HOUSTON, Jan. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy,
Inc. (NYSE: CNP) today announces expected earnings on a guidance
basis for 2017 to be in the range of $1.25
to $1.33 per diluted share and reaffirms its expected
earnings on a guidance basis to be in the range of $1.16 to $1.20 per diluted share for the year
ending Dec. 31, 2016.
Guidance for 2017 includes earnings per share growth expected to
come from:
- Utility growth,
- Increased earnings per Enable Midstream Partners' forecast, as
provided on Enable's third quarter 2016 earnings call, and
- Increased earnings contribution from CenterPoint Energy
Services, partly attributable to recent acquisitions.
In addition to these drivers, the company expects lower interest
expense and a full year of dividend income from CenterPoint's
investment in Enable's preferred units.
"Our 2017 earnings guidance represents solid growth over our
2016 year end estimated range supported by both utility operations
and midstream investments," said Scott M.
Prochazka, president and chief executive officer of
CenterPoint Energy. "Utility operations, driven by fundamental
growth and investment, continue to perform very well and we are
pleased with Enable's 2017 forecast."
The company anticipates 2017 capital spending of $1.5 billion, a 14 percent increase over the
previous forecast for 2017 capital spending. Both the
electric and gas utilities are expected to contribute to the growth
in capital spending:
- Houston Electric anticipates capital spending of $922 million in 2017 in support of sustained
industrial, commercial and residential customer growth.
- Gas Distribution anticipates capital spending of $534 million in 2017 to accommodate continued
growth, particularly in the Houston metro and Minnesota jurisdictions, as well as pipe
replacement needs in the six states served by CenterPoint.
CenterPoint Energy's management will host an earnings call on
Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, at
11:00 a.m. Eastern time. Company
executives will discuss the company's 2016 earnings results, as
well as provide additional detail on earnings growth drivers and
the company's five-year capital forecast.
Earnings Guidance Variables and Assumptions
The guidance range for 2016 and 2017 considers utility
operations performance to date and certain significant variables
that may impact earnings, such as weather, regulatory and judicial
proceedings, throughput, commodity prices, effective tax rates, and
financing activities. In providing this guidance, the company uses
a non-GAAP measure of adjusted diluted earnings per share that does
not consider other potential impacts, such as changes in accounting
standards or unusual items, earnings or losses from the change in
the value of the ZENS securities and the related stocks, or the
timing effects of mark-to-market accounting in the company's Energy
Services business.
In providing guidance, the company assumes for midstream
investments a limited partner ownership interest in Enable
Midstream averaging 55.3 percent for 2016 and 54.1 percent for 2017
and includes the amortization of CenterPoint Energy's basis
difference in Enable Midstream. CenterPoint Energy's guidance takes
into account such factors as Enable Midstream's most recent public
outlook for 2016, dated Nov. 2, 2016,
and effective tax rates. The company does not include other
potential impacts such as any changes in accounting standards or
Enable Midstream's unusual items.
About CenterPoint Energy
CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery
company that includes electric transmission & distribution,
natural gas distribution and energy services operations. The
company serves more than five million metered customers primarily
in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company also owns a 54.1 percent
limited partner interest in Enable Midstream Partners, a publicly
traded master limited partnership it jointly controls with OGE
Energy Corp., which owns, operates and develops natural gas and
crude oil infrastructure assets. With more than 7,800 employees,
CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in
business for more than 140 years. For more information, visit the
website at www.CenterPointEnergy.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions of
management which are believed to be reasonable at the time made and
are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual
events and results may differ materially from those expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. Any statements in this
news release regarding 2016 and future earnings, and 2016 and
future financial performance and results of operations, including,
but not limited to earnings guidance, future interest expense,
dividend income, capital spending, growth and any other statements
that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Each
forward-looking statement contained in this news release speaks
only as of the date of this release. Factors that could affect
actual results include (1) state and federal legislative and
regulatory actions or developments affecting various aspects of
CenterPoint Energy's businesses (including the businesses of Enable
Midstream Partners (Enable Midstream)), including, among others,
energy deregulation or re-regulation, pipeline integrity and
safety, health care reform, financial reform, tax legislation, and
actions regarding the rates charged by CenterPoint Energy's
regulated businesses; (2) state and federal legislative and
regulatory actions or developments relating to the environment,
including those related to global climate change; (3) recording of
non-cash goodwill, long-lived asset or other than temporary
impairment charges by or related to Enable Midstream; (4) timely
and appropriate rate actions that allow recovery of costs and a
reasonable return on investment; (5) the timing and outcome of any
audits, disputes or other proceedings related to taxes; (6)
problems with construction, implementation of necessary technology
or other issues with respect to major capital projects that result
in delays or in cost overruns that cannot be recouped in rates; (7)
industrial, commercial and residential growth in CenterPoint
Energy's service territories and changes in market demand,
including the effects of energy efficiency measures and demographic
patterns; (8) the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices,
particularly natural gas and natural gas liquids, and the effects
of geographic and seasonal commodity price differentials, and the
impact of commodity changes on producer related activities; (9)
weather variations and other natural phenomena, including the
impact on operations and capital from severe weather events; (10)
any direct or indirect effects on CenterPoint Energy's facilities,
operations and financial condition resulting from terrorism,
cyber-attacks, data security breaches or other attempts to disrupt
its businesses or the businesses of third parties, or other
catastrophic events; (11) the impact of unplanned facility outages;
(12) timely and appropriate regulatory actions allowing
securitization or other recovery of costs associated with any
future hurricanes or natural disasters; (13) changes in interest
rates or rates of inflation; (14) commercial bank and financial
market conditions, CenterPoint Energy's access to capital, the cost
of such capital, and the results of its financing and refinancing
efforts, including availability of funds in the debt capital
markets; (15) actions by credit rating agencies; (16) effectiveness
of CenterPoint Energy's risk management activities; (17) inability
of various counterparties to meet their obligations; (18)
non-payment for services due to financial distress of CenterPoint
Energy's and Enable Midstream's customers; (19) the ability of
GenOn Energy, Inc. (formerly known as RRI Energy, Inc.), a wholly
owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc., and its subsidiaries to
satisfy their obligations to CenterPoint Energy and its
subsidiaries; (20) the ability of retail electric providers, and
particularly the largest customers of the TDU, to satisfy their
obligations to CenterPoint Energy and its subsidiaries; (21) the
outcome of litigation; (22) CenterPoint Energy's ability to control
costs, invest planned capital, or execute growth projects; (23) the
investment performance of pension and postretirement benefit plans;
(24) potential business strategies, including restructurings, joint
ventures, and acquisitions or dispositions of assets or businesses,
for which no assurance can be given that they will be completed or
will provide the anticipated benefits to CenterPoint Energy; (25)
acquisition and merger activities and successful integration of
such activities, involving CenterPoint Energy or its competitors;
(26) the ability to recruit, effectively transition and retain
management and key employees and maintain good labor relations;
(27) future economic conditions in regional and national markets
and their effects on sales, prices and costs; (28) the performance
of Enable Midstream, the amount of cash distributions CenterPoint
Energy receives from Enable Midstream, and the value of its
interest in Enable Midstream, and factors that may have a material
impact on such performance, cash distributions and value, including
certain of the factors specified above and: (A) the achievement of
anticipated operational and commercial synergies and expected
growth opportunities, and the successful implementation of
Enable Midstream's business plan; (B) competitive conditions
in the midstream industry, and actions taken by Enable Midstream's
customers and competitors, including the extent and timing of the
entry of additional competition in the markets served by Enable
Midstream; (C) the timing and extent of changes in the supply of
natural gas and associated commodity prices, particularly natural
gas and natural gas liquids, the competitive effects of the
available pipeline capacity in the regions served by Enable
Midstream, and the effects of geographic and seasonal commodity
price differentials, including the effects of these circumstances
on re-contracting available capacity on Enable Midstream's
interstate pipelines; (D) the demand for crude oil, natural gas,
NGLs and transportation and storage services; (E) changes in tax
status; (F) access to growth capital; and (G) the availability and
prices of raw materials for current and future construction
projects; (29) effective tax rate; (30) the effect of changes in
and application of accounting standards and pronouncements; (31)
other factors discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, as well as
in CenterPoint Energy's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2016, June 30, 2016 and September 30, 2016
and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file
from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
CenterPoint Energy provides guidance based on adjusted diluted
earnings per share, which is a non-GAAP financial measure.
Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a
company's historical or future financial performance that excludes
or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in
the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. CenterPoint
Energy's adjusted diluted earnings per share calculation excludes
from diluted earnings per share the impact of ZENS and related
securities and mark-to-market gains or losses resulting from the
company's Energy Services business. CenterPoint Energy is
unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of forward looking
or 2016 adjusted diluted earnings per share because changes in the
value of ZENS and related securities and mark-to-market gains or
losses resulting from the company's Energy Services business are
not estimable.
Management evaluates the company's financial performance in part
based on adjusted diluted earnings per share. We believe that
presenting this non-GAAP financial measure enhances an investor's
understanding of CenterPoint Energy's overall financial performance
by providing them with an additional meaningful and relevant
comparison of current and anticipated future results across
periods. The adjustments made in this non-GAAP financial
measure exclude items that Management believes do not most
accurately reflect the company's fundamental business
performance. CenterPoint Energy's adjusted diluted earnings
per share non-GAAP financial measure should be considered as a
supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, diluted
earnings per share, which is the most directly comparable GAAP
financial measure. This non-GAAP financial measure also may
be different than non-GAAP financial measures used by other
companies.
For more information contact
Media:
Leticia
Lowe
Phone 713.207.7702
Investors:
David
Mordy
Phone 713.207.6500
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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc.