Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Darren Horowitz - Raymond James.
Darren Horowitz - Raymond James
Mike, first question for you when you look at the customer conservation and the economy’s impact on your commercial and industrial business as we talked about every quarter, are you still targeting to end the year with aggregate volumes down about 12%. Then more importantly as you are progressing through the September quarter and looking ahead to fiscal 2010, can you give us a rough approximation for how you think volumes are going to trend?
Michael Stivala
I think you are accurate Darren with the forecasted 12 % for the rest of at least this year. And I would think that next year, its unclear the economy obviously has to play a big part in that, not only the commercial and industrial side, but also on the residential side.
One of the reasons for the decline in some of our residential volumes are self imposed as a result of our diligent collection efforts. So, again the economy is going to play a big part in determining where that really shapes up.
Darren Horowitz - Raymond James
Sure. Moving over to your liquidity position, again congratulations on getting that new facility in place. When you look at the flexibility that facility affords you coupled with your cash on hand, has anything changed in your view of how you are looking at possibly growing the business inorganically, whether be within kind of the core competency propane side of the business or even outside?
Michael Stivala
We continue to focus on internal measures, the efficiencies, obviously. But more importantly, we are addressing our customer service reps and trying to give them a more educated stance, so that they can face off with customers in a more reputable fashion. You had to sit down and the economy is affecting everyone one of us, I mean not only as a business person but as consumers, and those same CSR’s are experiencing perhaps some drawbacks in their own personal life.
So, we want to make sure that they stay upbeat, and will be able to separate our personal life from their business responsibilities and be able to handle customers. They could possibly be going through the same sort of stress and strain, that it’s important that we help our customers through these financial difficult times. We offer budget pay plans, and we are willing in some cases to divert and drop loads that are perhaps smaller than what normally be, because they are pocketable, can afford the full load etc.
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