Operator
Greetings, and welcome to the Chesapeake Utilities Corporation s First Quarter Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded Wednesday, May 5, 2021.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Beth Cooper, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.
Beth W. Cooper
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Corporate Secretary
Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining us today to review our first quarter 2021 results.
We announced our financial results for the quarter yesterday. As you saw, our strong financial results indicate we continued growing and operating effectively, serving our customers, identifying and finalizing new investment projects and keeping our employees as safe as possible.
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation Reports First Quarter 2021 Results
- Earnings per share ( EPS ) from continuing operations was $1.96 for the first quarter of 2021, an increase of $0.19, or 10.7 percent, compared to $1.77 for the first quarter of 2020
- Strong performance driven by over $17 million in additional gross margin for the quarter
- Natural gas expansion projects, regulatory initiatives and contributions from 2020 acquisitions generated $7.2 million in additional gross margin during the quarter
- Return to more normal temperatures in the first quarter of 2021 increased gross margin by $6.4 million
- Capital investments of $48.7 million for the quarter align with the 2021 capital forecast
- Capital structure at the end of the first quarter of 2021 was 52 percent equity to total capitalization
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation Reports Record Results For Fiscal Year 2020; Updates Earnings And Capital Guidance
- Earnings Per Share ( EPS ) increased to $4.26 in 2020 from $3.96 in 2019
- 2020 EPS from continuing operations was a record $4.21, an increase of $0.49 or 13.2 percent over 2019
- Fourth quarter 2020 EPS from continuing operations increased $0.20, or 19.2 percent
- Expansion projects, customer growth, and pipeline replacement programs generated $15.5 million in additional gross margin for 2020
- Finalization of the Hurricane Michael regulatory proceeding resulted in $10.9 million in gross margin
- Acquisitions completed in 2019 and 2020 added $5.3 million in incremental gross margin
- Pipeline expansion projects and full year impact of acquisitions completed in 2020 are expected to further enhance growth going forward