Piedmont Natural Gas Reports Second Quarter 2007 Results
CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 6, 2007 – Charlotte-based Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced results for its second fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2007. For the quarter, the Company’s net income was $51.1 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.69 compared with $43.7 million and $0.57 for the same period in 2006.
For the six months ended April 30, 2007, net income was $121.8 million and diluted earnings per share were $1.63, compared with $115.7 million and $1.51 for the prior six-month period.
Utility margin in the second quarter increased from the prior year’s second quarter primarily due to customer growth. Operations and maintenance expenses decreased from the prior-year quarter as a result of ongoing positive impacts from the Company’s process improvement initiatives.
Joint Venture income, before tax, for the quarter ended April 30, 2007 was $23.6 million, compared with $20.2 million for the same quarter in 2006 and for the six-months ending April 30, 2007 was $29.1 million compared with $25.9 million for the same period in 2006, primarily due to strong operating performance from SouthStar Energy.
Piedmont Natural Gas Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas E. Skains commented, “Our business continues to perform well and according to plan. We remain focused on improving our business processes and our customer service. In April, we completed our system-wide automated meter reading project ahead of schedule and on budget. In addition, we have exceeded our “best-in-class” 80:20 customer service performance standard, where we are committed to answering 80% of all customer calls within 20 seconds or less, every month since it was first established in May of 2006. Our customer service performance has enhanced our customer satisfaction and loyalty. On the joint-venture side, our newest energy related joint-venture, Hardy Storage, initiated service during the second quarter as planned. Hardy adds a cost-effective and diverse underground storage asset to our supply portfolio, and will yield favorable returns to our shareholders as part of our growing list of strategic industry-related joint ventures.”
Dividend Declared
At the Company’s regular quarterly meeting of its Board of Directors held today, a quarterly dividend on Common stock of 25 cents per share was declared, payable July 13, 2007, to holders of record at the close of business on June 22, 2007.
Revised Fiscal 2007 Earnings Guidance
Piedmont Natural Gas is raising its fiscal year 2007 earnings guidance range to $1.40 to $1.50 per diluted share. The previous guidance range was $1.35 to $1.45 with emphasis on the upper end of that range. Piedmont’s guidance includes management’s assessment of competitive market conditions in the natural gas industry, the margin stabilization features of the Company’s regulated utility gas tariffs, the Company’s accelerated share repurchase program and ongoing business process improvement cost savings and efficiencies. Changes in market conditions which the Company cannot reasonably anticipate could cause earnings for fiscal year 2007 to differ from this guidance.
Conference Call
In conjunction with this second-quarter earnings release, you are invited to listen to the conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet on Tuesday, June 12, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, hosted by Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas E. Skains. Log on to the web at www.piedmontng.com and click on Investor Relations, then on Presentations. The conference call will be archived on the Presentations page of the website with the Investor Relations section.
Piedmont Natural Gas
Summary of Operations
(in thousands except per share amounts and degree days)
Three Months Ended
April 30
% Increase
2007
2006
(Decrease)
Operating Revenues
$
531,579
$
483,198
10
%
Cost of Gas
371,852
329,188
13
%
Margin
159,727
154,010
4
%
Operations and Maintenance Expenses
54,879
59,720
-8
%
Depreciation
21,995
21,758
1
%
General Taxes
8,358
8,061
4
%
Utility Income Taxes
23,874
20,271
18
%
Operating Income
50,621
44,200
15
%
Other Income (Expense), net
14,259
12,416
15
%
Utility Interest Charges
13,760
12,874
7
%
Net Income
51,120
43,742
17
%
Average Shares of Common Stock:
Basic
74,356
76,133
-2
%
Diluted
74,613
76,371
-2
%
Earnings Per Share of Common Stock:
Basic
$
0.69
$
0.57
21
%
Diluted
$
0.69
$
0.57
21
%
System Throughput — Dekatherms
59,696
52,326
14
%
Gas Customers Billed in April
944
924
2
%
System Average Degree Days — Actual
1,208
1,130
7
%
System Average Degree Days – Normal
1,222
1,215
1
%
Percent Normal Degree Days
99
%
93
%
—
Six Months Ended
April 30
% Increase
2007
2006
(Decrease)
Operating Revenues
$
1,208,820
$
1,404,545
-14
%
Cost of Gas
840,608
1,041,163
-19
%
Margin
368,212
363,382
1
%
Operations and Maintenance Expenses
107,089
112,942
-5
%
Depreciation
43,606
43,645
0
%
General Taxes
17,617
16,771
5
%
Utility Income Taxes
67,582
64,663
5
%
Operating Income
132,318
125,361
6
%
Other Income (Expense), net
17,616
15,894
11
%
Utility Interest Charges
28,098
25,516
10
%
Net Income
121,836
115,739
5
%
Average Shares of Common Stock:
Basic
74,489
76,413
-3
%
Diluted
74,773
76,651
-2
%
Earnings Per Share of Common Stock:
Basic
$
1.64
$
1.51
9
%
Diluted
$
1.63
$
1.51
8
%
System Throughput — Dekatherms
126,609
118,505
7
%
Gas Customers Billed in April
944
924
2
%
System Average Degree Days — Actual
2,823
2,853
-1
%
System Average Degree Days — Normal
3,122
3,121
0
%
Percent Normal Degree Days
90
%
91
%
—
Forward-looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and information currently available and are believed to be reasonable and are made in good faith. However, the forward-looking statements are subject to future events, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the statements. Factors that may make the actual results differ from anticipated results include, but are not limited to, economic conditions, competition from other providers of similar products and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. The words “expect,” “believe,” “project,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “could,” “will,” “assume,” “can,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “future,” “indicate,” “outlook,” “plan,” “predict,” “seek,” “target,” “would,” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about the risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements may be found in Piedmont’s 2006 Form 10-K, which is available on the SEC’s website athttp://www.sec.gov.
About Piedmont Natural Gas
Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million residential, commercial and industrial utility customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including 62,000 customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas storage and intrastate natural gas transportation.
Additional information about Piedmont is available on the Internet athttp://www.piedmontng.com.
Source:
Piedmont Natural Gas
Media Contact:
David L. Trusty (704) 731-4391 david.trusty@piedmontng.com
Investor Relations:
John Sutphin (704) 731-4314 john.sutphin@piedmontng.com
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