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EXHIBIT 99.1
[NRG LOGO]
NEWS
RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NRG Energy Reports Record Net Income and Earnings per Share Growth for 2000
HIGHLIGHTS
- - YEAR-END EARNINGS PER SHARE INCREASED 182 PERCENT TO $1.10 IN 2000,
VERSUS $0.39 IN 1999
- - NET INCOME FOR 2000 MORE THAN DOUBLED TO $182.9 MILLION, VERSUS
$57.2 MILLION IN 1999
- - TOTAL REVENUES INCREASED THREEFOLD TO $2.16 BILLION IN 2000,
VERSUS $500 MILLION IN 1999
- - MEGAWATT OWNERSHIP INCREASED 37 PERCENT TO 15,007 IN 2000, VERSUS
10,990 MW IN 1999
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (JANUARY 30, 2001) -- NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) reported
record net income and earnings per share for 2000 that far exceeds the company's
stated 25 percent minimum growth target. Earnings per share for 2000 increased
to $1.10, representing a 182 percent increase from 1999 reported earnings per
share of $0.39 (proforma), both on a basic and a diluted basis. Year 2000 net
income increased 220 percent to $182.9 million, versus $57.2 million in 1999.
Total revenues for 2000 grew 332 percent to $2.16 billion from $500 million the
previous year. In addition, NRG's megawatt ownership increased 37 percent in
2000 from the prior year.
"NRG has exceeded the goals we stated when we went public last year. Those
goals include at least 25 percent growth in annualized earnings and megawatts,
maintaining our investment grade credit rating, and developing our power
marketing function," said David H. Peterson, NRG chairman, president and CEO.
"The company's exceptional results are due to our successful execution of core
business strategies and a well-positioned business platform.
"We continued to build megawatt capacity by both acquisitions, which are
immediately accretive to earnings upon close, and greenfield and brownfield
development. Our disciplined growth program further diversifies our market, fuel
and plant dispatch characteristics," Peterson continued. "We significantly
expanded our power marketing area in 2000, allowing us to significantly increase
returns on our portfolio.
"Consistent with our strategy of being among the top-three competitive
energy providers in each of our markets, our goal is to increase capacity
megawatt ownership to at least 50,000 MWs by 2005." Looking to the future,
Peterson said, "We are very optimistic about the power generation business'
prospects for continued growth and are comfortable with the guidance of at least
$1.30 earnings per share for 2001."
For the fourth quarter, NRG achieved earnings of $0.23 per share, a 21
percent increase over $0.19 per share in the comparable quarter of 1999. Net
income for fourth quarter 2000 increased to $42.0 million on
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total revenues of $690.6 million, versus net income of $28.2 million and total
revenues of $216.4 million in the comparable quarter of 1999.
Earlier today, the company announced it had closed the 5,633 MW LS Power
project portfolio acquisition ahead of schedule. The company has an additional
5,704 MW of acquisitions expected to close in 2001, 448 MW of projects under
construction and 1,395 MW of projects expected to begin construction in 2001.
[See Attachment A]
DURING THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2000, NRG COMPLETED AN INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
OF 32,395,500 SHARES PRICED AT $15 PER SHARE. FROM THE DATE OF THE INITIAL
PUBLIC OFFERING TO YEAR END, THE PRICE PER SHARE OF NRG'S COMMON STOCK INCREASED
BY 85 PERCENT.
NRG ENERGY, INC. (NYSE: NRG) IS A LEADING GLOBAL ENERGY COMPANY PRIMARILY
ENGAGED IN THE ACQUISITION, DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, OWNERSHIP AND OPERATION
OF POWER GENERATION FACILITIES. AT THE END OF 2000, NRG CURRENTLY OWNED ALL OR A
PORTION OF 63 POWER GENERATION PROJECTS AND ITS NET OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN THESE
PROJECTS WAS 15,007 MW. THE COMPANY'S OPERATING PROJECT PORTFOLIO WILL TOTAL
APPROXIMATELY 30,000 MW ONCE PROJECTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION ARE IN OPERATION AND
THOSE IN ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND UNDER ACQUISITION AGREEMENTS
HAVE CLOSED.
