FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Telephone: 609-561-9000
Investor Relations Contact: Marissa Travaline x4227 e-mail:
mtravaline@sjindustries.com
Media Contact: Dan Lockwood x4108 e-mail:
dlockwood@sjindustries.com
August 7, 2015
SJI Reports Second
Quarter Results,
Revises Guidance
Folsom, NJ - South Jersey
Industries today announced second quarter 2015 results which
included the write-down of the company's investment related to the
central energy facility at the former Revel casino property. GAAP
income and Economic Earnings* for the year to date and for the
second quarter of 2015 are presented below, as compared with the
same periods in 2014.
|
2015 |
2014 |
GAAP income from continuing operations -
YTD |
$67.2 million |
$57.9 million |
GAAP income from continuing operations -
Q2 |
$13.3 million |
$ 9.7 million |
GAAP EPS per diluted share - YTD |
$0.98 |
$0.88 |
GAAP EPS per diluted share - Q2 |
$0.19 |
$0.15 |
Economic Earnings - YTD |
$60.8 million |
$76.2 million |
Economic Earnings - Q2 |
$1.9 million |
$10.0 million |
Economic EPS per diluted share -
YTD |
$0.89 |
$1.16 |
Economic EPS per diluted share -
Q2 |
$0.03 |
$0.15 |
The write-down taken for the facility produced
negative impacts on Economic Earnings of $11.1 million
year-to-date, and $10.9 million for the second quarter. Excluding
the impacts of this charge, operating results for the second
quarter reflect positive performance from our key business lines,
as compared to the prior year period. Absent the write-down,
year-to-date performance was in line with expectations and would
have reflected Economic Earnings of $71.9 million as compared with
$76.2 million for the first half of 2014. Economic Earnings for the
quarter would have totaled $12.8 million, as compared with $10.0
million in the second quarter of 2014, excluding the
write-down.
"The decision to write down our investment in the
energy assets at Revel enables us to focus our full attention and
efforts on the areas of our business that will drive SJI's growth
in 2015 and beyond," said President and CEO Michael J. Renna. "As a
result of this write-down, and the lack of operating income
previously associated with the facility, we are revising our 2015
Economic Earnings per share guidance to a range of $1.49 to $1.54.
If we exclude all impacts associated with Revel for both 2014 and
2015, our Economic Earnings per share guidance in 2015 would
reflect growth in the range of four to eight percent."
"Operating performance across our core business
lines continues to deliver strong results, a trend we expect to
maintain. As we move toward our goal of achieving at least $150
million of Economic Earnings by 2020, we anticipate strong growth
from our utility and increasing contributions from our commodity
marketing and fuel supply management business lines," Renna added.
"These items, combined with expected contributions from our
ownership interest in the Penn East pipeline, will not only drive
substantial earnings growth, but will also improve the quality of
earnings by delivering more regulated and repeatable, multi-year
earnings streams."
EXPECTED CONTRIBUTIONS TO
EARNINGS
Customer additions and infrastructure investments will help
position our utility as the main driver of earnings in 2015. South
Jersey Energy Group's earnings are expected to reflect two
noteworthy changes in our business - the first is the increasing
contribution from fuel supply management contracts, and the second
is the diminishing drag on earnings from legacy marketing
contracts, several of which will expire in 2015. A majority of
non-utility earnings in 2015 is still expected to come from South
Jersey Energy Services, as investment tax credits from several
large solar projects in New Jersey and Maryland are complemented by
improving performance from our solar assets and by contributions
from our operating CHP facilities.
The contributions to Economic Earnings outlined
below reflect the asset write-down in the second quarter.
Business Lines |
Expected Contribution
to
2015 Earnings |
Gas Utility Operations |
65 - 70 percent |
SJ Energy Group |
12 - 15 percent |
SJ Energy Services
|
(4) - (8) percent |
|
22 - 28 percent
|
Following is a more detailed discussion of
performance to date in 2015, and expectations from each area of the
business.
REGULATED BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE
Year-to-date utility net income was up 15 percent at $47.8 million,
as compared with $41.5 million for the same period in 2014. Results
were driven primarily by infrastructure investment reflected in our
2014 base rate case settlement and through accelerated programs, as
well as by customer additions. Utility net income of $5.2 million
for the second quarter of 2015 was significantly higher than the
prior year period's contribution of $3.8 million. There is no
difference between SJG's GAAP net income and Economic Earnings.
