(Updates with additional background from power point presentation.)
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Exelon Corp. (EXC), the nation's biggest generator of nuclear power, Monday forecast 2010 adjusted earnings of $3.60-$4 a share.
In a slide presentation prepared for the Edison Electric Institute's financial conference, Exelon said it expects to generate cash flow from operations of $4.5 billion next year and will maintain its annual dividend of $2.10 a share.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect earnings for 2010 of $3.99 a share.
On Oct. 23, the Chicago-based company posted an 8.2% rise in third-quarter earnings to $757 million, or $1.14 a share. Earnings excluding items such as mark-to-market and nuclear decommissioning fund gains fell to 96 cents from $1.07, matching analysts' expectations.
Exelon Chairman and Chief Executive John Rowe said during a conference call on the results that it will take several years for demand to return to levels seen in 2007 and 2008. He said Exelon remains focused on internal growth rather than merger-and-acquisition activity.
Exelon provided further details in the slide presentation on the transmission business it started developing earlier this year.
The business will invest in "shovel ready" projects with other utilities and high-voltage line development in and around its existing footprint, including partnerships with its own utilities and regional developers. Exelon will also look beyond its footprint at partnering with renewable generation developers on merchant power lines.
Exelon expects total U.S. transmission investment to range from $60 billion to $100 billion over the next decade, entering a market where several large utilities already have businesses.
Next year, Exelon will fund start-up costs for the transmission business, while future investments and spending on development projects will come from project finance as appropriate, according to the slide presentation.
Shares of Exelon were recently trading flat at $46.96.
-By Mark Long, Dow Jones Newswires; (212) 416-2145; mark.long@dowjones.com
(Mark Peters in Hollywood, Fla. contributed to this report.)