Evergy, Inc. Q3 FY2024 earnings call

• Reaffirmed 2024 adjusted EPS guidance range of $3.73 per share to $3.93 per share. Established 2025 adjusted EPS guidance range of $3.92 per share to $4.12 per share with a midpoint of $4.02 per share, and a long-term growth target of 4% to 6% through 2029.
• Announced a 4% increase in the quarterly dividend to $2.67 per share on an annualized basis.
• Highlighted new generation investments: plan to invest in 2 new combined cycle natural gas plants in Kansas and a simple cycle plant in Missouri, with construction to begin later. Reached a unanimous settlement in the Missouri West rate case with a net revenue increase of $55 million, new rates effective Jan 1, 2025.
• Updates on regulatory and legislative priorities: House Bill 2527 in Kansas became effective, and ongoing efforts in Kansas and Missouri regarding regulatory and legislative matters. Economic development wins with Google, Panasonic, Meta, extending weather-normalized demand growth forecast to 2% to 3% through 2029.

For the third quarter of 2024, Evergy delivered adjusted earnings of $466 million or $2.02 per share compared to $432 million or $1.88 per share in the third quarter of 2023. Year-to-date adjusted earnings are $3.46 per share compared to $3.27 per share a year ago. The increase in third quarter adjusted earnings was driven by demand growth, new retail sales, and FERC investments, partially offset by cooler summer weather and higher depreciation and amortization expense.

• Reaffirmed 2024 adjusted EPS guidance range of $3.73 per share to $3.93 per share.
• Established 2025 adjusted EPS guidance range of $3.92 per share to $4.12 per share, with a midpoint of $4.02 per share. Long-term growth target of 4% to 6% through 2029, with expectation to be in the top half of the range from 2026 to 2029.
• $16.2 billion 5-year capital plan, including investments to support 2% to 3% load growth through 2029.

• Uncertainty in winning all economic development projects in the over 6 gigawatt pipeline.
• Regulatory lag despite PISA and CWIP provisions in Kansas and Missouri.
• Supply chain and timing risks for new generation projects, including potential cost increases and delays.

Q: Shahriar Pourreza on earnings sensitivity to additional customers and cap structure workshop A: David Campbell stated there's upside potential from additional customers and the cap structure workshop is a dialogue for Kansas' capital competitiveness Q: Julien Dumoulin-Smith on including CCCT and solar PPA A: David Campbell said solar opportunity is expected to be a PPA, and CCCTs are in the outer years of the plan Q: Durgesh Chopra on long-term growth rate cadence A: David Campbell said they aim for consistency in the top half of the 4%-6% range, with regular rate case cadence helping Q: Michael Sullivan on equity issuance and funding A: Bryan Buckler said no common stock issuance in 2025, with equity needs beginning in 2026 and 2027 Q: Travis Miller on CapEx breakdown and gas plants A: David Campbell said incremental CapEx is ~$2.4 billion for generation and ~$1.3 billion for T&D; gas plants are in the forward plan with some in outer years Q: Ryan Levine on supply chain and customer conversations A: David Campbell said they're in active discussions with customers, aiming to meet their load needs while ensuring infrastructure availability Q: Paul Patterson on common equity, robust discussions timeline, rate trajectory A: Bryan Buckler said no common stock issuance in 2025; robust discussions target resolution in next few months; rate trajectory is in line with inflation Q: Paul Fremont on 4%-6% growth with additional load A: David Campbell said additional loads represent upside potential, with high confidence in the plan with current customers and pipeline