PINEVILLE, LA reported today 2008 first-quarter net income
applicable to common stock of $22.1 million, up $13.9 million from
the $8.2 million recorded in the first quarter of 2007.
On an earnings per share (EPS) basis, Cleco recorded earnings of
$0.37 per diluted share, up $0.23 per share from the $0.14 per
share recorded in the first quarter of 2007.
Results were driven mainly by $0.18 per share of higher AFUDC
(allowance for funds used during construction) from Cleco Power
associated with the Rodemacher Unit 3 project.
"Construction of our Rodemacher Unit 3 project remains on budget
and on schedule to begin commercial operations in October 2009. As
of March 31, 2008, we have spent roughly $714 million of the
billion-dollar budget," Cleco President and CEO Michael Madison
said.
"Rodemacher Unit 3 is a 600-MW solid-fuel unit designed with
circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) technology. Petroleum coke, or
petcoke, a byproduct of the oil refinery business, will be the
primary fuel source; however, the unit will be capable of utilizing
a variety of other solid fuels such as renewables because of the
technology we selected. This is why Rodemacher Unit 3 is the
cornerstone of our strategy to create a diversified fuel
portfolio," said Madison.
Consolidated Diluted Earnings Per Share Allocated to Subsidiaries
Diluted EPS
--------------------
Three Months Ended
March 31
--------------------
Subsidiary 2008 2007
--------- ---------
Cleco Power LLC $ 0.46 $ 0.21
Cleco Midstream Resources LLC (0.08) (0.08)
Corporate and Other(1) (0.01) 0.01
--------- ---------
Earnings applicable to common stock $ 0.37 $ 0.14
(1) Includes dividends on preferred stock
Results for First-Quarter 2008:
Major Reconciling Items for First-Quarter EPS 2008 vs. 2007:
$0.14 2007 First-Quarter Diluted EPS
0.01 Gains on energy hedging, net
0.06 Lower Cleco Power expenses
0.18 Higher Cleco Power AFUDC
(0.02) Lower corporate results
-----
$0.37 2008 First-Quarter Diluted EPS
Cleco Power's 2008 first-quarter earnings - up $0.25 per share
year over year
-- Kilowatt-hour sales were essentially even with last year's results.
First quarter 2008 kilowatt-hour sales were down 2 percent from the
same period a year ago largely due to lower usage from industrial
customers. Heating degree-days for the quarter were 6 percent below
2007 first quarter levels and were 17 percent below normal.
For the three months
(Million kWh) ended March 31
------------------------
2008 2007 Change
------- ------- ------
Electric Sales
Residential 840 842 --
Commercial 554 543 2 %
Industrial 686 710 (3)%
Other retail 32 33 (3)%
------- ------- ------
Total retail 2,112 2,128 (1)%
Sales for resale 71 102 (30)%
Unbilled (57) (70) 19 %
------- ------- ------
Total retail and wholesale customer sales 2,126 2,160 (2)%
-- Mark-to-market and realized gains on energy hedging positions tied
to a fixed-price wholesale contract as compared to the same period
of 2007 contributed to a $0.01 per share increase primarily due to
increases in natural gas prices.
-- Operating and maintenance expenses were $0.06 per share lower
compared to the same period last year, primarily due to lower
compensation and benefit expense as well as lower generation
maintenance expense and lower professional fees.
-- AFUDC primarily associated with the Rodemacher Unit 3 project,
contributed $0.18 per share more to results. The equity portion of
AFUDC associated with the Rodemacher Unit 3 project was up $0.14 per
share, while the debt portion of AFUDC contributed $0.04 per share
more than in the first quarter of 2007.
Cleco Midstream Resources' 2008 first-quarter earnings -
unchanged quarter over quarter
Evangeline was down $0.03 per share for the first quarter of
2008 mainly due to the February planned outage. This was offset by
a decrease in losses at Acadia largely due to lower interest paid
to the holding company during the first quarter of 2008.
Other
Corporate earnings decreased $0.02 per share in the
quarter-to-quarter comparison primarily due to lower affiliate
interest received from Acadia.
Earnings Guidance
"We are maintaining our 2008 earnings target at a range of $1.60
to $1.70 per share," Madison said. "Those targets assume normal
weather, 2008 capital expenditures of about $265 million on the
Rodemacher project (including AFUDC), and the continuation of our
current rate plan. Cleco Midstream earnings targets assume
continued performance by Evangeline's tolling counterparty and are
based on assumptions about Acadia's plant operations and market
conditions."
Strategic Update
"We continue to achieve impressive results," said Madison.
"After nearly two years of persistent work, we have completed
the first ever utility securitization in the State of Louisiana.
The financing resulted in the issuance of approximately $180
million initial principal amount of storm recovery bonds to recover
the remainder of Cleco Power's unrecovered 2005 storm costs from
hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with approximately $50 million being
used to fund a storm reserve for future storms," Madison said.
"Additionally, we continue to advance through the long-term RFP
process and are on schedule to select winning bids in August of
2008. Also, on the regulatory front, we are working diligently to
prepare to file our rate case by the end of the second quarter of
2008 with rates anticipated to coincide with commercial operation
of Rodemacher Unit 3," said Madison. "This will be our first full
rate case in more than 20 years."
