WEC Energy Group (WEC) Q1 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

For the period ending March 31, 2022

May 2, 2022 2:00 p.m. ET

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to WEC Energy Group's Conference Call for First Quarter 2022 Results. This call is being recorded for rebroadcast and all participants are in a listen-only mode at this time.

Before the conference call begins, I remind you that all statements in the presentation, other than historical facts, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that are subject to change at any time. Such statements are based on management's expectations at the time they are made.

In addition to the assumptions and other factors referred to in connection with the statements, factors described in WEC Energy Group's latest Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. During the discussions, referenced earnings per share will be based on diluted earnings per share, unless otherwise noted.

After the presentation, the conference will be open to analysts for questions and answers. In conjunction with this call, a package of detailed financial information is posted at wecenergygroup.com. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of this call.

And now it's my pleasure to introduce Gale Klappa, Executive Chairman of WEC Energy Group.

Gale Klappa

From the home of the defending NBA champion, Milwaukee Bucks, good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining us today as we review our results for the first quarter of 2022. First, I'd like to introduce the members of our management team who are here with me today. We have Scott Lauber, our President and Chief Executive; Xia Liu, our Chief Financial Officer; and Beth Straka, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations.

Now as you saw from our news release this morning, we reported first quarter 2022 earnings of $1.79 a share. Our results were largely driven by colder-than-normal weather, a strong economy and the performance of our Infrastructure segment. In light of this strong start to the year, we're raising our earnings guidance by $0.05 a share for 2022 to a range of $4.34 to $4.38 a share, with an expectation of reaching the top end of this new range. This, of course, assumes normal weather for the remainder of 2022.

Our balance sheet and cash flows remained strong. And as we discussed, this allows us to fund a highly executable capital plan without issuing equity. We're also making good headway on our $17.7 billion ESG progress plan, the largest five-year capital plan in the Company history. The plan is focused on efficiency, sustainability and growth. Over the past few months, we've received regulatory approval for more than $1.1 billion of needed capital projects in Wisconsin. Scott will provide more detail in just a few minutes. And we're preparing the way for further progress ahead.