Regulated Acquisitions and Growth Outlook slide image

Regulated Acquisitions and Growth Outlook

Forward-Looking Statements AMERICAN WATER Certain statements made, referred to or relied upon in this presentation including, without limitation, with respect to 2023 and 2024 earnings guidance, the Company's long-term financial, growth and dividend targets, the ability to achieve the Company's strategies and goals, customer affordability and acquired customer growth, the outcome of the Company's pending acquisition activity, the amount and allocation of projected capital expenditures; and the amount and timing of estimated revenues from rate cases and other government agency authorizations, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Federal securities laws. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words with prospective meanings such as "intend," "plan," "estimate," "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "predict," "project," "propose," "assume," "forecast," "outlook," "likely," "uncertain," "future," "pending," "goal," "objective," "potential," "continue," "seek to," "may," "can," "will," "should" and "could" and or the negative of such terms or other variations or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are predictions based on American Water's current expectations and assumptions regarding future events. They are not guarantees or assurances of any outcomes, financial results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon them. The forward-looking statements are subject to a number of estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. The Company's actual results may vary materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements included in this presentation as a result of the factors discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, and subsequent filings with the SEC, and because of factors such as: the decisions of governmental and regulatory bodies, including decisions to raise or lower customer rates; the timeliness and outcome of regulatory commissions' and other authorities' actions concerning rates, capital structure, authorized return on equity, capital investment, system acquisitions and dispositions, taxes, permitting, water supply and management, and other decisions; changes in customer demand for, and patterns of use of, water and energy, such as may result from conservation efforts, or otherwise; limitations on the availability of the Company's water supplies or sources of water, or restrictions on its use thereof, resulting from allocation rights, governmental or regulatory requirements and restrictions, drought, overuse or other factors; a loss of one or more large industrial or commercial customers due to adverse economic conditions, or other factors; changes in laws, governmental regulations and policies, including with respect to the environment, health and safety, data and consumer privacy, security and protection, water quality and water quality accountability, contaminants of emerging concern, public utility and tax regulations and policies, and impacts resulting from U.S., state and local elections and changes in federal, state and local executive administrations; the Company's ability to collect, distribute, use, secure and store consumer data in compliance with current or future governmental laws, regulations and policies with respect to data and consumer privacy, security and protection; weather conditions and events, climate variability patterns, and natural disasters, including drought or abnormally high rainfall, prolonged and abnormal ice or freezing conditions, strong winds, coastal and intercoastal flooding, pandemics (including COVID-19) and epidemics, earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, electrical storms, sinkholes and solar flares; the outcome of litigation and similar governmental and regulatory proceedings, investigations or actions; the risks associated with the Company's aging infrastructure, and its ability to appropriately improve the resiliency of or maintain, update, redesign and/or replace, current or future infrastructure and systems, including its technology and other assets, and manage the expansion of its businesses; exposure or infiltration of the Company's technology and critical infrastructure systems, including the disclosure of sensitive, personal or confidential information contained therein, through physical or cyber attacks or other means; the Company's ability to obtain permits and other approvals for projects and construction, update, redesign and/or replacement of various water and wastewater facilities; changes in the Company's capital requirements; the Company's ability to control operating expenses and to achieve operating efficiencies; the intentional or unintentional actions of a third party, including contamination of the Company's water supplies or the water provided to its customers; the Company's ability to obtain and have delivered adequate and cost-effective supplies of pipe, equipment (including personal protective equipment), chemicals, power and other fuel, water and other raw materials, and to address or mitigate supply chain constraints that may result in delays or shortages in, as well as increased costs of, supplies, products and materials that are critical to or used in the Company's business operations; the Company's ability to successfully meet its operational growth projections, either individually or in the aggregate, and capitalize on growth opportunities, including, among other things, with respect to acquiring, closing and successfully integrating regulated operations, the Company's Military Services Group entering into new military installation contracts, price redeterminations and other agreements and contracts with the U.S. government, and realizing anticipated benefits and synergies from new acquisitions; risks and uncertainties following the completion of the sale of the Company's Homeowner Services Group ("HOS"), including the Company's ability to receive any contingent consideration provided for in the HOS sale, as well as amounts due, payable and owing to the Company under the seller note when due and the ability of the Company to redeploy successfully and timely the net proceeds of this transaction into the Company's Regulated Businesses; risks and uncertainties associated with contracting with the U.S. government, including ongoing compliance with applicable government procurement and security regulations; cost overruns relating to improvements in or the expansion of the Company's operations; the Company's ability to successfully develop and implement new technologies and to protect related intellectual property; the Company's ability to maintain safe work sites; the Company's exposure to liabilities related to environmental laws and similar matters resulting from, among other things, water and wastewater service provided to customers; the ability of energy providers, state governments and other third parties to achieve or fulfill their greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, including without limitation through stated renewable portfolio standards and carbon transition plans; changes in general economic, political, business and financial market conditions; access to sufficient debt and/or equity capital on satisfactory terms and as needed to support operations and capital expenditures; fluctuations in inflation or interest rates and the Company's ability to address or mitigate the impacts thereof; the ability to comply with affirmative or negative covenants in the current or future indebtedness of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or the issuance of new or modified credit ratings or outlooks by credit rating agencies with respect to the Company or any of its subsidiaries (or any current or future indebtedness thereof), which could increase financing costs or funding requirements and affect the Company's or its subsidiaries' ability to issue, repay or redeem debt, pay dividends or make distributions; fluctuations in the value of, or assumptions and estimates related to, its benefit plan assets and liabilities, including with respect to its pension and other post-retirement benefit plans, that could increase expenses and plan funding requirements; changes in federal or state general, income and other tax laws, including (i) future significant tax legislation or regulations; and (ii) the availability of, or the Company's compliance with, the terms of applicable tax credits and tax abatement programs; migration of customers into or out of the Company's service territories and changes in water and energy consumption resulting therefrom; the use by municipalities of the power of eminent domain or other authority to condemn the systems of one or more of the Company's utility subsidiaries, including without limitation potential proceedings with respect to the water system assets of the Company's California subsidiary located in Monterey, California, or the assertion by private landowners of similar rights against such utility subsidiaries; any difficulty or inability to obtain insurance for the Company, its inability to obtain insurance at acceptable rates and on acceptable terms and conditions, or its inability to obtain reimbursement under existing or future insurance programs and coverages for any losses sustained; the incurrence of impairment charges, changes in fair value and other adjustments related to the Company's goodwill or the value of its other assets; labor actions, including work stoppages and strikes; the Company's ability to retain and attract highly qualified and skilled employees and/or diverse talent; civil disturbances or unrest, or terrorist threats or acts, or public apprehension about future disturbances, unrest, or terrorist threats or acts; and the impact of new, and changes to existing, accounting standards. These forward-looking statements are qualified by, and should be read together with, the risks and uncertainties set forth above and the risk factors included in American Water's annual, quarterly and other SEC filings, and readers should refer to such risks, uncertainties and risk factors in evaluating such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements American Water makes speak only as of the date of this presentation. American Water does not have or undertake any obligation or intention to update or revise any forward- looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all such factors. Furthermore, it may not be possible to assess the impact of any such factor on the Company's businesses, either viewed independently or together, or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive. 18
View entire presentation