| | |
SOUTHWEST GAS HOLDINGS, INC. | | Form 10-Q |
SOUTHWEST GAS CORPORATION | | June 30, 2018 |
Earnings are defined as the sum of pretax income plus fixed charges. Fixed charges consist of all interest expense including capitalized interest,one-third of rent expense (that approximates the interest component of such expense), and net amortized debt costs.
Forward-Looking Statements
This quarterly report contains statements which constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“Reform Act”). All statements other than statements of historical fact included or incorporated by reference in this quarterly report are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s plans, objectives, goals, intentions, projections, strategies, future events or performance, negotiations, and underlying assumptions. The words “may,” “if,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “continue,” “forecast,” “intend,” “promote,” “seek,” and similar words and expressions are generally used and intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, statements regarding operating margin patterns, customer growth, the composition of our customer base, price volatility, seasonal patterns, payment of debt, interest savings, the Company’s COLI strategy, replacement market and new construction market, the impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation including disposition as to both timing and amounts in regulatory proceedings, bonus depreciation tax deductions, amount and timing for completion of estimated future construction expenditures, including the LNG facility in southern Arizona, the Mesquite expansion in Nevada, and the Paiute 2018 expansion project in northern Nevada and northern California, forecasted operating cash flows and results of operations, impacts from gas infrastructure replacement programs and surcharges, funding sources of cash requirements, amounts generally expected to be reflected in 2018 or future period revenues from regulatory rate proceedings including amounts resulting from the settled Arizona general rate case, the recently filed Nevada general rate case, rates and surcharges, PGA, and other rate adjustments, sufficiency of working capital and current credit facilities, bank lending practices, the Company’s views regarding its liquidity position, ability to raise funds and receive external financing capacity and the intent and ability to issue common stock under the Equity Shelf Program, the intent and ability to issue various financing instruments and stock under the December 2017 shelf registration statement, future dividend increases and the Board’s current target dividend payout ratio, pension and post-retirement benefits, certain impacts of tax acts, contract or construction change order negotiations, impacts of accounting standard updates, infrastructure replacement mechanisms and COYL programs, future gas prices, gas purchase contracts and derivative financial instruments, recoverability of regulatory assets, the time period and means for returning to customers proceeds from the recent EPNG refund, the impact of certain legal proceedings, and the timing and results of future rate hearings and approvals are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor protection provided by the Reform Act.
A number of important factors affecting the business and financial results of the Company could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, customer growth rates, conditions in the housing market, the ability to recover costs through the PGA mechanisms or other regulatory assets, the effects of regulation/deregulation, the impacts of alternative energy sources to natural gas, the timing and amount of rate relief, the timing, amount, and methods determined by regulators to refund amounts to customers resulting from tax reform, changes in rate design, variability in volume of gas or transportation service sold to customers, changes in gas procurement practices, changes in capital requirements and funding, the impact of conditions in the capital markets on financing costs, changes in construction expenditures and financing, changes in operations and maintenance expenses, effects of pension expense forecasts, accounting changes and regulatory treatment related thereto, currently unresolved and future liability claims, changes in pipeline capacity for the transportation of gas and related costs, results of Centuri bid work, results of Neuco (including the ability to be accretive to earnings over the first twelve months), Centuri construction expenses, differences between actual and originally expected outcomes of Centuri bid or other fixed-price construction agreements, outcomes from contract and change order negotiations, ability to successfully procure new work, impacts from work awarded or failing to be awarded from significant customers, the mix of work awarded, the amount of work awarded to Centuri, acquisitions and management’s plans related thereto, competition, our ability to raise capital in external financings, our ability to continue to remain within the ratios and other limits subject to our debt covenants, and ongoing evaluations in regard to goodwill and other intangible assets. In addition, the Company can provide no assurance that its discussions regarding certain trends relating to its financing and operating expenses will continue or cease to continue in future periods. For additional information on the risks associated with the Company’s business, seeItem 1A. Risk Factors
54