ATLANTA, April 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
Company said today it is increasing its dividend by 7 cents per share on an annualized basis to a
rate of $2.24 per share.
The increase marks the 15th straight year that Southern Company
has raised the dividend on its common stock.
Southern Company also announced today a regular quarterly
dividend – including an increase of 1.75
cents per share over the prior quarter – of 56 cents per share, payable June 6, 2016, to shareholders of record as of
May 16, 2016. This marks 274 consecutive quarters – dating back to
1948 – that Southern Company will have paid a dividend to its
shareholders that is equal to or greater than the previous
quarter.
"Southern Company's customer-focused business model has
supported the delivery of regular, predictable and sustainable
dividends for more than half a century," said Southern Company
Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A.
Fanning. "This long-standing commitment to best meeting the
energy needs of the customers we serve continues to drive both
customer and shareholder value."
With more than 4.5 million customers and approximately 44,000
megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is
the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its
subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and
affordable 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 affordable prices that are below the national average. Through
an industry-leading commitment to innovation, Southern Company and
its subsidiaries are inventing America's energy future by
developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including
nuclear, 21st century coal, natural gas, renewables and
energy efficiency, and creating new products and services for the
benefit of customers. Southern Company has been named by the
U.S. Department of Defense and G.I.
Jobs magazine as a top military employer, listed by Black
Enterprise magazine as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity
and designated a 2014 Top Employer for Hispanics by Hispanic
Network. The company earned the 2014 National Award of Nuclear
Science and History from the National Atomic Museum Foundation for
its leadership and commitment to nuclear development, and is
consistently ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual
World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings.
Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.
Cautionary Notes Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements:
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 customer and shareholder value.
Southern Company cautions that there are certain factors that could
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 fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and subsequent securities
filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from
management expectations as suggested by such forward-looking
information: the impact of recent and future federal and state
regulatory changes, including legislative and regulatory
initiatives regarding deregulation and restructuring of the
electric utility industry, environmental laws regulating emissions,
discharges, and disposal to air, water, and land, and also changes
in 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,
without limitation, Internal Revenue Service and state tax audits;
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, including those
relating to weather, the general economy and recovery from the last
recession, population and business growth (and declines), the
effects of energy conservation and efficiency measures, including
from the development and deployment of alternative energy sources
such as self-generation and distributed generation technologies,
and any potential economic impacts resulting from federal fiscal
decisions; available sources and costs of fuels; effects of
inflation; the ability to control costs and avoid cost overruns
during the development and construction of facilities, which
include the development and construction of generating facilities
with designs that have not been finalized or previously
constructed, including changes in labor costs and productivity,
adverse weather conditions, shortages and inconsistent quality of
equipment, materials, and labor, contractor or supplier delay,
non-performance under construction, operating, or other agreements,
operational readiness, including specialized operator training and
required site safety programs, unforeseen engineering or design
problems, start-up activities (including major equipment failure
and system integration), and/or operational performance (including
additional costs to satisfy any operational parameters ultimately
adopted by any Public Service Commission ("PSC")); the ability to
construct facilities in accordance with the requirements of permits
and licenses, to satisfy any environmental performance standards
and the requirements of tax credits and other incentives, and to
integrate facilities into the Southern Company system upon
completion of construction; investment performance of Southern
Company's employee and retiree benefit plans and the Southern
Company system's nuclear decommissioning trust funds; advances in
technology; state and federal rate regulations and the impact of
pending and future rate cases and negotiations, including rate
actions relating to fuel and other cost recovery mechanisms; legal
proceedings and regulatory approvals and actions related to Plant
Vogtle Units 3 and 4, including Georgia PSC approvals and Nuclear
Regulatory Commission actions and related legal proceedings
involving the commercial parties; actions related to cost recovery
for the integrated coal gasification combined cycle facility under
construction in Kemper County,
Mississippi ("Kemper IGCC"), including the ultimate impact
of the 2015 decision of the Mississippi Supreme Court, the
Mississippi PSC's December 2015 rate
order, and related legal or regulatory proceedings, Mississippi PSC
review of the prudence of Kemper IGCC costs and approval of further
permanent rate recovery plans, actions relating to proposed
securitization, satisfaction of requirements to utilize grants, and
the ultimate impact of the termination of the proposed sale of an
interest in the Kemper IGCC to South Mississippi Electric Power
Association; the ability to successfully operate the electric
utilities' generating, transmission, and distribution facilities
and the successful performance of necessary corporate functions;
the inherent risks involved in operating and constructing nuclear
generating facilities, including environmental, health, regulatory,
natural disaster, terrorism, and financial risks; 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 expected timing, likelihood, and benefits of completion of the
proposed acquisition of AGL Resources Inc., including the failure
to receive, on a timely basis or otherwise, the required approvals
by government or regulatory agencies (including the terms of such
approvals), the possibility that long-term financing for the
acquisition may not be put in place prior to the closing, the risk
that a condition to closing of the acquisition or funding of the
bridge financing may not be satisfied, the possibility that the
anticipated benefits from the acquisition cannot be fully realized
or may take longer to realize than expected, the possibility that
costs related to the integration of Southern Company and AGL
Resources will be greater than expected, the credit ratings of the
combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what the
parties expect, the ability to retain and hire key personnel and
maintain relationships with customers, suppliers, or other business
partners, the diversion of management time on acquisition-related
issues, and the impact of legislative, regulatory, and competitive
changes; the ability of counterparties of Southern Company and its
subsidiaries to make payments as and when due and to perform as
required; the ability to obtain new short- and long-term contracts
with wholesale customers; the direct or indirect effect on the
Southern Company system's business resulting from cyber intrusion
or terrorist incidents and the threat of terrorist incidents;
interest rate fluctuations and financial market conditions and the
results of financing efforts; changes in Southern Company's and any
of its subsidiaries' credit ratings, including impacts on interest
rates, access to capital markets, and collateral requirements; the
impacts of any sovereign financial issues, including impacts on
interest rates, access to capital markets, impacts on currency
exchange rates, counterparty performance, and the economy in
general, as well as potential impacts on the benefits of the U.S.
Department of Energy loan guarantees; the ability of Southern
Company's subsidiaries to obtain additional generating capacity (or
sell excess generating capacity) at competitive prices;
catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods,
hurricanes and other storms, droughts, pandemic health events such
as influenzas, or other similar occurrences; the direct or indirect
effects on the Southern Company system's business resulting from
incidents affecting the U.S. electric grid or operation of
generating resources; and the effect of accounting pronouncements
issued periodically by standard-setting bodies. Southern Company
expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking
information.
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