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 25, 2006
Southern Company first quarter earnings
show business fundamentals, region's growth remain strong
ATLANTA - Southern Company today reported first quarter earnings of $261.6
million, or 35 cents a share, as ongoing customer growth and economic strength
in the Southeast drove the continued solid performance of the core business.
The results compared with earnings of $323.0 million, or 43 cents a share, in
the first quarter a year ago. The year-to-year decline was attributable
primarily to the expensing of stock options, which began in the first quarter of
2006 and - as expected - lowered earnings by 2 cents per share; a reserve taken
because of the potential phase-out of federal tax credits related to synthetic
fuels, which reduced earnings by 2 cents a share; costs related to an
accelerated schedule of planned operation and maintenance work that was carried
out in the quarter; and expenses associated with a settlement of a dispute with
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"The fundamentals of our business remain strong, as evidenced by the continued
economic growth in the region and outstanding operational and customer
satisfaction performance across the company," said Chairman, President and CEO
David M. Ratcliffe. "These positive factors were reflected in our recent
decision to increase the annual dividend rate for the fifth straight year."
Economic growth, a key driver of Southern Company's performance, has continued
in the Southeast. The number of customers served by Southern Company has
increased 1.3 percent since the end of the first quarter in 2005. The company is
serving more than 53,600 additional customers, compared with the same time last
year.
Revenues for the quarter were $3.06 billion, a 9.9 percent increase -- due in
part to increased fuel revenues resulting from rising fuel costs -- over $2.79
billion in the first quarter of 2005.
Kilowatt-hour sales to retail customers in Southern Company's four-state service
area increased 0.3 percent in the quarter, compared with the same period last
year. Residential electricity use increased 0.6 percent. During 2005, some
Georgia Power industrial customers were reclassified from the industrial class
to the commercial class to be consistent with the rate structure approved by the
Georgia Public Service Commission. Adjusting the 2005 numbers for comparison
purposes, electricity use by commercial customers - offices, stores and other
non-manufacturing firms - increased 1.4 percent and industrial energy use
decreased 1.0 percent in the first quarter of 2006. As reported, without
adjusting the 2005 kilowatt-hour sales, commercial use increased 2.5 percent and
industrial use decreased 1.9 percent. Total sales of electricity, including
wholesale sales, decreased 0.5 percent for the quarter, compared with the same
period in 2005.
In conjunction with this earnings announcement, Southern Company has posted on
its Web site detailed financial information on its first quarter performance.
These materials are available at 7:30 a.m. EDT April 25 at
www.southerncompany.com.
Southern Company's financial analyst call will be at 1 p.m. EDT April 25, at
which time Ratcliffe 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 4.3 million customers and more than 40,000 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 and a
growing competitive generation company, 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 significantly
below the national average. Southern Company has been ranked the nation's top
electric utility in the American Customer Satisfaction Index six years in a row.
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
results of operations, customer and economic growth and Southern Company's
strategies. 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 suggested 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, 2005, 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 implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 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, FERC matters, IRS audits
and Mirant-related matters; the effects, extent and timing of the entry of
additional competition in the markets in which Southern Company's subsidiaries
operate; variations in demand for electricity and gas, including those relating
to weather, the general economy and population and business growth (and
declines); 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 the impact of pending and
future rate cases and negotiations, including rate cases relating to fuel cost
recovery; the performance of projects undertaken by the non-utility businesses
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 ability to obtain new
short- and long-term contracts with neighboring utilities; the direct or
indirect effect on Southern Company's business resulting from terrorist
incidents and the threat of terrorist incidents; interest rate fluctuations and
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; catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, floods,
hurricanes or other similar occurrences; the direct or indirect effects on
Southern Company's business resulting from incidents similar to the August 2003
power outage in the Northeast; and the effect of accounting pronouncements
issued periodically by standard-setting bodies. Southern Company and its
subsidiaries expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking
information.
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