SEC Form DEFA14A filed by American States Water Company

4/21/25 4:30:42 PM ET

$AWR

Water Supply

Utilities

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DEFA14A 1 ef20047659_defa14a.htm DEFA14A

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

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American States Water Company

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April 2025 Stockholder Outreach NYSE: AWR

Forward-Looking Statement This presentation contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “growing,” “achieving,” “outlook” and similar phrases and expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the growth of the company’s dividends, the stable rating of the company’s and Golden State Water Company’s credit ratings and target reductions in Greenhouse Gas emissions. They are not guarantees or assurances of any outcomes, financial results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon them. The forward-looking statements are subject to a number of estimates and assumptions, and known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those described in greater detail in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), particularly those described in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are encouraged to review the company’s filings with the SEC for a more complete discussion of risks and other factors that could affect any forward-looking statements. The statements made herein speak only as of the date of this presentation and except as required by law, the company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement. 01

This presentation includes a discussion of certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States, and constitute "non-GAAP financial measures" under SEC rules. These non-GAAP financial measures are derived from consolidated financial information but are not presented in our financial statements that are prepared in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures in this presentation include references to diluted earnings per share by business subsidiary/segment, which is based on each business segment’s net income divided by the company’s weighted average number of diluted shares. Furthermore, when presenting historical consolidated diluted EPS, certain adjustments have been made to the current year and some of prior years’ diluted EPS to help facilitate comparisons of performance from period to period, including the impact of delays in various CPUC proceedings. Non-GAAP financial measures supplement our GAAP disclosures and should not be considered as alternatives to the GAAP measures. Furthermore, the non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures of other registrants. The company uses non-GAAP measures in evaluating its operating results and believes these measures are useful internal benchmarks in evaluating the performance of its operating segments. The company reviews these measures regularly and compares them to historical periods and to the operating budget. The computations and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are presented herein. Non-GAAP Financial Measures 02

Corporate Profile AWR is a low volatility water utility with a secure and growing dividend, operating in a constructive regulatory environment in California, along with a growing unregulated contracted services business serving military bases under 50-year contracts Listed on the NYSE: AWR AWR debt rating → A Stable GSWC debt ratings → A+ Stable/A2 Stable As of April 17, 2025: ~38.5 million common shares outstanding Institutional Ownership → ~83% 52-week low/high → $66.03/$87.50 Average daily volume → ~236,400 shares (3 months) Market capitalization → ~$3.1 billion Dividend yield → 2.35% The contracted services business has one 15-year contract that was awarded in September 2023 A security rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities, it may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organization, and each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating (3) Source: Yahoo! Finance (1) (3) (3) 03 (3) (3) (3) (2) (2)

American States Water Company (AWR) Investor-owned public utility holding company 100% owner of subsidiaries $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) in 2024 Regulated water utility services: 264,600 customer connections in California Golden State Water Company $2.51 per share of 2024 AWR EPS (or 79.2%) Regulated electric utility services: 24,900 customer connections in California Bear Valley Electric Service, Inc. $0.21 per share of 2024 AWR EPS (or 6.6%) Contracted water and wastewater services for 12 military bases under 50-year contracts and 1 under a 15-year contract American States Utility Services, Inc. $0.55 per share of 2024 AWR EPS (or 17.4%) Company Organizational Structure Note: AWR consolidated fully diluted earnings per share as reported for 2024 were $3.17 per share. The chart on this slide sets forth the recorded diluted earnings per share contribution by business subsidiary/segment in 2024.The consolidated AWR EPS figure also includes a negative $0.10 per share attributable to AWR (parent). 04 The company has provided the computations and reconciliations of diluted earnings per share from the measure of net income (loss) by business segment to AWR’s consolidated fully diluted earnings per share later in this presentation.

2024 Financial Highlights Reported earnings per share (EPS) for 2024 were $3.17, compared to $3.36 per share recorded for 2023. When compared against adjusted earnings of $2.85 for 2023, EPS increased by $0.32, or 11.2%, primarily driven by rate increases in both the water and electric utilities, and the commencement of water and wastewater operations under two new military contracts combined with successful economic price adjustments at the legacy bases in our contracted services business. Achieved a consolidated return on equity of 14.1%, despite a 14.2% increase in average consolidated equity balance compared to 2023 partially due to equity issuance under an ATM program. This compares very favorably to other publicly-traded water utilities. Increased our quarterly dividend by 8.3% AWR has increased the calendar year dividend for the 70th consecutive year. Our dividend growth is consistent with our policy of achieving a compound annual dividend growth rate of more than 7% over the long term. (1) Recorded earnings for 2023 were $3.36 per share (GAAP measure). Adjusted earnings for 2023 of $2.85 per share (non-GAAP measure) exclude: (i) the favorable impact of retroactive rates related to the full year of 2022 of $0.38 per share resulting from the final CPUC decision in the water general rate case for 2022-2024, and (ii) the impact of changes in estimates of $0.13 per share resulting in the reversal of revenues subject to refund related to the final decision in GSWC’s cost of capital proceeding. 05 (1) (1)

