JUNO
BEACH, Fla., Feb. 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) declared a regular quarterly
common stock dividend of $0.515 per
share, an approximate 10% increase versus the prior-year comparable
quarterly dividend. This increase is consistent with the plan
announced in 2022 of targeting roughly 10% annual growth in
dividends per share through at least 2024, off a 2022 base. The
dividend is payable on March 15,
2024, to shareholders of record on Feb. 27, 2024.
The board also approved an updated dividend policy beyond 2024,
which is expected to translate to a growth rate in dividends per
share of roughly 10% per year through at least 2026, off a 2024
base, which is expected to be $2.06
per share.
"The board's approval to continue to grow our dividends per
share in excess of our expected adjusted earnings per share growth
rate is a result of our success in executing on our
industry-leading business strategy," said John Ketchum, chairman, president and chief
executive officer of NextEra Energy. "With a 59% payout ratio at
the end of 2023, below the peer average of approximately 65%, and
the continued strength of the earnings and operating cash flow
growth at NextEra Energy, we remain well positioned to support the
dividend policy going forward. I believe we continue to offer a
best-in-class total return potential, with above-average dividend
growth and clear visibility to deliver financial results at or near
the top end of our adjusted earnings per share expectations ranges
in each year through 2026, while maintaining our strong balance
sheet and credit ratings."
NextEra Energy, Inc.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy
company headquartered in Juno Beach,
Florida. NextEra Energy owns Florida
Power & Light Company, which is America's largest
electric utility that sells more power than any other utility,
providing clean, affordable, reliable electricity to approximately
5.9 million customer accounts, or more than 12 million people
across Florida. NextEra Energy also owns a competitive clean energy
business, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its
affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable
energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage.
Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean,
emissions-free electricity from seven commercial nuclear power
units in Florida, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. A Fortune 200 company, NextEra
Energy has been recognized often by third parties for its efforts
in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance,
and diversity. For more information about NextEra Energy companies,
visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com,
www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors That
May Affect Future Results
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are
not statements of historical facts, but instead represent the
current expectations of NextEra Energy, Inc. (together with its
subsidiaries, NextEra Energy) regarding future operating results
and other future events, many of which, by their nature, are
inherently uncertain and outside of NextEra Energy's control.
Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among
others, statements concerning future dividends. In some cases, you
can identify the forward-looking statements by words or phrases
such as "will," "may result," "expect," "anticipate," "believe,"
"intend," "plan," "seek," "potential," "projection," "forecast,"
"predict," "goals," "target," "outlook," "should," "would" or
similar words or expressions. You should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a
guarantee of future performance. The future results of
NextEra Energy and its business and financial condition are subject
to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements, or may require it to limit or eliminate
certain operations. These risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited to, those discussed in this news release and
the following: effects of extensive regulation of NextEra
Energy's business operations; inability of NextEra Energy to
recover in a timely manner any significant amount of costs, a
return on certain assets or a reasonable return on invested capital
through base rates, cost recovery clauses, other regulatory
mechanisms or otherwise; impact of political, regulatory,
operational and economic factors on regulatory decisions important
to NextEra Energy; disallowance of cost recovery based on a finding
of imprudent use of derivative instruments; effect of any
reductions or modifications to, or elimination of, governmental
incentives or policies that support utility scale renewable energy
projects or the imposition of additional tax laws, tariffs, duties,
policies or assessments on renewable energy or equipment necessary
to generate it or deliver it; impact of new or revised laws,
regulations, interpretations or constitutional ballot and
regulatory initiatives on NextEra Energy; capital expenditures,
increased operating costs and various liabilities attributable to
environmental laws, regulations and other standards applicable to
NextEra Energy; effects on NextEra Energy of federal or state laws
or regulations mandating new or additional limits on the production
of greenhouse gas emissions; exposure of NextEra Energy to
significant and increasing compliance costs and substantial
monetary penalties and other sanctions as a result of extensive
federal regulation of its operations and businesses; effect on
NextEra Energy of changes in tax laws, guidance or policies as well
as in judgments and estimates used to determine tax-related asset
and liability amounts; impact on NextEra Energy of adverse results
of litigation; impacts of NextEra Energy of allegations of
violations of law; effect on NextEra Energy of failure to proceed
with projects under development or inability to complete the
construction of (or capital improvements to) electric generation,
transmission and distribution facilities, gas infrastructure
facilities or other facilities on schedule or within budget; impact
on development and operating activities of NextEra Energy resulting
from risks related to project siting, planning, financing,
construction, permitting, governmental approvals and the
negotiation of project development agreements, as well as supply
chain disruptions; risks involved in the operation and maintenance
of electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities,
gas infrastructure facilities, retail gas distribution system in
Florida and other facilities;
effect on NextEra Energy of a lack of growth or slower growth in
the number of customers or in customer usage; impact on NextEra
Energy of severe weather and other weather conditions; threats of
terrorism and catastrophic events that could result from
geopolitical factors, terrorism, cyberattacks or other attempts to
disrupt NextEra Energy's business or the businesses of third
parties; inability to obtain adequate insurance coverage for
protection of NextEra Energy against significant losses and risk
that insurance coverage does not provide protection against all
significant losses; a prolonged period of low gas and oil prices
could impact NextEra Energy's gas infrastructure business and cause
NextEra Energy to delay or cancel certain gas infrastructure
projects and could result in certain projects becoming impaired;
risk of increased operating costs resulting from unfavorable supply
costs necessary to provide full energy and capacity requirement
services; inability or failure to manage properly or hedge
effectively the commodity risk within its portfolio; effect of
reductions in the liquidity of energy markets on NextEra Energy's
ability to manage operational risks; effectiveness of NextEra
Energy's risk management tools associated with its hedging and
trading procedures to protect against significant losses, including
the effect of unforeseen price variances from historical behavior;
impact of unavailability or disruption of power transmission or
commodity transportation facilities on sale and delivery of power
or natural gas; exposure of NextEra Energy to credit and
performance risk from customers, hedging counterparties and
vendors; failure of counterparties to perform under derivative
contracts or of requirement for NextEra Energy to post margin cash
collateral under derivative contracts; failure or breach of NextEra
Energy's information technology systems; risks to NextEra Energy's
retail businesses from compromise of sensitive customer data;
losses from volatility in the market values of derivative
instruments and limited liquidity in over-the-counter markets;
impact of negative publicity; inability to maintain, negotiate or
renegotiate acceptable franchise agreements; occurrence of work
strikes or stoppages and increasing personnel costs; NextEra
Energy's ability to successfully identify, complete and integrate
acquisitions, including the effect of increased competition for
acquisitions; environmental, health and financial risks associated
with ownership and operation of nuclear generation facilities;
liability of NextEra Energy for significant retrospective
assessments and/or retrospective insurance premiums in the event of
an incident at certain nuclear generation facilities; increased
operating and capital expenditures and/or reduced revenues at
nuclear generation facilities resulting from orders or new
regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; inability to
operate any of NextEra Energy's owned nuclear generation units
through the end of their respective operating licenses; effect of
disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital
markets or actions by third parties in connection with
project-specific or other financing arrangements on NextEra
Energy's ability to fund its liquidity and capital needs and meet
its growth objectives; inability to maintain current credit
ratings; impairment of liquidity from inability of credit providers
to fund their credit commitments or to maintain their current
credit ratings; poor market performance and other economic factors
that could affect NextEra Energy's defined benefit pension plan's
funded status; poor market performance and other risks to the asset
values of nuclear decommissioning funds; changes in market value
and other risks to certain of NextEra Energy's investments; effect
of inability of NextEra Energy subsidiaries to pay upstream
dividends or repay funds to NextEra Energy or of NextEra Energy's
performance under guarantees of subsidiary obligations on NextEra
Energy's ability to meet its financial obligations and to pay
dividends on its common stock; the fact that the amount and timing
of dividends payable on NextEra Energy's common stock, as well as
the dividend policy approved by NextEra Energy's board of directors
from time to time, and changes to that policy, are within the sole
discretion of NextEra Energy's board of directors and, if declared
and paid, dividends may be in amounts that are less than might be
expected by shareholders; NextEra Energy Partners, LP's inability
to access sources of capital on commercially reasonable terms could
have an effect on its ability to consummate future acquisitions and
on the value of NextEra Energy's limited partner interest in
NextEra Energy Operating Partners, LP; effects of disruptions,
uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets on the
market price of NextEra Energy's common stock; and the ultimate
severity and duration of public health crises, epidemics and
pandemics, and its effects on NextEra Energy's business. NextEra
Energy discusses these and other risks and uncertainties in its
annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and other Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, and this news release should be
read in conjunction with such SEC filings. The forward-looking
statements made in this news release are made only as of the date
of this news release and NextEra Energy undertakes no obligation to
update any forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE NextEra Energy, Inc.