Enbridge Inc. (ENB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Audio Gap] Legal and Corporate Secretary of Enbridge. Thank you for joining us at our Annual General Meeting today. Real-time captioning for the hearing impaired is also available today. There will be three parts to today's meeting. First, the formal business portion will address the matters to be voted on today, including questions specific to the resolutions, and will be conducted by our Chair, Ms. Pamela Carter. Next, after the formal business of the meeting, Greg Ebel, our President and CEO, will deliver his remarks to our shareholders. Finally, we will have a general question-and-answer session. Before we begin the formal business portion of the meeting, I will provide some comments on voting and questions at today's meeting. As a reminder, only registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders can vote or ask questions during the meeting through the virtual webcast voting platform. In order to vote during the meeting, you must log into the webcast with your control number or use your name and your password, which is enbridge2025, all in lower case. Once voting has opened, the voting tab will appear at the left or bottom of the webcast page and the voting choices will be displayed. A confirmation message will appear when your vote has been received. The polls are now open. Voting can be completed at any time from now until the end of the formal business portion of the meeting. Thank you to those of you who have already voted. If you do not wish to change your vote, you do not need to vote again during the meeting. For those of you who have not yet voted, we encourage you to vote now. [Voting]

Questions can be submitted throughout the meeting. If your question relates to a specific motion, you must ask your question during the formal business portion of the meeting. Please start your question by identifying the specific motion or item of business so that we can address your question at the appropriate time. To ask a question during the meeting, select the messaging tab at the left or bottom of the webcast page. Type your question in the text box at the top of the screen and then click the send button. If you prefer to ask your question verbally, type in your phone number, and subject in the text box and then click the send button. A Lumi operator will dial you into the conference and speak to you briefly to provide instructions. Please mute your computer and listen to the meeting on your phone only to prevent any delay or feedback from occurring. When called upon to ask your question, you will be unmuted by the Lumi operator and muted again after you finish asking your question. At that time, unmute the player on your computer to return to watching the meeting. We will respond to any questions that do not identify a specific motion or item of business during the general question-and-answer session following the formal business portion of the meeting and the CEO's remarks. If a question is personal in nature, we will follow-up with you individually after the meeting. Shareholders were also provided the opportunity to submit questions in advance of the meeting. No questions were submitted in advance of the meeting. If we have a number of questions that are the same or very similar, we may group the questions to avoid repetition. We will endeavor to address all questions submitted through the platform. However, please note that due to time constraints, we may not be able to address all questions today. Questions received during the meeting, together with the company's responses, will be posted to the Enbridge website following the meeting. If you have any questions, we encourage you to submit them now. Finally, we would like to remind you that our answers to your questions and our CEO's remarks may contain forward-looking information. By its nature, this information involves a variety of assumptions and expectations about future outcomes, which are subject to the risks and uncertainties discussed more fully in our public disclosure filings. We may also refer to non-GAAP and other financial measures. In the event of technical difficulties or other significant issues that disrupt the meeting, the Chair of the meeting may adjourn, recess or expedite the meeting or take such other action that the chair determines is appropriate in light of the circumstances. I now welcome Ms. Pamela Carter, Chair of the Enbridge Board of Directors, to call the meeting to order.

Thank you, Mr. Taniguchi. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Pamela Carter, and I am the Chair of the Enbridge Board. It is my pleasure to welcome you to Enbridge's 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. We are gathered today by technology from locations across North America where indigenous peoples have been and continue to be stewards of the land. I'd like to acknowledge and thank the people whose footsteps have marked these territories for centuries. Before I call the meeting to order, I would like to call upon Ms. Jody Whitney to deliver a land acknowledgment message.