Customer Growth:
Over the 12 month period ending June 30, 2015, South Jersey Gas
grew its customer base by 6,405 customers, bringing our current
customer count to 369,888. These incremental customers will add
$1.7 million to net income on an annualized basis. With targeted
conversion growth for 2015 set at 6,500, the nearly 2,800
conversions brought on year-to-date have us positioned to achieve
our goal, as conversion activity typically accelerates in the
second half of the year.
Regulatory Update:
The rate case settled in September 2014, which brought rate base to
$1.2 billion, positively impacts year-to-date results.
Infrastructure investment remains a core component
of our regulated growth, with investments totaling $28.7 million
year-to-date from our Accelerated Infrastructure Replacement
Program, or AIRP, and our Storm Hardening and Reliability Program,
or SHARP. Investments through these programs provided an
incremental net income contribution of $1.7 million for the first
half of 2015, as compared with the first half of 2014. For the full
year, these investments are expected to contribute incremental net
income of $2.5 million for 2015.
In May, South Jersey Gas filed an amendment to our
2013 project application still pending with the New Jersey
Pinelands Commission, indicating our commitment to moving forward
with the proposed B.L. England system reliability project. The
amended application highlights the enhanced reliability and
environmental benefits this project will provide customers across
the region.
During the second quarter, South Jersey Gas filed
with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to reduce rates
charged to customers associated with gas costs, our energy
efficiency program, and our conservation incentive program.
Approval of these three items will result in an average
decrease to customer bills of approximately 12 percent, without
negatively impacting utility net income. The headroom provided by
lower natural gas prices from Marcellus production has allowed us
to continue making significant infrastructure investment while
holding rates to the same level as ten years ago.
Compressed Natural Gas
Update:
Accelerating the expansion of compressed natural gas infrastructure
remains a long term priority for South Jersey Gas. During the
second quarter, Wawa received approval to site the first jointly
developed CNG station at their Paulsboro location, adjacent to
Interstate 295. Construction of that station is expected to be
completed by end of year.
Discussions with other station owners continue as
well, and we are currently working to identify viable sites for
three additional South Jersey Gas CNG stations. These stations
would serve vehicles within our fleet, as well as provide public
access, helping to mainstream CNG technology across our service
territory.
NON-UTILITY BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE
SJ ENERGY SERVICES:
The lack of recent progress toward reopening the Revel property or
obtaining a new contract to provide service warranted a write-down
of the SJI investment in the central energy facility in Atlantic
City during the second quarter. The write-down reduced Economic
Earnings by $11.1 million for the first half of 2015, of which
$10.9 million occurred in the second quarter. We did not write down
the value of our cogeneration equipment located within the central
energy facility, as we expect to repurpose those assets to serve
other customers. Total Economic Earnings for the Energy Services
segment, presented below, and the results of our CHP business line
exclude the write-down to better illustrate quarterly and
year-over-year results from operations.
SJ Energy Services Economic Earnings for the six
months ended June 30, 2015, excluding the charge noted above,
totaled $15.7 million, as compared with $20.8 million for the first
six months of 2014 and $6.9 million in the second quarter of 2015,
as compared with $10.5 million in the second quarter of 2014. Most
of the year over year variance is due to ITC being $2.5 million
lower in 2015, as well as the benefit of optimization from the
extreme cold in 2014 that did not reoccur in 2015. Additionally,
because the central energy facility was operational and serving
Revel in 2014, it added net income of $1.4 million and $0.5
million, respectively, in the first six months and in the second
quarter of 2014. Those results did not repeat in the same periods
of 2015, as the facility has been shuttered since September
2014.
CHP/Thermal - CHP operations
for the year-to-date and the second quarter of 2015, excluding the
charge noted previously, produced Economic Earnings of $2.6 million
and $0.3 million, respectively, as compared with Economic Earnings
of $4.9 million and $1.5 million for the same periods in the prior
year. Results for 2015 reflect legal costs and the lack of income
from operations at Revel, as well as the loss of asset optimization
that occurred in 2014 but did not repeat in 2015, as noted above.
Results from performance of our operating CHP assets, such as those
serving Borgata, Montclair University, and downtown Hartford,
contributed positively to the bottom line.
Solar - Economic Earnings
contributions from our solar portfolio year-to-date and for the
second quarter of 2015 totaled $15.1 million and $7.2 million,
respectively, as compared with $17.5 million and $9.8 million for
the same periods in the prior year. ITC contributions from solar
development to Economic Earnings for the first half of 2015 were
$17.3 million, as compared with $20.1 million for the first half of
2014. For the current quarter, ITC contributed $7.1 million, as
compared with $9.6 million in the second quarter of 2014.