For the 10-year period ended December 31, 2024, the company has achieved: a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3% in its recorded consolidated diluted earnings per share (EPS); and an 8.0% CAGR in its calendar year dividend payments. Over the past five years, the company also achieved: a 6.8% CAGR in recorded consolidated diluted EPS, or 7.2% if 2019 recorded consolidated diluted earnings per share of $2.28 (GAAP measure) is adjusted to exclude $0.04 per share, or $2.24 (non-GAAP measure), from the impact of retroactive rates related to the full year 2018 that was reflected in 2019 earnings as a result of receiving the CPUC's August 2019 final decision on the electric general rate case; a 9.1% CAGR in its calendar year dividend payments; and an 8.3% CAGR in net utility plant at the regulated utilities (invested $844.7 million in company-funded capital expenditures). Long-Term Performance Highlights 06

Key Developments in 2024 Water utility general rate case sets new rates for 2025-2027 (received a 38.4% increase in authorized capital investments compared to the last rate cycle). Electric utility general rate case sets new rates for 2023-2026, retroactive to January 1, 2023 (adopted an ROE of 10.0% and approved all requested capital expenditures and other incremental operating costs in connection with BVES’s wildfire mitigation plans). Invested in 2024 the highest level of capital expenditures in our utility systems in the company’s history, with a total regulated utilities’ spend on company-funded capital work of $235.5 million, an increase of 34.2% over the prior year. AWR’s regulated utilities received final CPUC decisions authorizing nearly $650 million in capital investments in connection with the utilities’ general rate cases The CPUC approved the water utilities’ request to defer the cost of capital application by one year to May 1, 2026, with a corresponding effective date of January 1, 2027. With the deferral, GSWC will retain its authorized return on equity of 10.06% and a 57% equity ratio through the end of 2026. 07

Key Developments in 2024 (cont.) Our contracted services subsidiary, ASUS, commenced operations of the water and wastewater systems at two new military bases in April 2024 contributing to ASUS’s earnings in 2024 Naval Air Station Patuxent River (with a contract value of $378 million over 50 years), Joint Base Cape Cod (with a contract value of $75 million over 15 years). ASUS was awarded $56.5 million in new capital upgrade (NCU) projects for military contracts, a record high and a significant increase as compared to $25.2 million awarded in 2023 and amounts awarded in any one year during the last five years. Our record of maintaining strong credit ratings continued this year. We have an A credit rating from S&P on AWR and A+ for GSWC, with stable outlooks on both ratings. Moody’s affirmed an A2 rating with a stable outlook on GSWC. These are some of the highest credit ratings in the U.S. investor owned water utility industry. Our regulated utilities' spending with diverse suppliers was 33.9%, exceeding the CPUC's target for the 12th consecutive year. Currently, the CPUC’s target is 23%. 08 A security rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities, it may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organization, and each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating (1)

Governance Practices Promote Long-Term Focus and Strengthen Accountability 09 AWR has a “1” rating on Governance from ISS Board Chairman and CEO positions are separated All independent directors except CEO No poison pill AWR received a “For” recommendation on its “Say on Pay” ballot measure for 2025 from ISS

Environmental Stewardship We have a sustainability oversight management team, which is responsible for the policies and operational controls of environmental, health, safety and social risks. The nominating and governance committee has oversight responsibilities for our environmental, social and governance policies and practices. We continue to emphasize the reduction of our Market-based Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, on our way to a 60% reduction by 2035 as compared to our 2020 base year; Our regulated utilities over the past five years have invested $844.7 million in company-funded capital, improving water and electric reliability and reducing water loss throughout our water systems; GSWC supplies recycled water to serve recycled water customers in several service areas, as well as participates in regional water use projects that use recycled water to replenish groundwater basins; With the help of our incentive programs and the public’s awareness of the need to conserve, since 2007 GSWC customers have used 39.1% less water per customer; and ASUS has spent $580.6 million to renew and replace utility infrastructure, and made $688.3 million of upgrades to utility infrastructure on military bases since commencing its first military privatization contract in 2004. 10

Compensation Philosophy and Design Overview 4 Principles Compensation Committee annually assesses compensation peer group with independent consultant Compensation peer group reflects reasonably sized peers in relevant industries (utility industry) to establish compensation levels and consistent plan design; priority is given to the two California water utility companies with the same regulatory oversight agencies Rigorous performance goals are established in advance and based on the Company’s operating budget, three-year goals and three-year relative performance (compared to our most comparable public peers – water utilities) Over the past five years, no named executive officer has achieved maximum payout for either the short-term incentive plan or the performance stock plan Performance goals and adjustments are defined in advance Compensation Committee limits discretion to 20% of each executive’s annual incentive opportunity (or 5% of total direct compensation for the CEO) and has full discretion to downward adjust payouts under the annual incentive opportunity Thorough Process for Setting Compensation that Reflects Challenging Metrics 11

75% of CEO’s target total direct compensation is at risk, consisting of an annual incentive cash award, and equity awards that are time-vested (RSU) and performance-based (PSU) 75% of CEO’s long-term incentives are tied to performance measures (PSUs) PSU goals for the CEO are based on three-year objectives PSU goals for the CEO are comprised of relative goals (relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR) against public water utilities’ TSR) and internal goals (Aggregate GSWC Operating Expense Level & ASUS Cumulative Net Earnings) 75% of CEO’s Compensation is at Risk 12 Compensation Philosophy and Design Overview 4 Principles (cont.)

Annual and long-term incentive goals tailored for each executive officer depending on role Annual incentive (CEO) 60% based on profitability and capital expenditures 20% based on customer complaints, supplier diversity and compliance 20% based on individual performance Long-term incentives (CEO) 19% based on total shareholder return relative to a defined peer group of water utilities 45% based on GSWC’s water segment operating expense achievement 11% based on ASUS cumulative net earnings achievement 25% based on service-based RSUs Executive Compensation Program Designed with Shareholder, Regulator, and Customer Considerations 13 Compensation Philosophy and Design Overview 4 Principles (cont.)

Compensation Committee conducts an annual assessment of whether the company’s executive or broad-based compensation programs encourage excessive risk taking Shareholder and customer interests are balanced by weighting a portion of total direct compensation to the achievement of a mix of performance metrics, both internal and relative to our peers No annual incentive measure for the CEO is weighted more than 20% of his total annual incentive, and no annual incentive measure for the other named executive officers is weighted more than 40% of their total annual incentive Long-term incentive is comprised of performance-based PSUs and time-based RSUs PSUs are based on three performance metrics Annual incentives and PSU opportunities have maximum award levels which have less upside than the median practices among the compensation peer group Executives are subject to stock ownership guidelines, our “clawback” policy, and anti-hedging and pledging policies Going forward, the Compensation Committee has approved an increase in the CEO’s stock ownership guidelines to 5 times his salary from 3 times his salary We do not provide employment agreements, “single trigger” cash severance payments or tax gross-ups, guaranteed bonuses or allow repricing, repurchasing or discounting of stock options Plan Design Emphasizes Holistic Approach to Performance Assessment with Significant Risk Mitigators Compensation Philosophy and Design Overview 4 Principles (cont.) 14

W G E P O E E G W E G P O W G E E G G E G E O W List of Compensation Peers ALLETE, Inc. Owing to the limited number of similarly sized highly regulated water utilities (with annual revenues between $100 million and $2.2 billion), a group of utilities was selected as our current peer group based on similarity in industry (water, gas and electric utilities), size and being highly regulated. Avista Corporation California Water Service Group Chesapeake Utilities Corporation Essential Utilities, Inc. IDACORP, Inc. MGE Energy, Inc. Northwest Natural Holding Company Northwestern Corporation Otter Tail Corporation SJW Group Water Natural Gas Electric Propane Other 15

List of Water Utility Peers American Water Works Company, Inc. Essential Utilities, Inc. California Water Service Group SJW Group Middlesex Water Company The York Water Company Artesian Resources Corporation $24,262 $9,974 $2,696 $1,637 $940 $470 $325 Presented to the left is a list of the 7 publicly-traded water utilities that management considers peers for 10-K reporting purposes along with market capitalization as of 12/31/2024. Compensation Peer Source: CapitalIQ Market Capitalization ($mill) 16

Peer Comparisons 64 57 91 100 91 100 91 100 91 100 100 50 0 EPS Growth ROE ROIC ROA MC to BV The company’s financial and operational success can also be measured on a relative basis by comparing the company’s performance to that of peer companies. Due to the limited number of public water utility companies of similar size, the company’s compensation peer group is comprised of a more diverse group of water, gas and electric utilities, which may experience differing market conditions affecting performance. For example, among 68 US publicly held utility companies classified by S&P, the average non-weighted three year annualized total shareholder return as of December 31, 2024 was 7% for electric utilities, 5% for multi-utilities, 4% for gas utilities, -12% for water utilities, and -33% for renewable electricity. The company also reviews the performance of the seven publicly traded water utility companies (four of which have not been included in the compensation peer group due to differing size). As measured by five key metrics: EPS Growth, Return on Equity (ROE), Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), Return on Assets (ROA) and Market Capitalization (MC) to Book Value (BV), over the past three years, the company’s performance has placed it in the top quartile on four of the measures, and the third quartile for one measure (EPS Growth). Compensation Peer Group Water Utility Peer Group AWR Percentile Rank Vs. Peer Groups (3-year performance) 17

