Otter Tail Corporation Announces Record Annual Earnings and Increases Long-Term Financial Targets

Otter Tail Corporation (Nasdaq: OTTR) today announced financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2024.

SUMMARY

• Produced record earnings, with annual diluted earnings per share of $7.17.
• Achieved a consolidated return on equity of 19.3% on an equity ratio of 62.2%.
• Updated our electric utility’s five-year rate base compounded annual growth rate to 9.0% from 7.7%.
• Increased our long-term earnings per share growth rate target to 6 to 8%.

CEO OVERVIEW

“Otter Tail Corporation produced record earnings in 2024, generating diluted earnings per share of $7.17,” said President and CEO Chuck MacFarlane. “Executing on our strategy coupled with the hard work and dedication of our team members made this level of success possible and I am grateful for their contributions.

“Otter Tail Power continues to perform well, converting our 2024 rate base growth into earnings growth at approximately a 1:1 ratio. We continue to execute on our regulatory priorities and obtained approval for our fully settled North Dakota general rate case in the fourth quarter. The outcome of the case provides for a net annual revenue requirement increase of $13.1 million premised on a return on equity of 10.1 percent and an equity layer of 53.5 percent.

“Our Manufacturing segment continues to navigate softened end market demand, and we have taken action to mitigate the impact of lower sales volumes on earnings. Despite the down-cycle, this segment continues to produce incremental cash to fund future growth opportunities, and the long-term fundamentals remain intact.

“Our Plastics segment produced strong financial results, generating record earnings of $201 million. We continue to benefit from improved end market demand and customers’ sales volume growth. We completed the first phase of the Vinyltech expansion project in the fourth quarter, adding large diameter PVC pipe production capability to better serve customers in the southwest market.

“We have updated our 5-year capital spending plan and revised our long-term financial targets. Otter Tail Power’s updated 5-year capital spending plan totals $1.4 billion and is expected to produce a rate base compounded annual growth rate of 9 percent. We also increased our consolidated long-term earnings per share growth rate target to 6 to 8 percent from 5 to 7 percent, increasing our total shareholder return target to 9 to 11 percent.

“With the strength of our balance sheet and the talent excellence we have and continue to cultivate, we feel well positioned to deliver on our revised financial targets over the long-term. We are initiating our 2025 diluted earnings per share guidance range of $5.68 to $6.08. Our guidance reflects Electric segment earnings growth of approximately 7 percent and as expected, a decline in Plastics segment earnings driven by a continued reduction in product sales prices due to changing market conditions. We also expect a decline in Manufacturing segment earnings as end market demand conditions remain challenging.”

CASH FLOWS AND LIQUIDITY

Our consolidated cash provided by operating activities was a record $452.7 million in 2024, compared to $404.5 million in 2023, with the increase primarily due to a decrease in working capital and a $7.5 million increase in net income. Investing activities during the year included capital expenditures of $358.7 million and a $50.1 million long-term investment in U.S. treasuries. Capital expenditures during the year were largely within our Electric segment, including investments in our wind repowering and advanced metering projects, but also included investments in our facility expansion projects within our Manufacturing and Plastics segments. Financing activities in 2024 included the issuance of $120.0 million of long-term debt at Otter Tail Power, the proceeds of which were primarily used to fund capital investments. Other financing activities during the year included dividend payments of $78.3 million.

As of December 31, 2024, we had $311.6 million of available liquidity under our credit facilities and $294.7 million of available cash and cash equivalents, for total available liquidity of $606.3 million.

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 2024 and 2023.

Operating Revenues decreased $3.8 million primarily due to decreases in retail and wholesale revenues. The decrease in retail revenue was driven by decreased fuel recovery revenue due to lower market energy costs and the impact of unfavorable weather. These decreases were partially offset by retail revenue increases due to an interim rate increase in North Dakota in connection with our most recent rate case, increased commercial and industrial sales volumes, and increased rider revenue as we recover the cost of and return on our rate base investments.

Net Income increased $6.5 million primarily due to increased revenue resulting from the interim rate increase in North Dakota and increased rider revenue, partially offset by unfavorable weather, as discussed above. The revenue increases were partially offset by increased depreciation and interest expense related to capital investments and financing costs associated with our rate base investments.

Manufacturing Segment

Operating Revenues decreased $60.2 million primarily due to a 15% decrease in sales volumes, with declines experienced in the recreational vehicle, agriculture, construction, lawn and garden, and horticulture end markets. Sales volumes decreased due to lower end market demand and inventory management efforts by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers. A 28% decline in scrap metal revenues, largely driven by lower production volumes, also contributed to the decrease in operating revenues.

Net Income decreased $7.8 million primarily due to lower sales volumes, as described above, and a decrease in gross profit margins in our plastics thermoforming business, partially offset by reduced general and administrative expenses. Decreased profit margins were primarily due to a reduced leveraging of fixed manufacturing costs resulting from decreased production and sales volumes. Decreased scrap metal sales, as described above, also contributed to the decrease in net income.

Plastics Segment

Operating Revenues increased $45.4 million primarily due to a 27% increase in sales volumes driven by customer sales volume growth and strong distributor and end market demand. Sales volumes in 2023 were negatively impacted by distributors and contractors reducing purchase volumes in response to uncertain and competitive market conditions. Although market conditions remain somewhat uncertain, infrastructure investment and active construction across our sales territories contributed to increased distributor and end market demand in 2024. The impact of increased sales volumes was partially offset by decreased sales prices. Our sales prices have steadily declined after peaking in late 2022 and decreased 12% in 2024 compared to the prior year due to continuing changes in market conditions.

Net Income increased $13.0 million primarily due to the impact of increased sales volumes, as described above. Increased operating revenues, driven by increased sales volumes, were partially offset by a decrease in gross profit margins. Gross profit margins decreased primarily due to decreases in sales prices, as described above.

Corporate

Net Income (Loss) at our corporate cost center decreased $4.3 million from $0.6 million of net income in the prior year, primarily due to increased insurance expenses driven by higher claims costs associated with our self-funded insurance programs, as well as increased variable compensation based on the current year financial performance. The increase in expenses was partially offset by increased investment income earned on our short- and long-term investments.

FOURTH QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS

Consolidated Results

Electric Segment

Electric segment net income was $21.5 million, a $4.5 million increase from the fourth quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily due to increased retail revenue driven by an interim rate increase in North Dakota in connection with our most recent rate case, as well as increased rider revenue, combined with a decrease in operating and maintenance expenses. The revenue increases and operating expense decreases were partially offset by increased depreciation and interest expense related to capital investment and financing costs associated with our rate base investments.

Manufacturing Segment

Manufacturing segment net loss was $0.6 million, a $1.8 million decrease from net income of $1.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to a 25% decrease in sales volumes compared to the same period in the prior year, driven by soft end market demand, and a decrease in gross profit margins in both our contract metal fabrication and our plastics thermoforming business. Sales volume decreases were primarily in the recreational vehicle, agriculture, construction, lawn and garden, and horticulture end markets. Decreased profit margins were primarily due to a reduced leveraging of fixed manufacturing costs resulting from decreased production and sales volumes. The impacts of lower sales volumes were partially offset by reduced general and administrative expenses.

Plastics Segment

Plastics segment net income was $38.9 million, a $0.6 million decrease from the fourth quarter of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to decreased sales prices and increased general and administrative costs. Sales prices steadily declined throughout the year and decreased 11% compared to the same period last year. The impact of decreased sales prices and increased general and administrative costs was largely offset by the impact of increased sales volumes. Sales volumes increased 23% compared to the same period in the prior year driven by customer sales volume growth and strong distributor and end market demand.

Corporate

Corporate net loss was $5.0 million, a $5.1 million decrease from $0.1 million of net income in the fourth quarter of 2023, primarily due to increased insurance expense driven by higher claims costs associated with our self-funded insurance programs, as well as increased variable compensation based on the current year financial performance.

2025 OUTLOOK

We anticipate 2025 diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $5.68 to $6.08. We expect our earnings mix in 2025 to be approximately 39% from our Electric segment and 61% from our Manufacturing and Plastics segments, net of corporate costs. Our anticipated earnings mix in 2025 deviates from our long-term expected earnings mix of 65% Electric / 35% Non-Electric as we expect Plastics segment earnings to remain elevated in 2025 compared to our long-term view of normal earnings for this segment.

The segment components of our 2025 diluted earnings per share guidance compared with actual earnings for 2024 are as follows:

The following items contribute to our 2025 earnings guidance:

Electric Segment - We expect segment earnings to increase 7% in 2025 based on the following assumptions:

• Normal weather conditions in 2025.
• Returns generated from an increase in average rate base of 12% in 2025 compared to 2024.
• A planned maintenance outage at Coyote Station in 2025 (there were no planned outages in 2024).
• Increased depreciation and interest expense from capital expenditures and associated financing.

Manufacturing Segment - We expect segment earnings to decline 27% in 2025 based on the following assumptions:

• Lower sales volumes in our contract metal fabrication business as soft end market demand continues, partially offset by some volume recovery in our horticulture plastic products business.
• Sales mix and product pricing pressure in the current sales volume environment, and lower scrap revenues within our metal fabrication business from lower production volumes.
• Compressed operating margins from the deleveraging of manufacturing costs due to lower production and sales volumes.

Plastics Segment - We expect segment earnings to decline 29% in 2025 based on the following assumptions:

• Continued decline in product sales prices throughout 2025 as pricing continues to retreat from the 2022 high point.
• Modest increase in sales volumes driven by new capacity at our Phoenix facility, partially offset by macroeconomic uncertainty.

Corporate Costs - We expect our corporate costs to decrease primarily from lower incentive compensation costs compared to 2024.

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES

The following provides a summary of actual capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2024, and anticipated annual capital expenditures for the next five years, along with average rate base and annual rate base growth of our Electric segment:

Our updated five-year capital expenditure plan includes Electric segment investments in wind and solar resources, transmission and distribution assets, and investments in system reliability and technology. Our Electric segment capital expenditure plan produces a compounded annual growth rate on average rate base of 9.0% 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 a mix of investments to replace and upgrade existing equipment and investments to add additional capacity or productivity to our operations.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

The corporation will host a live webcast on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. CT 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, visit and follow the link provided in the press release announcing the upcoming conference call.

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,” “can,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “goal,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “opportunity,” “outlook,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “probable,” “projected,” “should,” “target,” “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 may include statements regarding 2025 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 materials 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 future investments and capital expenditures; rate base levels and rate base growth; risks associated with energy markets; the availability and pricing of resource materials; inflationary cost pressures; attracting and maintaining a qualified and stable workforce; changing macroeconomic and industry conditions that impact the demand for our products, pricing and margin; long-term investment risk; seasonal weather patterns and extreme weather events; 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; cybersecurity threats or data breaches; the impact of government legislation and regulation including foreign trade policy and environmental; health and safety laws and regulations; changes in tax laws and regulations; the impact of climate change including compliance with legislative and regulatory changes to address climate change; expectations regarding regulatory proceedings, assigned service areas, the construction of major facilities, capital structure, and allowed customer rates; actual and threatened claims or litigation; and operational and economic risks associated with our electric generating and manufacturing facilities. 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, a member of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, 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.

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