NextEra Energy board declares quarterly dividend

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Feb 17, 2012, 12:11 ET

JUNO BEACH, Fla., Feb. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) today declared a regular quarterly common stock dividend of 60 cents per share. The dividend is payable on March 15, 2012, to shareholders of record on March 2, 2012.

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The Board also approved the following statement: "Although any decision to pay a dividend must consider all the facts and circumstances at the time the decision is made, the Board recognizes that a strong dividend is important to our shareholders. In thinking about longer term dividend policy, the Board takes into account, among many other factors, the changing mix of NextEra Energy's portfolio of businesses and the ongoing levels of dividend payout generally supportable by each major segment of the portfolio, as well as the payout ratios of competing businesses in each of those major segments.

"Given the currently expected increase in the proportion of NextEra Energy's portfolio represented by rate-regulated businesses and assets under long-term contract, which management has publicly discussed with investors, the Board presently expects to target a payout ratio, expressed relative to adjusted earnings, of approximately 55 percent in 2014, up from the 2002 through 2011 average of 49 percent. Today's decision to increase the dividend to 60 cents per share is consistent with that longer term view."

NextEra Energy, Inc.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company with 2011 revenues of more than $15.3 billion, more than 41,000 megawatts of generating capacity, and approximately 15,000 employees in 24 states and Canada. Headquartered in Juno Beach, Fla., NextEra Energy's principal subsidiaries are Florida Power & Light Company, which serves approximately 4.6 million customer accounts in Florida and is one of the largest rate-regulated electric utilities in the country, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which together with its affiliated entities is the largest generator in North America of renewable energy from the wind and sun. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy collectively operates the third largest U.S. nuclear power generation fleet. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.

Cautionary Statements And Risk Factors That May Affect Future Results

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical facts, but instead represent the current expectations of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NextEra Energy) and Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) regarding future operating results and other future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of NextEra Energy's and FPL's control. In some cases, you can identify the forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "will," "will likely result," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "seek," "aim," "potential," "projection," "forecast," "predict," "goals," "target," "outlook," "should," "would" or similar words or expressions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance. The future results of NextEra Energy and FPL are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause their actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: effects of extensive regulation of business operations; inability to recover, in a timely manner, certain costs, a return on certain assets, or an appropriate return on capital from customers through regulated rates and cost recovery clauses; significant compliance costs and exposure to substantial monetary penalties and other sanctions as a result of federal regulatory compliance and proceedings; impact of increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity; risks associated with legislative and regulatory initiatives; capital expenditures, increased cost of operations and exposure to liabilities attributable to environmental laws and regulations; potential effects of federal or state laws or regulations mandating new or additional limits on the production of GHG emissions; risks of fines, closure of owned nuclear generation facilities and increased costs and capital expenditures resulting from the construction, operation and maintenance of nuclear generation facilities; failure to proceed with projects under development or inability to complete the construction of (or capital improvements to) generation, transmission, distribution or other facilities on schedule or within budget; risks involved in the operation and maintenance of power generation, transmission and distribution facilities; operating risks associated with the natural gas and oil storage and pipeline infrastructure of NextEra Energy and FPL and the use of such fuels in their generation facilities; development and operating risks affecting NextEra Energy's competitive energy business; dependence of NextEra Energy's competitive energy business on continued public policy support and government support for renewable energy (particularly wind and solar projects); credit and performance risk from customers, counterparties and vendors; risks of slower customer growth and customer usage; risks associated with severe weather and other weather conditions; effects of disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets on the ability of NextEra Energy and FPL to fund their liquidity and capital needs and to meet their growth objectives; financial and operating risks associated with the inability of NextEra Energy, FPL and NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc. to maintain their current credit ratings and with the inability of their credit providers to maintain their current credit ratings or to fund their credit commitments; risks in the use of derivative contracts by NextEra Energy and FPL to manage their commodity and financial market risks, and the impact of any regulation of such derivative instruments traded in the OTC markets; effect of increased competition for acquisitions on NextEra Energy's ability successfully to identify, complete and integrate acquired businesses; inability of subsidiaries to upstream dividends or repay funds or of NextEra Energy to perform under guarantees of subsidiary obligations; effects of changes in tax laws and in judgments and estimates used to determine tax-related asset and liability amounts; risk of compromise of sensitive customer data; impact of any failure in the operational systems or infrastructure of NextEra Energy or FPL or of third parties; operating and financial effects of terrorist acts and threats and catastrophic events; availability of adequate insurance coverage for protection against significant losses; service and productivity impacts of the lack of a qualified work force, work strikes and stoppages, and increasing personnel costs; investment performance of NextEra Energy's and FPL's nuclear decommissioning trust funds and defined benefit pension plan; increasing costs associated with health care plans; and changes in market value and other risks associated with certain of NextEra Energy's and FPL's investments. NextEra Energy and FPL discuss these and other risks and uncertainties in their annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and other SEC filings, and this press release should be read in conjunction with such SEC filings made through the date of this press release. The forward-looking statements made in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release and NextEra Energy and FPL undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

SOURCE NextEra Energy, Inc.