Exhibit 99.1
FROM: Sierra Pacific Resources TO: PR Newswire, US1
ANALYST CONTACTS:
Rich Atkinson 775-834-5640
Vicki Erickson 775-834-5646
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karl Walquist 775-834-3891
Aug. 14, 2002 (5 a.m. PDT)
SIERRA PACIFIC RESOURCES REPORTS QUARTERLY FINANCIAL RESULTS
Las Vegas, Nev. - Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE: SRP) today reported a
consolidated second quarter loss of $41.9 million, or $(0.41) per share,
compared with net income of $54.0 million, or $0.69 per share, in the same
prior-year quarter.
The largest factor impacting the 2002 second quarter results was a one-time
charge related to the disallowance of $53.1 million in power costs paid from
December 2000 through November 2001 by Sierra Pacific Power, the company's
electric utility in northern Nevada. Other contributing factors to the decline
included cooler weather in May and energy conservation by customers that
resulted in lower demand.
For the second quarter, the Sierra Pacific Power subsidiary had a loss of
$34.9 million, compared with net income of $29.5 million in the second quarter
of 2001. Nevada Power Company, the company's utility in southern Nevada, earned
$5.7 million, compared with $33.1 million in the same period a year ago, on a
stand-alone basis (excluding the equity in the earnings losses of the parent
company).
Walt Higgins, Sierra Pacific Resources' chairman, president and chief
executive officer, said: "We are pleased that Nevada Power Company returned to
profitability
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during the second quarter, particularly as a precursor to the third quarter
which is traditionally a period of peak demand for our company. Except for the
one-time charges related to the Sierra Pacific Power deferred energy case
disallowance, both Sierra Pacific Power and our company overall would have been
profitable.
For the first half of the year, Sierra Pacific Resources had a net loss of
$347.4 million, compared with a loss of $29.4 million for the comparable period
in 2001. The primary cause for the 2002 loss was the March 29 disallowance of
$434.1 million in deferred energy costs for Nevada Power Company.
During the recently concluded quarter, residential electric revenues
decreased at Nevada Power by 3.3 percent compared to the same quarter in 2001
because of cooler weather. Second quarter commercial and industrial revenues
increased by 8.1 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively, due in part to
increases in rates and customer growth.
Electric revenues for Sierra Pacific Power residential, commercial and
industrial customers for the second quarter fell by 4.1 percent, 2.5 percent and
8.2 percent, respectively, compared with the same quarter in 2001. This resulted
from cooler weather in May and a rate decrease for residential customers
effective on June 1, 2002.
WEBCAST SCHEDULED
Senior management with Sierra Pacific will discuss the second quarter
financial results during a live webcast on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 7 a.m. Pacific
Standard Time. Interested parties can access the webcast with the following
link: Http://www.on24.cmo/clients/default/aujdioevent.html?eventid=759. The
webcast will also be accessible on the Sierra Pacific Resources' website at
Http://www.sierrapacificresources.com/investors/news/. To listen to a recording
of the
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webcast by telephone, call 1-888-211-2648. Use conference ID number 2174001 to
access the recording. The recording will be available approximately two hours
after the conclusion of the webcast.
Headquartered in Nevada, Sierra Pacific Resources is a holding company
whose principal subsidiaries are Nevada Power, the electric utility for most of
southern Nevada; Sierra Pacific Power, the electric utility for most of northern
Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California also distributes natural gas in the
Reno-Sparks area of northern Nevada; and the Tuscarora Gas Pipeline Company,
which owns a 50 percent interest in an interstate natural gas transmission
partnership.
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the future
performance of Sierra Pacific Resources within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from current expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, but
are not limited to, further unfavorable rulings in pending and future rate
cases, the ability of the Company to access capital markets in light of recent
ratings downgrades, whether suppliers will continue to honor existing power and
fuel supply contracts, whether long-term power costs can be lowered through
negotiation or administrative proceedings, weather conditions during the summer
of 2002 and beyond, operating hazards, uninsured risks and changes in
energy-related federal or state legislation and regulations. Additional
cautionary statements regarding other risk factors that could have an effect on
the future performance of the Company are contained in the Company's Form 10-K
filed with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the
result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to
reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events.
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Financial Highlights:
SIERRA PACIFIC RESOURCES
Financial Highlights
(In thousands, except for per share amount)
SRP NPC SPP
---------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
SECOND QUARTER 2002 2002 2001 2002 2001 2002 2001
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Revenues $700,854 $1,148,073 $477,059 $808,441 $222,209 $334,562
Operating Expenses 680,955 1,069,779 446,897 752,399 237,027 316,120
Net Income (Loss) Available for Common(1) (41,916) 54,035 5,655 33,050 (34,926) 29,458
Net Loss Per Share
$ (0.41) $ 0.69 -- -- -- --
Net Income (Loss) Contribution Per Share -- -- $ 0.06 $ 0.42 $ (0.34) $ 0.38
SRP Weighted Average Shares Outstanding 102,111 78,491 102,111 78,491 102,111 78,491
Notes:
(1) Does not include Sierra Pacific Equity in Losses for NPC