Unitil (UTL) Risk Analysis

The ability of the Company's subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions to Unitil depends on, among other things: - the actual and projected earnings and cash flow, capital requirements and general financial condition of the Company's subsidiaries;- the prior rights of holders of existing and future preferred stock, mortgage bonds, long-term notes and other debt issued by the Company's subsidiaries;- the restrictions on the payment of dividends contained in the existing loan agreements of the Company's subsidiaries and that may be contained in future debt agreements of the Company's subsidiaries, if any; and - limitations that may be imposed by New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine state regulatory authorities. In addition, before the Company can pay dividends on its common stock, it must satisfy its debt obligations and comply with any statutory or contractual limitations. As of February 9, 2026, the Company's current effective annualized dividend is $1.90 per share of common stock, payable quarterly. The Board reviews Unitil's dividend policy periodically in light of a number of business and financial factors, including those referred to in this report, and the Company cannot assure the amount of dividends, if any, that may be paid in the future. Future sales and issuances of common stock or rights to purchase common stock, could result in dilution of the percentage ownership of the Company's shareholders. On June 3, 2025, the Company entered into a Distribution Agreement (the "Distribution Agreement") with sales agents, as agents and/or forward sellers, and forward purchasers pursuant to which we may sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate sales price of $50 million of common stock, through the sales agents (the ATM program). During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company sold 27,620 shares of common stock under the ATM program at an average price of $53.00 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $1.5 million and net proceeds of $1.4 million after deducting commissions and offering expenses. As of December 31, 2025, $48.5 million remains available for future sales under the program. Any sales of shares of common stock through the sales agents may cause dilution to the Company's existing shareholders.

As part of the Company's business strategy, the Company has made and may make acquisitions to add complementary companies, assets, services or products, and from time to time may enter into other strategic transactions such as investments and joint ventures. For example, the Company completed the acquisitions of Bangor Natural Gas Company on January 31, 2025 and Maine Natural Gas Corporation on October 31, 2025. In the future, the Company may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates, and may not be able to complete acquisitions or other strategic transactions on favorable terms, or at all. For example, on May 6, 2025, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aquarion Water Company of Massachusetts, Inc., Aquarion Water Company of New Hampshire, Inc., and Abenaki Water Co., Inc. (the Aquarion Companies) from the Aquarion Water Authority, a quasi-public corporation and political subdivision of the State of Connecticut and a standalone, newly created water authority alongside the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority subject to certain closing adjustments. There is no guarantee that these acquisitions will be approved by the appropriate governmental and other regulatory authorities. In some cases, the costs of such acquisitions or other strategic transactions may be substantial, and there is no assurance that the Company will realize expected synergies and potential monetization opportunities for the Company's acquisitions, or a favorable return on investment for strategic investments. The Company may pay substantial amounts of cash, issue equity, or incur debt to pay for acquisitions or strategic transactions. The Company may also discover liabilities, deficiencies, or other claims associated with the companies or assets acquired that were not identified in advance, which may result in significant unanticipated costs. In addition, the Company may fail to accurately forecast the financial impact of an acquisition or other strategic transaction, including tax and accounting charges. Any of these factors may adversely affect the Company's financial condition or results of operations.

The Company's business is influenced by the economic activity within its service territory. The level of economic activity in the Company's electric and natural gas distribution service territories directly affects the Company's business. As a result, adverse changes in the economy may adversely affect the Company's financial condition, results or operations, and cash flows. Economic downturns or periods of high electric and gas supply costs typically can lead to the development of legislative and regulatory policy designed to promote reductions in energy consumption and increased energy efficiency and self-generation by customers. This focus on conservation, energy efficiency and self-generation may result in a decline in electricity and gas sales in the Company's service territories. If any such declines were to occur without corresponding adjustments in rates, the Company's revenues would be reduced and the Company's future growth prospects would be limited. In addition, a period of prolonged economic weakness could affect the Company's customers' ability to pay bills in a timely manner and increase customer bankruptcies, which may lead to increased bad debt expenses or other adverse effects on the Company's financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

The electric and natural gas utility industries are from time to time affected by catastrophic events, such as unusually severe weather and significant and widespread failures of plant and equipment. Other catastrophic occurrences, such as terrorist attacks on utility facilities, may occur in the future. Such events could inhibit the Company's ability to deliver electricity or natural gas to its customers for an extended period, which could affect customer satisfaction and adversely affect the Company's financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. If customers, legislators, or regulators develop a negative opinion of the Company, this situation could result in increased regulatory oversight and could affect the equity returns that the Company is allowed to earn. Also, if the Company is unable to recover in its rates a significant amount of costs associated with catastrophic events, or if the Company's recovery of such costs in its rates is significantly delayed, the Company's financial condition, results or operations, or cash flows may be adversely affected.

