Otter Tail Corporation Announces Fourth Quarter Earnings, Increases Quarterly Dividend 5.8% and Announces 2022 Earnings Guidance of $3.78 to $4.08 per share

Otter Tail Corporation (Nasdaq: OTTR) today announced financial results for the quarter and the year ended December 31, 2021.

2021 SUMMARY

2021 HIGHLIGHTS

Compared to the year ended December 31, 2020:

• Consolidated operating revenues increased 34.5% to $1.2 billion.

• Consolidated net income increased 84.4% to $176.8 million.

• Diluted earnings per share increased 80.8% to $4.23 per share.

• The corporation achieved a consolidated return on equity of 19.2% on an equity ratio of 53.7%.

The corporation’s board of directors increased the quarterly common stock dividend to $0.4125 per share, an indicated annual dividend rate of $1.65 per share and a 5.8% increase from $1.56 per share in 2021.

The corporation expects 2022 diluted earnings per share to be in a range of $3.78 to $4.08.

CEO OVERVIEW

“Otter Tail Corporation, through the efforts of our employees, achieved record financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021,” said President and CEO Chuck MacFarlane. “Our Plastics segment completed its outstanding year as we capitalized on unique industry supply and demand conditions. PVC resin supply constraints began from the extreme cold weather in February, which caused resin suppliers to temporarily close various petrochemical plants in the Gulf Coast region, and was exacerbated in the third quarter of 2021 from disruptions caused by Hurricane Ida. These supply constraints, along with strong customer demand, resulted in low PVC pipe inventories, which led to high PVC pipe prices and margins at levels not previously experienced.

“Electric segment earnings increased 8.5 percent in 2021, driven primarily by rate base growth from our Merricourt and Astoria Station projects being commercially operational and the $420 million total investment fully reflected in our rate base recovery. Manufacturing segment earnings increased in 2021 primarily as a result of strong end market demand at both BTD Manufacturing and T.O. Plastics.

“Otter Tail Power filed its Integrated Resource Plan in September. The requests in the five-year action plan include the addition of dual fuel capability at our Astoria Station natural gas plant, the addition of 150 MW of solar generation in 2025 and the commencement of the process to withdraw from our 35 percent ownership in Coyote Station by December 31, 2028. After incorporating the requests included in the Integrated Resource Plan, we now anticipate capital expenditures in our Electric segment of nearly $1 billion over the next five years, which will result in a compounded annual growth rate in average rate base of 5.9 percent from the end of 2021 to the end of 2026.

“We continue to make progress on the development of Otter Tail Power’s 49.9 MW Hoot Lake Solar project, which will be constructed on and near the retired Hoot Lake Plant property in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. The project is expected to be completed in 2023 and has received renewable rider eligibility approval in Minnesota. The location of Hoot Lake Solar offers us a unique opportunity to utilize our existing Hoot Lake transmission rights, substation and land. We continue to work through supply chain challenges, as well as impacts from inflation, to have the project completed in 2023.

“Our investments in Hoot Lake Solar, those identified in our Integrated Resource Plan, and other capital expenditure plans allow us to improve our customers’ experience, reduce operating and maintenance expenses, reduce emissions and improve reliability. Based on our current dispatch levels of Big Stone Plant and Coyote Station, we are targeting to reduce carbon emissions from our owned generation resources approximately 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2025 and 97 percent from 2005 levels by 2050.

“Otter Tail Power received regulatory approval in the third quarter of 2021 for the addition of a new load with a customer whose business is focused on the delivery of high-performance crypto mining and infrastructure solutions to their customers. Demand from this new customer is expected to be 100 MW with a high load factor and the ability to significantly curtail the load. We now expect this load to come on line during the first quarter of 2022 and be fully operational in the second quarter of 2022.

“The Minnesota Public Utility Commission issued its written order on our Minnesota Rate Case on February 1, 2022. The written order included approval of a return on equity of 9.48 percent on a 52.5 percent equity layer, a revenue decoupling mechanism and numerous other items. We expect final rates to be implemented by mid-2022.

“Our Manufacturing segment continued to be challenged by labor and recruitment costs as we continued to bring our new employees to full productivity. Steel prices peaked in the fourth quarter at historically high levels, and prices began to moderate as lead times improved. We remain focused on managing our steel supply to ensure we continue to receive material on time.

“Our Plastics segment continued to manage through raw material supply challenges. Demand for PVC pipe continues to outpace supply causing sales prices to continue to increase well above raw material price increases which led to record fourth quarter earnings.

