CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Natural
Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced results for its first fiscal
quarter ended January 31, 2015. For the quarter, the Company
reported net income of $93 million,
or $1.18 per diluted share, compared
to a net income of $97.6 million, or
$1.26 per diluted share for the same
period in 2014.
Margin for the quarter was $270.1
million, an increase of $8.6
million from the prior year's quarter. The increase in
margin is primarily attributable to the full quarter impact of new
rates in North Carolina that were
effective January 1, 2014, rate
adjustments in Tennessee and
North Carolina under the Company's
integrity management riders and customer growth in all three
states. These increases were partially offset by lower secondary
market margin compared to the prior year and lower industrial
customer margin from changes in cost allocation and rate design
under the new North Carolina rates
that were effective January 1,
2014.
Piedmont Natural Gas Chairman, President, and CEO, Thomas E. Skains, commented on the results, "We
are off to a good start this year in line with our
expectations. With an improving economy in our three-state
market area our customer growth totals during the quarter exceeded
last year's performance by more than 15 percent. We are
pleased by these results and now project a higher customer growth
rate for the year ranging from 1.6 percent to 2.0 percent.
And, our natural gas pipeline delivery system continued to perform
very well, delivering natural gas safely and reliably to our
customers and the communities we serve, even as we faced
significantly colder than normal temperatures during our first
fiscal quarter."
Operations and maintenance expenses totaled $66.2 million during the first quarter of 2014,
an increase of $5.5 million from the
first quarter of 2014. The increase in O&M expenses for the
period is primarily due to increased contract labor, higher payroll
from additional employees and overtime, and approved amortization
of regulatory assets.
Pre-tax income from Piedmont's
joint ventures decreased 16.9% for the quarter compared to the same
period in 2014. The reduction is primarily due to decreases in the
value of hedged derivatives from changes in natural gas prices and
increased operating expenses from SouthStar. The overall reduction
was partially offset by an increase in income from Constitution
from higher capitalized interest associated with capital
investments for the project.
Utility interest charges for the quarter were $17.7 million compared to $10.6 million for the same period in 2014.
The increase is primarily due to an increase in interest expense on
long-term debt primarily due to higher amounts of debt outstanding
in 2015, a decrease in the allowance for funds used during
construction as a result of lower utility project construction
expenditures compared to the prior year and an increase in interest
expense on amounts due to customers.
Dividend Increased for Thirty-Seventh Consecutive
Year
The Board of Directors on March 5
approved an increase in the Company's quarterly dividend on Common
Stock. The new quarterly dividend of 33
cents per share will be payable on April 15, 2015 to holders of record at the close
of business on March 25, 2015.
Fiscal 2015 Earnings Guidance Reaffirmed
Piedmont Natural Gas reaffirms its fiscal year 2015 earnings
guidance of $1.82 to $1.92 per
diluted share.
Conference Call
In conjunction with the first-quarter earnings release, you are
invited to listen to the conference call that will broadcast live
over the Internet on Monday, March 9,
2015 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern
Time, hosted by Chairman, President and CEO Thomas E. Skains. Log onto the web at
www.piedmontng.com and click on Investor Relations, then on
Presentations. The conference call will be archived on the
Presentation page of the website within the Investor Relations
section.
Summary of
Operations
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|
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|
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(in thousands except
per share amounts and degree days)
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months
Ended
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January 31
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% Increase
(Decrease)
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2015
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2014
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(Unaudited)
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Operating
Revenues
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$
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607,271
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$
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657,733
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(8)
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%
|
Cost of
Gas
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337,201
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396,221
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(15)
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%
|
Margin
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270,070
|
|
|
261,512
|
|
|
3
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%
|
Operations and
Maintenance Expenses
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66,150
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|
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60,639
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|
|
9
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%
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Depreciation
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31,893
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29,643
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|
|
8
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%
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General
Taxes
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9,997
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|
|
9,109
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|
|
10
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%
|
Utility Income
Taxes
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|
56,272
|
|
|
59,802
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|
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(6)
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%
|
Operating
Income
|
|
105,758
|
|
|
102,319
|
|
|
3
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%
|
Other Income
(Expense), net
|
|
4,931
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|
|
5,855
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|
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(16)
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%
|
Utility Interest
Charges
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17,711
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|
|
10,602
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|
|
67
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%
|
Net Income
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92,978
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|
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97,572
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(5)
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%
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|
|
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|
|
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|
|
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Average Shares of
Common Stock:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Basic
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78,620
|
|
|
76,988
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|
2
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%
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Diluted
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78,945
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|
|
77,327
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|
2
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%
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|
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|
|
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Earnings Per Share of
Common Stock:
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Basic
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$
|
1.18
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|
|
$
|
1.27
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|
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(7)
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%
|
Diluted
|
|
$
|
1.18
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|
|
$
|
1.26
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|
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(6)
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%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
System Throughput -
Dekatherms
|
|
140,787
|
|
|
137,138
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|
|
3
|
%
|
Gas Customers Billed
in January
|
|
1,023,245
|
|
|
1,009,313
|
|
|
1
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%
|
System Average Degree
Days – Actual
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|
1,945
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|
|
2,064
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|
|
(6)
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%
|
System Average Degree
Days – Normal
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|
1,838
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|
|
1,843
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|
|
—
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%
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Percent Normal Degree
Days
|
|
6
|
%
|
|
12
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%
|
|
n/a
|
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These
statements are based on management's current expectations and
information currently available and are believed to be reasonable
and are made in good faith. However, the forward-looking statements
are subject to future events, risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected in the statements. Factors that may make the actual
results differ from anticipated results include, but are not
limited to, weather conditions, rate of customer growth, the cost
and availability of natural gas, competition from other energy
providers, new legislation and regulations and application of
existing laws and regulations, economic and capital market
conditions, the cost and availability of labor and materials and
other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and some
of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements when
making investment decisions. The words "expect," "believe,"
"project," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "could,"
"assume," "can," "estimate," "forecast," "future," "indicate,"
"outlook," "plan," "predict," "seek," "target," "would," "may,"
"guidance," and variations of such words and similar expressions
are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made
and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. More information about the risks and
uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements may be
found in Piedmont's latest Forms
10-K and 10-Q, which are available on the SEC's website at
http://www.sec.gov.
About Piedmont Natural Gas
Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily
engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million
residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers
in portions of North Carolina,
South Carolina and Tennessee, including customers served by
municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are
invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including
unregulated retail natural gas marketing, regulated interstate
natural gas transportation and storage, and regulated intrastate
natural gas transportation businesses. More information about
Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet at
http://www.piedmontng.com/.
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SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas