Unitil Corporation

Unitil reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted net income of $5.2 million, or $0.29 per share. For the first six months of 2026, adjusted net income was approximately $39 million, or $2.17 per share, up $5.9 million and $0.14 per share, or nearly 7%, versus the first half of 2025. Electric adjusted gross margin for the first half was $61.2 million, up $7.9 million, or 14.8%, and gas adjusted gross margin was $122.7 million, up $14.6 million, or about 13.5%. Management reaffirmed 2026 EPS guidance of $3.20 to $3.36, long-term earnings growth of 5% to 7%, and said GAAP ROE on a trailing 12-month basis was 9.6%. The Aquarion New Hampshire water acquisition closed June 30 for $55.8 million, including $13.7 million of long-term debt, and is expected to be earnings neutral in 2026. The company’s 5-year capital investment plan through 2030 totals about $1.2 billion, up 24% from the prior plan. In the quarter, Unitil issued approximately $11 million of equity under its ATM program and priced $60 million of holding company senior notes, expected to close in September.

Tom Meissner described the first half as outstanding operationally and financially, emphasizing disciplined execution and strong regulated utility performance. He highlighted the Aquarion New Hampshire acquisition as a strategic portfolio expansion, said customer satisfaction remains high at 90%, and pointed to sustained opportunities from natural gas conversion demand, especially in Maine. On the regulatory and acquisition front, he said the company remains interested in expanding its footprint as long as it fits the existing business model.

Dan Hurstak focused on the earnings bridge, margins, rate cases, and funding. He said first-half electric gross margin rose to $61.2 million and gas gross margin rose to $122.7 million, driven by higher rates, customer growth, Maine Natural Gas, and colder weather; excluding Maine Natural Gas, O&M rose only $0.6 million, or just above 1%, year over year. He also detailed the balance sheet, noting an S&P-adjusted FFO-to-debt metric of 17.2%, roughly $11 million of equity issued under the ATM, about $37.5 million of remaining ATM capacity, and $60 million of holding company senior notes priced in June for use in debt repayment and general corporate purposes.

Analysts focused on whether the Aquarion New Hampshire deal still looks neutral to EPS without Massachusetts closing, and management said the incremental CapEx guidance only reflects the New Hampshire Aquarion companies and that they expect the rest-of-year earnings contribution to be neutral to consolidated EPS after financing effects. On Massachusetts, management said Eversource is expected to file a rate case to address the conditions in the prior approval order, including the stay-out issue and gain on sale of Hingham assets. Asked whether the drawn-out regulatory process changes their acquisition appetite, Tom Meissner said no, and reiterated interest in further footprint expansion if it fits the business model.