Loaded from persisted store.
Threads
All Filings
SEC Comment Letters
Company Responses
Letter Text
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
High
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Response Received
3 company response(s)
High - file number match
SEC wrote to company
2010-06-01
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2010-06-09
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: June 1, 2010
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2020-01-27
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: January 21, 2020
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
High
SEC wrote to company
2025-03-07
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Response Received
3 company response(s)
High - file number match
SEC wrote to company
2023-03-27
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2023-05-26
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: March 27, 2023
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2023-06-05
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2023-06-05
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
High
SEC wrote to company
2020-01-30
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
High
SEC wrote to company
2020-01-21
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
Medium
SEC wrote to company
2018-03-27
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Response Received
1 company response(s)
Medium - date proximity
SEC wrote to company
2018-03-19
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2018-03-26
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: March 19, 2018 | March 5, 2018
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Response Received
1 company response(s)
Medium - date proximity
SEC wrote to company
2018-03-06
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2018-03-13
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: March 5, 2018
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
Medium
SEC wrote to company
2017-05-25
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Response Received
1 company response(s)
Medium - date proximity
SEC wrote to company
2017-05-17
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2017-05-23
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: May 17, 2017 | May 2, 2017
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Response Received
1 company response(s)
Medium - date proximity
SEC wrote to company
2017-05-02
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2017-05-04
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: May 2, 2017
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
Medium
SEC wrote to company
2015-02-12
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Response Received
1 company response(s)
Medium - date proximity
SEC wrote to company
2015-02-03
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2015-02-09
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: February 3, 2015
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
Medium
SEC wrote to company
2012-02-03
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Response Received
1 company response(s)
Medium - date proximity
SEC wrote to company
2012-01-24
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2012-02-01
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: January 24, 2012
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
High
SEC wrote to company
2010-07-15
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Response Received
1 company response(s)
Medium - date proximity
SEC wrote to company
2010-06-15
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: June 1,
2010 | June 1, 2010
Summary
Generating summary...
↓
Company responded
2010-06-28
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: June 1, 2010 | June 15, 2010
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
Medium
SEC wrote to company
2008-10-27
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
Medium
SEC wrote to company
2008-10-27
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Orphan - no UPLOAD in window
1 company response(s)
Low - unmatched response
Company responded
2008-08-26
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: August 12, 2008
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
Medium
SEC wrote to company
2006-07-06
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Awaiting Response
0 company response(s)
Medium
SEC wrote to company
2006-05-16
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Summary
Generating summary...
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Orphan - no UPLOAD in window
1 company response(s)
Low - unmatched response
Company responded
2006-03-24
ATMOS ENERGY CORP
References: March 13, 2006
Summary
Generating summary...
Summary
| Date | Type | Company | Location | File No | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-15 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | 001-10042 | Read Filing View |
| 2025-03-27 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2025-03-07 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | 001-10042 | Read Filing View |
| 2023-06-05 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2023-06-05 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2023-05-26 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2023-03-27 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2020-01-30 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2020-01-27 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2020-01-21 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-27 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-26 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-19 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-13 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-06 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-25 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-23 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-17 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-04 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-02 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2015-02-12 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2015-02-09 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2015-02-03 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2012-02-03 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2012-02-01 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2012-01-24 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-07-15 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-06-28 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-06-15 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-06-09 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-06-01 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2008-10-27 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2008-10-27 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2008-08-26 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2006-07-06 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2006-05-16 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2006-03-24 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| Date | Type | Company | Location | File No | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-15 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | 001-10042 | Read Filing View |
| 2025-03-07 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | 001-10042 | Read Filing View |
| 2023-03-27 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2020-01-30 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2020-01-21 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-27 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-19 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-06 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-25 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-17 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-02 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2015-02-12 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2015-02-03 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2012-02-03 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2012-01-24 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-07-15 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-06-15 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-06-01 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2008-10-27 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2008-10-27 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2006-07-06 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2006-05-16 | SEC Comment Letter | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| Date | Type | Company | Location | File No | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-27 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2023-06-05 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2023-06-05 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2023-05-26 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2020-01-27 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-26 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2018-03-13 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-23 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2017-05-04 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2015-02-09 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2012-02-01 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-06-28 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2010-06-09 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2008-08-26 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
| 2006-03-24 | Company Response | ATMOS ENERGY CORP | TX | N/A | Read Filing View |
2025-04-15 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP File: 001-10042
<DOCUMENT> <TYPE>TEXT-EXTRACT <SEQUENCE>2 <FILENAME>filename2.txt <TEXT> April 15, 2025 Christopher Forsythe Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corp 1800 Three Lincoln Centre 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, TX 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corp Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2024 Filed November 18, 2024 File No. 001-10042 Dear Christopher Forsythe: We have completed our review of your filing. We remind you that the company and its management are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding any review, comments, action or absence of action by the staff. Sincerely, Division of Corporation Finance Office of Energy & Transportation </TEXT> </DOCUMENT>
2025-03-27 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP 1 filename1.htm Document March 27, 2025 VIA EDGAR TRANSMISSION United States Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance Office of Energy and Transportation 100 F Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20549 Attention: Mark Wojciechowski and Karl Hiller Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2024, Filed November 18, 2024 File No. 001-10042 Dear Mr. Wojciechowski and Mr. Hiller: Atmos Energy Corporation (“Atmos Energy,” the “Company” or “we”) is responding to the letter from the staff (“Staff”) of the Division of Corporation Finance of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) dated March 7, 2025, commenting on the above-referenced Form 10-K filed with the Commission on November 18, 2024. For your convenience, we have repeated the Staff’s comments from such letter in bold and italics below, followed by the Company’s response. All terms used but not defined herein have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2024 (the “Form 10-K”). Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2024 Properties, page 21 We note your disclosure regarding the underground distribution and transmission mains, indicating you have a program of "continuous inspection and repair" and that you believe the system is in good condition. However, on page 78, you reference an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board of two incidents early last year, though without providing details or context, or discussing the implications. Based on the preliminary report, we understand that the investigation pertains to two explosions that destroyed homes that were served by your natural gas distribution system in Jackson, Mississippi, and that you had known of gas leaks in close proximity to the explosions beforehand and subsequently found additional leaks on mechanical Mr. Mark Wojciechowski and Karl Hiller United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 27, 2025 Page 2 couplings near the previously identified leaks, to include the detection of subsurface gas near both locations where the explosions occurred and near the foundations of adjacent homes. The report indicates the natural gas distribution system serving those properties was installed in the 1960s and early 1970s. Given these findings, and considering your risk factor disclosure on page 18, indicating significant capital expenditures are required to modernize your distribution and transmission system, it appears that you should provide more details regarding the condition, suitability, and adequacy of your pipeline systems, such as the age of those systems, incidence of leak detections, and programs to replace or upgrade those systems to comply with Instruction 1 to Item 102 of Regulation S-K. For example, considering the age of the system associated with the incidents, disclose your view on the remaining serviceability of the 50-60 year-old pipeline system, and clarify how the age of your other pipeline systems compare, with quantitative details that provide meaningful differentiation based on the age of your systems. Please discuss the nature and scope of any plans to replace or upgrade the aging systems in your network, to include the timeframe, duration, and estimated costs, or clarify if your approach is limited to conducting repairs, in which case also discuss the limitations of that approach. Please also discuss any factors that hinder your ability to upgrade and replace systems that are near the end of their serviceable lives. Response : Safety is at the core of our business and essential to who we are. At Atmos Energy, it is our stated vision to be the safest provider of natural gas services. As we provide information about the changes we propose making to certain language in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2025 (“2025 Form 10-K”) in response to the Staff’s comments regarding the condition, suitability, and adequacy of our pipeline systems, we want to make two clarifying points at the outset. First, while we continue to cooperate with the National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”), the Mississippi Public Service Commission (“MS PSC”), and other parties to the investigation regarding the 2024 incident in Jackson, Mississippi, that investigation is ongoing. There have been no findings of causal factors (including with respect to the age of our pipeline system) by any party, Atmos Energy’s party submission is not yet public, and we cannot comment on the cause of the incident. It is important to note, however, that with respect to leaks identified on the Atmos Energy transmission and distribution Mr. Mark Wojciechowski and Karl Hiller United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 27, 2025 Page 3 system, we investigate, grade, and repair such leaks in accordance with procedures that meet or exceed regulatory requirements. Second, while we have a model for managing risks to the integrity of our natural gas infrastructure, no single factor is determinative in our decision to take mitigative actions. We describe in further detail below our integrity management programs and our ongoing efforts to consider the many factors that impact integrity management. Consistent with our safety vision and PHMSA’s Distribution Integrity Management Rule, we have a distribution integrity management (“DIM”) program and plan, the primary objective of which is to manage the integrity and safety of our natural gas distribution systems. The DIM process integrates information sources and data, identifies risks to the integrity of distribution infrastructure, ranks risks, and designates measures and actions to reduce or mitigate risks as appropriate. Those mitigative actions can include a number of measures such as accelerated leak survey frequency, pipeline replacement, and additional public awareness. As part of our DIM program, we use a framework for evaluating and ranking risks that was originally developed by a group of natural gas distribution operators in coordination with the Gas Technology Institute (“GTI”), and Operations Technology Development. We engaged a third-party global leader in assurance and risk management to incorporate this framework into a Distribution Risk Assessment Model, or DRAM, that configures over one hundred risk model input factors and weightings to reflect Atmos Energy’s distribution systems and operating environments. In 2020, we engaged another third-party expert to perform an independent review and assessment of those input factors and weightings against industry best practices, and we adopted as appropriate its conclusions into the DRAM. Factors include, without limitation, population density, material and soil type, pipe age, legacy construction practices, leak history, pipe coating, and corrosion data. Most recently, we have updated the DRAM to address considerations related to the potential for unreported damage to be present on our facilities from third-party excavation activities, for differential ground movement in our service territories, for consequences related to rain and soil wetness, and for threats to combine and act together. No single factor, such as the age of pipe or leak history, is determinative in our decision to take mitigative actions on our distribution pipeline systems, including accelerated leak survey or pipeline replacement. We also have a transmission integrity management (“TIM”) program and plan applicable to our transmission pipeline systems in our distribution and pipeline and storage segments. The TIM program and plan take into account a variety of factors and are consistent with our vision to be the safest provider of natural gas services and PHMSA’s Gas Transmission Pipeline Integrity Management Rule. As with our DIM program, no Mr. Mark Wojciechowski and Karl Hiller United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 27, 2025 Page 4 single factor is determinative in our decision to take mitigative actions on our transmission pipeline systems. We periodically review our DIM and TIM programs, including potential alternative approaches to the risk analysis and risk mitigation methodologies, within the decision-making framework of these programs. In response to the Staff’s comment to provide more detail regarding our program to replace or upgrade our systems, we propose to include in our 2025 Form 10-K: To manage the integrity and safety of our natural gas distribution and transmission systems, consistent with PHMSA regulations, we have integrity management programs that integrate information sources and data, identify risks to infrastructure integrity, ranks risks, and designate measures and actions to reduce or mitigate risks as appropriate. These programs take into consideration numerous input factors and no single factor is determinative in our decision to take mitigative actions on our distribution or transmission pipeline systems. Based upon these programs, along with the oversight of state regulators responsible for adopting and enforcing the federal pipeline safety regulations, we believe that our distribution and transmission pipeline systems are suitable and adequate for our purposes. We believe that the proposed disclosure, together with the disclosure already provided in Item 2 of our Form 10-K detailing (among other things) our miles of pipe, storage capacity and maximum delivery capability, provides investors with information that will reasonably inform them as to the suitability, adequacy and productive capacity of our pipeline systems as required by Instruction 1 to Item 102 of Regulation S-K. Further, as the Staff notes, and as we have disclosed in our risk factors on page 18 of our Form 10-K, our business requires that we make significant capital expenditures on a long-term basis to continuously modernize our distribution and transmission system. These investments reflect our commitment to our vision to be the safest provider of natural gas services. Our anticipated capital expenditures also reflect costs associated with the need to continually build new capacity to serve our growing communities, and we anticipate incurring significant capital expenditures for the foreseeable future. Between fiscal years 2025 and 2029, we anticipate our capital expenditures to be approximately $24 billion, with more than 80% of this amount dedicated to safety and reliability spending, guided by our pipeline integrity management programs. The magnitude and allocation of these expenditures may be affected by factors such as new policy and regulations, population growth, increased labor and materials costs. Mr. Mark Wojciechowski and Karl Hiller United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 27, 2025 Page 5 Our rates are established by the regulatory authorities in each of the states in which we operate and are intended to be sufficient to cover the costs of conducting business, including a reasonable return on invested capital. In order to seek a rate increase, we must submit to the applicable regulatory authorities supporting detail justifying the nature, timing, and costs (including costs to survey, inspect, repair, and replace our pipeline systems) that we seek to recover. We anticipate our costs to conduct business, including the costs incurred to execute our integrity management programs will be recovered. On pages 6-12 of our Form 10-K, we have summarized the various regulatory mechanisms and programs that are available to us to recover our costs. In response to the Staff’s comment to provide more detail regarding our timeline, duration and estimated cost of replacement, upgrade and repair to our system, we propose to include the following information in our 2025 Form 10-K: We anticipate making significant capital expenditures for the foreseeable future to modernize our distribution and transmission system, to comply with the safety rules and regulations issued by the regulatory authorities responsible for the service areas we in which we operate, and to prepare to serve the growing needs of the communities we serve. Between fiscal years 2025 and 2029, we anticipate spending approximately $24 billion, with more than 80% dedicated to safety and reliability spendi ng. The magnitude and allocation of these expenditures may be affected by factors such as new policy and regulations, population growth, and increased labor and materials costs. Although we believe these costs are ultimately recoverable through our rates based on the regulatory frameworks currently available to us, full recovery is not assured. Sincerely, Atmos Energy Corporation By: /s/ CHRISTOPHER T. FORSYTHE Christopher T. Forsythe Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
2025-03-07 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP File: 001-10042
March 7, 2025
Christopher Forsythe
Chief Financial Officer
Atmos Energy Corp
1800 Three Lincoln Centre
5430 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, TX 75240
Re:Atmos Energy Corp
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2024
Filed November 18, 2024
File No. 001-10042
Dear Christopher Forsythe:
We have reviewed your filing and have the following comment.
