Atmos Energy 2015 Annual Report Download - page 12

21
The capital investments we are making to replace, fortify
and expand our distribution and transmission assets are
driving our financial results.
Since fiscal 2010, our capital spending has risen at a
compounded annual growth rate of 12.4 percent to reach
$975 million in fiscal 2015. More than 75 percent of our
investment during the past five years has been dedicated
to safety and reliability projects.
This significant increase in capital investment has oc-
curred because most regulators in our market areas have
approved constructive and balanced rate mechanisms.
These mechanisms provide for the recovery of more than
90 percent of our capital within six months of the test year.
The balanced regulatory environments in our markets
today are the result of relationships built on trust with our
regulators, legislators, community leaders and custom-
ers. These relations were fostered by our former CEO
and current chairman, Robert W. Best. Bob built upon the
foundation laid by our founder, Charles K. Vaughan, that
a successful utility is one that is trusted and is focused on
providing safe, reliable and competitively priced service.
To Our Shareholders
We replaced 575 miles
of aging natural gas
distribution and trans-
mission pipelines to
enhance the safety and
reliability of our system.
Earnings per diluted
share grew for the 13th
consecutive year in fiscal
2015, and net income
increased by 8.7 percent
to $315.1 million, as
compared to $289.8
million in fiscal 2014.
In fiscal 2015, we made spectacular progress on our quest to become the nation’s safest natural gas distributor.
We also did very well financially.
575 miles 148,000 hours Highly Advanced Technology
$3.09 EPS $1. 5 6 |share 25.5 percent $63.77|share
Our fiscal 2015 cash
dividend was $1.56 per
share. In November
2015, the board of
directors continued our
consecutive annual div-
idend increases for the
32nd year by raising the
indicated rate for fiscal
2016 by 7.7 percent to
$1.68 per share.
Total shareholder return
in fiscal 2015 was 25.5
percent.
The market price of our
stock reached an all-
time high on November
4, 2015, of $63.77
a share.
Kim R. Cocklin
Chief Executive Officer
Pipeline Modernization
Our strategy is to grow by investing in our regulated assets to
increase their safety and reliability. Through fiscal 2020, we
expect to spend between $5.4 billion and $6.4 billion to replace,
fortify and expand pipelines and service lines. Work is under way
near Canton, Texas, on one of our largest projects. We are
adding 62 miles of new pipelines to boost reliability and to meet
our customers’ growing demand for natural gas.
We provided nearly
148,000 hours of
technical and safety
training to our service
and construction tech-
nicians to help them
render even safer, more
reliable and superior
customer service.
We began evaluating the latest and most advanced
technology designed to detect pipeline leaks, and we
launched a multi-year information technology project
to manage and document the construction in our
pipeline modernization program.