The Company is subject to comprehensive regulation by federal regulatory authorities (including the FERC) and state regulatory authorities (including the NHPUC, MDPU and MPUC). These authorities regulate many aspects of the Company's operations, including the rates that the Company can charge customers, the Company's authorized rates of return, the Company's ability to recover costs from its customers, construction and maintenance of the Company's facilities, the Company's safety protocols and procedures, including environmental compliance, the Company's ability to issue securities, the Company's accounting matters, and transactions between the Company and its affiliates. The Company is unable to predict the effect on its financial condition and results of operations from the regulatory activities of any of these regulatory authorities. Changes in regulations, the imposition of additional regulations, regulatory proceedings regarding fossil fuel use and system electrification, or regulatory decisions particular to the Company could adversely affect the Company's financial condition and results of operations. The Company's ability to obtain rate adjustments to maintain its current authorized rates of return depends upon action by regulatory authorities under applicable statutes, rules and regulations. These regulatory authorities are authorized to leave the Company's rates unchanged, to grant increases in such rates, or to order decreases in such rates. The Company may be unable to obtain favorable rate adjustments or to maintain its current authorized rates of return, which could adversely affect its financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Regulatory authorities also have authority with respect to the Company's ability to recover its electricity and natural gas supply costs, as incurred by Unitil Energy, Fitchburg, Unitil Power, Northern Utilities, Bangor and Maine Natural. If the Company is unable to recover a significant amount of these costs, or if the Company's recovery of these costs is significantly delayed, the Company's financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows could be adversely affected. In addition, certain regulatory authorities have the statutory authority to impose financial penalties and other sanctions on the Company if the Company is found to have violated statutes, rules or regulations governing its utility operations. Any such penalties or sanctions could adversely affect the Company's financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

The Company is subject to taxation by the various taxing authorities at the federal, state and local levels where it does business. Legislation or regulation which could affect the Company's tax burden could be enacted by any of these governmental authorities. The Company cannot predict the timing or extent of such tax-related developments which could have a negative effect on the financial results. The Company uses its best judgment in attempting to quantify and reserve for these tax obligations. However, a challenge by a taxing authority, the Company's ability to utilize tax benefits such as carryforwards or tax credits, or a deviation from other tax-related assumptions may cause actual financial results to deviate from previous estimates.

The Company's utility operations are generally subject to extensive federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations relating to air quality, water quality, waste management, natural resources, and the health and safety of the Company's employees. The Company's utility operations also may be subject to new and emerging federal, state and local legislative and regulatory initiatives related to climate change or greenhouse gas emissions including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's mandatory greenhouse gas reporting rule. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the assessment of administrative, civil, and criminal penalties and other sanctions; imposition of remedial requirements; and issuance of injunctions to ensure future compliance. Liability under certain environmental laws and regulations is strict, joint and several in nature. Although the Company believes it is in material compliance with all applicable environmental and safety laws and regulations, there is no assurance that the Company will not incur significant costs and liabilities in the future. Moreover, it is possible that other developments, such as increasingly stringent federal, state or local environmental laws and regulations, including those related to climate change or greenhouse gas emissions, could result in increased environmental compliance costs. The Company has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 levels by at least 50% by 2030 and to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Unforeseen or changing circumstances could adversely affect the Company's ability to achieve these greenhouse gas emissions goals and changes in the regulatory environment could result in the costs associated with efforts to achieve these goals not qualifying for recovery.

A significant amount of the Company's natural gas sales are temperature sensitive. Therefore, mild winter temperatures could decrease the amount of natural gas sold by the Company, which could adversely affect the Company's financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. The Company's electric sales also are temperature sensitive, but less so than its natural gas sales. The highest usage of electricity typically occurs in the summer months (due to air conditioning demand) and the winter months (due to heating-related and lighting requirements). Therefore, mild summer temperatures and mild winter temperatures could decrease the amount of electricity sold by the Company, which could adversely affect the Company's financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Also, because of this temperature sensitivity, sales by the Company's distribution utilities vary from year to year, depending on weather conditions. The Company's results of operations are expected to reflect the seasonal nature of the natural gas business. Annual gas revenues are substantially realized during the colder weather seasons of the year as a result of higher sales of natural gas used for heating-related purposes. Accordingly, the results of operations are historically most favorable in the first and fourth quarters. Fluctuations in seasonal weather conditions may have a significant effect on the result of operations. Sales of electricity are generally less sensitive to weather than natural gas sales, but may also be affected by the weather conditions and the temperature in both the winter and summer seasons.

The success of the Company's business depends, in part, on its ability to maintain and increase its customer base and the demand that those customers have for the Company's products and services. The Company's failure to maintain or increase its customer base and/or customer demand for its products and services could adversely affect its financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. The electricity and natural gas supply requirements of the Company's customers are fulfilled by the Company or, in some instances and as allowed by state regulatory authorities, by third-party suppliers who contract directly with customers. In either scenario, significant increases in electricity and natural gas commodity prices may negatively affect the Company's ability to attract new customers and grow its customer base. Developments in distributed generation, energy conservation, power generation and energy storage could affect the Company's revenues and the timing of the recovery of the Company's costs. Advancements in power generation technology are improving the cost-effectiveness of customer self-supply of electricity. Improvements in energy storage technology, including batteries and fuel cells, could also better position customers to meet their around-the-clock electricity requirements. Such developments could reduce customer purchases of electricity, but may not necessarily reduce the Company's investment and operating requirements due to the Company's obligation to serve customers, including those self-supply customers whose equipment has failed for any reason, to provide the power they need. In addition, because a portion of the Company's costs are recovered through charges based upon the volume of power delivered, reductions in electricity deliveries will affect the timing of the Company's recovery of those costs and may require changes to the Company's rate structures.

The operation of the Company's extensive electric and natural gas systems rely on evolving information and operating technology systems and network infrastructure that are likely to become more complex as new technologies and systems are developed. The Company's business is highly dependent on its ability to process and monitor, on a daily basis, a very large number of transactions, many of which are highly complex. The failure of these systems and networks could significantly disrupt operations; result in outages and/or damages to the Company's assets or operations or those of third parties on which it relies; and subject the Company to claims by customers or third parties, any of which could have a material effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. The Company's information systems, including its financial information, operational systems, metering, and billing systems, require constant maintenance, modification, and updating, which can be costly and increases the risk of errors and malfunction. Any disruptions or deficiencies in existing information systems, or disruptions, delays or deficiencies in the modification or implementation of new information systems, could result in increased costs, the inability to track or collect revenues, the diversion of management's and employees' attention and resources, and could negatively affect the effectiveness of the Company's control environment, and/or the Company's ability to timely file required regulatory reports. Despite implementation of security and mitigation measures, all of the Company's technology systems are vulnerable to impairment or failure due to cyber-attacks, computer viruses, human errors, acts of war or terrorism and other reasons. If the Company's information technology systems were to fail or be materially impaired, the Company might be unable to fulfill critical business functions and serve its customers, which could have a material effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. In the ordinary course of its business, the Company collects and retains sensitive electronic data including personal identification information about customers and employees, customer energy usage, and other confidential information. The theft, damage, or improper disclosure of sensitive electronic data through security breaches or other means could subject the Company to penalties for violation of applicable privacy laws or claims from third parties and could harm the Company's reputation and adversely affect the Company's financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the Company's electric and natural gas distribution and transmission delivery systems are part of an interconnected regional grid and pipeline system. If these neighboring interconnected systems were to be disrupted due to cyber-attacks, computer viruses, human errors, acts of war or terrorism or other reasons, the Company's operations and its ability to serve its customers would be adversely affected, which could have a material effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.