Solar production levels recovered during the
second quarter, generating approximately 66,000 solar renewable
energy credits for the first half of the year, largely in New
Jersey, as compared with nearly 61,000 in the prior year period.
The increased production in 2015 is not yet fully recognized in net
income due to the timing of the certification of renewable energy
certificates in Massachusetts. Our current production is 93% hedged
for the 2016 energy year that commenced on June 1, emphasizing our
focus on reliable income streams across our business, while still
leaving some room to capture additional upside from strengthening
SREC prices and added production.
Landfill - Landfill projects
remain down on a year-to-date basis, with a loss of $2.3 million in
Economic Earnings for the first half of the year in 2015, as
compared with a loss of $2.2 million in 2014. However, for the
second quarter of 2015, this area of the business saw improvement
in operating performance, reflecting a loss of $0.9 million, as
compared with a loss of $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2014.
Although the projects are not currently contributing to the bottom
line, we remain optimistic that initiatives undertaken to help
boost performance at our two most problematic sites will help
improve overall performance going forward. There is no difference
between GAAP net income and Economic Earnings for landfill
results.
SJ ENERGY GROUP:
Economic Earnings from our commodity marketing activities for the
first six months of 2015 were $8.5 million in 2015, as compared
with $13.9 million for the same period in 2014. Year over year
comparisons continue to reflect the optimization that occurred from
the extreme weather and associated price volatility during the
first quarter of 2014. The second quarter of 2015, however, saw
significant quarter-over-quarter improvement that we view as more
representative of this area's potential for long term, recurring
contributions. South Jersey Energy Group contributed $0.7 million
in Economic Earnings for the second quarter of 2015, as compared
with a loss of $4.3 million for the second quarter of 2014,
reflecting significant benefits from the roll-off of legacy
marketing contracts, as well as contributions from fuel management
contracts.
Consistent with several of our prior
communications to the investment community, the value of our
transportation portfolio will continue to support significantly
improved performance throughout the year, as compared with the same
periods in 2014. Additionally, developing income streams that we
expect to deliver both near and longer term earnings stability for
this business have started to materialize with the commencement of
the LS Power fuel supply management contract earlier this year, and
the operations commencing under contracts serving two more plants
during 2015 and 2016.
SJI BALANCE SHEET
UPDATE
Our equity-to-capitalization ratio as of June 30, 2015 was 43
percent as compared with 44 percent at the end of the second
quarter 2014. It remains unchanged from the first quarter, as we
continue to recover costs associated with last winter's higher gas
prices. This recovery is expected to be complete by October of
2016.
Looking forward, SJI intends to use its Dividend
Reinvestment Plan to issue equity in support of further
infrastructure investments in 2015. The company also has just over
$300 million of deferred tax benefits remaining, related to our
investments, that we expect to realize between now and 2021, the
benefits of which will help support the balance sheet.
CONFERENCE CALL / WEBCAST
DETAILS
To participate in the conference call at 11:00 AM ET on Friday,
August 7, 2015, please pre-register by going to the South Jersey
Industries website, http://www.sjindustries.com, clicking on
Investors, and then scrolling down to "Webcasts and Presentations"
for the pre-registration link. This will allow you to generate an
event reminder as well as a PIN to expedite your inclusion into the
conference call when dialing in. On the day of the call, dial
1-888-679-8035 approximately 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled call
time; enter the participant pass code 75522051 and the PIN you
received during pre-registration. International callers may dial
1-617-213-4848; enter the participant pass code 75522051 and the
PIN you received during pre-registration.
To listen to the live webcast simply visit the
South Jersey Industries website at
http://www.sjindustries.com , and scroll down to the "Webcasts and
Presentations" section where you will find the link to participate.
SJI encourages shareholders, media, and members of the financial
community to listen to the webcast.
FORWARD LOOKING
STATEMENT
Certain statements contained in this news release may qualify as
"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. All statements other than statements of
historical fact included in this release should be considered
forward-looking statements made in good faith and are intended to
qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as
"anticipate", "believe", "expect", "estimate", "forecast", "goal",
"intend", "objective", "plan", "project", "seek", "strategy" and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in the statements. These
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the
following: general economic conditions on an international,
national, state and local level; weather conditions in our
marketing areas; changes in commodity costs; changes in the
availability of natural gas; "non-routine" or "extraordinary"
disruptions in our distribution system; regulatory, legislative and
court decisions; competition; the availability and cost of capital;
costs and effects of legal proceedings and environmental
liabilities; the failure of customers, suppliers or business
partners to fulfill their contractual obligations; and changes in
business strategies.
