Fortis Inc. (FTS) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

For the period ending December 31, 2022

February 10, 2023 8:30 a.m. ET

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. My name is Laura, and I will be your conference operator today. Welcome to the Fortis 2022 Annual Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. During the call, all participants will be in a listen only mode. There will be a question-and-answer session following the presentation. [Operator Instructions]

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Stephanie Amaimo. Please go ahead, Ms. Amaimo.

Stephanie Amaimo

Thanks, Laura, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to Fortis' fourth quarter and annual 2022 results conference call. I'm joined by David Hutchens, President and CEO; Jocelyn Perry, Executive VP and CFO; other members of the senior management team, as well as CEOs from certain subsidiaries.

Before we begin today's call, I want to remind you that the discussion will include forward-looking information, which is subject to the cautionary statement contained in the supporting slide show. Actual results can differ materially from the forecast projections included in the forward-looking information presented today.

All non-GAAP financial measures referenced in our prepared remarks are reconciled to the related U.S. GAAP financial measures in our annual 2022 MD&A. Also, unless otherwise specified, all financial information referenced is in Canadian dollars.

With that, I will turn the call over to David.

David Hutchens

Thank you and good morning, everyone. 2022 was a great year for Fortis. Our utilities invested $4 billion of capital for system resiliency and modernization and to interconnect cleaner energy to our systems. These investments translated into strong earnings and rate base growth, demonstrating the value of our organic growth strategy and supporting our roughly 6% dividend increase in 2022.

On the sustainability front, we reduced our 2022 annual greenhouse gas emissions by 28% since 2019, keeping us on track to reach our carbon reduction targets. As part of their annual Board Games report, The Globe and Mail ranked Fortis number one among 226 companies in the S&P/TSX Composite Index for good governance, reflecting our board's commitment to best-in-class practices.

And most importantly, we remain focused on delivering safe and reliable service to our electric and gas customers across our North American utilities. These are the core tenets of our value proposition. And at Fortis, as we keep this at the forefront as we mitigate and respond to the impacts of climate change. And while our reliability metrics continue to outperform industry averages in 2022, our utilities remain committed to investing in their energy systems to better withstand the increasing frequency of severe weather events.