FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Brian Tierney: Thank you, Paul. Thanks. You too.

Operator: Our next question comes from David Arcaro with Morgan Stanley. Please proceed with your question.

David Arcaro: Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the question. I was just wondering, could you refresh us on any strategic options that might be available for the Signal Peak business as you’re thinking about that now?

Jon Taylor: In this environment, there’s not a lot of options. Obviously, we look at that quite frequently. It’s not a core business for us. We’ve looked at that in the past several times, it’s just — there’s not a lot of buyers out there. And so the options are fairly limited. But if you think about it in the grand scheme of things, it’s going to be such a de minimis part of our company moving forward that it’s not going to have the same impact that it’s had the last couple of years.

David Arcaro: Of course, great. That makes sense. Thanks.

Brian Tierney: Thanks David.

Operator: Our next question comes from Sophie Karp with KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.

Sophie Karp: Hi, good morning. Thank you for squeezing me in here.

Brian Tierney: Good morning Sophie.

Sophie Karp: Most of my questions have been answered — most of my questions have been answered. Maybe I can just ask you about the balance sheet. Are you completely happy with the balance sheet shape at this point? And if not, what are the incremental goals here in terms of credit ratings, incremental balance sheet strength? Or are you completely satisfied that you kind of done?

Brian Tierney: Yes. Thank you for the question, Sophie. We are really pleased with the shape of the balance sheet at this point. We’re going to get the incremental $3.5 billion in the door in 2024, most of that coming in March of this year anticipated with the Brookfield transaction, that caps off what’s a total of about a $7 billion raise over the last three years. That work has been intentional and purposeful by the Board and the management team even before I got here, for sure, to strengthen that balance sheet. So we’d be in the position that we are today to be able to invest the way that we’ve laid out for you today in our regulated properties. We anticipate by the end of 2024 being at 2024 of being at a 14% to 15% FFO to that range. And we’re anticipating rating agency positive actions associated with the strength of our balance sheet. So we’re really, really pleased with where we are from a balance sheet strength situation.

Jon Taylor: Yes. And Sophie, I would just add, if you think about where the company has come from withholding company debt probably in the 30% plus range, Today, it’s 26% with a plan to get it to 20% or better by 2026. And that’s a strong story. And it really started back in late 2021 when we announced the – the equity transactions with Blackstone and Brookfield and then we followed it up with a second transaction with FET for another $3.5 billion. And we all did that in a very shareholder-friendly way. So we’re excited about where the balance sheet is headed, and we wouldn’t have this capital plan without the strong balance sheet that we have.

Sophie Karp: Got it. Thank you so much.

Jon Taylor: Thank you, Sophie.

Operator: Our next question is from Anthony Crowdell with Mizuho. Please proceed with your question.

Anthony Crowdell: Hey, good morning. Thanks you squeezing me in. I had five questions, Shar ask them all though. But just, I guess, quickly — you’ve had a big eight months. I appreciate the CapEx update. It seems that you’ve accomplished a lot of what you were planning. Just the year ahead, what should we expect?

Brian Tierney: So I think more of the same, Anthony, thank you for the question. So we’ve talked about how we’re reorganizing the company about how we’re changing the segment reporting to reflect that. I mentioned some of the key hires that we made at the end of 2023, we have six more key hires that we need to make. The five people to run our major businesses and a shared services executive that we’re looking for as well. So as we make progress on that, we’ll then have the team ready to help move in the direction that we’ve laid out for you. And execute against the plan that we’ve described today. So it’s really getting the right people in the right seats to manage the company the way that we’ve laid out for you and execute against the fantastic plan that we have.

Anthony Crowdell: Great. Again, congrats. Thanks again for taking the question.

Brian Tierney: Thank you, Anthony.

Operator: We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. And this concludes today’s conference for today. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.

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