A discussion of these and other
risks and uncertainties may be found in the Company's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and in other
filings made by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). These cautionary statements should not be construed by you
to be exhaustive and they are made only as of the date of this news
release, or in any document incorporated by reference, at the date
of such document. While South Jersey Industries, Inc. (SJI or the
Company) believes these forward-looking statements to be
reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will approximate
actual experience or that the expectations derived from them will
be realized. Further, SJI undertakes no obligation to update or
revise any of its forward-looking statements, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise.
ABOUT SOUTH JERSEY
INDUSTRIES
South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI), an energy services holding
company based in Folsom, NJ, operates its business through two
primary subsidiaries. South Jersey Gas, one of the nation's fastest
growing natural gas utilities, delivers clean, efficient natural
gas and promotes energy efficiency to more than 369,000 customers
in southern New Jersey. SJI's non-regulated businesses, under South
Jersey Energy Solutions, promote efficiency, clean technology and
renewable energy by developing, owning and operating on-site energy
production facilities - including Combined Heat and Power, Solar,
and District Heating and Cooling projects; acquiring and marketing
natural gas and electricity for retail customers; providing
wholesale commodity marketing and fuel supply management services;
and offering HVAC and other energy-efficiency related services. For
more information about SJI and its subsidiaries, visit
http://www.sjindustries.com.
EXPLANATION AND RECONCILIATION OF
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
This news release includes the non-generally accepted accounting
principles ("non-GAAP") financial measures of Economic Earnings and
Economic Earnings per share when evaluating the results of
operations for its nonutility operations. These non-GAAP financial
measures should not be considered as an alternative to GAAP
measures, such as net income, operating income, earnings per share
from continuing operations or any other GAAP measure of liquidity
or financial performance.
We define Economic Earnings as: Income from continuing operations,
(1) less the change in unrealized gains and plus the change in
unrealized losses, as applicable and in each case after tax, on all
derivative transactions, and (2) less realized gains and plus
realized losses, as applicable and in each case after tax, on all
commodity derivative transactions attributed to expected purchases
of gas in storage to match the recognition of these gains and
losses with the recognition of the related cost of the gas in
storage in the period of withdrawal, and (3) less the impact of
transactions or contractual arrangements where the true economic
impact will be realized in a future period.
Economic Earnings is a significant performance
metric used by our management to indicate the amount and timing of
income from continuing operations that we expect to earn after
taking into account the impact of derivative instruments on the
related transactions, and transactions or contractual arrangements
where the true economic impact will be realized in a future period.
Specifically, we believe that this financial measure indicates to
investors the profitability of the entire derivative related
transaction and not just the portion that is subject to
mark-to-market valuation under GAAP. Considering only the change in
market value on the derivative side of the transaction can produce
a false sense as to the ultimate profitability of the total
transaction as no change in value is reflected for the
non-derivative portion of the transaction.
The following table presents a reconciliation of
our GAAP income from continuing operations and earnings per share
from continuing operations, to Economic Earnings and Economic
Earnings per Share:
|
Three Months Ended
June 30 |
Six Months Ended
June 30 |
|
|
In thousands except per share
data |
|
|
2015 |
|
2014 |
|
2015 |
|
2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income/(Loss) from Continuing
Operations |
$ |
13,341 |
$ |
9,701 |
$ |
67,194 |
$ |
57,912 |
(Minus)/Plus: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized Mark-to-Market Losses/(Gains) on Derivatives |
|
(9,200) |
|
222 |
|
(4,890) |
|
17,880 |
Realized (Gains)/Losses on Inventory Injection Hedges |
