Spectra Energy Reports Third Quarter 2012 Results

HOUSTON, Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE) reported 2012 third quarter net income from controlling interests of $179 million, or $0.27 diluted EPS, compared with $254 million, $0.39 diluted EPS, in the prior year quarter. Ongoing net income from controlling interests for the 2012 quarter was $179 million, or $0.27 diluted EPS, versus $247 million, $0.38 diluted EPS, in the prior year quarter.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061030/CLM051LOGO )

"Spectra Energy's fee-based businesses continued to generate strong earnings and cash flows, helping to lessen the effects of lower commodity prices," said Greg Ebel, president and chief executive officer, Spectra Energy Corp.

"Industry fundamentals and our commitment to delivering superior total shareholder return remain strong, as underlined by our action to increase the quarterly dividend, effective with the fourth quarter 2012 payment. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our ability to secure and deliver growth for our investors through realizing at least $20 billion in expansion projects by the end of the decade," he said.

BUSINESS EXPANSION UPDATES

Currently, Spectra Energy is executing on $8 billion of expansion projects, and the company is already realizing benefits from projects going into service.  In the U.S., the Philadelphia Lateral and TEAM 2012 projects are now in service and generating revenues.  Additionally, the NJ-NY Expansion kicked off construction in the third quarter and is on track to enter service in late 2013. 

In Western Canada, the T-North 2012 Project is slated for a fourth quarter 2012 in-service, and construction of the Fort Nelson North plant will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2012, with the project going into service early next year.    

Spectra Energy also recently announced an agreement in principle to acquire a one-third interest in the Sand Hills and Southern Hills Pipelines, both of which are currently under construction by DCP Midstream LLC (DCP Midstream), a 50/50 joint venture between Spectra Energy and Phillips 66.  The transaction is expected to close by the end of November.  Upon closing, Spectra Energy, Phillips 66, and DCP Midstream each will own a one-third interest in the two natural gas liquids pipelines. 

The company also has made good progress on its $20 billion project backlog.  During the third quarter, Spectra Energy entered an agreement with partners DTE Energy and Enbridge to build the NEXUS project, which will move growing supplies of Ohio Utica shale gas to markets in Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. The agreement also provides Spectra Energy a 20-percent ownership in Vector Pipeline upon completion of the project.  Spectra Energy's AIM project, which will expand capacity of the company's Algonquin system, is in the midst of an open season and is receiving high levels of interest.  And lastly, in Western Canada, Spectra Energy recently announced plans to jointly develop, with BG Group, a new natural gas pipeline from northeast B.C. to BG Group's proposed LNG export facility in Prince Rupert.  This new opportunity will leverage surplus B.C. natural gas supplies and facilitate its export to high-demand international markets. 

SEGMENT RESULTS

U.S. Transmission           

U.S. Transmission reported third quarter 2012 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $238 million, compared with $235 million in third quarter 2011. Quarterly EBIT results reflect increased earnings from expansions and lower operating costs. These benefits were partially offset by lower processing revenues and, as anticipated, lower storage revenues.

Distribution

Distribution reported third quarter 2012 EBIT of $55 million, compared with $50 million in third quarter 2011 mainly due to higher short-term transportation revenues.

Western Canada Transmission & Processing

Western Canada Transmission & Processing reported third quarter 2012 EBIT of $83 million, compared with $119 million in third quarter 2011.  This $36 million decrease in EBIT was driven by a $43 million reduction at the Empress natural gas liquids business, attributable to lower NGL prices.  These results were partially offset by improved results in the gathering and processing business, driven by higher contracted volumes from expansions in the Horn River and Montney areas of British Columbia.

Field Services

Field Services reported third quarter 2012 EBIT of $62 million, compared with $134 million in third quarter 2011. This $72 million decrease in EBIT was driven by an approximately $90 million reduction due to lower natural gas liquids and natural gas prices. Also reducing EBIT were higher planned repairs and maintenance costs as a result of asset growth. Partially offsetting these reductions were gains associated with unit issuances by DCP Midstream's master limited partnership and a reduction in depreciation expense, as previously reported.

During the third quarters of 2012 and 2011, respectively, NGL prices averaged $0.72 per gallon versus $1.24 per gallon, NYMEX natural gas averaged $2.81 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) versus $4.19 per MMBtu, and crude oil averaged approximately $92 per barrel versus approximately $90 per barrel.

DCP Midstream paid distributions of $25 million to Spectra Energy in third quarter 2012.

Other

"Other" reported net costs of $29 million and $23 million in the third quarter 2012 and 2011, respectively.  Other is comprised primarily of corporate costs, including benefits and captive insurance.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $159 million for third quarter 2012, compared with $157 million for third quarter 2011. 

Income Taxes

Third quarter 2012 income tax expense from continuing operations was $72 million, compared with $108 million reported in the third quarter of 2011.  The lower tax expense was driven by lower earnings and a lower Canadian effective tax rate.  The effective tax rate was 26 percent in the third quarter of 2012, compared with 28 percent in the third quarter of 2011.

Additional Information

Additional information about third quarter 2012 earnings can be obtained via the Spectra Energy Web site: www.spectraenergy.com.

The analyst call is scheduled for today, Thursday, November 1, 2012, at 8:00 a.m. CT. The webcast can be accessed via the Investors Section of Spectra Energy's Web site or the conference call can be accessed by dialing (888) 252-3715 in the United States or Canada, or (706) 634-8942 for International. The conference code is "40011318" or "Spectra Energy Quarterly Earnings Call."

Please call five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time. A replay of the call will be available until 5:00 p.m. CT, February 1, 2013, by dialing (855) 859-2056.  The international replay number is (706) 634-8942, with above conference ID. A replay and transcript also will be available by accessing the Investors Section of the company's Web site.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use ongoing net income from controlling interests and ongoing diluted EPS as measures to evaluate operations of the company.  These measures are non-GAAP financial measures as they represent net income from controlling interests and diluted EPS, adjusted for special items and discontinued operations. Special items represent certain charges and credits which we believe will not be recurring on a regular basis, and discontinued operations do not represent our ongoing core business. We believe that the presentation of ongoing net income and ongoing diluted EPS provide useful information to investors, as it allows them to more accurately compare our ongoing performance across periods.

The primary performance measure used by us to evaluate segment performance is segment EBIT from continuing operations, which at the segment level represents earnings from continuing operations (both operating and non-operating) before interest and taxes, net of noncontrolling interests related to those earnings. We consider segment EBIT, which is the GAAP measure used to report segment results, to be a good indicator of each segment's operating performance from its continuing operations as it represents the results of our ownership interest in operations without regard to financing methods or capital structures.

We also use ongoing segment EBIT and Other EBIT (net costs) as measures of performance. Ongoing segment and Other EBIT are non-GAAP financial measures as they represent reported segment and Other EBIT adjusted for special items. We believe that the presentation of ongoing segment and Other EBIT provide useful information to investors, as they allow investors to more accurately compare a segment's or Other's ongoing performance across periods. The most directly comparable GAAP measures for ongoing segment or Other EBIT are reported segment or Other EBIT, which represent EBIT from continuing operations, including any special items.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes "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. Forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as: anticipate, believe, intend, estimate, expect, continue, should, could, may, plan, project, predict, will, potential, forecast, and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results predicted.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to: state, federal and foreign legislative and regulatory initiatives that affect cost and investment recovery, have an effect on rate structure, and affect the speed at and degree to which competition enters the natural gas industries; outcomes of litigation and regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries; weather and other natural phenomena, including the economic, operational and other effects of hurricanes and storms; the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; general economic conditions, including the risk of a prolonged economic slowdown or decline, or the risk of delay in a recovery, which can affect the long-term demand for natural gas and related services; potential effects arising from terrorist attacks and any consequential or other hostilities; changes in environmental, safety and other laws and regulations; results and costs of financing efforts, including the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit ratings and general market and economic conditions; increases in the cost of goods and services required to complete capital projects; declines in the market prices of equity and debt securities and resulting funding requirements for defined benefit pension plans; growth in opportunities, including the timing and success of efforts to develop U.S. and Canadian pipeline, storage, gathering, processing and other infrastructure projects and the effects of competition; the performance of natural gas transmission and storage, distribution, and gathering and processing facilities; the extent of success in connecting natural gas supplies to gathering, processing and transmission systems and in connecting to expanding gas markets; the effects of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by accounting standard-setting bodies; conditions of the capital markets during the periods covered by the forward-looking statements; and the ability to successfully complete merger, acquisition or divestiture plans; regulatory or other limitations imposed as a result of a merger, acquisition or divestiture; and the success of the business following a merger, acquisition or divestiture.  These factors, as well as additional factors that could affect our forward-looking statements, are described under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" in our 2011 Form 10-K, filed on February 27, 2012, and in our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available via the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than we have described. All forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE), a FORTUNE 500 company, is one of North America's premier natural gas infrastructure companies serving three key links in the natural gas value chain: gathering and processing, transmission and storage, and distribution. For more than a century, Spectra Energy and its predecessor companies have developed critically important pipelines and related infrastructure connecting natural gas supply sources to premium markets. Based in Houston, Texas, the company's operations in the United States and Canada include more than 19,000 miles of transmission pipeline, approximately 305 billion cubic feet of storage, as well as natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas liquids and local distribution operations. The company also has a 50 percent ownership in DCP Midstream, one of the largest natural gas gatherers and processors in the United States. Spectra Energy is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes and the Carbon Disclosure Project's Global 500 and S&P 500 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Indexes. For more information, visit www.spectraenergy.com.

SOURCE Spectra Energy Corp

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED