Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE: CV)
-- 2009 earnings of $20.4 million, or $1.74 per diluted share,
22 cents higher than 2008
-- $0.1 million decrease in operating revenue
-- $7.5 million decrease in purchased power expense
-- $6.8 million increase in other operating expenses
-- $1.2 million increase in equity in earnings of affiliates
-- $2.4 million increase in other income, net
-- Fourth-quarter earnings of $2.1 million, or 18 cents per diluted
share, 19 cents higher than 2008
-- $4.3 million increase in operating revenue
-- $1.0 million decrease in purchased power expense
-- $2.0 million increase in other operating expenses
-- $0.3 million increase in equity in earnings of affiliates
-- Earnings for 2010 are forecasted to be in the range of $1.55 to
$1.70 per diluted share
Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE: CV) reported consolidated
earnings of $20.4 million, or $1.74 per diluted share of common
stock, for the 12 months of 2009, compared to $16 million, or $1.52
per diluted share of common stock, for the same period in 2008.
CV reported fourth-quarter 2009 consolidated earnings of $2.1
million, or 18 cents per diluted share of common stock, compared to
a loss of $0.1 million, or 1 cent per diluted share of common
stock, for the same period last year.
"Perhaps most significant, Moody's Investors Service rated the
company at investment grade in the fourth quarter, markedly
improving our borrowing capability," President Bob Young said.
"These ratings will allow CVPS to borrow short-term capital at
lower rates than we could otherwise expect to receive, and will
reduce or eliminate collateral requirements in many power purchase
and power sales contracts, so this expands our options as we look
to secure new power supply in the future.
"We also plan to continue to make significant capital
investments in our company and Vermont's transmission system
through Transco, providing customers with good reliability and
investors with a solid return," Young said.
2009 results compared to 2008
Operating revenues decreased $0.1 million year-over-year,
including a $5.5 million decrease in retail revenues, an increase
of $1.4 million in the provision for rate refunds, partially offset
by a $1.2 million increase in other operating revenues, and a $5.6
million increase in resale revenue. The decrease in retail revenues
resulted from lower average usage resulting from the sluggish
economy, energy conservation, and the loss of three commercial and
industrial customers due to plant closures, partially offset by
higher average unit prices due to customer usage mix. The provision
for rate refund is related to the 2009 deferrals of over-collection
of power, production and transmission costs as required by the
power cost adjustment clause within our alternative regulation
plan. The over-collection of power costs is being returned to
retail customers through the second quarter of 2010. Other
operating revenues increased primarily due to increased sales of
transmission rights and renewable energy credits and increased
wholesale rates. Resale revenues increased due to higher volumes of
excess power available for resale, partially offset by lower
average market prices.
Purchased power expense decreased $7.5 million, primarily due to
a $9.7 million reduction of short-term power purchases and a $3.9
million decrease in purchases from Independent Power Producers.
These reductions were partially offset by an increase in other
power costs of $6.1 million. This was primarily due to higher
output at the Vermont Yankee plant in 2009 and because there were
no refueling outages at the Vermont Yankee or Millstone III plants
in 2009. Other operating expenses increased $6.8 million, primarily
due to a $5.7 million increase in transmission expenses due to
higher rates and higher costs from Vermont Transco LLC ("Transco")
for its capital projects, offset by higher NOATT reimbursements.
Other increased costs included higher regulatory amortizations of
$2.2 million, primarily related to the recovery of 2008 major storm
costs, higher depreciation expense of $1.3 million, higher property
taxes of $1.3 million and higher reserves for uncollectible
accounts of $0.5 million. These higher costs were partially offset
by a $3.8 million decrease in maintenance expenses, primarily due
to lower service restoration costs. There were several major storms
in 2008, but just one major storm in 2009.
Equity in earnings of affiliates increased $1.2 million,
principally due to the $3.1 million investment that we made in
Transco in December 2008, and other accumulated adjustments. Other
income, net increased $2.4 million, largely due to an increase in
the cash surrender value of variable life insurance policies held
in trust to fund a supplemental employee retirement plan.
Fourth quarter 2009 results compared to 2008
Fourth quarter operating revenues increased $4.3 million for
many of the same reasons described above.
Purchased power expense decreased $1 million for the same
reasons described above. Short-term purchases decreased $5.9
million, partially offset by an increase in other purchases of $4.8
million.
Other operating expenses increased $2 million, including a $2.4
million increase in transmission expenses, and for many of the same
reasons described above. These higher costs were partially offset
by lower maintenance costs for the same reasons described
above.
Equity in earnings of affiliates increased $0.3 million for the
same reasons described above.
2008 Common Stock Issuance
Earnings per share for 2009 reflect the impact of the November
2008 common stock issuance. On November 24, 2008, CV issued
1,190,000 shares, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $21.3
million. The net proceeds of the offering were used for general
corporate purposes, including the repayment of debt, capital
expenditures, investments in Transco and working capital
requirements. The common stock issuance decreased per-diluted-share
earnings by 18 cents in 2009. There was no significant impact to
per-diluted-share earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009.
2010 Financial Guidance
CV anticipates annual 2010 earnings to be in the range of $1.55
to $1.70 per diluted share. As part of the alternative regulation
plan base rate filing approved by the Vermont Public Service Board,
the company's allowed rate of return for 2010 will be 9.59 percent,
down from 9.77 percent for 2009.
Webcast
CV will host an earnings teleconference and webcast on March 15,
2010, beginning at 2 p.m. EDT. At that time, CV President and CEO
Robert Young and CV Chief Financial Officer Pamela Keefe will
discuss the company's financial results, as well as progress made
toward achieving the company's long-term strategy.
Interested parties may listen to the conference call live on the
Internet by selecting the "CVPS Q4 2009 Earnings Call" link on the
"Investor Relations" section of the company's website at
www.cvps.com. An audio archive of the call will be available later
that day at the same location or by dialing 1-877-660-6853 within
the U.S. or internationally by dialing 1-201-612-7415 and entering
Account 286 and Conference ID 341962.
About CV
CV is Vermont's largest electric utility, serving approximately
159,000 customers statewide. CV's non-regulated subsidiary,
Catamount Resources Corporation, sells and rents electric water
heaters through a subsidiary, SmartEnergy Water Heating
Services.
Form 10-K
On Monday, March 15, 2010, the company filed its annual 2009
Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A copy of
that report is available on our web site, www.cvps.com, under the
"Investor Relations" section. Please refer to it for additional
information regarding our condensed consolidated financial
statements, results of operations, capital resources and
liquidity.
Reconciliation of Earnings Per Diluted Share
Twelve Months Fourth Quarter
2009 vs. 2008 2009 vs. 2008
-------------- --------------
2008 Earnings per diluted share $ 1.52 $ (0.01)
Year-over-Year Effects on Earnings:
Lower purchased power expense 0.42 0.06
Higher equity in earnings of
affiliates 0.09 0.02
Higher operating revenues 0.00 0.25
Higher transmission expense (0.32) (0.14)
Common stock issuance (Nov. 2008) -
1,190,000 additional shares (0.18) 0.00
(Higher) lower other operating
expenses (0.02) 0.01
Other (mostly variable life
insurance) 0.23 (0.01)
-------------- --------------
2009 Earnings per diluted share $ 1.74 $ 0.18
============== ==============
(a) The additional shares from the November 2008 stock issuance were
excluded from the 11,764,277 average shares of common stock - diluted
for the fourth quarter and the 11,705,518 average shares of common
stock - diluted for the twelve months, for the purposes of computing
the individual EPS variances shown above in order to provide comparable
information for 2009 vs. 2008.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release that are not
historical fact are forward-looking statements intended to qualify
for the safe-harbors from the liability established by the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements made that are
not historical facts are forward-looking and, accordingly, involve
estimates, assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements. Actual results will
depend, among other things, upon the actions of regulators,
performance of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, effects of
and changes in weather and economic conditions, volatility in
wholesale electric markets, volatility in the financial markets,
and our ability to maintain our current credit ratings. These and
other risk factors are detailed in CV's Securities and Exchange
Commission filings. CV cannot predict the outcome of any of these
matters; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such indicated
results will be realized. Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of
the date of this press release. CV does not undertake any
obligation to publicly release any revision to these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this press release.
Central Vermont Public Service Corporation - Consolidated
Earnings Release
(dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
December 31 December 31
Condensed income statement 2009 2008 2009 2008
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Operating revenues:
Retail sales $ 71,997 $ 71,732 $ 277,529 $ 283,073
Resale sales 13,027 8,211 54,279 48,641
Provision for rate refund (561) (234) (1,689) (296)
Other 2,490 2,975 11,979 10,744
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total operating revenues 86,953 82,684 342,098 342,162
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Operating expenses:
Purchased power -
affiliates and other 40,091 41,132 157,982 165,451
Other operating expenses 44,084 42,059 160,195 153,403
Income tax expense 492 (947) 5,033 4,878
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total operating expense 84,667 82,244 323,210 323,732
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Utility operating income 2,286 440 18,888 18,430
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Other income:
Equity in earnings of
affiliates 4,276 4,022 17,472 16,264
Other, net 3 13 1,511 (879)
Income tax expense (1,632) (1,512) (5,640) (5,862)
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total other income 2,647 2,523 13,343 9,523
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Interest expense 2,753 2,968 11,482 11,568
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net income 2,180 (5) 20,749 16,385
Dividends declared on
preferred stock 92 92 368 368
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Earnings available for
common stock $ 2,088 $ (97) $ 20,381 $ 16,017
========== ========== ========== ==========
Per common share data
Earnings per share of
common stock - basic $ 0.18 $ (0.01) $ 1.75 $ 1.53
Earnings per share of
common stock - diluted $ 0.18 $ (0.01) $ 1.74 $ 1.52
Average shares of common
stock outstanding - basic 11,697,392 10,863,926 11,660,170 10,458,220
Average shares of common
stock outstanding -
diluted 11,764,277 10,863,926 11,705,518 10,536,131
Dividends declared per
share of common stock $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.92 $ 0.92
Dividends paid per share of
common stock $ 0.23 $ 0.23 $ 0.92 $ 0.92
Supplemental financial
statement data
Balance sheet
Investments in affiliates $ 129,733 $ 102,232
Total assets $ 632,152 $ 626,126
Notes Payable (reclassified
to long-term debt) $ 0 $ 10,800
Common stock equity $ 231,423 $ 219,479
Long-term debt (excluding
current portions) $ 201,611 $ 167,500
Cash Flows
Cash and cash equivalents
at beginning of period $ 6,722 $ 3,803
Cash provided by operating
activities 42,042 28,400
Cash used for investing
activities (52,931) (40,498)
Cash provided by financing
activities 6,236 15,017
---------- ----------
Cash and cash equivalents
at end of period $ 2,069 $ 6,722
========== ==========
Refer to our annual 2009 Form 10-K for additional information.
Media Inquiries: Steve Costello Director of Public Affairs (802)
747-5427 e-mail: Email Contact (802) 742-3062 (pager) Contact:
Pamela Keefe Senior Vice President Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer (802) 747-5435 e-mail: Email Contact
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