Otter Tail reports Q1 EPS $1.49, consensus $1.01

Reports Q1 revenue $339M, consensus $312.1M. "We are pleased with our first quarter financial results," said CEO Chuck MacFarlane, "as our employees continue to perform well in a dynamic environment. Our Electric and Manufacturing segments each delivered double digit earnings growth compared to the same period last year. Electric segment earnings increased 21 percent in the first quarter of 2023, driven by a full quarter of a new customer load brought online in the first quarter of 2022 and reduced pension costs. Our Manufacturing segment produced earnings growth of 68 percent in the first quarter of 2023, primarily from increased sales volumes and product pricing. As expected, first quarter earnings from our Plastics segment were lower than our record first quarter earnings last year. Sales volumes were lower between the quarters, driven by ongoing distributor inventory management and the impact of weather conditions in certain parts of our footprint. Otter Tail Power filed its supplemental Integrated Resource Plan in March. The requests in the five-year action plan include the addition of onsite liquified natural gas storage at Astoria Station in 2026, the addition of 200 megawatts of solar generation in 2028 and the commencement of activities to prepare for the addition of 200 megawatts of wind generation in 2029. Otter Tail Power also requested the authority to withdraw from its 35 percent ownership interest in Coyote Station should a major, non-routine capital investment be required. We have increased our Electric segment five-year capital expenditure plan by approximately $45 million to incorporate the requests from our supplemental Integrated Resource Plan. Our updated five-year plan produces a compounded annual growth rate in rate base of 6.5% from 2022 through 2027. We currently expect the majority of the wind and solar investments outlined in our supplemental resource plan to occur after 2027, therefore such investments are not reflected in our current five-year capital plan."