Please respond to this letter within ten business days by providing the requested
information or advise us as soon as possible when you will respond. If you do not believe
the comment applies to your facts and circumstances, please tell us why in your response.
After reviewing your response to this letter, we may have additional comments.
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2024
Properties, page 21
We note your disclosure regarding the underground distribution and transmission
mains, indicating you have a program of "continuous inspection and repair" and that
you believe the system is in good condition. However, on page 78, you reference an
investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board of two incidents early last
year, though without providing details or context, or discussing the implications.
Based on the preliminary report, we understand that the investigation pertains to two
explosions that destroyed homes that were served by your natural gas distribution
system in Jackson, Mississippi, and that you had known of gas leaks in close
proximity to the explosions beforehand and subsequently found additional leaks on
mechanical couplings near the previously identified leaks, to include the detection of
subsurface gas near both locations where the explosions occurred and near the
1.
March 7, 2025
Page 2
foundations of adjacent homes. The report indicates the natural gas distribution
system serving those properties was installed in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Given these findings, and considering your risk factor disclosure on page 18,
indicating significant capital expenditures are required to modernize your distribution
and transmission system, it appears that you should provide more details regarding the
condition, suitability, and adequacy of your pipeline systems, such as the age of those
systems, incidence of leak detections, and programs to replace or upgrade those
systems to comply with Instruction 1 to Item 102 of Regulation S-K.
For example, considering the age of the system associated with the incidents, disclose
your view on the remaining serviceability of the 50-60 year-old pipeline system, and
clarify how the age of your other pipleline systems compare, with quantitative details
that provide meaningful differentiation based on the age of your systems.
Please discuss the nature and scope of any plans to replace or upgrade the aging
systems in your network, to include the timeframe, duration, and estimated costs, or
clarify if your approach is limited to conducting repairs, in which case also discuss the
limitations of that approach. Please also discuss any factors that hinder your ability to
upgrade and replace systems that are near the end of their servicable lives.
We remind you that the company and its management are responsible for the accuracy
and adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding any review, comments, action or absence
of action by the staff.
Please contact Mark Wojciechowski at 202-551-3759 or Karl Hiller at 202-551-3686
if you have questions regarding comments on the financial statements and related matters.
Sincerely,
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Energy & Transportation
2023-06-05 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP 1 filename1.htm CORRESP June 5, 2023 Division of Corporation Finance Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporate Finance 100 F Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20549 Attention: Jason Weidberg and Arthur Sandel – Structured Finance Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Atmos Energy Kansas Securitization I, LLC Registration Statement on Form SF-1 Filed February 28, 2023 File Nos. 333-270078 and 333-270078-01 Dear Mr. Weidberg and Mr. Sandel: In connection with the proposed offering of the securities under the above-captioned Registration Statement on Form SF-1 (the “Registration Statement”), we wish to advise you that we, as the underwriter, hereby join the request of Atmos Energy Corporation and Atmos Energy Kansas Securitization I, LLC that the effective date of the Registration Statement be accelerated so that the same will become effective on June 8, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. E.D.T., or as soon as practicable thereafter. The following is supplemental information supplied under Rule 418(a)(7) and Rule 460 under the Securities Act of 1933: (i) Date of Preliminary Prospectus: June 5, 2023 (ii) Anticipated dates of distribution: June 6, 2023 – June 20, 2023 (iii) Number of preliminary prospectuses expected to be distributed to institutional investors, dealers and others: approximately 1500 (iv) We have complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 15c2-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Pursuant to Rule 460 of the Securities Act of 1933, please be advised that there will be distributed as many copies of the proposed form of Preliminary Prospectus as appears to be reasonable to secure adequate distribution of the Preliminary Prospectus. Remainder of the page intentionally left blank Very truly yours, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC By: /s/ Mark Gilmore Name: Mark Gilmore Title: Managing Director As the Underwriter Signature Page to Underwriter’s Acceleration Request
2023-06-05 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
CORRESP
June 5, 2023
VIA EDGAR
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Structured Finance
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attention:
Jason Weidberg
Arthur Sandel
Re:
Atmos Energy Corporation
Atmos Energy Kansas Securitization I, LLC
Registration Statement on Form SF-1
Filed February 28, 2023
File Nos. 333-270078 and 333-270078-01
Dear Mr. Weidberg and Mr. Sandel,
Pursuant to Rule 461 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Atmos Energy Corporation and Atmos Energy Kansas Securitization I, LLC
hereby request that the effective date of the Registration Statement referred to above be accelerated so that the same will become effective on June 8, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. E.D.T., or as soon as practicable thereafter.
Please call George Vlahakos of Sidley Austin LLP at (713) 495-4522 as soon as the registration
statement has been declared effective.
Sincerely,
Atmos Energy Corporation
By:
/s/ Christopher T. Forsythe
Name:
Christopher T. Forsythe
Title:
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
cc:
Ashley Burton, Atmos Energy Corporation
George Vlahakos, Sidley Austin LLP
2023-05-26 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
CORRESP
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
1000 LOUISIANA STREET
SUITE 5900
HOUSTON, TX 77002
+1 713 495 4500
+1 713 495 7799 FAX
AMERICA • ASIA PACIFIC • EUROPE
May 26, 2023
VIA EDGAR
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Structured Finance
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attention:
Jason Weidberg
Arthur Sandel
Re:
Atmos Energy Corporation
Atmos Energy Kansas Securitization I, LLC
Registration Statement on Form SF-1
Filed February 28, 2023
File Nos. 333-270078 and 333-270078-01
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of Atmos Energy Corporation (“Atmos Energy”) and Atmos Energy Kansas Securitization I, LLC (together with
Atmos Energy, the “Registrants”), we hereby submit this letter in response to the comments received from the staff (the “Staff”) of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “Commission”) by letter dated March 27, 2023, with respect to the Registrants’ above-referenced Registration Statement on Form SF-1 filed on February 28,
2023 (the “Registration Statement”). Concurrently with this letter, we are transmitting via EDGAR an amendment to the Registration Statement (including certain exhibits) (“Amendment
No. 1”). For the Staff’s reference, we are also providing to the Staff by email a copy of this letter as well as both a clean copy of Amendment No. 1 and a copy marked to show all changes from
the Registration Statement.
In this letter, we have recited the comment from the Staff in bold typeface and have followed the comment
with the Registrants’ response in ordinary typeface.
Sidley Austin (TX) LLP is a Delaware limited liability partnership doing business
as Sidley Austin LLP and practicing in affiliation with other Sidley Austin partnerships.
Page
2
Registration Statement on Form SF-1
Form of Prospectus
Description of the Securitized
Utility Tariff Bonds
The Security for the Securitized Utility Tariff Bonds, page 68
1.
We note that, in addition to the securitized utility tariff property, the collection account and all of its
subaccounts will also secure the bonds, including all “cash, instruments, investment property or other assets credited to or deposited in the collection account or any subaccount … and all financial assets and securities entitlements
carried therein or credited thereto.” Please confirm whether any of the underlying collateral will consist of securities for purposes of Rule 190 under the Securities Act.
Response:
The
Registrants hereby confirm that none of the underlying collateral will consist of securities for purposes of Rule 190 under the Securities Act.
Part
II - Information Not Required in Prospectus
Item 14. Exhibits, page II-3
2.
Please file your remaining exhibits with your next amendment. Refer to Item 1100(f) of Regulation AB and
Instruction 1 to Item 601 of Regulation S-K. Note that we may have additional comments on your registration statement following our review of any such exhibits.
Response:
The
Registrants are filing copies of the remaining exhibits with Amendment No. 1.
If you have questions regarding the foregoing
responses, please contact the undersigned at (713) 495-4522.
Sincerely,
/s/ George J Vlahakos
George J Vlahakos
Page
3
cc:
Christopher T. Forsythe, Atmos Energy
Ashley Burton, Atmos Energy
Robert Stephens, Sidley Austin LLP
Michael Fitzpatrick, Jr., Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Adam O’Brian, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
2023-03-27 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
United States securities and exchange commission logo
March 27, 2023
Christopher T. Forsythe
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Atmos Energy Corporation
1800 Three Lincoln Centre
5430 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, TX 75240
Re:Atmos Energy Corporation
Atmos Energy Kansas Securitization I, LLC
Registration Statement on Form SF-1
Filed February 28, 2023
File Nos. 333-270078 and 333-270078-01
Dear Christopher T. Forsythe:
We have reviewed your registration statement and have the following comments. In
some of our comments, we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better
understand your disclosure.
Please respond to this letter by amending your registration statement and providing the
requested information. If you do not believe our comments apply to your facts and
circumstances or do not believe an amendment is appropriate, please tell us why in your
response.
After reviewing any amendment to your registration statement and the information you
provide in response to these comments, we may have additional comments.
Registration Statement on Form SF-1
Form of Prospectus
Description of the Securitized Utility Tariff Bonds
The Security for the Securitized Utility Tariff Bonds, page 68
1.We note that, in addition to the securitized utility tariff property, the collection account
and all of its subaccounts will also secure the bonds, including all “cash, instruments,
investment property or other assets credited to or deposited in the collection account or
any subaccount … and all financial assets and securities entitlements carried therein or
credited thereto.” Please confirm whether any of the underlying collateral will consist of
securities for purposes of Rule 190 under the Securities Act.
FirstName LastNameChristopher T. Forsythe
Comapany NameAtmos Energy Corporation
March 27, 2023 Page 2
FirstName LastName
Christopher T. Forsythe
Atmos Energy Corporation
March 27, 2023
Page 2
Part II - Information Not Required in Prospectus
Item 14. Exhibits, page II-3
2.Please file your remaining exhibits with your next amendment. Refer to Item 1100(f) of
Regulation AB and Instruction 1 to Item 601 of Regulation S-K. Note that we may have
additional comments on your registration statement following our review of any such
exhibits.
We remind you that the company and its management are responsible for the accuracy
and adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding any review, comments, action or absence of
action by the staff.
Refer to Rules 460 and 461 regarding requests for acceleration. Please allow adequate
time for us to review any amendment prior to the requested effective date of the registration
statement.
Please contact Jason Weidberg at 202-551-6892 or Arthur Sandel at 202-551-3262 with
any questions.
Sincerely,
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Structured Finance
2020-01-30 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
January 28, 2020
Christopher T. Forsythe
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Atmos Energy Corporation
1800 Three Lincoln Centre
5430 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75240
Re:Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019
Filed November 12, 2019
File No. 001-10042
Dear Mr. Forsythe:
We have completed our review of your filing. We remind you that the company and its
management are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding
any review, comments, action or absence of action by the staff.
Sincerely,
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Energy & Transportation
2020-01-27 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
Document
January 27, 2020
By: EDGAR Transmission - Correspondence Filing
Mr. Gus Rodriguez
Accounting Branch Chief
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Energy & Transportation
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019
Filed November 12, 2019
File No. 001-10042
Dear Mr. Rodriguez:
We are responding to your letter dated January 21, 2020, commenting on our most recent Form 10-K filed with the Commission on November 12, 2019. We have repeated your comments from such letter below, followed by our response to the comments in bold print. We intend to comply with the comments in all future filings, as applicable.
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019
Selected Financial Data, page 21
1. Please label “Contribution Margin” as a non-GAAP measure and present the disclosures and reconciliation required by Item 10(e)(1)(i) of Regulation S-K.
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment. The Company has decided to transition away from using contribution margin when discussing our financial results in future filings. As such, the Company will remove references to contribution margin when discussing our financial results in all future Form 10-K and 10-Q filings and in all future earnings releases furnished as exhibits to Form 8-K filings, beginning with our earnings release and Form 10-Q for the three months ended December 31, 2019.
Mr. Gus Rodriguez
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
January 27, 2020
Page 2
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Non-GAAP Financial Measures, page 25.
2. Please present a reconciliation for your contribution margin non-GAAP measure. In doing so, reconcile this measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure of gross margin. If you do not believe gross margin that includes depreciation and amortization is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, please tell us why in your response. Refer to Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K.
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment. The Company has decided to transition away from using contribution margin when discussing our financial results in future filings. As such, the Company will remove references to contribution margin when discussing our financial results in all future Form 10-K and 10-Q filings and in all future earnings releases furnished as exhibits to Form 8-K filings, beginning with our earnings release and Form 10-Q for the three months ended December 31, 2019.
Mr. Gus Rodriguez
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
January 27, 2020
Page 3
If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to our Controller, Richard M. Thomas at (972) 855-3748, or in his absence, to me at (972) 855-3214. Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
/s/ CHRISTOPHER T. FORSYTHE
Christopher T. Forsythe
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
cc: Ms. Yong Kim
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2020-01-21 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
January 21, 2020
Christopher T. Forsythe
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Atmos Energy Corporation
1800 Three Lincoln Centre
5430 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75240
Re:Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019
Filed November 12, 2019
File No. 001-10042
Dear Mr. Forsythe:
We have limited our review of your filing to the financial statements and related
disclosures and have the following comments. In some of our comments, we may ask you to
provide us with information so we may better understand your disclosure.
Please respond to these comments within ten business days by providing the requested
information or advise us as soon as possible when you will respond. If you do not believe our
comments apply to your facts and circumstances, please tell us why in your response.
After reviewing your response to these comments, we may have additional comments.
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019
Selected Financial Data, page 21
1.Please label “Contribution Margin” as a non-GAAP measure and present the disclosures
and reconciliation required by Item 10(e)(1)(i) of Regulation S-K.
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Non-GAAP Financial Measures, page 25
2.Please present a reconciliation for your contribution margin non-GAAP measure. In
doing so, reconcile this measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure of gross
margin. If you do not believe gross margin that includes depreciation and amortization is
the most directly comparable GAAP measure, please tell us why in your response. Refer
to Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K.
FirstName LastNameChristopher T. Forsythe
Comapany NameAtmos Energy Corporation
January 21, 2020 Page 2
FirstName LastName
Christopher T. Forsythe
Atmos Energy Corporation
January 21, 2020
Page 2
In closing, we remind you that the company and its management are responsible for the
accuracy and adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding any review, comments, action or
absence of action by the staff.
You may contact Yong Kim, Staff Accountant, at 202-551-3323 or Gus Rodriguez,
Accounting Branch Chief, at 202-551-3752 with any questions.
Sincerely,
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Energy & Transportation
2018-03-27 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Mail Stop 3561 March 27, 2018 Christopher T. Forsythe Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, TX 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10 -K for the Fis cal Year Ended September 30, 2017 Filed November 13, 2017 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Forsythe : We have completed our review of your filing. We remind you that the company and its management are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the ir disclosure s, notwithstanding any review, comments, action or absence of action by the staff. Sincerely, /s/ William H. Thompson William H. Thompson Accounting Branch Chief Office of Consumer Products
2018-03-26 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
Document
March 26, 2018
By: EDGAR Transmission - Correspondence Filing
Mr. William H. Thompson
Accounting Branch Chief
Office of Consumer Products
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2017
Response Dated March 13, 2018
File No. 1-10042
Dear Mr. Thompson:
We are responding to your letter dated March 19, 2018, commenting on our response dated March 13, 2018 to your comment letter dated March 5, 2018. We have repeated your comment from such letter below, followed by our response to the comment in bold print. We intend to comply with the comment in all future filings, as applicable.
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2017
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Non-GAAP Financial Measure, page 25
1.
We note your response to comment 1. Please tell us how your presentation of "net revenues" complies with Item 10(e)(1)(ii)(E) of Regulation S-K, which prohibits using titles for non-GAAP measures that are the same as, or confusingly similar to, titles or descriptions used for GAAP financial measures.
In our prior response, we proposed to replace the term "gross profit" with "net revenues" as the non-GAAP financial measure we use to help measure and analyze our financial performance because it is commonly used in the utility industry. To comply with Item 10(e)(1)(ii)(E) of Regulation S-K, we will replace the term “gross profit” with "contribution margin" in future filings and earnings releases. The following statement is indicative of the
Mr. William H. Thompson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
March 26, 2018
Page 2
disclosure that we may include regarding contribution margin, a non-GAAP financial measure:
Our operations are affected by the cost of natural gas. The cost of gas is passed through to our customers without markup and includes commodity price, transportation, storage, injection and withdrawal fees and settlements of financial instruments used to mitigate commodity price risk. These costs are reflected in the income statement as purchased gas cost. Therefore, increases in the cost of gas are offset by a corresponding increase in revenues. Accordingly, we believe contribution margin, a non-GAAP financial measure defined as operating revenues less purchased gas cost, is a better indicator of our financial performance than operating income as it provides a useful and more relevant measure to analyze our financial performance. Further, the term contribution margin is not intended to represent operating income, the most comparable GAAP financial measure, as an indicator of operating performance and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to our Controller, Richard M. Thomas at (972) 855-3748, or in his absence, to me at (972) 855-3214. Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
/s/ CHRISTOPHER T. FORSYTHE
Christopher T. Forsythe
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
cc: Mr. Scott Stringer
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ms. Donna Di Silvio
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2018-03-19 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Mail Stop 3561 March 19, 2018 Christopher T. Forsythe Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, TX 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10 -K for the Fis cal Year Ended September 30, 2017 Response Dated March 13, 2018 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Forsythe : We have reviewed your March 13, 2018 response to our comment letter and have the following comment. In our comment , we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. Please respond to this comment within ten busine ss days by providing the requested information or advis e us as soon as possible when you will respond. If you do not believe our comment applies to your facts and circumstances, please tell us why in your response. After reviewing your response to this comment , we may have additional comments. Unless we note otherwise, our references to prior comments are to comments in our March 5, 2018 letter . Form 10 -K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2017 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Non-GAAP Financial Measure, page 25 1. We note your response to comment 1 . Please tell us how your proposed presentation of "net revenues" complies with Item 10(e)(1)(ii)(E) of Regulation S -K, which prohibits using titles for non -GAAP measures that are the same as, or confusingly similar to, titles or descriptions used for GAA P financial measures. Christopher T. Forsythe Atmos Energy Corporation March 19, 2018 Page 2 You may contact Scott Stringer, Staff Accountant, at (202) 551 -3272 or Donna Di Silvio, Staff Accountant, at (202) 551 -3202 if you have questions regarding our comments. Please contact me at (202) 551 -3344 with any other questions. Sincerely, /s/ William H. Thompson William H. Thompson Accounting Branch Chief Office of Consumer Products
2018-03-13 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
Document
March 13, 2018
By: EDGAR Transmission - Correspondence Filing
Mr. William H. Thompson
Accounting Branch Chief
Office of Consumer Products
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2017
Filed November 13, 2017
Form 8-K Filed February 6, 2018
File No. 1-10042
Dear Mr. Thompson:
We are responding to your letter dated March 5, 2018, commenting on our most recent Form 10-K filed with the Commission as well as on our Form 8-K filed on February 6, 2018. We have repeated your comments from such letter below, followed by our response to the comments in bold print. We intend to comply with the comments in all future filings, as applicable.
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2017
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Non-GAAP Financial Measure, page 25
1.
Please tell us how your presentation of "gross profit" complies with Item 10(e)(1)(ii)(E)
of Regulation S-K, which prohibits using titles for non-GAAP measures that are the same as, or confusingly similar to, titles or descriptions used for GAAP financial measures.
We referenced the non-GAAP measure “gross profit” and included its computation in our filing to better discuss and analyze our financial performance. To better distinguish this non-GAAP measure from similar terms, we will revise the term “gross profit” to “net revenues” in future filings and earnings releases. The following statement is indicative of the disclosure that we may include regarding net revenues, a non-GAAP measure:
Mr. William H. Thompson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
March 13, 2018
Page 2
Our operations are affected by the cost of natural gas. The cost of gas is passed through to our customers without markup and includes commodity price, transportation, storage, injection and withdrawal fees and settlements of financial instruments used to mitigate commodity price risk. These costs are reflected in the income statement as purchased gas cost. Therefore, increases in the cost of gas are offset by a corresponding increase in revenues. Accordingly, we believe net revenues, a non-GAAP financial measure defined as operating revenues less purchased gas cost, is a better indicator of our financial performance than operating income as it provides a useful and more relevant measure to analyze our financial performance. Further, the term net revenues is not intended to represent operating income, the most comparable GAAP measure, as an indicator of operating performance and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
Form 8-K filed February 6, 2018
2.
To avoid placing undue prominence on gross profit, a non-GAAP measure, your discussion on page 2 should include a similar discussion and analysis of the comparable GAAP measure in a location with equal or greater prominence. Your tabular disclosure of the non-GAAP measure on page 5 should be preceded with an equally prominent tabular disclosure of the comparable GAAP measure. In this regard, please show operating revenues and purchased gas cost in deriving the non-GAAP measure. Please review the guidance in our Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations issued on May 17, 2016, specifically question 102.10, when preparing your next earnings release. Reference is made to Item 2.02, Instruction 2, of Form 8-K and the requirements of paragraph (e)(l)(i) of Item 10 of Regulation S-K.
To avoid placing undue prominence on net revenues, a non-GAAP financial measure, in future earnings releases furnished as exhibits to Form 8-K filings, we will begin our discussion of results with a discussion of operating income rather than net revenues. Further, we will provide the operating revenues and purchased gas costs used in deriving net revenues in our tabular disclosures in all future earnings releases furnished as exhibits to Form 8-K filings.
Mr. William H. Thompson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
March 13, 2018
Page 3
If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to our Controller, Richard M. Thomas at (972) 855-3748, or in his absence, to me at (972) 855-3214. Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
/s/ CHRISTOPHER T. FORSYTHE
Christopher T. Forsythe
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
cc: Mr. Scott Stringer
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ms. Donna Di Silvio
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2018-03-06 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Mail Stop 3561 March 5 , 2018 Christopher T. Forsythe Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, TX 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10 -K for the Fis cal Year Ended September 30, 2017 Filed November 13, 2017 Form 8-K Filed February 6, 2018 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Forsythe : We have limited our review of your filings to the financial statements and related disclosures and have the following comments. In some of our comments, we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. Please respond to these comments within ten busine ss days by providing the requested information or advis e us as soon as possible when you will respond. If you do not believe our comments apply to your facts and circumstances, please tell us why in your response. After reviewing your response to these comments, we may have additional comments . Form 10 -K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2017 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Non-GAAP Financial Measure, page 25 1. Please tell us how your presentation of “gross profit” complies with Item 10(e)(1)(ii)(E) of Regulation S -K, which prohibits using titles for non -GAAP measures that are the same as, or confusingly similar to, titles or descriptions used for GAAP financial measures. Form 8 -K filed February 6, 2018 2. To avoid placing undue prominence on gross profit, a non -GAAP measure, your discussion on page 2 should include a similar discussion and analysis of the comparable Christopher T. Forsythe Atmos Energy Corporation March 5, 2018 Page 2 GAAP measure in a location with equal or greater prominence. Your tabular disclosure of the non-GAAP measure on page 5 should be preceded with an equally prominent tabular disclosure of the comparable GAAP measure. In this regard, please show operating revenues and purchased gas cost in deriving the non -GAAP measure. Please review the guidance in our Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations issued on May 17, 2016, specifically question 102.10, when preparing your next earnings release. Reference is made to Item 2.0 2, Instruction 2, of Form 8 -K and the requirements of paragraph (e)(1)(i) of Item 10 of Regulation S -K. We remind you that the company and its management are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding any review, comme nts, action or absence of action by the staff. You may contact Scott Stringer, Staff Accountant, at (202) 551 -3272 or Donna Di Silvio, Staff Accountant, at (202) 551 -3202 if you have questions regarding our comments. Please contact me at (202) 551 -3344 with any other questions. Sincerely, /s/ William H. Thompson William H. Thompson Accounting Branch Chief Office of Consumer Products
2017-05-25 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Mail Stop 3561 May 25 , 2017 Christopher T. Forsythe Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2016 Filed November 14, 2016 File No. 1 -10042 Dear Mr. Forsythe : We have completed our review of your filing. We remind you that the company and its management are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the ir disclosure s, notwithstanding any review, comments, action or absence of action by the staff . Sincerely, /s/ William H. Thompson William H. Thompson Accounting Branch Chief Office of Consumer Products
2017-05-23 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
Document
Mr. William H. Thompson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
May 23, 2017
Page 1
May 23, 2017
By: EDGAR Transmission - Correspondence Filing
Mr. William H. Thompson
Accounting Branch Chief
Office of Consumer Products
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2017,
Response Dated May 4, 2017
File No. 1-10042
Dear Mr. Thompson:
We are responding to your letter dated May 17, 2017, commenting on our response dated May 4, 2017 to your comment letter dated May 2, 2017. We have repeated your comment from such letter below, followed by our response to the comment in bold print. We intend to comply with the comment in all future filings, as applicable.
Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period March 31, 2017
Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Results of Operations
Distribution Segment, page 37
1.
We note your disclosure on page 38 that you believe gross profit is a better indicator of your financial performance than revenues since increases in the cost of gas are offset by a corresponding increase in revenues. In future filings, please disclose that gross profit is a non-GAAP financial measure and why management believes the non-GAAP measure provides useful information to investors. Refer to Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K.
