Exhibit 99.01
News (Southern Company Logo)
Media Contact: Marc Rice
404-506-5333 or 1-866-506-5333
media@southerncompany.com
www.southerncompany.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Glen Kundert
404-506-5135
gakunder2@southernco.com
April 28, 2004
Southern Company earnings rise in first quarter
ATLANTA - Southern Company today reported first quarter earnings of $331
million, or 45 cents a share. The solid performance was marked by continued
customer growth, increased residential energy use and, primarily in Alabama, an
ongoing rebound and expansion in demand for electricity in the industrial
sector.
The earnings compared with $298 million, or 41 cents a share, in the first
quarter of 2003.
With its business focused in the Southeast, one of the nation's fastest-growing
regions, Southern Company is serving an increasing number of customers. Total
customers increased by 71,000, or 1.7 percent, since March 2003.
Meanwhile, year-to-year electricity sales to industrial customers rose for the
second consecutive quarter following an extended downturn. Renewed strength,
especially in Alabama's steel and automobile sectors, contributed to a 5 percent
increase in industrial energy use, compared with the first quarter a year ago.
"We were encouraged by the growth in our overall customer base and the economic
trends reflected in the improved industrial sales. Most important, our people
responded by reliably serving the increased demand for energy in the first
quarter," said CEO Allen Franklin.
"Our commitment to successfully execute our strategy to deliver long-term
shareholder value and customer satisfaction remains strong," Franklin added.
Revenues for the first quarter were $2.75 billion, compared with $2.55 billion
in the first quarter of 2003, an increase of 8.1 percent.
Kilowatt-hour sales to retail customers in Southern Company's four-state service
area increased 4.5 percent in the first quarter, compared with the same period
in 2003. Residential electricity use increased 5.3 percent. Electricity use by
commercial customers -- offices, stores and other non-manufacturing firms -
increased 3.4 percent. Industrial energy use increased 5.0 percent.
Total sales of electricity to Southern Company's customers in the Southeast,
including wholesale sales, increased 3.1 percent in the first quarter, compared
with the first quarter last year.
In conjunction with this earnings announcement, Southern Company has posted on
its Web site a package of detailed financial information on its first quarter
performance. These materials are available at 7:30 a.m. EDT April 28 at
www.southerncompany.com.
Southern Company's financial analyst call will be at 1 p.m. EDT April 28, at
which time Franklin and Chief Financial Officer Tom Fanning will discuss
earnings and earnings guidance as well as a general business update. Investors,
media and the public may listen to a live Webcast of the call at
www.southerncompany.com. A replay of the Webcast will be available at the site
for 12 months.
With 4 million customers and nearly 39,000 megawatts of generating capacity,
Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier super-regional energy
company in the Southeast and a leading U.S. producer of electricity. Southern
Company owns electric utilities in four states, a growing competitive generation
company, an energy services business and a competitive retail natural gas
business, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company
brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail
electric prices that are 15 percent below the national average. Southern Company
has been named three consecutive years No. 1 on Fortune magazine's "America's
Most Admired Companies" list in the Electric and Gas Utility industry. Southern
Company has been ranked the nation's top energy utility in the American Customer
Satisfaction Index four years in a row, and in the latest survey tied for the
highest score among all service industry companies. Southern Company has more
than 500,000 shareholders, making its common stock one of the most widely held
in the United States. Visit the Southern Company Web site at
www.southerncompany.com.
Forward Looking Statements Note:
Certain information contained in this release is forward-looking information
based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements concerning
continued customer growth and Southern Company's ability to achieve long-term
success. Southern Company cautions that there are certain factors that can cause
actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that
has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this
forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and
is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are
outside the control of Southern Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance
that such indicated results will be realized.
The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Southern Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2003, and subsequent
securities filings, could cause results to differ materially from management
expectations as suggested by such forward-looking information: the impact of
recent and future federal and state regulatory change, including legislative and
regulatory initiatives regarding deregulation and restructuring of the electric
utility industry, and also changes in environmental, tax and other laws and
regulations to which Southern Company and its subsidiaries are subject, as well
as changes in application of existing laws and regulations; current and future
litigation, regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries, including the
pending EPA civil actions against certain Southern Company subsidiaries and
current IRS audits; the effects, extent and timing of the entry of additional
competition in the markets in which Southern Company's subsidiaries operate; the
impact of fluctuations in commodity prices, interest rates and customer demand;
available sources and costs of fuels; ability to control costs; investment
performance of Southern Company's employee benefit plans; advances in
technology; state and federal rate regulations and pending and future rate cases
and negotiations; effects of, and changes in, political, legal and economic
conditions and developments in the United States, including the current state of
the economy; the performance of projects undertaken by the non-traditional
business and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities;
internal restructuring or other restructuring options that may be pursued;
potential business strategies, including acquisitions or dispositions of assets
or businesses, which cannot be assured to be completed or beneficial to Southern
Company or its subsidiaries; the ability of counterparties of Southern Company
and its subsidiaries to make payments as and when due; the direct or indirect
effect on Southern Company's business resulting from the terrorist incidents on
Sept. 11, 2001, or any similar incidents or responses to such incidents;
financial market conditions and the results of financing efforts, including
Southern Company's and its subsidiaries' credit ratings; the ability of Southern
Company and its subsidiaries to obtain additional generating capacity at
competitive prices; weather and other natural phenomena; the direct and indirect
effects on Southern Company's business resulting from the August 2003 power
outage in the Northeast, or any similar incidents; and the effect of accounting
pronouncements issued periodically by standard-setting bodies.
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