Peer Comparisons (cont.) -15% -10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 27 55 73 73 3-Yr 5-Yr 7-Yr 10-Yr 100 86 86 71 3-Yr 5-Yr 7-Yr 10-Yr AWR Percentile Rank TSR Percentile Performance vs Peer Groups (25th to 75th percentiles) Compensation Peer Group Water Utility Peer Group Compensation Peer Group Water Utility Peer Group AWR AWR vs. The company’s TSR, including reinvested dividends, can also be measured on a relative basis by comparing the company’s performance to that of peer companies. Over three, five, seven and ten year periods, compared to the compensation peer group, the company has been in the third quartile for three of the measurement periods and the second quartile for one of the measurement periods. More recently, our compensation peer group’s performance has been, in part, positively affected by the expectations of increased electrification and artificial intelligence demands. Compared to the water utility peer group, the company has been in the top quartile for three of the measurement periods (with AWR being the highest for the three-year period), and in the third quartile for one of the measurement periods. 18

Executive Compensation Practices At a Glance Pay for Performance Absolute and Relative: We link pay to performance and shareholder and customer interests by weighting a portion of total direct compensation to the achievement of a balanced mix of performance metrics, both internal and relative to our peers, established in advance by the Compensation Committee What We Do What We Do Not Do No Employment Agreements: We do not have employment agreements with any of our executive officers Generally, at least 50% of Long-Term Equity Awards Are Performance-Based: At least 75% of long-term equity awards to the CEO have been in the form of performance shares tied to three-year performance objectives. Generally, at least 50% of long-term equity awards to executive officers are in the form of performance shares tied to three-year performance objectives No ‘‘Single Trigger’’ Cash Severance Payments, Equity Awards or Tax Gross Ups: We do not have ‘‘single trigger’’ cash severance payments or equity awards paid solely because of the occurrence of a change in control event and do not provide tax gross ups Thoughtful Peer Group Analysis: The Compensation Committee reviews external market data when making compensation decisions and annually reviews our peer group with our independent compensation consultant No Hedging in Company Securities: We have a policy prohibiting executives and directors from engaging in any hedging transaction with respect to company equity securities Compensation Risk Assessment: The Compensation Committee conducts an annual assessment of whether the company’s executive or broad-based compensation programs encourage excessive risk taking No Pledging Company Securities: We have a policy generally prohibiting pledges of company securities by our executives and directors unless the nominating and governance committee approves it in advance. No officer or director has pledged shares since the policy was implemented Stock Ownership Guidelines: Executives are subject to stock ownership guidelines equal to a multiple of their annual base salaries (5x up from 3x for the CEO, 1.5x for senior vice presidents and 1x for vice presidents); directors are also subject to stock ownership guidelines and restrictions on sales of common shares until they own stock equal to 3x their annual cash retainer No Repricing, Repurchasing or Discounting of Options: We do not reprice or repurchase underwater awards and we do not grant options at a discount to fair market value on the date of grant “Clawback’’ Policy: Our clawback policy provides for the recoupment of cash and stock incentive compensation from an executive officer if, as a result of an accounting restatement, the Compensation Committee determines that the company would have paid the executive officer less than he or she was paid prior to the restatement as required by New York Stock Exchange rules No Guaranteed Bonuses: We do not provide guaranteed minimum bonuses or uncapped incentives under our annual cash incentive plan 19 x x x x x x

To elect the nominated directors to the Board of Directors; 01 Advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers; and To ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm. We Ask for Your Vote at Our Annual Meeting 02 03 Our Board values your support for its recommendations on the following proposals: 20

Computations and Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures Below are the computations and reconciliations of diluted earnings per share from the measure of net income (loss) by business segment to AWR’s consolidated diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2024 (as disclosed in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC): 21

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Date	Price Target	Rating	Analyst
2/3/2025	$85.00 → $71.00	Neutral → Underperform	BofA Securities
1/7/2025	$84.00 → $77.00	Equal Weight → Underweight	Wells Fargo
12/11/2024	$85.00	Neutral	BofA Securities
7/31/2024	$80.00 → $87.00	Underweight → Equal Weight	Wells Fargo
6/28/2023	$94.00 → $89.00	Equal Weight → Underweight	Wells Fargo
5/12/2023	$90.00 → $94.00	Underweight → Equal Weight	Wells Fargo
1/5/2023		Buy → Neutral	Seaport Research Partners
11/30/2022	$92.00	Sell	UBS

SEC Form DEFA14A filed by American States Water Company

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