"Finally, we continue to move forward in collaboration with our
neighboring utilites, as well as the Southwest Power Pool, and the
Louisiana Public Service Commission to develop a comprehensive
transmission solution for the southern part of our service
territory," Madison concluded.
Cleco management will discuss the company's first-quarter 2008
results during a conference call scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern time
(10 a.m. Central time) Wednesday, May 7, 2008. The call will be
broadcast live on the Internet. A replay will be available for 12
months. Investors may access the webcast through the company's Web
site at www.cleco.com by selecting "For Investors" and then "Cleco
Corporation First-Quarter 2008 Earnings Conference Call."
Cleco Corp. is a regional energy company headquartered in
Pineville, La. It operates a regulated electric utility company
that serves 273,000 customers across Louisiana. Cleco also operates
a wholesale energy business with approximately 1,350 megawatts of
nameplate generating capacity. For more information about Cleco,
visit www.cleco.com.
CLECO CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(UNAUDITED)
For the three months ended March 31, 2008 2007
--------- ---------
Operating revenue
Electric operations $ 209,881 $ 213,020
Other operations 10,064 9,269
Affiliate revenue 2,606 1,461
--------- ---------
Operating revenue 222,551 223,750
Operating expenses
Fuel used for electric generation 45,536 55,496
Power purchased for utility customers 89,794 84,147
Other operations 22,275 26,315
Maintenance 10,113 10,241
Depreciation 19,547 20,098
Taxes other than income taxes 8,831 9,799
Gain on sales of assets (99) --
--------- ---------
Total operating expenses 195,997 206,096
--------- ---------
Operating income 26,554 17,654
Interest income 1,617 2,567
Allowance for other funds used during construction 13,683 5,131
Equity loss from investees (4,574) (1,399)
Other income 66 89
Other expense (669) (1,266)
Interest charges
Interest charges, including amortization of debt
expenses, premium and discount, net of capitalized
interest 14,121 13,657
Allowance for borrowed funds used during
construction (4,577) (1,670)
--------- ---------
Total interest charges 9,544 11,987
--------- ---------
Income before income taxes 27,133 10,789
Federal and state income tax expense 5,061 2,143
--------- ---------
Net income 22,072 8,646
Preferred dividends requirements, net of tax 12 423
--------- ---------
Net income applicable to common stock $ 22,060 $ 8,223
========= =========
CLECO CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Continued)
(Thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(UNAUDITED)
For the three months ended March 31, 2008 2007
---------- ----------
Average shares of common stock outstanding
Basic 59,907,896 57,854,737
Diluted 60,083,024 58,198,391
Basic earnings per share
From continuing operations $ 0.37 $ 0.14
Net income applicable to common stock $ 0.37 $ 0.14
Diluted earnings per share
From continuing operations $ 0.37 $ 0.14
Net income applicable to common stock $ 0.37 $ 0.14
Cash dividends paid per share of common stock $ 0.225 $ 0.225
CLECO CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Thousands)
(UNAUDITED)
At At
March 31, Dec. 31,
2008 2007
----------- -----------
Assets
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 108,934 $ 129,013
Accounts receivable, net 91,781 87,983
Other current assets 194,020 188,520
----------- -----------
Total Current Assets 394,735 405,516
Property, plant and equipment, net 1,815,284 1,725,880
Equity investment in investees 253,056 258,101
Prepayments, deferred charges and other 469,763 317,126
----------- -----------
Total Assets $ 2,932,838 $ 2,706,623
----------- -----------
Liabilities
Current Liabilities
Long-term debt due within one year $ 108,350 $ 100,000
Accounts payable 115,423 129,946
Other current liabilities 174,325 127,521
----------- -----------
Total Current Liabilities 398,098 357,467
Deferred credits and other liabilities 653,179 568,684
Long-term debt, net 861,025 769,103
----------- -----------
Total Liabilities 1,912,302 1,695,254
----------- -----------
Shareholders' Equity
Preferred stock 1,029 1,029
Common shareholders' equity 1,027,916 1,018,731
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (8,409) (8,391)
----------- -----------
Total Shareholders' Equity 1,020,536 1,011,369
----------- -----------
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $ 2,932,838 $ 2,706,623
=========== ===========
Please note: In addition to historical financial information,
this news release contains forward-looking statements about future
results and circumstances, including, without limitation,
statements regarding the Rodemacher Unit 3 project and earnings
guidance. There are many risks and uncertainties with respect to
such forward-looking statements, including the weather and other
natural phenomena, state and federal legislative and regulatory
initiatives, the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices
and interest rates, the operating performance of Cleco Power's and
Cleco Midstream's facilities, the financial condition of the
company's tolling agreement counterparty, the performance of the
tolling agreement by such counterparty, construction and
operational startup of Rodemacher Unit 3, the continuation of the
existing rate plan, the outcome of Cleco Power's rate case, the
results of Cleco Power's long-term RFP, and other risks and
uncertainties more fully described in the company's latest Annual
Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Actual
results may differ materially from those indicated in such
forward-looking statements.
Investor Contacts: Cleco Corporation: Ryan Gunter (318) 484-7724
Rodney J. Hamilton (318) 484-7593 Analyst Inquiries: Dresner
Companies: Kristine Walczak (312) 780-7205 Media Contact: Cleco
Corporation: Fran Phoenix (318) 484-7467
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