Sentiment Analysis of the earnings transcript to help figure out if there are any bullish or bearish sentiments that could be gathered from it. We're doing ML and AI based analysis on the earnings call to get some more insights.
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| Further, our shares continue to offer investors an attractive dividend, and we are positioned well for future dividend growth |
| So 6.7% versus sort of 7%, where I think we kind of pointed people historically and again, we've had opportunities to do better than that and Marty will talk about where I think, the future still lies for us |
| Finally, moving to Page 27, I'll emphasize again that we have a strong team and a long track record of execution |
| Turning now to Page 15; looking ahead over the next decade, we have a robust pipeline of investment opportunities of over $55 billion that will deliver significant value to all of our stakeholders by making our energy grid stronger, smarter and cleaner |
| Our strong 2023 operating and financial results, which we will cover today, reflect execution on our key business objectives for the year, which will continue to create value for our customers, communities, shareholders and the environment in the years ahead |
| This represents the 11th consecutive year that we have raised the dividend and reflects confidence by Ameren's board of directors in our business outlook and management's ability to execute our strategy |
| Moving to Page 17; to sum up our value proposition, we remain firmly convinced that the execution of our strategy in 2024 and beyond will continue to deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders and the environment |
| Our operations and investments in 2023 made the energy grid safer, smarter, cleaner, more reliable and resilient, supporting thousands of jobs in our local communities in Missouri and Illinois, and driving a positive impact on the economies of each state |
| When awarding the competitive projects to Ameren, MISO noted our sound route design, engineering and cost containment plan, and innovative approach working with stakeholders as key factors in the winning bids |
| The positive impact of our investments was reinforced by our top quartile reliability performance in 2023, as measured by the frequency of outages |
| I encourage you to take some time to read more about our strong sustainability value proposition |
| When I reflect on the business objectives we laid out at the start of 2023, I am pleased to say that we made some great strides in each of our three strategic pillars |
| I think our customers are seeing a lot of benefits today, as I mentioned in our prepared remarks, especially when we have severe weather events |
| We delivered strong earnings growth in 2023 and expect to continue to deliver 6% to 8% compound earnings per share growth over the next five years, driven by robust rate-based growth and disciplined cost management |
| We believe our expectation of 6% to 8% compound annual earnings growth from 2024 through 2028, is driven by strong rate-based growth and supported by a strong balance sheet, compares favourably with our regulated utility peers |
| We also expect to benefit from lower operations and maintenance expenses |
| We will continue working with stakeholders on a path forward to approval of an electric grid investment plan, revised revenue requirements incorporating ongoing and prospective investments, and an improved overall regulatory environment |
| I'm confident in our ability to execute our strategy and investment plans across all four of our business segments, as we have an experienced and dedicated team with a track record of execution |
| We believe this growth will compare favorably with the growth of our peers |
| Our dividend is another important element of our strong total shareholder return proposition |
| Again, I feel good about it |
| We added the capital and still feel good about the levels that we're at given the equity that we're issuing |
| Earnings are also expected to benefit from higher weather normalized kilowatt hour sales to Missouri residential and commercial customers, which are expected to increase by 1% year-over-year in 2024, while sales to industrial customers are expected to increase by 4% year-over-year |
| While we're conservative on our model and we are optimistic about the opportunity for strong economic development in the years ahead |
| Turning to Page eight; here, you can see we have delivered consistent superior value to our shareholders for the past decade |
| Further, Ameren shares continued to offer investors an attractive dividend |
| This drove a strong total return of 173% for our shareholders from 2013 to 2023, which was significantly above our utility peer average |
| This track record of strong and consistent performance gives me conviction regarding our business strategy and rest assured, we are not looking back |
| Simply put, we believe this results in an attractive, total return opportunity for shareholders |
| As I mentioned, we had a very strong balance sheet and opportunities, as Michael just said, to continue to close the gap between our allowed and earned returns, which provides upside |
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| Unfortunately, the ICC decisions in both the electric and natural gas rate reviews late last year were disappointing, reducing cash flows available for investment and delaying needed investments in energy infrastructure |
| That said, we did not achieve the results expected in our Illinois gas and electric regulatory proceedings |
| At this time, we expect earnings growth to trend below the midpoint of our range until the outlook in Illinois improves or the impacts of other growth opportunities are realized |
| At the same time, our Ameren supplied residential customer rates, on average, were below the Midwest average |
| Notably, our Missouri customer rates have only increased 1.8% compounded annually since the smart energy plan legislation took effect in April 2017, with our Missouri residential customer rates consistently remaining 25% or more below the Midwest average |
| Moving now to Ameren wide drivers and assumptions; we expect increased weighted average common shares outstanding to unfavorably impact earnings per share |
| Unemployments, running below the national average |
| Turning to Page 26; for Ameren Illinois electric distribution, the year-over-year earnings comparison will be impacted by the lower allowed ROE approved by the ICC in the multi-year rate plan versus the 2023 allowed ROE, which was driven by the 30-year treasury rates plus 580 basis points |
| Nicholas Campanella Appreciate the guidance update and just the comment that you're kind of below the midpoint of the 6% to 8% range |
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