(Logo) | Cleco Corporation | |
2030 Donahue Ferry Road | ||
PO Box 5000 | ||
Pineville, LA 71361-5000 | ||
Tel 318-484-7400 | ||
NEWS RELEASE | ||
Investor Contacts: | ||
Cleco Corporation: | Analyst Inquiries: | Media Contact: |
Kathleen F. Nolen | Dresner Companies | Cleco Corporation |
(318) 484-7687 | Kristine Walczak | Michael Burns |
Rodney J. Hamilton | (312) 780-7205 | (318) 484-7663 |
(318) 484-7593 | ||
For Immediate Release | ||
Cleco Corp. First-Quarter Results Up 24 Percent
Increased Earnings from Wholesale Generating Fleet
PINEVILLE, La., May 8, 2003 - Cleco Corp. (NYSE, PCX: CNL) today reported first quarter 2003 earnings of $0.36 per diluted share, a 24 percent increase over the $0.29 recorded in first quarter 2002.
Results reflected lower income tax expense at Cleco Power and higher earnings from the Perryville and Acadia wholesale generating projects that began operation in mid-2002. Offsetting factors included higher maintenance and depreciation charges at Cleco Evangeline.
Diluted Earnings per Share | ||
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||
Subsidiary | 2003 | 2002 |
Cleco Power LLC | $0.33 | $0.30 |
Cleco Midstream Resources LLC | 0.06 | 0.01 |
Corporate and Other | (0.03) | (0.02) |
Earnings applicable to common stock | $0.36 | $0.29 |
Major Reconciling Items for First-Quarter EPS 2003 vs. 2002:
$0.29 | 2002 First-Quarter Diluted EPS | ||
0.01 | Higher Cleco Power nonfuel revenue | ||
(0.01) | Higher Cleco Power nonfuel expenses | ||
0.03 | Lower Cleco Power income tax expense | ||
0.03 | Higher contribution from Cleco Midstream generating projects | ||
0.02 | Lower Cleco Midstream administrative expenses | ||
(0.01) | Higher corporate administrative expenses | ||
$0.36 | 2003 First-Quarter Diluted EPS |
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Cleco Power LLC
Cleco Power posted 2003 first-quarter earnings $0.03 per share higher than in the same period of 2002.
Nonfuel revenue increased by about $0.01 per share in the quarter-to-quarter comparison to 2002, supported by a 2 percent increase in kilowatt-hour sales mainly driven by slightly colder weather. Expenses for Cleco Power were about $0.01 per share higher in first quarter 2003 than in first quarter 2002. The primary factors behind the increase were higher maintenance expenses related to planned substation and line rehabilitation and amortization of deferred storm expenses. Income taxes were approximately $0.03 per share lower in first quarter 2003 than in first quarter 2002 largely due to the carry forward of a 2002 state income tax net operating loss and an adjustment related to accumulated deferred income taxes.
Cleco Midstream Resources LLC
Cleco Midstream posted earnings per diluted share of $0.06 for the first quarter of 2003, up from $0.01 per share earned during the first quarter of 2002.
The earnings contribution from Cleco Midstream's wholesale generating fleet was $0.03 per share higher than in the first quarter of 2002, primarily because the Acadia and Perryville facilities began commercial operations in mid-2002. The two plants added $0.13 per share to first quarter 2003 earnings, but those amounts were largely offset by lower results from Cleco Evangeline. That plant saw a $0.10 per share decrease in earnings compared to the same period of 2002 because of higher maintenance and depreciation expenses. Cleco Evangeline's increased expenses were due to design changes of certain combustion turbine parts and a reassessment of the useful life of the facility's combustion turbine parts.
Cleco Midstream's administrative and development expenses were $0.02 per share lower in quarter-to-quarter comparisons mainly due to decreased marketing and project development activities.
Other
Higher administrative and legal expenses increased corporate and other expenses by $0.01 per share in first quarter 2003 compared to first quarter 2002.
2003 Update:
Cleco President and CEO David Eppler observed that thus far this year, the company has made steady progress toward its goals to:
"We recently completed the sale of $100 million of five-year Cleco Corporation notes with a coupon of 7 percent and $75 million of 10-year Cleco Power notes with a coupon of 5-3/8 percent," Eppler said. "We also renewed our 364-day credit facilities totaling $185 million for the combined companies. These financings solidify our corporate liquidity position and reduced our refinancing risk for the next 18 months and beyond.
"Just this week we announced that we've signed a letter of intent to sell our Perryville generating project to Entergy," Eppler continued. "Proceeds from that sale will enable us to eliminate all Perryville project debt as
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well as some corporate level debt. We still need to clear some hurdles to finalize the transaction, but we are hopeful the sale will be completed before year-end. Completion of the sale will not only reinforce our balance sheet, it will significantly diminish exposure to the less stable wholesale energy business. We are also continuing discussions with the tolling contract counterparties at our other wholesale projects so we can reduce risks at those projects as much as possible.
"We've just started the process of replacing Cleco Power's power purchase agreements, which largely expire at the end of 2004," Eppler said. "The solicitation of offers to supply up to 750 megawatts of capacity for our utility began in March, with initial proposals due in May. We hope to complete that process by late 2003.
"In terms of 2003 earnings outlook, we expect the higher Evangeline maintenance costs and higher interest expense as a result of the two recent note issuances to be substantially offset by lower Cleco Power taxes. Estimates are the Perryville sale will reduce 2003 earnings targets by approximately $0.10 per share, so, if that transaction proceeds as planned, Cleco's overall earnings targets for 2003 will be revised to $1.55 to $1.65 per share, down from the previous level of $1.65 to $1.75. Assuming the Perryville transaction is completed, that plant's planned $0.30 per share annual contribution will be eliminated in 2004 earnings targets."
Cleco management will discuss the company's 2003 first-quarter results during a conference call scheduled for 11 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. CDT) Friday, May 9, 2003. The call will be broadcast live on the Internet, and replays will be available for 12 months. Investors may access the webcast athttp://www.shareholder.com/cnl/medialist.cfm.
Cleco's businesses referred to in this news release are:
Cleco Power LLC | |
Cleco Midstream Resources LLC | |
Other (Cleco Corporation; Cleco Support Group LLC, Cleco Innovations LLC; CLE Resources, Inc.) |
Cleco Corp. is a regional energy services company headquartered in Pineville, La. It operates a regulated electric utility company that serves 260,000 customers across Louisiana. Cleco also operates a wholesale energy business that has approximately 2,100 megawatts of generating capacity. For more information about Cleco,visit www.cleco.com.
Financial tables follow:
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CLECO CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31 | 2003 | 2002 | |||
OPERATING REVENUE | |||||
Electric operations | $ | 138,866 | $ | 121,962 | |
Tolling operations | 23,776 | 11,620 | |||
Energy trading, net(1) | (194) | 1,012 | |||
Energy operations | 18,654 | 8,637 | |||
Other operations | 7,258 | 6,795 | |||
Gross Operating Revenue | 188,360 | 150,026 | |||
Electric customer credits | (911) | (350) | |||
Total Operating Revenue | 187,449 | 149,676 | |||
OPERATING EXPENSES | |||||
Fuel used for electric generation | 32,702 | 26,460 | |||
Power purchased for utility customers | 42,596 | 32,103 | |||
Purchases for energy operations | 17,768 | 7,740 | |||
Operations and maintenance | 25,599 | 25,277 | |||
Depreciation | 23,851 | 14,948 | |||
Taxes other than income taxes | 9,783 | 10,078 | |||
Total Operating Expenses | 152,299 | 116,606 | |||
OPERATING INCOME | 35,150 | 33,070 | |||
Interest expense and AFUDC, net | (17,517) | (11,812) | |||
Equity income from investees | 7,796 | 572 | |||
Other income (expenses), net | 623 | 325 | |||
NET INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND PREFERRED DIVIDENDS | 26,052 | 22,155 | |||
Federal and state income tax expense | 8,239 | 8,102 | |||
Net income before preferred dividends | 17,813 | 14,053 | |||
Preferred dividend requirements, net | 477 | 472 | |||
Net income applicable to common stock | $ | 17,336 | $ | 13,581 | |
Earnings per share | |||||
Basic | $ | 0.37 | $ | 0.30 | |
Diluted | $ | 0.36 | $ | 0.29 | |
Average number of shares outstanding | |||||
Basic | 47,068,584 | 44,973,466 | |||
Diluted | 49,485,666 | 47,663,219 | |||
Cash dividends paid per share of common stock | $ | 0.225 | $ | 0.22 | |
(1)Cleco Corporation adopted Issue 1 of EITF No. 02-3. Issue 1 requires that all gains and losses from energy trading contracts, as defined in EITF No. 98-10, be reported on the income statement on a net basis. The netting requirement reduces Cleco's gross revenue and expenses reported in the statements of income prepared after the effective date of July 15, 2002. Prior period amounts have been reclassified in order to be consistent with current reporting requirements.
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CLECO CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
(unaudited)
March 31, | March 31, | |||
Assets | ||||
Current assets | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 91,929 | $ | 3,987 |
Accounts receivable, net | 59,407 | 84,773 | ||
Other current assets | 94,847 | 72,501 | ||
Total current assets | 246,183 | 161,261 | ||
Property, plant and equipment, net | 1,569,393 | 1,225,255 | ||
Equity investment in investees | 272,088 | 240,679 | ||
Prepayments, deferred charges and other | 203,067 | 159,629 | ||
Total Assets | $ | 2,290,731 | $ | 1,786,824 |
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity | ||||
Liabilities | ||||
Current liabilities | ||||
Short-term debt | $ | 337,617 | $ | 217,380 |
Accounts payable | 73,830 | 86,295 | ||
Other current liabilities | 35,227 | 54,973 | ||
Total current liabilities | 446,674 | 358,648 | ||
Deferred credits and other liabilities | 388,762 | 276,922 | ||
Long-term debt, net | 866,197 | 638,267 | ||
Total Liabilities | 1,701,633 | 1,273,837 | ||
Shareholders' equity |
| |||
Common stock | 573,778 | 496,059 | ||
Preferred stock | 18,181 | 16,928 | ||
Other comprehensive income | (2,861) | - | ||
Total Shareholders' Equity | 589,098 | 512,987 | ||
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity | $ | 2,290,731 | $ | 1,786,824 |
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Please note: In addition to historical financial information, this news release contains forward-looking statements about future results and circumstances with respect to which there are many risks and uncertainties, 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 Midstream's facilities, the financial condition of the Company's tolling agreement counterparties, the performance of the tolling agreements by such counterparties, the possible restructuring of the tolling agreements and the other risks and uncertainties more fully described in the Company's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements.