|
7 |
|
98 |
|
37 |
|
420 |
Net (Gains)/Losses from Affiliated Companies (A) |
|
(2,266) |
|
--- |
|
(1,524) |
|
--- |
Other (B) |
|
(25) |
|
(25) |
|
(50) |
|
(50) |
Economic Earnings |
$ |
1,857 |
$ |
9,996 |
$ |
60,767 |
$ |
76,162 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings Per Share from Continuing
Operations (C) |
$ |
0.19 |
$ |
0.15 |
$ |
0.98 |
$ |
0.88 |
(Minus)/Plus: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized Mark-to-Market Losses/(Gains) on Derivatives |
|
(0.13) |
|
--- |
|
(0.07) |
|
0.28 |
Net (Gains)/Losses from Affiliated Companies (A) |
|
(0.03) |
|
--- |
|
(0.02) |
|
--- |
Economic Earnings Per Share |
$ |
0.03 |
$ |
0.15 |
$ |
0.89 |
$ |
1.16 |
The following table presents reconciliations of
GAAP income from continuing operations to Economic Earnings for our
non-utility businesses for the three and six months periods ended
June 30, 2015:
|
Three Months Ended
June 30 |
Six Months Ended
June 30 |
|
|
In thousands except per share
data |
|
|
2015 |
|
2014 |
|
2015 |
|
2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South Jersey Energy Group Income/(Loss) from
Continuing Operations |
$ |
9,638 |
$ |
(4,508) |
$ |
13,264 |
$ |
(4,052) |
(Minus)/Plus |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized Mark-to-Market Losses/(Gains) on Derivatives |
|
(8,974) |
|
107 |
|
(4,852) |
|
17,574 |
Realized (Gains)/Losses on Inventory Injection Hedges |
|
7 |
|
98 |
|
37 |
|
420 |
South Jersey Energy Group Economic
Earnings |
$ |
671 |
$ |
(4,303) |
$ |
8,449 |
$ |
13,942 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South Jersey Energy Services Income/(Loss)
from Continuing Operations |
$ |
(1,496) |
$ |
10,415 |
$ |
6,165 |
$ |
20,529 |
Unrealized Mark-to-Market (Gains)/Losses on Derivatives |
|
(226) |
|
115 |
|
(38) |
|
306 |
Net (Gains)/Losses from Affiliated Companies (A) |
|
(2,266) |
|
--- |
|
(1,524) |
|
--- |
Other (B) |
|
(25) |
|
(25) |
|
(50) |
|
(50) |
South Jersey Energy Services Economic
Earnings |
$ |
(4,013) |
$ |
10,505 |
$ |
4,553 |
$ |
20,785 |
Central Energy Facility Charge |
|
10,867 |
|
--- |
|
11,109 |
|
--- |
South Jersey Energy Services Economic
Earnings Excluding Central Energy Facility Charge |
$ |
6,854 |
$ |
10,505 |
$ |
15,662 |
$ |
20,785 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHP/Thermal Income/(Loss) from Continuing
Operations |
$ |
(8,067) |
$ |
1,359 |
$ |
(6,970) |
$ |
4,572 |
Unrealized Mark-to-Market (Gains)/Losses on Derivatives |
|
(226) |
|
115 |
|
(38) |
|
306 |
Net (Gains)/Losses from Affiliated Companies (A) |
|
(2,266) |
|
--- |
|
(1,524) |
|
--- |
CHP/Thermal Economic Earnings |
$ |
(10,559) |
$ |
1,474 |
$ |
(8,532) |
$ |
4,878 |
Central Energy Facility Charge |
|
10,867 |
|
--- |
|
11,109 |
|
--- |
CHP/Thermal Economic Earnings
Excluding Central Energy Facility Charge |
$ |
308 |
$ |
1,474 |
$ |
2,577 |
$ |
4,878 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Solar Income/(Loss) from Continuing
Operations |
$ |
7,253 |
$ |
9,866 |
$ |
15,184 |
$ |
17,590 |
Other (B) |
|
(25) |
|
(25) |
|
(50) |
|
(50) |
Solar Economic Earnings |
$ |
7,228 |
$ |
9,841 |
$ |
15,134 |
$ |
17,540 |
(A) Resulting from a reserve for uncollectible
accounts recorded by an Energenic subsidiary that owns and operates
a central energy center and energy distribution system for a hotel,
casino and entertainment complex in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In
prior periods this charge was being excluded from Economic Earnings
until the total economic impact of the proceedings were realized.
During the second quarter of 2015, the Company, through its
investment in Energenic, reduced the carrying value of the
investment in this project. As such, this charge is now being
included in Economic Earnings for the three and six months ended
June 30, 2015.
(B) Represents additional depreciation expense
within Economic Earnings on a solar generating facility. During
2012 an impairment charge was recorded within Income from
Continuing Operations on a solar generating facility which reduced
its depreciable basis and recurring depreciation expense. This
impairment charge was excluded from Economic Earnings and,
therefore, the related reduction in depreciation expense is being
added back.
(C) All per share amounts were adjusted for
the 2-for-1 stock split, effective on May 8, 2015.
SJI Q2 2015 Financial
Statement
This
announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on
behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: South Jersey Industries via Globenewswire
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