Earnings Conference Call
A year-end 2000 earnings conference call is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
(eastern) on Wednesday, January 31, 2001. The live conference call may be
accessed by calling (800) 230-1766 in the United States or (612) 322-0226
outside the United States. The conference call will also be simulcast over the
Internet and can be accessed through the Investor Relations area of NRG Energy's
web site at www.nrgenergy.com. A replay of the conference call will be available
through Tuesday, February 6, 2001, by calling (800) 475-6701 in the United
States or (320) 365-3844 outside the United States with an access code of
566314.
Certain statements included in this news release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements
above include, but are not limited to, projected growth and future financial
performance. Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can
give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct.
Factors that could cause NRG's actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated in the forward-looking statements above include, among others, the
following: factors affecting power generation operations such as unusual weather
conditions, generator outages, changes in fuel costs or availability and
environmental incidents; factors affecting the availability or cost of capital,
such as, for example, changes in interest rates or changes in investor
perceptions of the power generation industry, NRG or any of its subsidiaries;
workforce factors; delay in closing or the failure to close project
acquisitions, our failure to timely identify, construct and acquire power
generation projects, the volatility of energy prices in a deregulated market
environment and the adverse impacts on the profitability of our generation
facilities that may result from the imposition of price limitations and other
mechanisms to address such volatility; and other business or investment
considerations that may be disclosed from time to time in NRG's Securities and
Exchange Commission filings or in other publicly disseminated written documents.
NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG's actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in
this news
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release should not be construed as exhaustive. For more information regarding
these risks and uncertainties, review NRG's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
More information on NRG Energy is available at
www.nrgenergy.com.
# # #
Contacts: Meredith Moore
Media Relations
612.373.8829
meredith.moore@nrgenergy.com
Rick Huckle
Investor Relations
612.373.8900
rick.huckle@nrgenergy.com
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ATTACHMENT A (IN ADDITION TO 5,633 MW LS POWER PROJECT PORTFOLIO)
ACQUISITIONS EXPECTED TO CLOSE IN 2001
- CONECTIV (1,875 MW) IN N.J., DEL., MD. AND PA.;
- BRIDGEPORT HARBOR AND NEW HAVEN HARBOR STATIONS (1,051 MW)
LOCATED IN CONN.;
- REID GARDNER AND CLARK (665 MW NET OWNERSHIP) NEAR LAS VEGAS,
NEV.;
- NARVA POWER (1,323 MW NET OWNERSHIP) IN ESTONIA;
- SEYITOMER AND KANGAL (504 MW NET OWNERSHIP) IN TURKEY; AND
- NORTH VALMY (286 MW) IN VALMY, NEV.
PROJECTS THAT HAVE CLOSED AND ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
- SABINE RIVER WORKS (210 MW NET OWNERSHIP) LOCATED NEAR ORANGE,
TEXAS; AND
- BIG CAJUN I EXPANSION PROJECT (238 MW) IN NEW ROADS, LA.;
Projects expected to begin construction in 2001
- MERIDEN (540 MW) LOCATED IN MERIDEN, CONN.;
- BRAZOS VALLEY (310 MW NET OWNERSHIP) IN FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS;
AND
- KAUFMAN (545 MW) IN KAUFMAN COUNTY, TEXAS.
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CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(UNAUDITED)
December 31, December 31,
(In thousands) 2000 1999
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ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents $ 95,243 $ 31,483
Restricted cash 12,135 17,441
Accounts receivable-trade, less allowance for doubtful accounts 356,442 126,376
Current portion of notes receivable - affiliates 207 287
Current portion of notes receivable 60 -
Inventory 159,601 119,181
Prepayments and other current assets 30,074 29,202
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Total current assets 653,762 323,970
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PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, AT ORIGINAL COST
In service 4,109,700 2,078,804
Under construction 207,237 53,448
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4,316,937 2,132,252
Less accumulated depreciation (272,428) (156,849)
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Net property, plant and equipment 4,044,509 1,975,403
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OTHER ASSETS
Investments in projects 975,182 932,591
Capitalized project costs 10,262 2,592
Notes receivable, less current portion - affiliates 70,920 65,494
Notes receivable, less current portion 5,825 5,787
Decommissioning fund investments 3,863 -
Intangible assets, net 61,352 55,586
Debt issuance costs, net 48,773 20,081
Other assets, net 90,410 50,180
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Total other assets 1,266,587 1,132,311
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TOTAL ASSETS $ 5,964,858 $ 3,431,684
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CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(UNAUDITED)
December 31, December 31,
(In thousands) 2000 1999
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LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Current portion of project level long-term non-recourse debt $ 137,657 $ 30,462
Revolving line of credit 8,000 340,000
Revolving line of credit, non-recourse - 35,766
Accounts payable-trade 233,187 61,211
Accounts payable-affiliate 7,191 6,404
Accrued income taxes 43,605 4,730
Accrued property and sales taxes 10,531 4,998
Accrued salaries, benefits and related costs 29,428 9,648
Accrued interest 52,526 13,479
Other current liabilities 17,919 17,657
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Total current liabilities 540,044 524,355
MINORITY INTEREST 14,685 14,373
CONSOLIDATED PROJECT-LEVEL, LONG-TERM, NON-RECOURSE DEBT 2,155,765 1,026,398
CORPORATE-LEVEL LONG-TERM, RECOURSE DEBT 1,503,896 915,000
CAPITAL LEASE OBLIGATION, LONG-TERM 825 -
DEFERRED INCOME TAXES 55,642 16,940
DEFERRED INVESTMENT TAX CREDITS 833 1,088
POSTRETIREMENT AND OTHER BENEFIT OBLIGATIONS 83,098 24,613
DEFERRED INCOME AND OTHER LONG-TERM OBLIGATIONS 147,982 15,263
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Total liabilities 4,502,770 2,538,030
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STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Class A - common stock; $.01 par value; 250,000 shares
authorized; 147,605 shares issued and outstanding 1,476 1,476
Common stock; $.01 par value; 550,000 shares authorized;
32,396 shares issued and outstanding 324 -
Additional paid-in capital 1,233,833 780,438
Retained earnings 370,145 187,210
Accumulated other comprehensive income (143,690) (75,470)
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Total Stockholders' Equity 1,462,088 893,654
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Commitments and Contingencies
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TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 5,964,858 $ 3,431,684
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
NRG ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(UNAUDITED)
Twelve Months Ended Three Months Ended
December 31, December 31,
(In thousands, except per share data) 2000 1999 2000 1999
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OPERATING REVENUES
Revenues from wholly-owned operations $ 2,019,179 $ 432,518 $ 679,516 $ 194,663
Equity in operating earnings of unconsolidated
affiliates 141,286 67,500 11,115 21,774
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Total operating revenues 2,160,465 500,018 690,631 216,437
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OPERATING COSTS AND EXPENSES
Cost of wholly-owned operations 1,291,199 269,900 450,930 121,689
Depreciation and amortization 123,404 37,026 36,128 13,338
General, administrative, and development 172,489 83,572 74,474 30,649
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Total operating costs and expenses 1,587,092 390,498 561,532 165,676
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OPERATING INCOME 573,373 109,520 129,099 50,761
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OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)
Minority interest in earnings of consolidated
subsidiary (11,335) (2,456) (4,177) (919)
Gain on sale of interests in projects - 10,994 - 10,994
Other income, net 7,857 6,432 5,946 928
Interest expense (294,486) (93,376) (79,061) (35,769)
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Total other expense (297,964) (78,406) (77,292) (24,766)
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INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES 275,409 31,114 51,807 25,995
INCOME TAXES - EXPENSE (BENEFIT) 92,474 (26,081) 9,803 (2,192)
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NET INCOME $ 182,935 $ 57,195 $ 42,004 $ 28,187
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Weighted Average Number of Common Shares
Outstanding - Basic 165,861 147,605 180,000 147,605
Earnings per Average Common Share - Basic $ 1.10 $ 0.39 $ 0.23 $ 0.19
Weighted Average Number of Common Shares
Outstanding - Diluted 166,995 147,605 182,030 147,605
Earnings per Average Common Share - Diluted $ 1.10 $ 0.39 $ 0.23 $ 0.19