a call after this earnings call. With me are Gerrick Brochow, President and Chief Executive for Reggie Hayes, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Speaker 100:01:37This presentation contains forward looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our SEC filings for more information regarding the risks and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially. This presentation also includes non GAAP measures. Reconciliations of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in the appendix and posted on our website. Now I'll turn the call over to Gary. Speaker 200:01:59Thank you, Sri, and thank you everyone for joining us today. CMS Energy, We deliver, we say it and we back it up. And what makes it work for all stakeholders is this investment thesis that we start with in nearly every earnings call. I've reiterated the key points of this thesis on many occasions. Today, I want to draw attention to 3 key components. Speaker 300:02:261st, Speaker 200:02:27we continue to make Industry leading progress on the transformation to clean energy. This is required to position the business for the future and I will share more evidence of our good work this quarter with the exit of our coal units at our current facility and the acquisition of the Covert generating plant. Next, Michigan continues to be a solid place for investment. Our energy legislation is one of the best in the country and we operate in a top tier regulatory environment providing important certainty for critical customer investments and there continues to be evidence to support it. I'll share the details on our 4th consecutive settlement in our recent gas rate case. Speaker 200:03:14Finally, you'll hear from me on the strong progress we've made in cost management, the CEWAY and other countermeasures to offset the unplanned headwinds experienced early in the year. I'm pleased with the progress and remain confident in our plan to deliver 2023 and beyond. Our investment thesis is simple. It's worked for more than 20 years regardless of conditions to deliver the operational and financial results across the triple bottom line for all our stakeholders. At CMS Energy, we like to say leaders lead and we are leading the clean energy transformation. Speaker 200:03:55We've set industry leading ambitious net zero targets for both our gas in Electric Systems and we continue to get it done. Our actions today serve as proof points that we can and we will achieve our targets. In June, we retired our Karn Units 12, removing 5 15 Megawatts of coal generation from Michigan, further reducing our carbon profile. I'd like to take a moment to recognize the service of the individuals at Karn Who dedicated their careers to providing energy for our customers. I had the opportunity to be there in the final days of the facility's operations and I'm proud to share the pride our coworkers have for their work. Speaker 200:04:38I'm also proud of the work we have done to provide a just transition either to retirement or a new place within our company for those who served at this facility. As we transition out of coal, it is imperative that we maintain reliability for our customers and our state. And so in June, we assumed ownership and operations of the Covert generating plant. This existing 1.2 Gigawatt facility maintains important low cost reliable electric supply in Michigan and further bolsters the MISO footprint. I'm proud to share our industry leading commitments are being noticed that we are now included in the MSCI ESG Leaders Index, the only vertically integrated utility to be included in this index. Speaker 200:05:30These are proof points, evidence in our leadership of this important transformation across the industry and will help us attract incremental capital to CMS Energy to bolster our customer investments. Adding to the good work of the quarter, we signed more contracts in our voluntary green pricing program, which has now grown to 3 41 megawatts of owned generation, and I see further growth on the near horizon. Received approval for nearly $11,000,000 in grants for RNG facilities to support farms we partner with as we decarbonize our gas system. And we expect our 201 Megawatt Heartland Wind Farm, which qualifies for a 10.7% ROE will be operational later this year. Well, these are just a few highlights. Speaker 200:06:21Demonstrate what we do at CMS Energy. We set big goals. We get after it every day and we deliver, leading the clean energy transformation. Turning to Slide 5, I want to take a moment to talk about Restructive regulatory environment in Michigan. Recently, the Governor reappointed Sheriff Scripps to a full term ending in 2029 and appointed Alessandra Carreon to fill the remainder of Commissioner Tremaine Phillips' term, which ends in 2025. Speaker 200:06:52The appointment of Commissioner Carryon and continuity in leadership through the reappointment of Sheriff Scripps further reflect the constructive and stable nature of the Michigan regulatory environment, which remains one of the best jurisdictions in the country. We've connected with Commissioner Carreon And she has a strong background in decarbonization, in transportation electrification and is well suited for the role. We look forward to working with her and this commission. As for the regulatory calendar, our gas rate case settlement is 1 more in the streak of settlements in our 2nd gas settlement in just over a year. I'm pleased with the outcome and the team's work. Speaker 200:07:36This is a clear demonstration of the constructive regulatory environment in Michigan and speaks to our ability to work with multiple parties to provide the best outcome for our customers and our investors. We expect rates to go into effect October 1st, the start of the new test year. In our electric rate case, we are waiting staff's position by the end of August in a final order by March of next year. Within our filing, we are requesting approval for a small undergrounding pilot, roughly 10 miles and planned underground over 400 miles annually. This is an area where we have a lot of opportunity to strengthen our system and improve reliability and resiliency while aligning with our Midwest peers. Speaker 200:08:26Solid energy legislation, strong regulatory construct and the evidence to support it, The top tier regulatory jurisdiction. Moving on to the financials. For the Q2, we reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.75 We We had a strong quarter driven by operational and financial performance and we continue to build contingency through the CE way as we deliver on our year end financial objectives. Today, we are reaffirming all our financial objectives, including our full year guidance of $3.06 to $3.12 per share with continued confidence toward the high end. We're also reaffirming our long term adjusted earnings per share growth of 6% to 8% per year with continued confidence toward the high end and remain committed to annual dividend per share growth of 6% to 8%. Speaker 200:09:23As I stated in our Q1 call, this is not our first rodeo. The team has done remarkable job of mitigating the gap left from a warm winter in a large ice storm. Through the CEWAY, operational cost measures, financing and other countermeasures, We have made great progress year to date. Year after year, we deliver. And this year, we'll be no different. Speaker 200:09:49This is not about winning one game or one season. It's about winning multiple seasons, a winning program, continuing the long track record of consistent growth and compounding off of actuals, bringing our investors a high quality of earnings and doing it year after year. Now I'll hand the call over to Reggie to provide some additional details and insights. Speaker 300:10:15Thank you, Garik, and good morning, everyone. We had a strong second quarter delivering adjusted earnings of $0.75 per share driven by numerous cost reduction initiatives foreshadowed on our Q1 call, which I'll elaborate on shortly. Our financial performance over the past few months has materially offset the weather driven challenges we faced in the Q1. As such, as Garik noted, we are reaffirming our guidance for the year. And on a year to date basis, we're on track with adjusted EPS of $1.45 per share given the back end weighted nature of our plan this year. Speaker 400:10:51As you can see in Speaker 300:10:52the waterfall chart on Slide 7, weather has been a significant headwind to our financial performance in the first half of this year, driving $0.37 per share of negative variance versus the comparable period in 2022. Rate relief net of investment related expenses has resulted in $0.06 per share of positive variance versus the first half of twenty twenty two, driven by last year's constructive electric and gas rate case settlements. From a cost perspective, our financial performance in the first half of the year has been significantly by higher operating maintenance or O and M expenses to the tune of $0.15 per share versus the comparable period in 2022 attributable to storm restoration costs in the Q1. However, it is worth noting that our operational O and M expenses, which represent the majority of our O and M expense and primarily exclude costs associated with our energy waste reduction programs and employee benefits have trended favorably during the Q2 and we are down roughly 10% versus the Q2 of 2022. So we're seeing the fruits of the numerous operational cost reduction initiatives we put in place earlier in the year, such as reducing our use of consultants and contractors, limiting hiring, accelerating longer term IT cost reduction initiatives and eliminating other discretionary spending and of course leveraging the CE Way, our lean operating system. Speaker 300:12:21We anticipate Our strong cost performance will continue as we move through the second half of the year. Rounding out the 1st 6 months of the year, you'll note the $0.18 per share positive variance versus the first half of twenty twenty two highlighted in the catch all bucket in the middle of the chart. The primary source of upside here was related to financing efficiencies. And shortly capitalize on attractive conditions in the convertible bond market by pricing an $800,000,000 issuance and using the majority of the proceeds to prefund future parent company financing needs. Usually, prefundings like this are subject to negative carry. Speaker 300:12:57However, given the current inverted yield curve, we've managed to reinvest the proceeds at deposit rates favorable to the underlying funding costs. Lastly, we use the balance of the proceeds from the convert offering to tender a portion of select bonds well below par, which has delevered our balance sheet. All in, this opportunistic financing transaction was earnings accretive and has further strengthened our liquidity position. Looking ahead, as always, we plan for normal weather, which equates to $0.06 per share of negative variance versus the comparable period in 2022 due to the absence of strong sales of the electric utility driven by last year's warm summer. We anticipate that the estimated negative variance attributable to weather will be more than offset by rate relief net of investment related costs, which we have quantified at $0.08 per share versus the first half of twenty twenty two. Speaker 300:13:51Our estimates reflect the terms of our recently filed gas rate case settlement agreement, which is subject to commission approval and the residual benefits of our 2022 electric rate case settlement. Closing out the glide path for the remainder of the year, as noted during our Q1 call, lower overall O and M expense of the utility driven by the ongoing benefits of the aforementioned cost reduction initiatives. Some expected favorable year over year variance related to service restoration costs and the usual cost performance fueled by the CE Way, which collectively equates to $0.26 per share of positive variance versus the comparable period in 2022. Lastly, as we discussed during our Q1 call, we're assuming modest growth at NorthStar and the benefits associated with the roughly $0.12 per share of pull ahead exercise in the Q4 of 2022. As per our original guidance, all in, we estimate these items will drive $0.17 to $0.23 per share of positive variance versus the comparable period in 2022. Speaker 300:14:56In summary, We made great progress to offset the challenging weather experienced in the Q1, but needless to say, we'll continue to plan conservatively and execute as we always do. Moving on to the balance sheet on Slide 8, we highlight our recently reaffirmed credit ratings from Moody's. As you know, we continue to target mid teens FFO to debt over our planning period. As always, we remain focused on maintaining a strong financial position, which coupled with a supportive regulatory construct and predictable operating cash for growth supports our solid investment grade ratings to the benefit of customers and investors. Moving on to the financing plan, Slide 9 offers more specificity on the balance of our planned funding needs in 2023, which are limited to debt issuances at the utility. Speaker 300:15:43This includes both 1st mortgage bond financings and a securitization financing to address the recovery of the undepreciated rate base at the recently retired Karn Coal facilities. As for the parent company, given the timing of the convertible bond issuance, we've been able to delay the settlement of the equity forwards that priced last year. So the roughly $440,000,000 of forward equity contracts will be settled commensurate with the needs of the business over time. As I've said before, our approach to our financing plan is similar to how we run the business. We plan conservatively and capitalize on opportunities as they arise. Speaker 300:16:21This approach has been tried and true year in and year out and has enabled us to deliver on our operational and financial objectives irrespective of the circumstances to the benefit of our customers and investors, and this year is no different. And with that, I'll hand it back to Gerrit for his final remarks before the Q and A session. Speaker 200:16:41Thank you, Reggie. Our track record spans 2 decades and consistently delivers industry leading results in any conditions. This is what we do. We deliver for all stakeholders year in and year out. And this year will be no different. Speaker 200:16:59With that, Michelle, please open the lines for Q and A. Operator00:17:06Thank you very much, Garik. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the electronic question and answer We will take questions in the order they are received and we will take as many questions as time permits. One moment please for your first question. Your first question will come from Jeremy Tonet of JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:17:58Hi, good morning. Speaker 200:18:00Hey, good morning, Jeremy. How are you? Speaker 400:18:03Good, good. Thanks. Maybe just want to start off with the undergrounding pilot, if you could. And just wondering if you could Expand a bit more, I guess, on what would define success there or I guess future outlook for how quickly that could fold into the plan in larger size over time? Speaker 200:18:25So I've got an interesting story in this year. I was out with our crews here about 2 weeks ago and we did underground and in a replacing underground in a subdivision area. So remember in Michigan subdivisions are underground. A lot of people request their service underground. And so we know how to do this And in fact, we have a large gas business that does a lot of undergrounding. Speaker 200:18:44And so we're sharing practices back and forth. And so again, right now, we're starting out with a pilot. And that's just a nice way to step into this with the Public Service Commission to show them our capabilities and being able to deliver that at a low cost for our customers. Again, as I've shared in past calls, the cost for undergrounding in Michigan given the soil, given where we intend to put the underground, it's really conducive. It's really almost at parity with above ground construction. Speaker 200:19:15So it makes it really affordable for our So we intend to use that practice. It's recognized through EPRI as a best practice, not everywhere, but strategically or selectively across our system. And so Starts with 10 miles, we've got 6 counties identified, got a project starting up in one of the north of Grand Rapids area here in about 2 weeks. The Public Service Commission will be on that I'd like to watch that observe that. And what we intend to grow that is about 400 miles annually. Speaker 200:19:40As I've shared in the past, About 10% to 15% of our systems underground and other Midwest peers around 35% to 40%. So again, it's a best practice, so we see it as a way to improve reliability and resiliency for the future. Speaker 400:19:56Got it. That's helpful. Thank you for that. And storms has been topical in Michigan, Obviously, in recent time here. And just wondering if you could provide a bit more color, I guess, on your efforts, hardening efforts and Where you stand, where you want to be to improve resiliency there and just kind of how you feel local stakeholders are aligned against those against this outlook in the state? Speaker 200:20:25As I shared in the Q1 call, our focus on clearly on reliability and resiliency coming off the large ice We're making a lot of investments, considerable investments across that electric system and we've seen Good performance here over the course of the summer. Even just the last night, we had 65 mile wind come through and the system performed well with about 20,000 customers out this morning and we're quickly restoring them. And so the investments we are making, it's a large system, but the investments we are making are certainly Showing benefit. So we've got a great plan. We're filing that plan here in September with a 5 year with our 5 year infrastructure plan. Speaker 200:21:06This audit that's underway that will start here in September will be another point of alignment for the right investments across the electric system to improve reliability and resiliency. So those things are going well and our system is performing well and so I feel good about our performance this summer and we'll continue to Be focused Speaker 300:21:26on it. Speaker 400:21:26Got it. That's helpful. I'll leave it there. Thanks. Speaker 200:21:30Thanks, Jeremy. Operator00:21:33Your next question comes from Julien Dumoulin Smith at Bank of America. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:21:42Hi, good morning. This is Heidi Hauck on for Julien. Thank you for taking my question. Speaker 100:21:48Hi, Heidi. Good morning. Speaker 500:21:50Hi. Just first question, noting your plan to file another IRP in the next year or 2, Do you see any read throughs for your next IRP related to the latest peer IRP settlement approved by the Mission PSC, either from the coal retirement front, renewables investments or otherwise? Thank you. Speaker 200:22:14Well, first, I want to congratulate that peer utility that had an IRP settled this week. So congratulations to the DTE team. A lot goes into those IRPs. And if you take one thing away from that IRP, it just speaks to the constructive environment here in Michigan. Four settlements for us, a settlement in IRP for DTE, that's really good. Speaker 200:22:38So we'll obviously look at their IRP And look at what we want to take into our next IRP. The other things that we'll consider, the Inflation Reduction Act has certainly changed PTCs and ITCs and it's shaping the industry investment. Infrastructure and Jobs Act has also shaped some things in our industry. And so all that will go into our next IRP and some of our thinking. The IRP process takes about 12 to 18 months to build really A thoughtful and thorough plan that we'd submit to the commission. Speaker 200:23:09I anticipate we'll start that process in 2024 building out that. So You play it out. That means we file maybe late 2025, 2026 timeframe. And so there's still some work to define that and Tie that down, but that's our early indications of how we think about our next IRP. Speaker 500:23:32Great. Thank you. And then second question from me. Can you comment on the latest MPSC The investigation into the natural gas meters and new service delays, how are you planning to address or improve these issues? And are there any potential capital opportunities that may result from this investigation? Speaker 500:23:54Thank you. Speaker 200:23:56Thank you for your question. It probably goes without saying this, but I'll say it anyways. We take every And PSC inquiry seriously. And from a customer perspective and Bill's, we've got to get that right. But maybe a little background here, Heidi. Speaker 200:24:12Our meters communicate wirelessly. That's our smart grid, it's all wireless. And obviously, there's a wireless carrier that communicates that signal back to Our home office is here. And as you might imagine, those wireless carriers are moving from 3 gs to 5 gs. So they're shutting down some of the 3 gs systems moving to 5 gs. Speaker 200:24:31And they made us aware of that and we were working with our meter vendor to upgrade those meters so they had the right communication components to operate at 4 gs in 5 gs Technology. That process was underway. However, the meter vendor ran into supply chain problems in part due to the pandemic Where they couldn't get the components for the meter. That delayed our deployment of these meters. And so when we walked in, in January of 2023, We had about 190,000 meters that we're no longer communicating. Speaker 200:25:03Today, that's around 33,000 and we continue to work with our meter vendor to close that and we expect that to be closed by August. As you imagine, when those meters are not communicating, it creates the potential for estimated reads. Our meter vendor was supposed to go out and read meters for us to close that gap. They did not meet our expectations around that and we had to step in and close that gap, which we've done and our REEDs are being completed and any consecutive estimates are now within historical parameters. And so from a meter perspective, from a consecutive estimate perspective, those are resolved or will be resolved in August. Speaker 200:25:41We owe a report to the commission on August 4, and so we'll do that. From a materiality perspective, It's we've factored that in both the reading the meters and any penalties we may see from the Public Service Commission and they're incorporated within our guidance that we've offered. I do not see a capital opportunity here, but rest assured, that from a customer perspective and MPSC perspective, we are running this to ground. We're doing a root cause on it and make sure that it will not happen again for our customers. Thanks for your question, Heidi. Speaker 500:26:18Thank you. Operator00:26:23Your next question comes from Michael Sullivan at Wolfe Research. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:26:31Hey, everyone. Can you hear me okay? Speaker 200:26:34We can. Good morning, Mike. Speaker 600:26:35Yes. Okay, great. Hey, Gary. Maybe this one is for Reggie. Just wanted to ask on the delay in the draw on the forward equity and just how we should think about Timing there and whether that ends up getting needed at all. Speaker 600:26:52I think my recollection is outside of that you had no other Until 2025, but, yes, maybe just a little more color on what the equity picture looks like, going forward now that you've done the convert? Speaker 300:27:06Yes, Mike, thanks for the question. Yes, we will still plan to settle the equity. It will likely be, I'll say, the Back half of this year and deep into the second half, so call it late Q3 or in Q4. But we do still plan to settle the equity over the course of this year. Speaker 600:27:24Okay, great. And just in terms of the impact on metrics And FFO to debt from the convert issuance and the tender and delay in equity, does that kind of move you At all up or down within your mid teens target? Speaker 300:27:43No. The convert transaction was for all intents and purposes when you take into Account all of the puts and takes is effectively credit neutral, maybe modestly accretive. And then the delay of the equity settle again, it's So going to take place over the course of this year. So again, all credit neutral. And so we'll still be right in that mid teens area and well in alignment with the expectations of Credit rating agencies so we can maintain our investment grade ratings. Speaker 600:28:09Okay, great. Thank you very much. Speaker 300:28:12Thank you. Operator00:28:16There are no further questions from the phone lines. So I will turn the conference back to Garik Rocha for any closing remarks. Speaker 200:28:24Thanks, Michelle. I'd like to thank you for joining us today. We'll see you on the road soon. Take care and stay safe. Operator00:28:36Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude your conference call for this morning. We would like to thank you all for participating and ask you to please disconnect your lines.Read morePowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallCMS Energy Q2 202300:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) CMS Energy Earnings HeadlinesCMS Energy: Fairly Valued, But The Stock Has Potential As A Safe-Haven PlayApril 24 at 8:57 AM | seekingalpha.comCMS Energy Reports Q1 2025 Earnings IncreaseApril 24 at 7:06 AM | tipranks.comIt’s absolute chaos in Silicon Valley right now…If you missed out on the big boom in Nvidia… Listen up, because according to Nvidia's own CEO… Elon Musk’s new technology could help launch an entirely new multitrillion-dollar industry.April 24, 2025 | Brownstone Research (Ad)CMS Energy Announces First Quarter Results for 2025, Reaffirms 2025 Adjusted EPS GuidanceApril 24 at 6:30 AM | prnewswire.comCMS Energy price target raised to $74 from $71 at Morgan StanleyApril 23 at 10:22 PM | markets.businessinsider.comA Look Ahead: CMS Energy's Earnings ForecastApril 23 at 5:15 PM | benzinga.comSee More CMS Energy Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like CMS Energy? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on CMS Energy and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About CMS EnergyCMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) operates as an energy company primarily in Michigan. The company operates through three segments: Electric Utility; Gas Utility; and Enterprises. The Electric Utility segment is involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. This segment generates electricity through coal, wind, gas, renewable energy, oil, and nuclear sources. Its distribution system comprises 208 miles of high-voltage distribution overhead lines; 4 miles of high-voltage distribution underground lines; 4,428 miles of high-voltage distribution overhead lines; 19 miles of high-voltage distribution underground lines; 82,474 miles of electric distribution overhead lines; 9,395 miles of underground distribution lines; 1,093 substations; and 3 battery facilities. The Gas Utility segment engages in the purchase, transmission, storage, distribution, and sale of natural gas, which includes 2,392 miles of transmission lines; 15 gas storage fields; 28,065 miles of distribution mains; and 8 compressor stations. The Enterprises segment is involved in the independent power production and marketing, including the development and operation of renewable generation. It serves 1.9 million electric and 1.8 million gas customers, including residential, commercial, and diversified industrial customers. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Jackson, Michigan.View CMS Energy ProfileRead more More Earnings Resources from MarketBeat Earnings Tools Today's Earnings Tomorrow's Earnings Next Week's Earnings Upcoming Earnings Calls Earnings Newsletter Earnings Call Transcripts Earnings Beats & Misses Corporate Guidance Earnings Screener Earnings By Country U.S. Earnings Reports Canadian Earnings Reports U.K. Earnings Reports Latest Articles Seismic Shift at Intel: Massive Layoffs Precede Crucial EarningsRocket Lab Lands New Contract, Builds Momentum Ahead of EarningsAmazon's Earnings Could Fuel a Rapid Breakout Tesla Earnings Miss, But Musk Refocuses and Bulls ReactQualcomm’s Range Narrows Ahead of Earnings as Bulls Step InWhy It May Be Time to Buy CrowdStrike Stock Heading Into EarningsCan IBM’s Q1 Earnings Spark a Breakout for the Stock? 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There are 7 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good morning, everyone. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the CMS Energy 2023 Second Quarter Results Conference Call and News Earnings Release. The earnings news release was issued earlier today, and the presentation used in this webcast are available on CMS Energy's website in the Investor Relations section. Today's call is being recorded. Operator00:00:28After the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session and instructions will be provided at that time on how to queue up. Please press star 0. As a reminder, there will be a rebroadcast of this conference call today beginning at 12 p. M. Eastern Time running through August 3. Operator00:00:54This presentation is also being webcast and is available on CMS Energy's website in the Investor Relations section. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Sri Madhukati, Treasurer and Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir. Speaker 100:01:15Thank you, Michelle. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We apologize for the delay as we're experiencing technical difficulties. If you have any questions and were unable to Please feel free to give me or Travis Knuthaus a call after this earnings call. With me are Gerrick Brochow, President and Chief Executive for Reggie Hayes, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Speaker 100:01:37This presentation contains forward looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our SEC filings for more information regarding the risks and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially. This presentation also includes non GAAP measures. Reconciliations of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in the appendix and posted on our website. Now I'll turn the call over to Gary. Speaker 200:01:59Thank you, Sri, and thank you everyone for joining us today. CMS Energy, We deliver, we say it and we back it up. And what makes it work for all stakeholders is this investment thesis that we start with in nearly every earnings call. I've reiterated the key points of this thesis on many occasions. Today, I want to draw attention to 3 key components. Speaker 300:02:261st, Speaker 200:02:27we continue to make Industry leading progress on the transformation to clean energy. This is required to position the business for the future and I will share more evidence of our good work this quarter with the exit of our coal units at our current facility and the acquisition of the Covert generating plant. Next, Michigan continues to be a solid place for investment. Our energy legislation is one of the best in the country and we operate in a top tier regulatory environment providing important certainty for critical customer investments and there continues to be evidence to support it. I'll share the details on our 4th consecutive settlement in our recent gas rate case. Speaker 200:03:14Finally, you'll hear from me on the strong progress we've made in cost management, the CEWAY and other countermeasures to offset the unplanned headwinds experienced early in the year. I'm pleased with the progress and remain confident in our plan to deliver 2023 and beyond. Our investment thesis is simple. It's worked for more than 20 years regardless of conditions to deliver the operational and financial results across the triple bottom line for all our stakeholders. At CMS Energy, we like to say leaders lead and we are leading the clean energy transformation. Speaker 200:03:55We've set industry leading ambitious net zero targets for both our gas in Electric Systems and we continue to get it done. Our actions today serve as proof points that we can and we will achieve our targets. In June, we retired our Karn Units 12, removing 5 15 Megawatts of coal generation from Michigan, further reducing our carbon profile. I'd like to take a moment to recognize the service of the individuals at Karn Who dedicated their careers to providing energy for our customers. I had the opportunity to be there in the final days of the facility's operations and I'm proud to share the pride our coworkers have for their work. Speaker 200:04:38I'm also proud of the work we have done to provide a just transition either to retirement or a new place within our company for those who served at this facility. As we transition out of coal, it is imperative that we maintain reliability for our customers and our state. And so in June, we assumed ownership and operations of the Covert generating plant. This existing 1.2 Gigawatt facility maintains important low cost reliable electric supply in Michigan and further bolsters the MISO footprint. I'm proud to share our industry leading commitments are being noticed that we are now included in the MSCI ESG Leaders Index, the only vertically integrated utility to be included in this index. Speaker 200:05:30These are proof points, evidence in our leadership of this important transformation across the industry and will help us attract incremental capital to CMS Energy to bolster our customer investments. Adding to the good work of the quarter, we signed more contracts in our voluntary green pricing program, which has now grown to 3 41 megawatts of owned generation, and I see further growth on the near horizon. Received approval for nearly $11,000,000 in grants for RNG facilities to support farms we partner with as we decarbonize our gas system. And we expect our 201 Megawatt Heartland Wind Farm, which qualifies for a 10.7% ROE will be operational later this year. Well, these are just a few highlights. Speaker 200:06:21Demonstrate what we do at CMS Energy. We set big goals. We get after it every day and we deliver, leading the clean energy transformation. Turning to Slide 5, I want to take a moment to talk about Restructive regulatory environment in Michigan. Recently, the Governor reappointed Sheriff Scripps to a full term ending in 2029 and appointed Alessandra Carreon to fill the remainder of Commissioner Tremaine Phillips' term, which ends in 2025. Speaker 200:06:52The appointment of Commissioner Carryon and continuity in leadership through the reappointment of Sheriff Scripps further reflect the constructive and stable nature of the Michigan regulatory environment, which remains one of the best jurisdictions in the country. We've connected with Commissioner Carreon And she has a strong background in decarbonization, in transportation electrification and is well suited for the role. We look forward to working with her and this commission. As for the regulatory calendar, our gas rate case settlement is 1 more in the streak of settlements in our 2nd gas settlement in just over a year. I'm pleased with the outcome and the team's work. Speaker 200:07:36This is a clear demonstration of the constructive regulatory environment in Michigan and speaks to our ability to work with multiple parties to provide the best outcome for our customers and our investors. We expect rates to go into effect October 1st, the start of the new test year. In our electric rate case, we are waiting staff's position by the end of August in a final order by March of next year. Within our filing, we are requesting approval for a small undergrounding pilot, roughly 10 miles and planned underground over 400 miles annually. This is an area where we have a lot of opportunity to strengthen our system and improve reliability and resiliency while aligning with our Midwest peers. Speaker 200:08:26Solid energy legislation, strong regulatory construct and the evidence to support it, The top tier regulatory jurisdiction. Moving on to the financials. For the Q2, we reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.75 We We had a strong quarter driven by operational and financial performance and we continue to build contingency through the CE way as we deliver on our year end financial objectives. Today, we are reaffirming all our financial objectives, including our full year guidance of $3.06 to $3.12 per share with continued confidence toward the high end. We're also reaffirming our long term adjusted earnings per share growth of 6% to 8% per year with continued confidence toward the high end and remain committed to annual dividend per share growth of 6% to 8%. Speaker 200:09:23As I stated in our Q1 call, this is not our first rodeo. The team has done remarkable job of mitigating the gap left from a warm winter in a large ice storm. Through the CEWAY, operational cost measures, financing and other countermeasures, We have made great progress year to date. Year after year, we deliver. And this year, we'll be no different. Speaker 200:09:49This is not about winning one game or one season. It's about winning multiple seasons, a winning program, continuing the long track record of consistent growth and compounding off of actuals, bringing our investors a high quality of earnings and doing it year after year. Now I'll hand the call over to Reggie to provide some additional details and insights. Speaker 300:10:15Thank you, Garik, and good morning, everyone. We had a strong second quarter delivering adjusted earnings of $0.75 per share driven by numerous cost reduction initiatives foreshadowed on our Q1 call, which I'll elaborate on shortly. Our financial performance over the past few months has materially offset the weather driven challenges we faced in the Q1. As such, as Garik noted, we are reaffirming our guidance for the year. And on a year to date basis, we're on track with adjusted EPS of $1.45 per share given the back end weighted nature of our plan this year. Speaker 400:10:51As you can see in Speaker 300:10:52the waterfall chart on Slide 7, weather has been a significant headwind to our financial performance in the first half of this year, driving $0.37 per share of negative variance versus the comparable period in 2022. Rate relief net of investment related expenses has resulted in $0.06 per share of positive variance versus the first half of twenty twenty two, driven by last year's constructive electric and gas rate case settlements. From a cost perspective, our financial performance in the first half of the year has been significantly by higher operating maintenance or O and M expenses to the tune of $0.15 per share versus the comparable period in 2022 attributable to storm restoration costs in the Q1. However, it is worth noting that our operational O and M expenses, which represent the majority of our O and M expense and primarily exclude costs associated with our energy waste reduction programs and employee benefits have trended favorably during the Q2 and we are down roughly 10% versus the Q2 of 2022. So we're seeing the fruits of the numerous operational cost reduction initiatives we put in place earlier in the year, such as reducing our use of consultants and contractors, limiting hiring, accelerating longer term IT cost reduction initiatives and eliminating other discretionary spending and of course leveraging the CE Way, our lean operating system. Speaker 300:12:21We anticipate Our strong cost performance will continue as we move through the second half of the year. Rounding out the 1st 6 months of the year, you'll note the $0.18 per share positive variance versus the first half of twenty twenty two highlighted in the catch all bucket in the middle of the chart. The primary source of upside here was related to financing efficiencies. And shortly capitalize on attractive conditions in the convertible bond market by pricing an $800,000,000 issuance and using the majority of the proceeds to prefund future parent company financing needs. Usually, prefundings like this are subject to negative carry. Speaker 300:12:57However, given the current inverted yield curve, we've managed to reinvest the proceeds at deposit rates favorable to the underlying funding costs. Lastly, we use the balance of the proceeds from the convert offering to tender a portion of select bonds well below par, which has delevered our balance sheet. All in, this opportunistic financing transaction was earnings accretive and has further strengthened our liquidity position. Looking ahead, as always, we plan for normal weather, which equates to $0.06 per share of negative variance versus the comparable period in 2022 due to the absence of strong sales of the electric utility driven by last year's warm summer. We anticipate that the estimated negative variance attributable to weather will be more than offset by rate relief net of investment related costs, which we have quantified at $0.08 per share versus the first half of twenty twenty two. Speaker 300:13:51Our estimates reflect the terms of our recently filed gas rate case settlement agreement, which is subject to commission approval and the residual benefits of our 2022 electric rate case settlement. Closing out the glide path for the remainder of the year, as noted during our Q1 call, lower overall O and M expense of the utility driven by the ongoing benefits of the aforementioned cost reduction initiatives. Some expected favorable year over year variance related to service restoration costs and the usual cost performance fueled by the CE Way, which collectively equates to $0.26 per share of positive variance versus the comparable period in 2022. Lastly, as we discussed during our Q1 call, we're assuming modest growth at NorthStar and the benefits associated with the roughly $0.12 per share of pull ahead exercise in the Q4 of 2022. As per our original guidance, all in, we estimate these items will drive $0.17 to $0.23 per share of positive variance versus the comparable period in 2022. Speaker 300:14:56In summary, We made great progress to offset the challenging weather experienced in the Q1, but needless to say, we'll continue to plan conservatively and execute as we always do. Moving on to the balance sheet on Slide 8, we highlight our recently reaffirmed credit ratings from Moody's. As you know, we continue to target mid teens FFO to debt over our planning period. As always, we remain focused on maintaining a strong financial position, which coupled with a supportive regulatory construct and predictable operating cash for growth supports our solid investment grade ratings to the benefit of customers and investors. Moving on to the financing plan, Slide 9 offers more specificity on the balance of our planned funding needs in 2023, which are limited to debt issuances at the utility. Speaker 300:15:43This includes both 1st mortgage bond financings and a securitization financing to address the recovery of the undepreciated rate base at the recently retired Karn Coal facilities. As for the parent company, given the timing of the convertible bond issuance, we've been able to delay the settlement of the equity forwards that priced last year. So the roughly $440,000,000 of forward equity contracts will be settled commensurate with the needs of the business over time. As I've said before, our approach to our financing plan is similar to how we run the business. We plan conservatively and capitalize on opportunities as they arise. Speaker 300:16:21This approach has been tried and true year in and year out and has enabled us to deliver on our operational and financial objectives irrespective of the circumstances to the benefit of our customers and investors, and this year is no different. And with that, I'll hand it back to Gerrit for his final remarks before the Q and A session. Speaker 200:16:41Thank you, Reggie. Our track record spans 2 decades and consistently delivers industry leading results in any conditions. This is what we do. We deliver for all stakeholders year in and year out. And this year will be no different. Speaker 200:16:59With that, Michelle, please open the lines for Q and A. Operator00:17:06Thank you very much, Garik. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the electronic question and answer We will take questions in the order they are received and we will take as many questions as time permits. One moment please for your first question. Your first question will come from Jeremy Tonet of JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:17:58Hi, good morning. Speaker 200:18:00Hey, good morning, Jeremy. How are you? Speaker 400:18:03Good, good. Thanks. Maybe just want to start off with the undergrounding pilot, if you could. And just wondering if you could Expand a bit more, I guess, on what would define success there or I guess future outlook for how quickly that could fold into the plan in larger size over time? Speaker 200:18:25So I've got an interesting story in this year. I was out with our crews here about 2 weeks ago and we did underground and in a replacing underground in a subdivision area. So remember in Michigan subdivisions are underground. A lot of people request their service underground. And so we know how to do this And in fact, we have a large gas business that does a lot of undergrounding. Speaker 200:18:44And so we're sharing practices back and forth. And so again, right now, we're starting out with a pilot. And that's just a nice way to step into this with the Public Service Commission to show them our capabilities and being able to deliver that at a low cost for our customers. Again, as I've shared in past calls, the cost for undergrounding in Michigan given the soil, given where we intend to put the underground, it's really conducive. It's really almost at parity with above ground construction. Speaker 200:19:15So it makes it really affordable for our So we intend to use that practice. It's recognized through EPRI as a best practice, not everywhere, but strategically or selectively across our system. And so Starts with 10 miles, we've got 6 counties identified, got a project starting up in one of the north of Grand Rapids area here in about 2 weeks. The Public Service Commission will be on that I'd like to watch that observe that. And what we intend to grow that is about 400 miles annually. Speaker 200:19:40As I've shared in the past, About 10% to 15% of our systems underground and other Midwest peers around 35% to 40%. So again, it's a best practice, so we see it as a way to improve reliability and resiliency for the future. Speaker 400:19:56Got it. That's helpful. Thank you for that. And storms has been topical in Michigan, Obviously, in recent time here. And just wondering if you could provide a bit more color, I guess, on your efforts, hardening efforts and Where you stand, where you want to be to improve resiliency there and just kind of how you feel local stakeholders are aligned against those against this outlook in the state? Speaker 200:20:25As I shared in the Q1 call, our focus on clearly on reliability and resiliency coming off the large ice We're making a lot of investments, considerable investments across that electric system and we've seen Good performance here over the course of the summer. Even just the last night, we had 65 mile wind come through and the system performed well with about 20,000 customers out this morning and we're quickly restoring them. And so the investments we are making, it's a large system, but the investments we are making are certainly Showing benefit. So we've got a great plan. We're filing that plan here in September with a 5 year with our 5 year infrastructure plan. Speaker 200:21:06This audit that's underway that will start here in September will be another point of alignment for the right investments across the electric system to improve reliability and resiliency. So those things are going well and our system is performing well and so I feel good about our performance this summer and we'll continue to Be focused Speaker 300:21:26on it. Speaker 400:21:26Got it. That's helpful. I'll leave it there. Thanks. Speaker 200:21:30Thanks, Jeremy. Operator00:21:33Your next question comes from Julien Dumoulin Smith at Bank of America. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:21:42Hi, good morning. This is Heidi Hauck on for Julien. Thank you for taking my question. Speaker 100:21:48Hi, Heidi. Good morning. Speaker 500:21:50Hi. Just first question, noting your plan to file another IRP in the next year or 2, Do you see any read throughs for your next IRP related to the latest peer IRP settlement approved by the Mission PSC, either from the coal retirement front, renewables investments or otherwise? Thank you. Speaker 200:22:14Well, first, I want to congratulate that peer utility that had an IRP settled this week. So congratulations to the DTE team. A lot goes into those IRPs. And if you take one thing away from that IRP, it just speaks to the constructive environment here in Michigan. Four settlements for us, a settlement in IRP for DTE, that's really good. Speaker 200:22:38So we'll obviously look at their IRP And look at what we want to take into our next IRP. The other things that we'll consider, the Inflation Reduction Act has certainly changed PTCs and ITCs and it's shaping the industry investment. Infrastructure and Jobs Act has also shaped some things in our industry. And so all that will go into our next IRP and some of our thinking. The IRP process takes about 12 to 18 months to build really A thoughtful and thorough plan that we'd submit to the commission. Speaker 200:23:09I anticipate we'll start that process in 2024 building out that. So You play it out. That means we file maybe late 2025, 2026 timeframe. And so there's still some work to define that and Tie that down, but that's our early indications of how we think about our next IRP. Speaker 500:23:32Great. Thank you. And then second question from me. Can you comment on the latest MPSC The investigation into the natural gas meters and new service delays, how are you planning to address or improve these issues? And are there any potential capital opportunities that may result from this investigation? Speaker 500:23:54Thank you. Speaker 200:23:56Thank you for your question. It probably goes without saying this, but I'll say it anyways. We take every And PSC inquiry seriously. And from a customer perspective and Bill's, we've got to get that right. But maybe a little background here, Heidi. Speaker 200:24:12Our meters communicate wirelessly. That's our smart grid, it's all wireless. And obviously, there's a wireless carrier that communicates that signal back to Our home office is here. And as you might imagine, those wireless carriers are moving from 3 gs to 5 gs. So they're shutting down some of the 3 gs systems moving to 5 gs. Speaker 200:24:31And they made us aware of that and we were working with our meter vendor to upgrade those meters so they had the right communication components to operate at 4 gs in 5 gs Technology. That process was underway. However, the meter vendor ran into supply chain problems in part due to the pandemic Where they couldn't get the components for the meter. That delayed our deployment of these meters. And so when we walked in, in January of 2023, We had about 190,000 meters that we're no longer communicating. Speaker 200:25:03Today, that's around 33,000 and we continue to work with our meter vendor to close that and we expect that to be closed by August. As you imagine, when those meters are not communicating, it creates the potential for estimated reads. Our meter vendor was supposed to go out and read meters for us to close that gap. They did not meet our expectations around that and we had to step in and close that gap, which we've done and our REEDs are being completed and any consecutive estimates are now within historical parameters. And so from a meter perspective, from a consecutive estimate perspective, those are resolved or will be resolved in August. Speaker 200:25:41We owe a report to the commission on August 4, and so we'll do that. From a materiality perspective, It's we've factored that in both the reading the meters and any penalties we may see from the Public Service Commission and they're incorporated within our guidance that we've offered. I do not see a capital opportunity here, but rest assured, that from a customer perspective and MPSC perspective, we are running this to ground. We're doing a root cause on it and make sure that it will not happen again for our customers. Thanks for your question, Heidi. Speaker 500:26:18Thank you. Operator00:26:23Your next question comes from Michael Sullivan at Wolfe Research. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:26:31Hey, everyone. Can you hear me okay? Speaker 200:26:34We can. Good morning, Mike. Speaker 600:26:35Yes. Okay, great. Hey, Gary. Maybe this one is for Reggie. Just wanted to ask on the delay in the draw on the forward equity and just how we should think about Timing there and whether that ends up getting needed at all. Speaker 600:26:52I think my recollection is outside of that you had no other Until 2025, but, yes, maybe just a little more color on what the equity picture looks like, going forward now that you've done the convert? Speaker 300:27:06Yes, Mike, thanks for the question. Yes, we will still plan to settle the equity. It will likely be, I'll say, the Back half of this year and deep into the second half, so call it late Q3 or in Q4. But we do still plan to settle the equity over the course of this year. Speaker 600:27:24Okay, great. And just in terms of the impact on metrics And FFO to debt from the convert issuance and the tender and delay in equity, does that kind of move you At all up or down within your mid teens target? Speaker 300:27:43No. The convert transaction was for all intents and purposes when you take into Account all of the puts and takes is effectively credit neutral, maybe modestly accretive. And then the delay of the equity settle again, it's So going to take place over the course of this year. So again, all credit neutral. And so we'll still be right in that mid teens area and well in alignment with the expectations of Credit rating agencies so we can maintain our investment grade ratings. Speaker 600:28:09Okay, great. Thank you very much. Speaker 300:28:12Thank you. Operator00:28:16There are no further questions from the phone lines. So I will turn the conference back to Garik Rocha for any closing remarks. Speaker 200:28:24Thanks, Michelle. I'd like to thank you for joining us today. We'll see you on the road soon. Take care and stay safe. Operator00:28:36Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude your conference call for this morning. We would like to thank you all for participating and ask you to please disconnect your lines.Read morePowered by