Beginning with our Form 10-Q for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2017, we will disclose that gross profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. We are also mindful of the additional disclosure requirements relating to the use of non-GAAP
Mr. William H. Thompson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
May 23, 2017
Page 2
financial measures, as set forth in Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K. The disclosures in our future filings that use any such financial measures will be prepared in accordance with such requirements, including the requirement in Item 10(e)(1)(i)(C) that a statement be included disclosing the reasons why management believes that presentation of the non-GAAP financial measure provides useful information to investors. The following statement is indicative of the disclosure that we may include regarding gross profit:
We calculate gross profit as operating revenues less purchased gas cost. This net amount is considered a non-GAAP financial measure. Management uses this financial measure because operating revenues include the cost of purchased gas, which is a tracked cost that is passed through to our customers without markup under purchased gas cost adjustment mechanisms. Accordingly, we believe that gross profit provides investors a useful and more relevant measure to analyze our financial performance than operating revenues because purchased gas cost does not impact our operating income.
To facilitate the reconciliation between gross profit and GAAP operating revenues, we will include operating revenues and purchased gas cost in the tables included in our financial highlights within Management's Discussion and Analysis in all our future Form 10-K and 10-Q filings.
If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to our Controller, Richard M. Thomas at (972) 855-3748, or in his absence, to me at (972) 855-3214. Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
/s/ CHRISTOPHER T. FORSYTHE
Christopher T. Forsythe
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
cc: Mr. Anthony W. Watson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Mr. Scott Anderegg
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ms. Mara Ransom
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2017-05-17 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Mail Stop 3561 May 17, 2017 Christopher T. Forsythe Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2017 Response Dated May 4 , 2017 File No s. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Forsythe : We have reviewed your May 4 , 2017 response to our comment letter and have the following comment . In our comment , we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. Please respond to this comment within ten busine ss days by providing the requested information or advis e us as soon as possible when you will respond. If you do not believe our comment applies to your facts and circumstances, please tell us why in your response. After reviewing your response to this comment , we may have additional comments. Unless we note otherwise, our references to prior comments are to comments in ou r May 2 , 2017 letter . Form 10 -Q for the Quarterly Period March 31, 2017 Item2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Results of Operations Distribution Segment, page 37 1. We note your disclosure on page 38 that you believe gross profit is a better indicator of your financial performance than revenues since increases in the cost of gas are offset by a corresponding increase in revenues. In future filings, please disclose th at gross profit is a Christopher T. Forsythe Atmos Energy Corporation May 17, 2017 Page 2 non-GAAP financial measure and why management believes the non -GAAP measure provides useful information to investors. Refer to Item 10(e) of Regulation S -K. You may contact Tony Watson, Accountant, at (202) 551 -3318 or me at (202) 55 1-3344 with any questions . Sincerely, /s/ William H. Thompson William H. Thompson Accounting Branch Chief Office of Consumer Products
2017-05-04 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
Document
Mr. William H. Thompson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
May 4, 2017
Page 1
May 4, 2017
By: EDGAR Transmission - Correspondence Filing
Mr. William H. Thompson
Accounting Branch Chief
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2016,
Filed November 14, 2016
File No. 1-10042
Dear Mr. Thompson:
We are responding to your letter dated May 2, 2017, commenting on our most recent Form 10-K filed with the Commission. We have repeated your comment from such letter below, followed by our response to the comment in bold print. We intend to comply with the comment in all future filings, as applicable.
Consolidated Statements of Income, page 47
1.
Please tell us your basis for presenting gross profit. In this regard, we note you exclude depreciation and amortization and operating and maintenance costs from gross profit. To avoid placing undue emphasis on cash flow, depreciation and amortization should not be positioned in the income statement in a manner which results in reporting a figure for income before depreciation. Refer to ASC 225-10-S99-8.
We reviewed the guidance in ASC 225-10-S99-8 and as a result, we will remove the subtotal “Gross profit” appearing in the income statements in our Financial Information and Supplementary Data in all our future Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings, beginning with our Form 10-Q for the three and six months ended March 31, 2017.
Mr. William H. Thompson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
May 4, 2017
Page 2
If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to our Controller, Richard M. Thomas at (972) 855-3748, or in his absence, to me at (972) 855-3214. Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
/s/ CHRISTOPHER T. FORSYTHE
Christopher T. Forsythe
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
cc: Mr. Anthony W. Watson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Mr. Scott Anderegg
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ms. Mara Ransom
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2017-05-02 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Mail Stop 3561 May 2, 2017 Bret J. Eckert Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30 , 2016 Filed Nov ember 14, 2016 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Eckert : We have reviewed your filing an d have the following comment. In our comment, we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. Please respond to this comment within ten busine ss days by providing the requested information or advis e us as soon as possible when you will respond. If you do not believe our comment appl ies to your facts and circums tances, please tell us why in your response. After reviewing your response to this comment, we may have additional comments. Consolidated Statements of Income, page 47 1. Please tell us your basis for presenting gross profit. In this regard, we note you exclude depreciation and amortization and operating and maintenance costs from gross profit. To avoid placing undue emphasis on cash flow, depreciation and amortization sh ould not be positioned in the income statement in a manner which results in reporting a figure for income before depreciation. Refer to ASC 225 -10-S99-8. We remind you that the company and its management are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding any review, comments, action or absence of action by the staff. You may contact Tony Watson, Accountant, at (202) 551 -3318 if you have questions regarding comments on the financial statements and related matters. Pleas e contact Scott Bret J. Eckert Atmos Energy Corporation May 2, 2017 Page 2 Anderegg (Staff Attorney) at (202) 551 -3342 or Mara Ransom ( Assistant Director) at (202) 551 - 3264 or me at (202) 551 -3344 with any other questions . Sincerely, /s/ William H. Thompson William H. Thompson Accounting Branch Chief Office of Consumer Products
2015-02-12 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
February 12, 2015 Via E-mail Bret J. Eckert Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2014 Filed November 6, 2014 File No. 1 -10042 Dear Mr. Eckert : We have comp leted our review of your filing . We remind you that our comments or changes to disclosure in response to our comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the company or the filing and the company may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securitie s laws of the United States. We urge all persons who are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosure in the filing to be certain that the filing includes the information the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and all applicable rules require. Sincerely, /s/ William H. Thompson William H. Thompson Accounting Branch Chief
2015-02-09 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
CorrespondenceFeb2015
February 9, 2015
By: EDGAR Transmission - Correspondence Filing
Mr. William H. Thompson
Accounting Branch Chief
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2014,
Filed November 6, 2014
File No. 1-10042
Dear Mr. Thompson:
We are responding to your letter dated February 3, 2015, commenting on our most recent Form 10-K filed with the Commission. We have repeated your comment from such letter below, followed by our response to the comment in bold print. We intend to comply with the comment in all future filings, as applicable.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, page 46
Consolidated Statements of Income, page 49
1.
Please quantify, on an absolute dollar basis, the revenue generated from sales of products, sales of services and other sales within your non-regulated businesses. Additionally, please tell us what consideration you gave to separately disclosing revenues and cost of revenues for products, services and other pursuant to Rules 5-03(b)(1) and (2) of Regulation S-X for your non-regulated businesses.
Mr. William H. Thompson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
February 9, 2015
Page 2
The table below provides our nonregulated revenues, by class, in accordance with Rule 5-03(b)(1) of Regulation S-X.
2014
2013
2012
Nonregulated revenues
Percent of Consolidated Operating Revenues
Nonregulated revenues
Percent of Consolidated Operating Revenues
Nonregulated revenues
Percent of Consolidated Operating Revenues
(In thousands)
Product revenues
$
2,050,580
41.50%
$
1,568,462
40.47%
$
1,330,815
38.73%
Service revenues
Transportation
$
5,737
$
5,690
$
4,616
Other service revenues
1,427
3,956
3,253
Total service revenues
$
7,164
0.14%
$
9,646
0.25%
$
7,869
0.23%
Rental income
$
9,532
0.19%
$
9,786
0.25%
$
10,260
0.30%
Other revenues
$
16
—%
$
20
—%
$
38
—%
Total
$
2,067,292
$
1,587,914
$
1,348,982
Consolidated operating revenues
$
4,940,916
$
3,875,460
$
3,436,162
Product revenues represent the unregulated sale of natural gas to our Nonregulated segment's customers. Service revenues are earned through the transportation of gas and other services provided to the Nonregulated segment's customers. Rental income is derived from demand fees earned on proprietary storage and other facilities.
Rule 5-03(b) of Regulation S-X permits the aggregation of revenue classes if each class represents 10 percent or less of consolidated operating revenues. Revenues earned by our Nonregulated segment from sales of natural gas to customers represented approximately 40 percent of consolidated operating revenues for each of the last three fiscal years. However, other revenues earned by our Nonregulated segment, collectively, represented less than one percent of consolidated operating revenue. Therefore, as permitted by Rule 5-03(b) of Regulation S-X, we combined all nonregulated revenue classes into one line item in our Consolidated Statements of Income.
Applicable costs of revenues are reported as Purchased gas cost for the Nonregulated segment. The costs associated with sales of natural gas to customers exceeded 10 percent of consolidated purchase gas cost for each of the last three fiscal years. The costs associated with the remaining revenue classes, collectively, represented less than 10 percent of consolidated purchase gas cost. Therefore, as required by Rule 5-03(b), we combined all
Mr. William H. Thompson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
February 9, 2015
Page 3
nonregulated purchase gas costs into one line item in our Consolidated Statements of Income.
We continue to monitor the components of our revenues and cost of sales and will include additional disclosure, as required by Rule 5-03(b)(1) of Regulation S-X, if the 10 percent threshold is met.
Atmos Energy Corporation acknowledges that (i) we are responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing; (ii) staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; and (iii) we may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States.
If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to me at (972) 855-3236 or in my absence, our Controller, Chris Forsythe at (972) 855-3214. Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
/s/ BRET J. ECKERT
Bret J. Eckert
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
cc: Mr. Anthony W. Watson
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2015-02-03 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
February 3, 2015 Via E-mail Bret J. Eckert Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas , Texas 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2014 Filed November 6 , 2014 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr . Eckert : We have reviewed your filing and have the following comment. In our comment , we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. Please respond to this letter within ten business days by amending your filing, by providing the requested information, or by advising us when you will provide the requested response. If you do not believe our co mment applies to your facts and circumstances or do not believe an amendment is appropriate, please tell us why in your response. After reviewing any amendment to your filing and the information you provide in response to this comment , we may have addit ional comments. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, page 46 Consolidated Statements of Income, page 49 1. Please quantify, on an absolute dollar basis, the revenue generated from sales of products, sales of services and other sales within your non -regulated businesses. Additionally, please tell us what c onsider ation you gave to separately disclosing revenues and cost of r evenues for products, services and other pursuant to Rules 5 - 03(b)(1) and (2) of Regulation S -X for your no n-regulated businesses . We urge all persons who are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosure in the filing to be certain that the filing include s the information the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and all applicable Exchange Act rule s require. Since the company and its management are in possession of all facts relating to a company’s disclosure, they are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosures they have made. Bret J. Eckert Atmos Energy Corporation February 3, 2015 Page 2 In responding to our comment , please provide a written statement from the company acknowledging that: the company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing; staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; and the company may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. You may contact Tony Watson, Acc ountant, at (202) 551 -3318 if you have questions regarding our comment . Please contact me at (202) 551 -3344 with any other questions. Sincerely, /s/ William H. Thompson William H. Thompson Accounting Branch Chief
2012-02-03 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
February 3, 2012
Via Facsimile
Kim R. Cocklin President and Chief Executive Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, TX 75240
Re: Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-K for Fiscal Ye ar Ended September 30, 2011
Filed November 22, 2011
File No. 1-10042
Dear Mr. Cocklin:
We have completed our review of your f iling. We remind you that our comments or
changes to disclosure in res ponse to our comments do not for eclose the Commission from taking
any action with respect to the company or th e filing and the company may not assert staff
comments as a defense in any proceeding ini tiated by the Commission or any person under the
federal securities laws of the United States. We urge all pers ons who are responsible for the
accuracy and adequacy of the disclosure in the filing to be certain that the filing include the
information the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and all applicable rules require.
S i n c e r e l y ,
/s/ William H. Thompson
William H. Thompson A c c o u n t i n g B r a n c h C h i e f
2012-02-01 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP 1 filename1.htm Correspondence Letter February 1, 2012 By: EDGAR Transmission – Correspondence Filing Mr. William H. Thompson Accounting Branch Chief United States Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance 100 F Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20549 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2011, Filed November 22, 2011 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Thompson: We are responding to your letter dated January 24, 2012, commenting on our most recent Form 10-K filed with the Commission. We have keyed our responses to your comments by repeating below each comment contained in your letter, followed by our response to each such comment in bold print. We intend to comply with the comments in all future filings, as applicable. Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2011 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, page 34 Results of Operations, page 39 Consolidated Results, page 41 1. We note your disclosure that historically your regulated operations contributed 65 to 85 percent to your consolidated net income, with 81 and 83 percent for fiscal years 2010 and 2009, respectively. We also note that regulated operations contributed 104 percent to your consolidated net income for fiscal 2011 due in large part to the decline in asset optimization in your nonregulated segment. In the table on page 50, you disclose that asset optimization was ($3,424), $43,805 and $52,507 and the total realized margins were $75,401, $121,881 and $149,997, in each case for fiscal years 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. If you expect asset optimization revenues to contribute much less significantly to earnings and revenues going forward and for total nonregulated margins to be significantly less Mr. William H. Thompson United States Securities and Exchange Commission February 1, 2012 Page 2 than they have been historically, please revise your disclosure to discuss these trends, to the extent material. Refer to Item 303(a)(3)(ii) of Regulation S-K and SEC Interpretive Release No. 33-8350 available on our website at http://www.sec.gov/rules/interp/33-8350.htm. As noted in the table below, for each of the last three fiscal years, asset optimization margins constituted less than five percent of consolidated gross profit. Additionally, in fiscal 2009-2010, our nonregulated operations contributed, on average, 18 percent to consolidated net income. When fiscal 2011 results (which include two one-time impairment charges totaling $19.2 million, net of tax) are included, the three year average contribution from our nonregulated operations to net income is 11 percent. Asset optimization margins as a percentage of consolidated gross profit: 2011 2010 2009 (000s, except as noted) Asset optimization margins $ (3,424 ) $ 43,805 $ 52,507 Consolidated gross profit 1,327,241 1,337,505 1,319,678 Asset optimization percentage -0.3 % 3.3 % 4.0 % Nonregulated net income as a percentage of consolidated net income: 2011 2010 2009 (000s, except as noted) Nonregulated net income $ (7,532 ) $ 38,404 $ 33,115 Consolidated net income 207,601 205,839 190,978 Nonregulated net income percentage -3.6 % 18.7 % 17.3 % At the time we filed our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2011, although we anticipated that asset optimization margins would become less of a contributor to our consolidated net income, 1) we believed those activities would continue to constitute less than five percent of our consolidated gross profit and 2) we anticipated fiscal 2012 net income from nonregulated operations would approximate 13 percent of consolidated fiscal 2012 net income. Since both of these anticipated results did not materially differ from prior years, we reasonably believed a discussion of future trends was unnecessary. Mr. William H. Thompson United States Securities and Exchange Commission February 1, 2012 Page 3 However, results for our nonregulated operations for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 were adversely affected by lower than expected natural gas prices, and lower than expected delivered gas sales volumes due to unseasonably warm weather, particularly in December 2011, and a lack of basis differentials. As a result, we now anticipate results from our nonregulated operations will be more consistent with those of fiscal 2011, excluding the impact of the aforementioned impairment charges in fiscal 2011. In future filings, beginning with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011, we will address these developments and will expand our discussion and analysis to discuss trends that we reasonably expect will impact our nonregulated operations for the remainder of fiscal 2012 and beyond. Nonregulated Segment, page 48 2. We note your disclosure that the decrease in realized asset optimization margins is attributable to the unfavorable impact of weak natural gas market fundamentals. Given the significance of the decrease in gross profit of the segment, please revise to describe the weak fundamentals in detail and the specific factors that caused the decrease. The decrease in realized asset optimization margins between fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011 reflects the adverse impact of weak natural gas fundamentals. Historically high natural gas storage levels caused by increased domestic natural gas production and lower demand due to weak economic conditions have reduced price volatility and have compressed spot to forward spread values and basis differentials over the last 18 months. These market conditions have reduced the gross profit Atmos Energy Holdings (AEH) can earn from its asset optimization activities and has caused AEH to rely more on capturing trading gains in the daily cash market. During fiscal 2011, the fees paid for AEH’s storage capacity exceeded the gross profit earned from trading gains captured in the daily cash market. In the prior year, asset optimization margins reflected the realization during the first and second fiscal quarters of fiscal 2010 arbitrage spreads that were captured during fiscal 2009, when spot to forward spread values were wider. As spot to forward spread values narrowed during the second half of fiscal 2010, we were able to earn larger trading gains in the daily cash market compared with the current year. Mr. William H. Thompson United States Securities and Exchange Commission February 1, 2012 Page 4 In future filings, beginning with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011, we will expand our discussion and analysis to include a more detailed discussion of the natural gas fundamentals that are impacting the results of our nonregulated operations. Atmos Energy Corporation acknowledges that (i) we are responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filings; (ii) staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filings; and (iii) we may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to our Controller, Chris Forsythe at (972) 855-3214, or in his absence, to our Chief Financial Officer, Fred E. Meisenheimer, at (972) 855-3231. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, /s/ LOUIS P. GREGORY Louis P. Gregory Senior Vice President and General Counsel cc: Ms. Yolanda Guobadia, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Ms. Catherine Brown, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2012-01-24 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
January 24, 2012
Via Facsimile
Kim R. Cocklin President and Chief Executive Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, TX 75240
Re: Atmos Energy Corporation
Form 10-K for Fiscal Ye ar Ended September 30, 2011
Filed November 22, 2011
File No. 1-10042
Dear Mr. Cocklin:
We have reviewed your filing and have the following comments. In some of our
comments, we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better understand your
disclosure.
Please respond to this letter within ten business days by amending your filing, by
providing the requested information, or by advi sing us when you will provide the requested
response. If you do not believe our comments apply to your fact s and circumstances or do not
believe an amendment is appropriate, pl ease tell us why in your response.
After reviewing any amendment to your filing and the information you provide in
response to these comments, we ma y have additional comments.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financ ial Condition and Results of Operations, page
34
Results of Operations, page 39
Consolidated Results, page 41
1. We note your disclosure that hi storically your regulated operations contributed 65 to 85
percent to your consolidated net income, with 81 and 83 pe rcent for fiscal years 2010 and
2009, respectively. We also note that regulated operations contribu ted 104 percent to
your consolidated net income for fiscal 2011 due in large part to the decline in asset
optimization in your nonregulated segment. In the table on page 50, you disclose that
asset optimization was ($3,424), $43,805 and $52,507 and total realized margins were
$75,401, $121,881 and $149,997, in each case for fiscal years 2011, 2010 and 2009,
Kim R. Cocklin Atmos Energy Corporation January 24, 2012 Page 2
respectively. If you expect asset optimi zation revenues to contribute much less
significantly to earnings and revenues going forward and for total nonregulated margins
to be significantly less than th ey have been historically, plea se revise your disclosure to
discuss these trends, to the extent material. Refer to Item 303(a)(3 )(ii) of Regulation S-K
and SEC Interpretive Release No. 33 -8350 available on our website at
http://www.sec.gov/rule s/interp/33-8350.htm
.
Nonregulated Segment, page 48
2. We note your disclosure that the decrease in realized asset optimization margins is
attributable to the unfavorable impact of w eak natural gas market fundamentals. Given
the significance of the decrease in gross prof it of the segment, pleas e revise to describe
the weak fundamentals in detail and the spec ific factors that caus ed the decrease.
We urge all persons who are responsible for th e accuracy and adequacy of the disclosure
in the filing to be certain that the filing include s the information the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 and all applicable Exchange Act rules requir e. Since the company and its management are
in possession of all facts relating to a company’s disclosure, they are responsible for the accuracy
and adequacy of the disclosures they have made.
In responding to our comments, please provi de a written statement from the company
acknowledging that:
the company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the
filing;
staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not
foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; and
the company may not assert staff comme nts as a defense in any proceeding
initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal secu rities laws of the
United States.
Kim R. Cocklin Atmos Energy Corporation January 24, 2012 Page 3
You may contact Yolanda Guobadi a, Staff Accountant, at (2 02) 551-3562 or me at (202)
551-3344 if you have questions regarding comments on the financial statements and related
matters. Please contact Catherine Brown, Sta ff Attorney, at (202) 551-3513 with any other
questions.
S i n c e r e l y , /s/ William H. Thompson
William H. Thompson A c c o u n t i n g B r a n c h C h i e f
2010-07-15 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
July 15, 2010 Fred E. Meisenheimer Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2009 Filed November 16, 2009 Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Qu arter Ended December 31, 2009 Filed February 3, 2010 Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Qu arter Ended December 31, 2009 Filed May 6, 2010 File No. 001-10042 Dear Mr. Meisenheimer: We have completed our review of your fili ngs and do not have any further comments at this time. Sincerely, H. Christopher Owings Assistant Director
2010-06-28 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP 1 filename1.htm Correspondence June 28, 2010 By: EDGAR Transmission – Correspondence Filing Mr. William Thompson Branch Chief United States Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance Washington, D.C. 20549 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2009, filed November 16, 2009 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Thompson: We are responding to your letter dated June 15, 2010, commenting on our response dated June 9, 2010 to your comment letter dated June 1, 2010 concerning our most recent Form 10-K and our two most recent Forms 10-Q filed with the Commission. We have keyed our response to your comment by repeating below the comment contained in your letter, followed by our response to such comment. We intend to comply with the comment in all future filings, as applicable. Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2009 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, page 35 Results of Operations, page 40 Consolidated Results, page 41 1. We reviewed your response to comment one in our letter dated June 1, 2010. Please tell us in detail how your previous method of estimating the tax rate at which deferred taxes are projected to reverse in future periods complied with GAAP, and specifically the guidance in ASC 740-10-30-5. Further, please refer to ASC 250-10 and tell us your consideration as to whether the revision to the tax rates used to record deferred taxes represents the correction of an error that existed in the prior period financial statements as opposed to a change in accounting estimate. In this regard, we note that by definition, changes in accounting estimates result from the evaluation of new information and not a revised evaluation of information that existed at the previous balance sheet dates. Refer to the glossary at ASC 250-10-20. Please tell us what new information was available in the second quarter of fiscal year 2009 that was not available at the previous balance sheet dates. Mr. William Thompson United States Securities and Exchange Commission June 28, 2010 Page 2 As required by and in accordance with ASC 740-10-30-5, the Company has calculated and recorded its deferred taxes separately for each tax-paying component. Prior to the second quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company used a 38 percent tax rate as the rate at which deferred taxes were projected to reverse in future periods. This rate was based upon the Company’s historical consolidated effective rate. Annually, we also performed a test to determine if the 38 percent deferred tax rate for each jurisdiction continued to be appropriate. This test involved calculating a consolidated tax rate by: (1) estimating the tax for each taxing jurisdiction, (2) summing the tax expense for each tax jurisdiction and (3) deriving an overall effective rate by dividing the sum of the tax expense calculated above by consolidated income before income taxes. If the consolidated deferred tax rate derived from the annual test was not materially different than the historical consolidated effective rate, we would not change the rate unless it became clearly apparent that the rate at which deferred taxes would reverse in future years had permanently changed through either (1) a tax policy change that had been enacted, (2) an acquisition or (3) a lasting shift in the tax jurisdiction from which the Company’s taxable income is generated, which would directly impact the calculation of deferred taxes. This third element of our policy is designed to help ensure that the tax rate expected to apply to the reversal of deferred taxes in future periods is not affected by short-term or temporary shifts in taxable income generated from different tax jurisdictions. As noted in our previous response, the results of the Company’s annual test in fiscal 2008 indicated that the deferred tax rate may have permanently decreased despite the fact that the Company’s operating structure had not materially changed. Management considered this to be an unusual development and initiated a study to determine the cause of the change, which was completed in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Historically, approximately 65% of the Company’s net income has been generated in the second quarter of the fiscal year. Therefore, we believed performing this study during that time period would provide an appropriate basis to determine if a similar result would occur for fiscal 2009. Mr. William Thompson United States Securities and Exchange Commission June 28, 2010 Page 3 We concluded from the study that although our operating structure had not materially changed, a significant shift in taxable income from our nonregulated business to our regulated business had occurred due primarily to declining sales volumes in our nonregulated business and successful execution of the Company’s regulatory strategy. We also determined that this recent shift was more representative of the long-term view of the Company’s business, given that the Company’s regulatory strategy was not expected to significantly change and that the Company’s nonregulated sales volumes would likely continue for the foreseeable future to be adversely impacted by the national economic recession and forecasts for a slow recovery. We also concluded from the study that the process of estimating the tax rate at which deferred taxes would reverse in future periods could be refined and made more efficient by calculating a deferred tax rate for each individual taxing jurisdiction, instead of continuing to follow our policy of applying a historical consolidated effective rate to each taxing jurisdiction and testing the applied rate to confirm that it was still materially correct. This refinement eliminates the effect on the deferred tax rate applied to each taxing jurisdiction caused by the shift of pretax income from our nonregulated business to our regulated business, which we believe results in a more accurate estimate of the tax rate at which deferred taxes are projected to reverse in future periods. Therefore, beginning in the second quarter of fiscal 2009, we began using this new refined calculation to estimate our deferred tax rates. Accordingly, as a result of the evaluation of the new information developed from the study that was not available at prior balance sheet dates, we consider the revision in our deferred tax rates to be a change in accounting estimate under ASC 250-10. The change in the deferred tax rates was a necessary consequence arising from the results of the study completed during the second quarter of fiscal 2009, which provided new information about the present status and expected future benefits and obligations associated with our assets and liabilities. Atmos Energy Corporation acknowledges that (i) we are responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in our filings; (ii) staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to our filings; and (iii) we may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. Mr. William Thompson United States Securities and Exchange Commission June 28, 2010 Page 4 If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to our Controller, Chris Forsythe at (972) 855-3214, or in his absence, to me at (972) 855-3231. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, /s/ Fred E. Meisenheimer Fred E. Meisenheimer Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer cc: Ms. Robyn Manuel U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2010-06-15 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
June 15, 2010 Fred E. Meisenheimer Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for Fiscal Ye ar Ended September 30, 2009 Filed November 16, 2009 File No. 001-10042 Dear Mr. Meisenheimer: We have reviewed your response dated June 9, 2010 to our comment letter dated June 1, 2010 and have the following additional comment. In our comment, we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. Please respond to this letter within te n business days by providing the requested information, or by advising us when you will provide the requested response. If you do not believe our comment applies to your facts and circumstances, please tell us why in your response. After reviewing the information you provide in response to this comment, we may have additional comments. Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analys is of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, page 35 Results of Operations, page 40 Consolidated Results, page 41 1. We reviewed your response to comment one in our letter dated June 1, 2010. Please tell us in detail how your previous method of estim ating the tax rate at which deferred taxes are projected to reverse in future periods complied with GAAP, and specifically the guidance in ASC 740-10-30-5. Further, please refer to ASC 250-10 and tell us your consideration as to whether th e revision to the tax rates used to record deferred taxes represents the correction of an error that existed in the pr ior period financial statements as opposed to a change in accounting estimate. In this regard, we note that by definition, changes in accounting estimates result from the evaluation of new information and not a Fred E. Meisenheimer Atmos Energy Corporation June 15, 2010 Page 2 revised evaluation of information that existed at the previous balance sheet dates. Refer to the glossary at ASC 250-10-20. Please tell us what new information was available in the second quarter of fiscal year 2009 that was not available at the previous balance sheet dates. You may contact Robyn Manuel at 202-551-3823 if you have questions regarding the comment on the financial statements and rela ted matters. Please contact me at 202-551-3344 with any other questions. Sincerely, William Thompson Branch Chief
2010-06-09 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP 1 filename1.htm Correspondence June 9, 2010 By: EDGAR Transmission – Correspondence Filing Mr. H. Christopher Owings Assistant Director United States Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance Mail Stop 3561 Washington, D.C. 20549 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2009, filed November 16, 2009 Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter Ended December 31, 2009, filed February 3, 2010 Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter Ended March 31, 2010, filed May 6, 2010 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Owings: We are responding to your letter dated June 1, 2010, commenting on our most recent Form 10-K and our two most recent Forms 10-Q filed with the Commission. At your request, we have keyed our responses to your comments by repeating below each comment contained in your letter, followed by our response to each such comment. We intend to comply with the comments in all future filings, as applicable. Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2009 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition, page 35 Results of Operations, page 40 Consolidated Results, page 41 1. We note consolidated income in 2009 was favorably impacted by an $11.3 million one-time tax benefit associated with updating the rates used to determine your deferred taxes. Please tell us how this tax benefit arose and whether it relates to enacted changes in tax rates. Please also tell us why this income tax benefit is properly recognized in 2009. In addition, based on Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission June 9, 2010 Page 2 disclosure in Note 11 to the financial statements, we note that state taxes, net of federal benefit, resulted in a slight reduction in your effective tax rate in 2009, whereas in 2008 and 2007, state taxes, net of federal benefit, increased your effective tax rate by approximately 4%. Please tell us whether the year-over-year difference relates to the one-time tax benefit referred to above or is attributable to other factors, including their nature. Finally, we believe you should disclose the causes of such one-time items. The $11.3 million one-time tax benefit recorded in our fiscal 2009 second quarter was not related to a change in enacted tax rates. Instead, it related to an update in the calculation used to estimate the tax rate at which deferred taxes are projected to reverse in future periods. The year-over-year difference in state taxes, net of the federal benefit, is entirely attributable to this one-time benefit. As required by ASC 740-10-30-5, the Company calculates and records its deferred taxes separately for each tax-paying component. Historically, the Company took the position that the consolidated entity was the sole tax-paying component, which yielded a consolidated rate of 38%. The Company’s policy had been to use the 38% rate unless the results of this annual test yielded a materially different rate or an acquisition or tax policy change had occurred. Further, the Company’s policy contemplated that no adjustment would be made to the deferred tax rate based solely on a single annual test unless it became overwhelmingly apparent that the rate at which deferred taxes would reverse in future years had permanently changed. The results of the Company’s annual tests in recent years had indicated that the deferred tax rate may have permanently decreased despite the fact that the Company’s operating structure had not materially changed. Management considered this an unusual development and initiated a study to determine if an alternative method of estimating the deferred tax rate would produce a more accurate estimate of that rate. The study was completed in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. As a result of the study, the Company revised the calculation used to estimate the deferred tax rate to reflect the enacted tax rates for each individual taxing jurisdiction for each legal entity comprising the consolidated entity. Although the revised calculation resulted in a lower deferred tax rate, we believed the new calculation results in a more accurate measurement of the effect on the Company of the realization of a temporary item by a discrete legal entity. Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission June 9, 2010 Page 3 The Company considered the guidance found in ASC 740-10-35-4, which addresses the accounting for a change in tax rates, and ASC 250-10-45-17, which addresses the accounting for a change in accounting estimate. Based upon our understanding of this authoritative accounting literature, the Company concluded that it was most appropriate to recognize during the second quarter of fiscal 2009 the effect of the change in the deferred tax rate because the study had been completed during that quarter. The Company prominently disclosed, in the executive summary to the Management’s Discussion and Analysis appearing on page 42 of the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, the impact of the one-time benefit on the Company’s net income. In applicable future filings, the Company will supplement this disclosure with additional discussion regarding the cause of the one-time benefit substantially as follows: During the second quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company completed a study of the calculations used to estimate its deferred tax rate, and concluded that revisions to these calculations to include more specific jurisdictional tax rates would result in a more accurate calculation of the tax rate at which deferred taxes would reverse in the future. Accordingly, the Company modified the tax rate used to calculate deferred taxes from 38 percent to an individual rate for each legal entity. These rates vary from 36 – 41 percent depending on the jurisdiction of the legal entity. As a result of this change, the Company recorded a one-time benefit of $11.3 million, or $0.12 per diluted share during the three months ended March 31, 2009. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, page 65 Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, page 72 2. We note from your list of subsidiaries in Exhibit 21 that you have investments that may be accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Please tell us the significance of these investments and your evaluation of the applicability of the disclosures outlined in ASC 323-10-50-3. As noted in our list of subsidiaries in Exhibit 21, we have two subsidiaries that are not wholly owned. Fifty percent of Legendary Lighting, LLC is owned by a subsidiary of the Company, while twenty-eight percent of Unitary GH&C Products, LLC is owned by a subsidiary of the Company. As of and for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, the assets of Legendary Lighting, LLC represented approximately 0.002% of our total Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission June 9, 2010 Page 4 assets and its net income represented approximately 0.001% of our consolidated net income. Unitary GH&C Products, LLC had no assets as of September 30, 2009 and no operations for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009. Based on our evaluation of ASC 323-10-50-2 and Topic 1-M (formerly Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 99), we have determined these investments are immaterial and therefore the disclosures required by ASC 323-10-50-3 were excluded from our Form 10-K. Note 7. Stock and Other Compensation Plans, page 97 Restricted Stock Plans, page 97 3. Please disclose the dividend participation feature of non-vested restricted stock awards. Also disclose the requisite service period(s) and the performance conditions of restricted stock awards. Please refer to ASC 718-10-50-2a. In our future filings of Form 10-K, we will include more disclosure in our note, Stock and Other Compensation Plans, on the dividend participation features, requisite service periods and performance conditions of our non-vested restricted stock awards substantially similar to the following: Employees who are granted shares of time-lapse restricted stock under our 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan have a nonforfeitable right to dividends that are paid at the same rate at which they are paid on shares of stock without restrictions. In addition, employees who are granted shares of time-lapse restricted stock units under our 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan have a nonforfeitable right to dividend equivalents that are paid at the same rate at which they are paid on shares of stock without restrictions. Both time-lapse restricted stock and time-lapse restricted stock units contain only a service condition that the employee recipients render continuous services to the Company for a period of three years from the date of grant, except for accelerated vesting in the event of death, disability, change of control of the Company or termination without cause (with certain exceptions). There are no performance conditions required to be met for employees to be vested in either the time-lapse restricted stock or time-lapse restricted stock units. Employees who are granted shares of performance-based restricted stock units under our 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan have a forfeitable right to dividends that accrue at the same rate at which they are paid on shares of stock without restrictions. Dividends on the performance-based restricted stock units are paid in the form of shares upon the vesting of the award. Performance-based restricted stock units contain a service Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission June 9, 2010 Page 5 condition that the employee recipients render continuous services to the Company for a period of three years from the date of grant, except for accelerated vesting in the event of death, disability, change of control of the Company or termination without cause (with certain exceptions) and a performance condition based on a cumulative earnings per share target amount. Note 8. Retirement and Post-Retirement Employee Benefit Plans, page 100 4. Please disclose how you calculate the market-related value of plan assets as that term is defined in ASC 715-30-20. Since there is an alternative to how you can calculate this item, and it has a direct effect on pension expense, we believe you should disclose how you determine this amount in accordance with ASC 235-10-50-3. In our future filings of our Form 10-K, we will include a disclosure in our note, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, where we discuss the development of the key assumptions used to develop our pension expense, to show how we calculate the market-related value of plan assets substantially as described below: The market-related value of our plan assets represents the fair market value of the plan assets, adjusted to smooth out short-term market fluctuations over a five-year period. The use of this calculation will delay the impact of current period market fluctuations on the pension expense for the period. Rule 13a-14(a)/15(d)-14(a) Certifications 5. Please revise the wording of your certifications pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to precisely match the language set forth in Item 601(b)(31) of Regulation S-K. In this regard, your certifications do not track the text of Item 601(b)(31) of Regulation S-K in paragraph 4(b) or in the introductory language in paragraph 5. We note similar alterations to the certifications filed with the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2010. In our future filings, beginning with the filing of our Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2010, we will revise the language of our certifications under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to precisely match the language set forth in Item 601(b)(31) of Regulation S-K. Specifically, Paragraph 4(b) and the introductory language in paragraph 5 of such certifications will be revised to read as follows: 4. (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission June 9, 2010 Page 6 5. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): Atmos Energy Corporation acknowledges that (i) we are responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in our filings; (ii) staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to our filings; and (iii) we may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to our Controller, Chris Forsythe at (972) 855-3214, or in his absence, to our Chief Financial Officer, Fred E. Meisenheimer, at (972) 855-3231. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, /s/ Louis P. Gregory Louis P. Gregory Senior Vice President and General Counsel cc: Ms. Catherine Brown U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2010-06-01 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Mail Stop 3561 June 1, 2010 Fred E. Meisenheimer Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2009 Filed November 16, 2009 Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Qu arter Ended December 31, 2009 Filed February 3, 2010 Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Qu arter Ended December 31, 2009 Filed May 6, 2010 File No. 001-10042 Dear Mr. Meisenheimer: We have reviewed your filings and ha ve the following comments. You should comply with the comments in all future filings, as applicable. Please confirm in writing that you will do so and also explain to us in sufficient detail for an understanding of the disclosure how you intend to comply by providing us with your proposed revisions. If you disagree, we will consider your explanation as to why our comments are inapplicable or a revision is unnecessary. Please be as detailed as necessary in your explanation. In some of our comments, we may ask you to provi de us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. After reviewing th is information, we may raise additional comments. Please understand that the purpos e of our review process is to assist you in your compliance with the applicable disclosure requirements and to enhance the overall disclosure in your filings. We look forward to working with you in these respects. We welcome any questions you may have about our comments or any other aspect of our review. Feel free to call us at the telephone numbers listed at the end of this letter. Fred E. Meisenheimer Atmos Energy Corporation June 1, 2010 Page 2 Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2009 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analys is of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, page 35 Results of Operations, page 40 Consolidated Results, page 41 1. We note consolidated income in 2009 was favorably impacted by an $11.3 million one-time tax benefit associated with updating the rates used to determine your deferred taxes. Please tell us how this tax benefit arose and whether it relates to enacted changes in tax rates. Please also tell us why this income tax benefit is properly recognized in 2009. In addition, based on di sclosure in Note 11 to the financial statements, we note that state taxes, net of federal benefit, resulted in a slight reduction in your e ffective tax rate in 2009, whereas in 2008 and 2007, state taxes, net of federal benef it, increased your effective tax rate by approximately 4%. Please tell us whether the year-over-year difference relates to the one-time tax benefit referred to above or is attributable to other factors, including their nature. Finally, we believe you should disclose the causes of such one-time items. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, page 65 Note 2. Summary of Significan t Accounting Policies, page 72 2. We note from your list of subsidiaries in Exhibit 21 that you have investments that may be accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Please tell us the significance of these investments and your evaluation of the applicability of the disclosures outlined in ASC 323-10-50-3. Note 7. Stock and Other Compensation Plans, page 97 Restricted Stock Plans, page 97 3. Please disclose the dividend participation feature of non-vested restricted stock awards. Also disclose the requisite service period(s) and the performance conditions of restricted stock awards . Please refer to ASC 718-10-50-2a. Note 8. Retirement and Post-Retirem ent Employee Benefit Plans, page 100 4. Please disclose how you calculate the market related value of plan assets as that term is defined in ASC 715-30-20. Since there is an altern ative to how you can calculate this item, and it has a direct effect on pension expense, we believe you Fred E. Meisenheimer Atmos Energy Corporation June 1, 2010 Page 3 should disclose how you determine this amount in accordance with ASC 235-10-50-3. Rule 13a-14(a)/15(d)-14(a) Certifications 5. Please revise the wording of your certific ations pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to precisely match the language set forth in Item 601(b)(31) of Regulation S-K. In this re gard, your certifications do not track the text of Item 601(b)(31) of Regulation S-K in paragraph 4(b) or in the introductory language in paragraph 5. We note similar alterations to the certifications filed with the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2010. * * * * * Please respond to these comments within 10 business days or tell us when you will provide us with a response. You may wish to provide us with marked copies of your disclosure to expedite our revi ew. Please furnish a letter th at keys your responses to our comments and provides any requested inform ation. Detailed cover letters greatly facilitate our review. Please understand th at we may have additional comments after reviewing your responses to our comments. We urge all persons who ar e responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosure in these filings to be certain that the filings include all information required under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that they have provided all information investors require for an informed invest ment decision. Since the company and its management are in possession of all facts re lating to a company’s disclosure, they are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosures they have made. In connection with responding to our comments, please provide, in writing, a statement from the company acknowledging that: • the company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filings; • staff comments or changes to disclosu re in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from ta king any action with respect to the filings; and • the company may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commissi on or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. Fred E. Meisenheimer Atmos Energy Corporation June 1, 2010 Page 4 In addition, please be advise d that the Division of Enfo rcement has access to all information you provide to the staff of the Divi sion of Corporation Fi nance in our review of your filings or in response to our comments on your filings. You may contact Robyn Manue l, Staff Accountant, at (202) 551-3823 or William Thompson, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-3344 if you have questions regarding comments on the financial statements and related matters. Please contact Catherine Brown, Staff Attorney, at (202) 551-3513 or me at (202) 551-3720 with any other questions you may have. Sincerely, H. Christopher Owings Assistant Director ] [OK/WHT]
2008-10-27 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Mail Stop 3561 September 18, 2008 John P. Reddy, Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240
Re: Atmos Energy Corporation
Annual Report on Form 10-K for th e Year Ended September 30, 2007
Filed November 29, 2007 Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A Filed December 21, 2007 File No. 1-10042
Dear Mr. Reddy:
We have completed our review of your annual report on Form 10-K and related
filings, and we have no further comments at this time.
S i n c e r e l y , H. Christopher Owings A s s i s t a n t D i r e c t o r
2008-08-26 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP 1 filename1.htm SEC Correspondence [ATMOS ENERGY LETTERHEAD] August 26, 2008 By: EDGAR Transmission – Correspondence Filing Mr. H. Christopher Owings Assistant Director United States Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance Mail Stop 3561 Washington, D.C. 20549 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year ended September 30, 2007 Filed November 29, 2007 Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A Filed December 21, 2007 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Owings: We are responding to your letter dated August 12, 2008, commenting on our most recent Form 10-K and Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the Commission. At your request, we have keyed our responses to your comments by repeating below each comment contained in your letter, followed by our response to each such comment. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year Ended September 30, 2007 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition, page 32 1. Please expand this section to discuss known material trends, demands, commitments, events, or uncertainties that will have, or are reasonably likely to have, a material impact on your financial condition, operating performance, revenues, or income, or result in your liquidity decreasing or increasing in any material way. See Item 303 of Regulation S-K and SEC Release No. 33-8350. For example, we note that you have not discussed in detail, if at all, how the recent escalation in certain commodity prices affects you. In future filings, please discuss in greater detail the trends and factors, such as this, that contribute to your overall financial position and affect your operations. Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission August 26, 2008 Page 2 We prepared our Management’s Discussion and Analysis appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007 on an operating segment basis. For each operating segment, we provided an overview of the operating segment that described known material trends, demands, commitments, events or uncertainties that did have or were reasonably likely to have, a material impact on each operating segment’s financial condition or results of operations. For example, in our discussion of the overview of the natural gas distribution segment, we did describe the impact of higher natural gas costs, which are passed through to our customers under applicable regulations, on the financial condition and results of operations of that operating segment. In future filings, we will expand our discussion, if applicable, of the material impact that natural gas price changes or any other known material trends, demands, commitments, events or uncertainties had or are reasonably likely to have on the financial condition and results of operations of our operating segments. Item 9A. Controls and Procedures, page 117 Management’s Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures, page 117 2. You state that your disclosure controls and procedures were effective, and you state that your disclosure controls and procedures were designed to be effective at a reasonable assurance level. Therefore, please confirm for us, and in future filings state, if true, that your disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level you discuss. We confirm that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2007, at the reasonable assurance level discussed in our disclosure in Item 9A, Controls and Procedures, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007. We will revise our future filings to state, if true, that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective at such reasonable assurance level, as set forth in our response to Comment 4 below. 3. Also, it appears that you have separated your definition of disclosure controls and procedures. First, you state that your disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by you in reports you file with us is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified by our rules and forms. Second, you state that your disclosure controls and procedures were effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by you in this annual report was accumulated and communicated to your management to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Both of these Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission August 26, 2008 Page 3 statements comprise the entire definition of disclosure controls and procedures. Therefore, please confirm for us, and revise in future filings to state, if true, that your disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by you in reports you file with us is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified by our rules and that information required to be disclosed by you in your periodic reports is accumulated and communicated to your management, including your principal executive and financial officers, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. We confirm that our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to be effective at the reasonable assurance level. Although it has always been our intention to disclose that our disclosure controls and procedures are designed at this level, we will be more explicit concerning such disclosure in our future filings. Accordingly, we will revise our future filings to state, if true, that our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide such reasonable assurance, as set forth in our response to Comment 4 below. 4. Further, where you state that your disclosure controls and procedures are effective at the reasonable assurance level, please either include no further definition of disclosure controls and procedures if you have included the entire definition of disclosure controls and procedures elsewhere in your disclosure, or include the entire definition of disclosure controls and procedures after discussing whether your disclosure controls and procedures are effective at the reasonable assurance level. For example, you may state that your disclosure controls and procedures are effective at the reasonable assurance level, or you may state that your disclosure controls and procedure are effective at the reasonable assurance level to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by you in reports you file with us is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified by our rules and that information required to be disclosed by you in your periodic reports is accumulated and communicated to your management, including your principal executive and financial officers, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. As discussed above in Comment 3, we will revise our future filings to state, if true, that our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to be effective at the reasonable assurance level and in fact are effective at such level. Accordingly, if applicable, our disclosure in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008 will read as follows: “We carried out an evaluation, as required by Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act, with the participation of the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the Company’s Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission August 26, 2008 Page 4 disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2008. Based on this evaluation, the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2008 to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us, including our consolidated entities, in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified by the Commission’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.” Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A Related Person Transactions, page 10 5. We note that you have adopted written guidelines to identify any potential related person transactions between you and related persons. Please file these guidelines. We believe that our proxy statement disclosure under “Related Person Transactions” in our definitive proxy statement dated December 21, 2007 sets out all material elements of our related person transactions guidelines in accordance with all requirements of Item 404(b) of Regulation S-K. We believe that our disclosure is comprehensive, including for example the definitions of “related person transaction” and “related person,” and that the filing of such guidelines would not improve the disclosure and would not advance the understanding of investors concerning our guidelines. Director Compensation, page 14 6. Please disclose by footnote the grant date fair value of each equity award in all applicable director compensation tables. See Item 402(d)(2)(viii) of Regulation S-K. In fiscal 2007, the principal equity awards to our directors were granted on March 9, 2007 with a grant date fair value of $31.35. The remainder of the awards granted were principally in the form of dividend equivalents payable on the cumulative equity holdings of the directors Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission August 26, 2008 Page 5 that were paid at the end of each calendar quarter. In all future filings where director compensation tables are required, we will disclose by footnote the grant date fair value of each equity award in accordance with the instructions to Item 402(k)(2)(iii) and (iv) of Regulation S-K concerning director compensation. Compensation Discussion and Analysis, page 20 Executive Compensation Consultant, page 21 7. Please clarify whether your chief executive officer met with representatives of Towers Perrin regarding his compensation or the compensation of other named executive officers and identify the members of management with whom Towers Perrin works, if any. Also, please describe in greater detail the nature and scope of Towers Perrin’s assignment and the material elements of the instructions or directions given to this consultant regarding the performance of its duties. See Item 407(e)(3)(ii) and (iii) of Regulation S-K. Our chairman, president and chief executive officer, Robert W. Best, met with representatives of Towers Perrin along with the members of the Human Resources Committee (the “Committee”) to review and discuss the compensation of all other named executive officers. However, at no time did Mr. Best meet with representatives of Towers Perrin regarding his compensation. The only other executive officer of the Company who regularly works with Towers Perrin is Wynn D. McGregor, Senior Vice President, Human Resources. In future filings, we will expand the discussion under “Management’s Role in Setting Executive Compensation” accordingly, if applicable. The Committee entered into a written agreement with Towers Perrin to act as its executive compensation advisor and directed Towers Perrin to (i) regularly attend meetings of the Committee, (ii) conduct studies of competitive compensation practices and (iii) develop conclusions and recommendations related to the executive compensation plans of the Company for consideration by the Committee. Specifically, the Committee instructed Towers Perrin to work with management of the Company as necessary to prepare reports and analyses on such matters as the (i) identification of peer group companies, (ii) assessment of competitive compensation for non-employee directors, (iii) review of base salary, annual incentives, and long-term incentive compensation opportunities relative to competitive practices for executive compensation and (iv) discussion of emerging issues and trends in executive compensation. In future filings, we will expand the discussion under Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission August 26, 2008 Page 6 “Executive Compensation Consultant” to discuss each of the material elements of the instructions or directions given with respect to the performance of the executive compensation consultant’s duties under the engagement. Competitive Compensation Benchmarking, page 21 8. We note that you benchmark all elements of compensation for your named executive officers against appropriate job matches from 13 public companies that you name with significant gas distribution operations. Also, we note that you benchmark compensation for your named executive officers against a Towers Perrin survey of more than 90 gas and electric utility companies and an American Gas Association Executive Compensation Survey of 60 companies with gas distribution operations. Please provide greater detail regarding these benchmarks and their components. Also, please disclose all of the component companies from the Towers Perrin and American Gas Association Executive Compensation surveys you use in benchmarking compensation. See Item 402(b)(2)(xiv) of Regulation S-K. Our competitive compensation benchmarking for the named executive officers was based primarily on the 13 companies identified as our proxy peer group. The compensation elements considered in the benchmarking were base salary, annual incentive compensation and long-term compensation. The companies in the proxy peer group were selected because they represent those companies considered by the Committee to be the most comparable to the Company in terms of business operations, annual revenue, market capitalization and overall financial performance. The companies in the proxy peer group are selected annually by the Committee, after its review of the recommendation of Towers Perrin. In order to supplement the executive compensation information derived from its study of the proxy peer group discussed above, the Committee also considered executive compensation benchmarking from the Towers Perrin 2006 Energy Services Industry Executive Compensation Database. A listing of the component companies in this database is attached to this letter as Exhibit A. In future filings, we will clarify our use of compensation benchmarking information and will include a listing of the component companies in this database if used for benchmarking purposes. The companies in this database represent a more diverse set of companies in the energy services industry, including companies in the gas, nuclear and electric utilities industries. In order to adjust for size differences, Towers Perrin employed a statistical analysis based on relative total annual revenues to determine competitive pay rates for our named executive officers based upon the data derived from all companies in the Towers Perrin database. Mr. H. Christopher Owings United States Securities and Exchange Commission August 26, 2008 Page 7 Using primarily the proxy peer group compensation analysis, along with the Towers Perrin 2006 Energy Services Industry Executive Compensation Database discussed above, we determined the total targeted level of compensation for each named executive officer that represented the 50th percentile level for each position. A named executive officer’s total compensation was considered competitive if his total targeted level of compensation fell within +/ - 15 percent of the 50th percentile level amou
2006-07-06 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
<DOCUMENT> <TYPE>LETTER <SEQUENCE>1 <FILENAME>filename1.txt <TEXT> Mail Stop 3561 May 18, 2006 Mr. John P. Reddy Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800, 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240 RE: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005 Filed November 18, 2005 Form 10-Q for Fiscal Quarter Ended December 31, 2005 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Reddy: We have completed our review of your Form 10-K and related filings and have no further comments at this time. Sincerely, George F. Ohsiek, Jr. Branch Chief July 6, 2006 Page 1 </TEXT> </DOCUMENT>
2006-05-16 - UPLOAD - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
<DOCUMENT> <TYPE>LETTER <SEQUENCE>1 <FILENAME>filename1.txt <TEXT> Mail Stop 3561 March 13, 2006 Mr. John P. Reddy Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Atmos Energy Corporation Three Lincoln Centre, Suite 1800, 5430 LBJ Freeway Dallas, Texas 75240 RE: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005 Filed November 18, 2005 Form 10-Q for Fiscal Quarter Ended December 31, 2005 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Reddy: We have reviewed your filings and have the following comments. We have limited our review to only your financial statements and related disclosures and do not intend to expand our review to other portions of your documents. Where indicated, we think you should revise your disclosures in response to these comments. If you disagree, we will consider your explanation as to why our comment is inapplicable or a revision is unnecessary. Please be as detailed as necessary in your explanation. In some of our comments, we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. After reviewing this information, we may raise additional comments. Please understand that the purpose of our review process is to assist you in your compliance with the applicable disclosure requirements and to enhance the overall disclosure in your filings. We look forward to working with you in these respects. We welcome any questions you may have about our comments or on any other aspect of our review. Feel free to call us at the telephone numbers listed at the end of this letter. Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005 Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, page 66 1. Please tell us why you believe that cash flows relating to interest rate derivatives hedging the forecasted issuance of debt should be reflected as a component of financing cash flows, rather than operating cash flows. In this regard, we assume that the item being hedged is the cash flows associated with the interest payments on the debt to be issued. Accordingly, we would expect the cash flows associated with the interest rate derivatives to be classified as operating cash flows consistent with the interest payments on the hedged forecasted debt issuance. Note 4. Goodwill and Intangible Assets, page 79 2. Please tell us what consideration was given to allocating a portion of the purchase price for the TXU acquisition to identifiable intangibles. Since a significant allocation of goodwill relates to your pipeline and storage segment, which includes both regulated and unregulated operations, please tell us how you determined that no allocation to identifiable intangibles was required under SFAS 141. In this regard it would be useful for us to understand the specific tangible and intangible assets acquired. Item 9A. Controls and Procedures, page 122 3. Please revise future filings to also state, if true, whether the same officers concluded the controls and procedures were effective in "ensuring that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Act is accumulated and communicated to the issuer`s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure." See Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e). Alternatively, you may state management`s conclusion on the effectiveness of internal controls, as defined by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e) without explicitly stating what that definition is. Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended December 31, 2005 Note 3. Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, page 9 4. Please tell us, in detail, why Gas Daily is a preferable index to Inside FERC and how changing the index used to mark-to-market your physical commodity impacted your earnings for the quarter. Please also explain the timing of the change. Paragraph 10(e) of EITF 02-3 requires that you disclose unrealized gains and losses recognized as a result of a change in valuation techniques or assumptions. Please advise. As appropriate, please amend your filings and respond to these comments within 10 business days or tell us when you will provide us with a response. Please furnish a response letter with your amendment that keys your responses to our comments and provides any requested information. Detailed cover letters greatly facilitate our review. Please file your response letter as a correspondence file on EDGAR. Please understand that we may have additional comments after reviewing your amendment and responses to our comments. We urge all persons who are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosure in the filings to be certain that the filings include all information required under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that they have provided all information investors require for an informed investment decision. Since the company and its management are in possession of all facts relating to a company`s disclosure, they are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosures they have made. In connection with responding to our comments, please provide, in writing, a statement from the company acknowledging that: * the company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing; * staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; and * the company may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. In addition, please be advised that the Division of Enforcement has access to all information you provide to the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance in our review of your filings or in response to our comments on your filings. You may contact Staff Accountant Ta Tanisha Henderson at (202) 551-3322 or me at (202) 551-3843 if you have questions regarding comments on the financial statements and related matters. Sincerely, George F. Ohsiek, Jr. Branch Chief Mr. John P. Reddy Atmos Energy Corporation March 13, 2006 Page 1 </TEXT> </DOCUMENT>
2006-03-24 - CORRESP - ATMOS ENERGY CORP
CORRESP 1 filename1.htm SEC Response Letter [ATMOS ENERGY LETTERHEAD] March 24, 2006 By: EDGAR Transmission – Correspondence Filing Mr. George F. Ohsiek, Jr. Branch Chief United States Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance Mail Stop 3561 Washington, D.C. 20549 Re: Atmos Energy Corporation Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005 Filed November 18, 2005 Form 10-Q for Fiscal Quarter Ended December 31, 2005 File No. 1-10042 Dear Mr. Ohsiek: We are responding to your letter dated March 13, 2006, commenting on our most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Commission. At your request, we have keyed our responses to your comments by repeating below each comment contained in your letter, followed by our response to each such comment. Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005 Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, page 66 1. Please tell us why you believe that cash flows relating to interest rate derivatives hedging the forecasted issuance of debt should be reflected as a component of financing cash flows, rather than operating cash flows. In this regard, we assume that the item being hedged is the cash flows associated with the interest payments on the debt to be issued. Accordingly, we would expect the cash flows associated with the interest rate derivatives to be classified as operating cash flows consistent with the interest payments on the hedged forecasted debt issuance. Mr. George F. Ohsiek, Jr. United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 24, 2006 Page 2 During fiscal 2004, we entered into four Treasury lock agreements to fix the Treasury yield component of the interest cost of financing associated with the-then anticipated issuance of $875 million of long-term debt subsequent to September 30, 2004. The associated long-term debt was issued on October 22, 2004, and we elected, in accordance with the terms of the Treasury lock agreements, to settle these agreements with a $43.8 million cash payment to the counterparties. We designated these Treasury lock agreements as cash flow hedges of an anticipated transaction and we deemed these agreements to be highly effective. Accordingly, we recorded the loss associated with the settlement as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss. In accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, we are amortizing this loss as a component of interest expense over the lives of the related financing, which range from 5-10 years. Paragraph 18 of SFAS No. 95, Statement of Cash Flows, defines a financing activity to include “borrowing money and repaying amounts borrowed, or otherwise settling the obligation; and obtaining and paying for other resources obtained from creditors on long-term credit.” We consider the payments under the Treasury lock agreements to be directly related to obtaining the long-term debt that was issued. Had these agreements not been in place, it could have affected the terms of the debt that was issued as well as the timing of the debt transactions. As noted above, these costs are being amortized as a yield adjustment to the interest expense on the issued debt because they are directly associated with the terms of the obligations that were issued. We consider the Treasury lock settlement to be similar to other items which affect the yield or interest expense, such as debt premiums and discounts and deferred financing costs. In accordance with SFAS 95, deferred financing costs are considered financing cash flows and are not classified on the balance sheet as a part of the related debt. Therefore, we believe classification of the Treasury lock settlement as a financing activity is appropriate and consistent with existing guidance. Mr. George F. Ohsiek, Jr. United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 24, 2006 Page 3 Note 4. Goodwill and Intangible Assets, page 79 2. Please tell us what consideration was given to allocating a portion of the purchase price for the TXU acquisition to identifiable intangibles. Since a significant allocation of goodwill relates to your pipeline and storage segment, which includes both regulated and unregulated operations, please tell us how you determined that no allocation to identifiable intangibles was required under SFAS 141. In this regard it would be useful for us to understand the specific tangible and intangible assets acquired. The TXU Gas operations we acquired are regulated businesses engaged in the purchase, transmission, storage, distribution and sale of natural gas in the north-central, eastern and western parts of Texas. We also acquired a system consisting of 6,162 miles of gas transmission and gathering lines and five underground storage reservoirs, all within Texas. We acquired no nonregulated operations in the TXU acquisition. The tangible assets that we acquired were summarized in our Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2005 on page 77. We allocated no portion of the purchase price for the TXU acquisition to identifiable intangible assets. As we are a regulated entity, the ability to record and recover the cost of our assets is determined by a third party regulator. Historically, we have not been permitted by our regulators to allocate to or recover costs of intangible assets. Therefore, we have very few identifiable intangible assets related to our regulated businesses. During our purchase price allocation process, we reviewed the purchase agreement and other related agreements for identifiable intangible assets. Based upon our review of these documents and consultation with our legal department, who assisted with the negotiation of the terms of the acquisition, we concluded there were no significant, separately identifiable intangible assets. Additional comments regarding common identifiable intangible assets are as follows: • Brand name – According to the terms of purchase agreement, we did not acquire the TXU Gas brand name. However, we did acquire one brand name that has not been in use for over 10 years for which we had no plans to utilize. Accordingly, we assigned no value to this brand name. Mr. George F. Ohsiek, Jr. United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 24, 2006 Page 4 • Franchise agreements with municipalities - As noted above, the ability to recover these assets is governed by the rate of return allowed by our regulators. Consistent with paragraph A10(b) of SFAS 141, Business Combinations, we believe the franchise agreements should not be treated as a separate asset from our regulated property, plant and equipment. • Customer relationships – Although we acquired an additional 1.5 million customers in the acquisition, these customers are not contractually committed to Atmos Energy. Further, given the fact that our operations serve the general community, we believe this relationship does not represent a separately identifiable intangible asset. Our Atmos Pipeline – Texas Division (formerly TXU Gas Pipeline) does have contractual relationships with its pipeline customers. These customers generally have one year supply agreements that provide the right, but not the obligation, to receive gas from the pipeline at market prices. Further, these contracts are interruptible as our Mid-Tex Division (the natural gas distribution operations we acquired from TXU Gas) has first right to the gas transported on the pipeline to fulfill its obligations as a regulated distribution company. Based upon the short-term nature of the contracts, the fact that the contracts do not obligate our customers to purchase natural gas, the fact that the contracts are at variable index prices and the fact that the contracts are interruptible, we believe there are no significant, separately identifiable intangible assets associated with these types of contracts. • Supply contracts - Our Atmos Pipeline-Texas Division has a number of supply contracts with third parties for the purchase of natural gas. However, based upon our review of SFAS 141, we believe these contracts do not represent significant identifiable intangible assets as these contracts are based upon variable index prices, which we believe approximate fair market value. • Rights of way - We considered whether to allocate a portion of the purchase price to rights of way that TXU Gas had owned on the October 1, 2004 acquisition date. These rights of way were established as a part of our regulated rate base by the Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) in TXU Gas’ last rate filing, and in accordance with FERC accounting rules are classified as a part of our property, plant and equipment. Consistent with paragraph A10(b) of SFAS 141, Business Combinations, we believe the franchise agreements should not be treated as a separate asset from our regulated property, plant and equipment. Mr. George F. Ohsiek, Jr. United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 24, 2006 Page 5 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures, page 122 3. Please revise future filings to also state, if true, whether the same officers concluded the controls and procedures were effective in “ensuring that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Act is accumulated and communicated to the issuer’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.” See Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e). Alternatively, you may state management’s conclusion on the effectiveness of internal controls, as defined by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e) without explicitly stating what that definition is. We will revise future filings to also state, if true, whether the same officers concluded the disclosure controls and procedures were effective in ensuring that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended December 31, 2005 Note 3. Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, page 9 4. Please tell us, in detail, why Gas Daily is a preferable index to Inside FERC and how changing the index used to mark-to-market your physical commodity impacted your earnings for the quarter. Please also explain the timing of the change. Paragraph 10(e) of EITF 02-3 requires that you disclose unrealized gains and losses recognized as a result of a change in valuation techniques or assumptions. Please advise. Atmos Energy Marketing (AEM) has designated its physical natural gas inventory as the hedged item in a fair-value hedge in accordance with SFAS 133. This physical inventory is hedged using derivative instruments (storage financials) that consist of short positions to sell the physical inventory in forward months. Two published prices commonly used to value physical natural gas are the Inside FERC (IFERC) and the Gas Daily (GDD). Both indices are published by Platt’s, but they are determined differently. IFERC prices are published monthly and reflect an average trade price based upon a survey of actual buyers and sellers during the bid week trading process, which takes place Mr. George F. Ohsiek, Jr. United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 24, 2006 Page 6 during the final five trading days during the month. Most of the trading activity that drives the IFERC price ends three days before month end. GDD prices are obtained in a similar survey manner to IFERC. However, since these prices are published on a daily basis, the survey data includes the prior day trading activity for each basis location. The forward month NYMEX futures, which are used to value the derivative instruments used to hedge our physical natural gas, trade until the final trading day of the month. Prior to October 1, 2005, AEM utilized IFERC to estimate the fair value of its natural gas inventory. However, from time to time, we noted differences between IFERC and GDD caused by the fact the IFERC is the average over a week and is weighted toward the first three days of the trading period. Because the trading information used to determine GDD is gathered and reported on a daily basis, we believed the GDD posting was more representative of fair value on the last day of the month at our basis locations. Therefore, we concluded that GDD was a more accurate and appropriate estimate of the fair value of our physical inventory positions. Accordingly, AEM began using GDD on October 1, 2005, which coincided with the beginning of our fiscal year. On October 1, 2005, the difference between using IFERC and GDD was $3.2 million, before income tax effects, which we considered immaterial. We considered the change from IFERC to GDD pricing for recording our physical inventory at fair value a change in accounting estimate as defined in APB 20 “Accounting Changes”. Note that since the change occurred on October 1, 2005, we relied upon the guidance of APB 20 rather than SFAS No. 154, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections – A Replacement of APB No. 20 and SFAS No. 3,” because we will not adopt SFAS 154 until October 1, 2006, the beginning of our next fiscal year. We noted the disclosure requirements for reporting a change in accounting estimate outlined in paragraph 33 of APB 20, including the recommendation to disclose material effects resulting from the change in estimate. However, as the difference at October 1, 2005 was $3.2 million, before income tax effects, we believe the effect is immaterial for disclosure and represents a change made in the ordinary course of accounting. However, due to the impossibility of accurately predicting future market volatility, we believed we should disclose that we changed the index upon which our estimate was based. Regarding the disclosure requirements of Paragraph 10(e) of EITF 02-3, we believe our physical natural gas inventory does not represent an “energy trading contract”. Therefore, as the disclosure requirement of Paragraph 10(e) of EITF 02-3 pertains to energy trading contracts, we believe this guidance is not applicable. Mr. George F. Ohsiek, Jr. United States Securities and Exchange Commission March 24, 2006 Page 7 Atmos Energy Corporation acknowledges that (i) Atmos Energy is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing; (ii) staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; and (iii) Atmos Energy may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. If you have any questions or comments on this letter, please direct them to our Controller, Fred Meisenheimer, at (972) 855-3231, or in his absence, to me, at (972) 855-3723. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, /s/ J. PATRICK REDDY J. Patrick Reddy Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer