To Our Fellow Shareholders:
With a steadfast commitment to creating exceptional value for our stakeholders, ONE Gas continued to build on its legacy of safely and reliably delivering natural gas to our approximately 2.2 million customers in 2018.
Our focused business strategy has guided us through our first five years and helped us progress toward becoming one of the premier publicly traded natural gas distribution companies in the U.S. Our strategy of being a 100-percent regulated natural gas distribution company is focused on creating value for our stakeholders and continues guiding our decisions. We’re proud that this strategy and staying true to our core values has enabled us to grow and continues to make ONE Gas an exceptional place to work.
The past year marked many points of pride for ONE Gas. We ranked among the top in our industry for multiple national safety metrics; we were recognized as an inclusive workplace by the business community; we proudly contributed $2.1 million to the communities we serve through the ONE Gas Foundation and corporate contributions; and we once again exceeded our commitment to annually replace at least 2 percent of our vintage pipeline materials to reduce our environmental footprint. We also created an environmental, safety, social responsibility and governance reporting structure that can be found on our website at www.onegas.com.
Financially, we also had a strong year. We reported diluted earnings per share of $3.25 in 2018, a 5.5 percent increase from $3.08 in 2017.