[Foreign Language] Hello. My name is Jody Whitney, and I'm from the Tsuut'ina Nation. Respectfully, we acknowledge that we are hosting this meeting today in Treaty 7 territory home to the Black Confederacy, which includes the Siksika, Kainai and Piikani nations, the Stoney-Nakoda nations of Bears Paw, Chiniki and Westley, the Tsuut'ina Nation and Metis Nation, Alberta Region 3. It is also important to acknowledge that our assets traverse many other treaty and traditional indigenous lands across North America, which is known to indigenous people as Turtle Island. [Foreign Language] and thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Whitney. I now call the meeting to order. As Chair of the Enbridge Board and in accordance with our bylaws, I will act as Chair of today's meeting. David Taniguchi, Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary, will act as Secretary; and Greg Ebel, our President and Chief Executive Officer, is also present at the meeting today. Our external auditors are also available to answer questions as appropriate. In order to ensure that the business of today's meeting proceeds smoothly, Mr. Taniguchi, who is a shareholder and duly appointed proxy holder, will move and second the proposals relating to the items of business identified in the Notice of Meeting. As in past years, we will have a general question-and-answer session after the formal business of the meeting is completed. As previously noted, during the formal portion of the business meeting, we will also pause to address questions that are specific to the motions being presented. If you are a registered shareholder or duly appointed proxyholder... [Audio Gap] Shareholders will then be asked to cast a nonbinding advisory vote to accept the corporation's approach to executive compensation, which is commonly referred to as say on pay. 12 of our 13 incumbent Directors are standing for reelection today. The number of Directors to be elected today has been determined by the Board to be 12. I am not standing for reelection as a Director and will retire after today's meeting, having reached the age of 75. I would like to thank the Enbridge management team for their fine leadership and also our shareholders for giving me the opportunity to serve as a Director since 2017 and as the Chair of the Board since 2023. I am pleased to formally welcome Steve Williams as the new Chair of the Board of Enbridge. He has served as a Director on the Enbridge Board since 2022 and brings a wealth of experience, leadership and vision that will undoubtedly guide us toward continued growth and success. Mr. Stephen Bandola, a representative of the Corporation's registrar and transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada, is in attendance today, and I appoint him to act as scrutineer for the meeting. I will now ask David Taniguchi to confirm that proper notice of the meeting was given and that a quorum is present for the transaction of business.

Thank you, Madam Chair. A Notice of Meeting and notice of availability of meeting materials were mailed on or about March 21, 2025, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 12, 2025. Proof of mailing to registered shareholders will be filed with the records of this meeting. The scrutineers' report shows 6,076 proxies received representing a total of 1,413,042,032 billion shares, which is 64.84% of the shares outstanding on March 12, 2025. Based on the scrutineers' report, I confirm that a quorum is present for the transaction of business in the meeting.

Thank you. I declare this meeting to be properly constituted for the transaction of business. Mr. Taniguchi, may I please have a motion to approve the minutes of the Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on May 8, 2024?

Madam Chair, I move and second that the minutes of the Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on May 8, 2024, as now submitted to this meeting, be taken as read and approved.

Thank you. Can you please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted.

No questions specific to this motion have been submitted.

Thank you. Unless we receive any objections otherwise, we will accept the meetings as approved. The next item of business is to place before the shareholders the audited financial statements and auditor's report for the year ended December 31, 2024. The financial statements and auditors' report for the year ended December 31, 2024, are contained in the corporation's 2024 annual report. The financial statements have been approved by the Board of Directors and are available on the company's website. The corporation's auditors are PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Ms. Alodie Brew of PwC will be available during the general question-and-answer session following Mr. Ebel's remarks to answer any of your questions regarding the auditor's report. The next item on the agenda is the election of the Directors for the next year. 12 Directors are to be elected at this meeting. Mr. Taniguchi, may I please have a nomination for the election of 12 Directors to serve on the Enbridge Board of Directors for the upcoming year.

Madam Chair, I am pleased to nominate each of the following individuals: Mayank M. Ashar; Gaurdie E. Banister; Susan M. Cunningham; Gregory L. Ebel; Jason B. Few; Douglas L. Foshee; Theresa B.Y. Jang; Teresa S. Madden; Manjit Minhas; Stephen S. Poloz; S. Jane Rowe and Steven W. Williams, for election as Directors of the corporation to hold office until the close of the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders or until their respective successors have been elected.

Thank you. As no other nominations for Director were received in accordance with the corporation's advance notice bylaw, I hereby declare the nominations closed. I will now entertain a motion respecting the election of Directors.

Madam Chair, I move and second that the aforementioned 12 nominees be elected Directors of the corporation to hold office until the close of the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders or until their respective successors have been elected.

Thank you. Can you please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion have been submitted.

Thank you. We will now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now, remembering that if you have already voted in advance and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. [Voting]

The next item of business is the appointment of the corporation's auditors. PricewaterhouseCoopers have served as Enbridge's auditors for the past 32 years. The Board of Directors on advice from the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee of the Board recommends their reappointment. Mr. Taniguchi may I please have a motion.

Madam Chair, I move and second that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP be reappointed auditors of the corporation to hold office until the close of the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders at such remuneration as shall be fixed by the Board of Directors.

Thank you. Can you please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion have been submitted.

Thank you. We will now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now, remembering that if you have already voted in advance, do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. [Voting]

The next item of business today is a nonbinding advisory vote on the corporation's approach to executive compensation, commonly known as say on pay. Although this vote is optional and nonbinding, it gives shareholders an opportunity to provide important input to the Board of Directors. Mr. Taniguchi, may I have a motion?

Madam Chair, I move and second that the resolution to accept the corporation's approach to executive compensation, the text of which is set forth on Page 35 of the Management Information Circular, be and is hereby approved.

Thank you. Can you please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion have been submitted.

Thank you. We will now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now, remembering that if you have already voted in advance and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. [Voting]

The polls are now closed. Thank you again to all our shareholders who voted in advance of or during today's meeting. We will now pause for a moment for the scrutineer to tabulate the preliminary results of the voting and provide those results to us. Mr. Taniguchi, do you have the preliminary results of the voting?

Yes, Madam Chair. I have received confirmation from the scrutineer that: each of the 12 Directors has been elected by at least 91% of the votes cast for the election of Directors. The motion to appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the corporation's auditors and have the Directors fix their remuneration has been approved by at least 91% of the votes cast on that resolution. And the advisory vote on the corporation's approach to executive compensation has been approved by at least 89% of the votes cast on that resolution.

Thank you. I declare each of the resolutions considered at today's meeting in respect to those matters as carried. The exact number of votes cast in respect of each matter will be filed on EDGAR and SEDAR and made available on our website. As all matters of business have been addressed, I now declare the meeting closed. I now call upon Greg Ebel, the corporation's President and Chief Executive Officer, to deliver his remarks and conduct the general question-and-answer session. [Presentation]

Hello. My name is Greg Ebel, and I'm honored to lead Enbridge as your President and CEO. Let me start by saying our company is resilient, focused and optimistic about the future. Our strong operational performance, visible growth and outlook and record financial results positions us as the first choice energy provider in North America and beyond. That's first choice for customers, for communities, regulators and policymakers, employees and you, our investors. With growing demand for energy globally, there's increased recognition of the critical role infrastructure plays in moving energy from where it's produced to where it's needed. That recognition is behind conversations happening across North America about how to build infrastructure that delivers safe, reliable and affordable energy. I'll share more on how Enbridge views this in a moment, but let me quickly touch on our strong performance in 2024. We achieved record financial performance during the year. Our low-risk business model delivered predictable results and new assets placed into service contributed to a 13% increase in EBITDA over 2023. In December, we increased our dividend for the 30th consecutive year extending our status as one of the only dividend aristocrats in our sector. And while I'm pleased that Enbridge delivered a 37% total shareholder return to investors in 2024, I'm even more pleased that our business model is expected to continue to generate strong returns for our shareholders as we deliver on our strategic priorities throughout the years ahead. Across our business units, we added over $8 billion of organic projects to our secured growth backlog. And while we celebrate our success of last year, we are even more excited about the future. and the opportunities in front of us. Our low-risk business model means we're well positioned to perform in all market conditions, and we have a strong growth outlook for many years to come. Our asset base is unparallel with areas of the business working collaboratively and contributing to Enbridge's success. Growing demand for all forms of energy is creating opportunities across our footprint, underscoring the value of scale and diversification. In fact, we've identified more than $50 billion worth of diversified growth opportunities that are capital efficient and expected to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns. That involves leveraging our critical demand-pull liquids infrastructure to secure capital-efficient expansions. Using our strategically positioned gas transmission system to provide customers with last mile connectivity and sanction in-footprint brownfield opportunities. Generating predictable rate base growth in our utilities which are located in gas-supportive jurisdictions and continuing to secure long-term contracts with blue-chip customers in our renewable power business. We believe our disciplined approach to capital allocation and low-risk growth profile will support continued strong shareholder returns and positions us as a first choice investment opportunity. As I said at the beginning, energy is central in many conversations happening right now across North America. Safe, reliable and affordable energy is essential to the economic prosperity and competitiveness of both Canada and the United States. And that's why I signed a letter with 13 other CEOs of key Canadian energy companies with recommendations for government to support energy infrastructure development, which will help ignite the Canadian economy and support economic expansion globally. It's also why we meet with leaders in Washington and Ottawa to talk about the importance of the integrated North American energy system. The path to North American economic success is through the powerful energy highway, connecting our two countries. And that path includes moving forward with much needed infrastructure to support rising demand for all forms of energy. The fundamentals have never been better for an all-of-the-above energy strategy, a strategy that includes conventional renewable and lower carbon energy. And this all-of-the-above energy approach is being embraced by people in North America and around the world. For years, this has been Enbridge's strategy with our diversified base of crude oil, natural gas and renewable assets. We're uniquely positioned to safely provide sustainable, reliable and affordable energy across our network to millions of people each and every day. We're also maintaining our commitment to reduce emissions from our operations and support our customers with their own emission reduction plans. But to serve our customers, communities and people who rely on energy, we need to build infrastructure. As we've been saying to politicians and government leaders on both sides of the border, building this infrastructure requires serious regulatory and permitting reform. Delays in permitting critical energy infrastructure results in billions of lost economic opportunities in both Canada and the United States and even more concerning as costs for consumers. It also requires indigenous loan guarantees at scale. So industry can create ownership opportunities to ensure indigenous communities benefit from development. We're encouraged by the commitments and actions that have been made so far and urge continued policy support for the energy industry. As you've heard, at Enbridge, we are optimistic and excited about the future. Our all of the above energy approach is the right one for the moment we're in. And I'd like to thank our Board of Directors for their ongoing guidance and oversight. This especially includes our outgoing Board chair, Pamela Carter. Pamela has been a guiding force on the Enbridge Board since 2017. And she's navigated many business challenges provided to the Board and me great counsel throughout the years and has been critical to Enbridge's ability to deliver on our growth plans. We are incredibly fortunate to have benefited from her direction and wish her all the best. I'd also like to welcome our new Chair, Steve Williams. Having served on our board since 2022, we will all benefit from Steve's wisdom and his more than 40 years of energy industry experience. Let me also thank you, our shareholders, for your continued support. And finally, to the more than 16,000 Enbridge employees, thank you for your commitment to safely providing energy to millions of people who need it each and every day. Together, we couldn't be more confident that the opportunities in front of us will support and extend our value proposition for many years to come. Enbridge's future is bright and tomorrow is on.

Thank you, Greg. We will now proceed with the general question-and-answer session. Ms. Rebecca Morley, Enbridge's Vice President, Investor Relations and Insurance will read out the questions that have been submitted for Mr. Ebel to respond to. And we'll note any request to ask -- answer questions -- sorry, ask questions verbally. To ensure that we have time to get to all questions, we ask that you keep your questions brief. Ms. Morley, do we have any questions?

Yes, Mr. Taniguchi. We have received a question from Ruth Saldanha, who is on the line. Ruth, please go ahead.

Thank you. My name is Ruth Saldanha, and I'm from the Shareholder Association for Research and Education, with a question on behalf of our Canadian institutional investor clients, nearly 45% of whom hold Enbridge. Enbridge is a Canadian midstream company leading in emissions reductions. The company has publicly supported efficient and effective carbon pricing mechanisms. And so we were surprised to see Enbridge's CEO signed two recent high-profile letters urging the repeal of carbon pricing and emission caps and the declaration of an energy crisis with a call for rapid expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure. The first letter prompted a public response of frustration from the Federal Energy Minister, and we are concerned that this has impacted Enbridge's reputation of leadership and social license to operate, both critical factors in future projects and success of the company. My question is directed to Ms. Cunningham, Chair of Enbridge's Sustainability Committee. How was the committee involved in the development and signing off of the Build Canada Now letters? And how might this public positioning impact Enbridge's achievement of your long-term and net-zero GHG emission reduction targets and ambitions?

Thank you very much for your question. It's Greg Ebel. We're all attending this virtually. So I'll take that question. And first of all, I want to assure you we remain committed to our emission targets, both the interim targets for 2030, but also our longer-term targets of reaching net-zero by 2050. I also am very proud to have signed that letter and a follow-on letter, congratulating Prime Minister Carney on his victory. I think all Canadians can agree, we have a great resource to take advantage of in this country, and we have much to offer the rest of the world. So I can assure you that letter wasn't anything to do with actually reducing our commitment. What it is actually playing a larger global role. And I think it's probably time for the country. And I think the election somewhat said that regardless of who you voted for, very similar platforms on building energy infrastructure. So it's probably time that we say yes to energy infrastructure. We say yes to an all-above proposal around energy. We say yes to indigenous participation and economic reconciliation by participating in those projects. And yes, to playing a bigger global role in making sure that the cleanest producer of conventional energy in the world, Canada, actually plays that role in helping those countries who, through no fault of their own, are less advantaged than we are. So quite excited about being able to meet our commitments and build energy infrastructure and play a great role for our investors in a larger world -- a larger play in the globe overall. But thank you very much for your question. Much appreciate it. Well, it doesn't appear that we have any more questions. I want to turn the meeting back over to the Chair to conclude our proceedings.

Thank you, Greg. And thank you to everyone again for attending today's meeting. We truly value your time and commitment to our company. You may now disconnect from the broadcast. Thank you for your support once again.