National Fuel Gas Company (“National Fuel” or the “Company”) (NYSE:NFG) today announced consolidated results for the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal year and for the nine months ended June 30, 2024.
FISCAL 2024 THIRD QUARTER SUMMARY
- GAAP net loss of $54.2 million, or $0.59 per share, which includes a $145.0 million non-cash, after-tax impairment charge related to the carrying value of exploration and production properties, compared to GAAP net income of $92.6 million, or $1.00 per share, in the prior year.
- Adjusted operating results of $91.7 million, or $0.99 per share, compared to $93.4 million, or $1.01 per share, in the prior year (see non-GAAP reconciliation on page 2).
- Pipeline and Storage segment net income increased $6.9 million, or 29%, from the prior year, primarily due to the resolution of the National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation (“Supply Corporation”) rate proceeding.
- Utility segment net income increased $2.5 million compared to the prior year, largely as a result of the continued impact of a rate increase in National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation’s (“Distribution Corporation”) Pennsylvania service territory that went into effect August 2023.
- Exploration and Production segment, Seneca Resources Company, LLC (“Seneca”), produced 96.5 Bcf of natural gas, an increase of 2% from the prior year despite approximately 5.6 Bcf of price-related curtailments in the quarter.
- Realized natural gas prices of $2.28 per Mcf, an increase of $0.01 per Mcf from the prior year, as hedging gains more than offset a $0.20 per Mcf decrease in NYMEX prices from the prior year.
- Gathering segment net income increased by $0.8 million, or 3%, driven by continued growth in throughput related to Seneca’s development program.
- The Company continued to prioritize shareholder returns this quarter as the Board approved a 4% increase in the dividend, for an annual rate of $2.06 per share, while also purchasing approximately 527,000 shares year-to-date for $29 million at an average share price of $54.28, under our share repurchase program.
- The Company is narrowing its fiscal 2024 earnings guidance to a range of $5.00 to $5.10 per share, excluding items impacting comparability, and initiating its fiscal 2025 earnings guidance with a range of $5.75 to $6.25 per share, an increase of 19% from fiscal 2024, at the midpoint (see Guidance Summary on page 8). This increase in earnings growth supports the Company’s average annual increase in earnings per share which is expected to exceed 10% over the next three years.