WEC Energy Group, Inc. (WEC) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Q1 2023 Earnings Conference Call May 1, 2023 2:00 PM ET

Company Participants

Gale Klappa - Executive Chairman

Scott Lauber - President and Chief Executive Officer

Xia Liu - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Shar Pourreza - Guggenheim Partners

Julien Dumoulin-Smith - Bank of America

Jeremy Tonet - JPMorgan Chase

Michael Sullivan - Wolfe Research

Durgesh Chopra - Evercore ISI

Andrew Weisel - Scotiabank

Anthony Crowdell - Mizuho

Ashar Khan - Verition

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to WEC Energy Group’s Conference Call for First Quarter 2023 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. The 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

Thank you very much. Live from the Heartland. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. As we review our results for our first quarter of 2023.

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 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Beth Straka, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations.

Now as you saw from our news release this morning, we reported first quarter 2023 earnings of $1.61 a share. Weather was a major factor in our lower results for the quarter. We saw one of the mildest winters in the history of the upper Midwest. For example, it was the second warmest first quarter in Milwaukee since 1891. However, we're confident in our plan for the remainder of the year and we're reaffirming our guidance for 2023.