“Our long-term focus remains on executing our growth strategies. For our electric utility, our strategy is to continue to invest in rate base growth opportunities and drive efficiency within our business, which will lower our overall risk, create a more predictable earnings stream, maintain our credit quality and preserve our ability to pay dividends. Over time, we expect the electric utility business will provide approximately 70 percent of our overall earnings.

“The utility is complemented by well-run, strategic manufacturing and plastic pipe businesses, which provide organic growth opportunities from new products and services, market expansion and increased efficiencies. We expect these companies will provide approximately 30 percent of our earnings over the long term.

“Our strategic initiatives to grow our business and achieve operational, commercial and talent excellence continue to strengthen our position in the markets we serve. We remain confident in our ability to grow earnings per share in the range of 5 to 7 percent compounded annually from a base of $2.34 in 2020. We are initiating our 2022 earnings per share guidance to a range of $3.78 to $4.08.”

CASH FLOWS AND LIQUIDITY

Our consolidated cash provided by operating activities was $231.2 million in 2021 compared with $211.9 million in 2020.

Investing activities included capital expenditures of $171.8 million in 2021 compared with $371.6 million in 2020. The decrease in capital expenditures was primarily related to our Astoria Station and Merricourt projects being under construction during 2020, with the capital spend being substantially complete for both projects by year-end 2020.

Financing activities in 2021 included the issuance of $140.0 million in long-term debt at Otter Tail Power through a private placement offering, as described below, which was used to repay long-term debt that matured in December 2021, and $10.2 million of net short-term borrowings on our lines of credit, which were primarily used to fund construction expenditures and support operating activities. In 2021, we paid $64.9 million in dividends to common shareholders. In 2020, $75.0 million of long-term debt was issued at Otter Tail Power to fund capital expenditures, and we had $75.0 million of net short-term borrowings on our lines of credit. In 2020, we also raised $52.4 million from the issuance of common stock to fund capital expenditures at Otter Tail Power. In 2020, we paid $60.3 million in dividends to common shareholders.

The following table presents the status of our credit agreements at December 31, 2021 and 2020:

In June 2021, Otter Tail Power completed a private placement offering to issue a total of $230.0 million of new debt in the form of senior unsecured notes. Per the terms of the offering, the notes are to be issued in three separate tranches on a delayed draw. In November 2021, the 2.74% Series 2021A notes and the 3.69% Series 2021B notes were issued, for proceeds of $40.0 million and $100.0 million, respectively. The 3.77% Series 2022A notes will be issued in May 2022, for proceeds of $90.0 million, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions to closing. A portion of the proceeds from the Series 2022A notes will be used to repay $30.0 million of long-term debt maturing in August 2022.

ANNUAL SEGMENT OPERATING RESULTS

Electric Segment

The following table shows heating and cooling degree days as a percent of normal.

The following table summarizes the estimated effect on diluted earnings per share of the difference in retail kilowatt-hour (kwh) sales under actual weather conditions and expected retail kwh sales under normal weather conditions in 2021 and 2020.

Retail Revenues increased $16.0 million primarily due to the following:

• An $8.1 million increase in fuel recovery revenues primarily resulting from increased production fuel and purchase power costs, both of which were impacted by increasing natural gas prices throughout most of 2021. Partially offsetting this increase are credits provided to retail customers from increased margins recognized on wholesale sales.

• A $6.6 million increase in rider revenues in our North Dakota and South Dakota jurisdictions primarily to recover our investments in and costs to operate Merricourt and Astoria Station.

• A $5.0 million increase in new retail revenues from an interim rate increase in Minnesota, net of estimated refunds.

These increases in retail revenue were partially offset by the impact of reduced demand, exclusive of the impact of weather, from residential customers, and net of the effect of a change in customer usage mix. In addition, retail revenue in 2020 benefited from the recognition of $2.6 million of Minnesota transmission rider revenue resulting from a favorable judicial decision regarding the state jurisdictional treatment of federally approved transmission projects.

Transmission Services Revenues increased $4.8 million primarily due to increased recovery of higher transmission costs and increased transmission investment along with increased generator interconnection revenues.

Wholesale Revenues increased $13.1 million as a result of a 77.6% increase in wholesale sales volumes and a 107.9% increase in wholesale prices driven by increased fuel costs and market demand for wholesale energy, which serves to drive up spot market prices for electricity.

Production Fuel costs increased $13.0 million as a result of a 16.9% increase in kwhs generated from our fuel-burning plants, largely driven by output from Astoria Station after energy generation commenced in April of 2021.

Purchased Power costs increased $3.7 million due to a 27.9% increase in the cost per kwh purchased in 2021. This increase was partially offset by a 17.1% decrease in the volume of purchased power in 2021 as our recent generation additions provide additional generation resources to serve customer demand and market conditions led to operating our facilities at higher capacity factors in lieu of purchasing power at higher market prices.

Operating and MaintenanceExpense increased $8.8 million mainly due to:

• A $5.2 million increase in operating and maintenance costs for Merricourt and Astoria Station as these facilities were placed in service in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, respectively.

• A $4.0 million increase in Big Stone plant maintenance costs arising from our planned facility outage, which began in the third quarter and was completed in the fourth quarter of 2021.

• Other additional costs including a $2.2 million increase in transmission tariff expenses and increases in information technology services, insurance costs and increased vegetative maintenance costs.

These expense increases were partially offset by, among other items, a $3.0 million reduction in bad debt expense as customer collections have improved from 2020, which were negatively impacted by the economic effects of COVID-19, along with lower operating costs following the closure of Hoot Lake Plant in May 2021.

Depreciation and Amortization expense increased $8.2 million primarily due to Merricourt and Astoria Station being placed in service in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, respectively.

Interest Charges increased $3.2 million primarily due to additional interest expense from a $40.0 million long-term debt issuance in August 2020, a higher level of short-term debt borrowings outstanding in 2021 and a lower level of capitalized interest due to the completion and placement in service of Astoria Station in the first quarter of 2021.

Other Income decreased $3.2 million due to lower allowance for equity funds used during construction due to the completion of Astoria Station in the first quarter of 2021.

Income Tax Expense decreased $10.8 million primarily due to earning production tax credits on Merricourt generation in 2021. The tax benefits of these credits are passed through to retail customers in each of our jurisdictions.

Manufacturing Segment

Manufacturing segment operating revenues and net income in 2021 increased $97.5 million and $6.1 million, respectively. The increase in operating revenues was primarily due to a 31.2% increase in material costs at BTD Manufacturing (BTD), our contract metal fabricator, which are passed through to customers, as steel prices increased significantly from the previous year. Steel prices increased during the year as steel mill production did not match customer demand as mill capacity recovered from shutdowns in 2020 resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Customer demand increased from the previous year in nearly all end-markets after customers had implemented temporary plant shutdowns in 2020 in response to the pandemic. Sales volumes in 2021 increased 6.8% from the previous year. A $7.3 million increase in scrap revenues also contributed to the increase in operating revenues, with $5.9 million of the increase due to higher scrap metal prices and $1.4 million attributable to higher volumes.

The increase in operating revenues at BTD were partially offset by lower gross profit margins and increased operating costs. Gross profit margins were negatively impacted by lower productivity and increased labor and freight costs. The lower level of productivity during the year was primarily the result of increased staffing levels to meet higher business volumes and the time required for new employees to achieve peak productivity. The increase in operating expenses was the result of increased staffing levels and associated recruitment costs, travel costs, incentive based compensation and other costs resulting from higher business volumes.

Manufacturing segment operating revenues and net income also benefited from increased product pricing and higher sales volumes along with increased gross profit margins resulting from higher production volumes at T.O. Plastics, our plastics thermoforming manufacturer.

Plastics Segment

Plastics segment operating revenues and net income in 2021 increased $175.0 million and $70.2 million, respectively. The average price per pound of PVC pipe sold in 2021 increased 82.1% compared to 2020, which exceeded the 65.5% increase in the cost of PVC resin and other input materials. The increase in sale prices was largely due to the combination of PVC resin supply constraints, which limited PVC pipe manufacturing output and led to extremely low inventory levels and strong demand for PVC pipe products. Resin supply was negatively impacted during the year by production disruptions caused by extreme weather events in the first and third quarters in the Gulf Coast region. Pounds of pipe sold in 2021 increased 1.7% compared to the previous year. Additionally, in 2020, our Plastics segment businesses made a $2.0 million contribution commitment to Otter Tail Corporation’s charitable foundation, and no such commitment was made in 2021. The decrease in foundation contribution commitments was partially offset by an increase in variable operating costs associated with the increased revenues in 2021.

Corporate Costs

Our corporate net loss in 2021 increased $1.1 million primarily due to increased labor and benefit costs, including higher health care costs related to our self-funded health insurance program, as well as a $3.0 million contribution commitment to Otter Tail Corporation’s charitable foundation in 2021, compared to a $2.5 million commitment in the previous year.

FOURTH QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS

Consolidated Results

Electric Segment

Electric segment net income in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $16.9 million, a $4.4 million increase from the fourth quarter of 2020, which was driven by a 16.7% increase in operating revenues primarily as the result of increased fuel recovery revenues and revenues from the recovery of our investments in recent rate base additions. This recovery includes new revenue from an interim rate increase in Minnesota.

The increase in operating revenues was partially offset by higher operating costs, including increased purchased power and production fuel costs, which were primarily the result of higher market prices for each in the fourth quarter of 2021 and higher depreciation and amortization expense, which was largely due to the commencement of depreciation of Merricourt in December 2020 and Astoria Station in the first quarter of 2021. Operating and maintenance expenses were higher in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 2020, primarily due to maintenance costs from our planned outage at Big Stone plant, but partially offset by lower bad debt expense as customer collections have improved from the fourth quarter of 2020.

Manufacturing Segment

Manufacturing segment net income was $1.9 million, a $0.7 million decrease from the fourth quarter of 2020, primarily as a result of lower earnings at BTD. Sales volumes at BTD in the fourth quarter of 2021 decreased 16.7% over the same period last year as our product deliveries were impacted by supply and manufacturing disruptions of our customers. Increased operating expenses, which were largely the result of increased costs necessary to support higher annual business volumes, also contributed to lower quarterly earnings. An increase in scrap revenues at BTD and increased earnings at T.O. Plastics in the fourth quarter of 2021 partially offset the impact of lower sales volumes and higher operating costs at BTD.

Plastics Segment

Plastics segment net income was $37.7 million, a $31.1 million increase from the fourth quarter of 2020, primarily due to a $65.9 million increase in revenue driven by a 110.6% increase in average PVC pipe sales prices, which exceeded the 81.4% increase in the average cost per pound of PVC pipe sold, and a 10.7% increase in the pounds of pipe sold compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

Corporate Costs

Corporate net loss was $4.9 million, a $1.8 million increase from the fourth quarter of 2020, primarily due to increased labor and benefit costs, including higher health care costs related to our self-funded health insurance program, as well as a $0.5 million increase in contribution commitments to Otter Tail Corporation’s charitable foundation.

2022 BUSINESS OUTLOOK

We anticipate 2022 diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $3.78 to $4.08.

We have taken into consideration strategies for improving future operating results, the cyclical nature of some of our businesses, current business conditions and current regulatory factors facing our Electric Segment. We expect capital expenditures for 2022 to be $182 million compared with $172 million in 2021. Our Electric Segment accounts for 82% of our planned 2022 capital expenditures.

We expect our Electric Segment to account for 47% of our consolidated earnings in 2022 with our Manufacturing and Plastics Segments, net of corporate costs, to account for 53%. This mix is different from our 70%/30% anticipated long term earnings mix and is being driven by the expectations of another strong year of financial performance from our Plastics Segment.

Segment components of our 2022 diluted earnings per share guidance range compared with 2020 and 2021 actual earnings are as follows:

The following items contribute to our 2022 earnings guidance:

• We expect our Electric Segment net income to increase 7% over 2021 based on the following key items:
  • Normal weather for 2022
  • Year over year increase in rate base along with increased load growth from new and existing commercial and industrial customers. Our ending rate base in 2021 grew by 13.7% to $1.6 billion.
  • Lower expected plant outage costs in 2022 as the Big Stone Plant outage in 2021 had higher costs than what is expected related to the planned Coyote Plant outage in 2022.
  • The discount rate for our pension plan for 2022 is 3.03% compared with 2.78% in 2021. For each 25 basis point increase in the discount rate, pension expense decreases approximately $1.3 million. The assumed long-term rate of return for 2022 is 6.30% compared with 6.51% in 2021. Each 25 basis point decrease in this rate equates to approximately $0.9 million in increased pension expense. These changes result in a net decrease in pension expense for 2022.
  • Lower expected contributions to the Otter Tail Power Company Foundation in 2022.
  • Lower interest expense as the $140 million notes issued in November 2021 have a lower interest rate compared to the $140 million that was refinanced.
    
    These items are partially offset by:
  • Higher depreciation and property tax expense driven by increasing rate base.
  • Labor costs are expected to be higher in 2022 as open positions were filled during the last half of 2021 and are expected to be employed for all of 2022.
  • Increasing insurance costs related to increase in insurable values and increase in insurance rates due to competitive market conditions.

• We expect net income from our Manufacturing segment to increase 7.6% compared with 2021 based on:
  • An increase in sales at BTD driven by end market demand as our customers continue to build inventory to fill shortages created by supply chain challenges. While we have been generally able to meet our customers’ on time delivery requirements, our customers have other supply chain challenges which impact their ability to consistently take our product in line with their production timelines. Steel lead times have improved back to pre-pandemic timeframes. Steel costs remain elevated as mill prices and supply chain costs remain significantly higher than historical levels. While mill prices are expected to moderate through 2022, steel costs are expected to remain historically high through the year. These costs could put additional pressure on our profitability if we are unable to pass cost increases onto our customers on a timely basis. Scrap metal revenues are expected to be lower in 2022 given currently declining market prices for scrap metal. We continue to work on improving labor efficiencies in order to enhance our gross margins.
  • An increase in earnings from T.O. Plastics driven in large part by a full year of increases in product prices that occurred throughout 2021 and improved manufacturing productivity.
  • Backlog for the manufacturing companies of approximately $391 million for 2022 compared with $204 million one year ago.

• We expect 2022 net income from our Plastics segment to decline from the record earnings year in 2021. Even with the expected decline in earnings, 2022 is expected to generate significant earnings and cash flows. The first quarter of 2022 is expected to be strong as market conditions from the fourth quarter of 2021 continue into 2022. We then expect to start to see a gradual return to more normal business conditions as raw material supply improves, causing sales prices, resin prices and related spreads to decline through the remainder of the year. Specific reasons for the expected year over year decline in net income are:
  • Lower volume of pounds of pipe sold in 2022 driven by extremely low levels of finished goods inventory to start the year.
  • PVC resin production is forecasted to be strong beginning in the first quarter which is expected to put downward pressure on prices.
  • PVC demand has decreased globally causing PVC supply to increase, which is also expected to result in declining PVC resin prices.
  • Increases in freight costs due to the inflationary nature of the logistics environment across the country.

• We expect our Corporate costs will be in line with 2021. We are not anticipating a contribution to our Foundation in 2022 after a $3.0 million commitment in 2021. This savings is largely offset by lower budgeted gains on our investments in 2022 than what was recognized in 2021 and anticipated costs for additional safety measures related to COVID-19 to be incurred in 2022.

   

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES

The following provides a summary of actual capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2021, and anticipated capital expenditures for next five years, along with electric utility average rate base and rate base growth:

Our capital expenditure plan for the next five years includes Electric segment investments in system reliability, wind and solar resources, technology and distribution assets, and transmission assets. Our Electric segment anticipated investment plan produces a compounded annual growth rate in average rate base of 5.9% over the next five years and will serve as a key driver in increasing Electric segment earnings over this timeframe. Our capital expenditure plan in our Manufacturing and Plastics segments includes investments to bring additional capacity to our operations, providing an opportunity for organic growth within these segments.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

The corporation will host a live webcast on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. CDT to discuss its financial and operating performance.

The presentation will be posted on our website before the webcast. To access the live webcast, go to www.ottertail.com/presentations and select “Webcast.” Please allow time prior to the call to visit the site and download any software needed to listen in. An archived copy of the webcast will be available on our website shortly after the call.

If you are interested in asking a question during the live webcast, call 877-312-8789. For listen-only mode, call 866-634-1342.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Except for historical information contained here, the statements in this release are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “outlook,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “projected,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of management. Forward-looking statements made herein, which include statements regarding 2022 earnings and earnings per share, long-term earnings, earnings per share growth and earnings mix, anticipated levels of energy generation from renewable resources, anticipated reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, future investments and capital expenditures, rate base levels and rate base growth, future raw materials costs, future raw material availability and supply constraints, future operating revenues and operating results, and expectations regarding regulatory proceedings, as well as other assumptions and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results in current or future periods to differ materially from the forecasted assumptions and expected results. The Company’s risks and uncertainties include, among other things, uncertainty of the impact and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, long-term investment risk, seasonal weather patterns and extreme weather events, counterparty credit risk, future business volumes with key customers, reductions in our credit ratings, our ability to access capital markets on favorable terms, assumptions and costs relating to funding our employee benefit plans, our subsidiaries’ ability to make dividend payments, cyber security threats or data breaches, the impact of government legislation and regulation, including foreign trade policy and environmental laws and regulations, the impact of climate change, including compliance with legislative and regulatory changes to address climate change, operational and economic risks associated with our electric generating and manufacturing facilities, risks associated with energy markets, the availability and pricing of resource materials, attracting and maintaining a qualified and stable workforce, and changing macroeconomic and industry conditions. These and other risks are more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, as updated in subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as applicable. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking information.

Category: Earnings

About the Corporation: Otter Tail Corporation has interests in diversified operations that include an electric utility and manufacturing businesses. Otter Tail Corporation stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol OTTR. The latest investor and corporate information is available at www.ottertail.com. Corporate offices are in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and Fargo, North Dakota.

OTTER TAIL CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (unaudited)

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CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited)

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (unaudited)

OTTER TAIL CORPORATION

SEGMENT RESULTS (unaudited)

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