PPL Corporation Reports Strong 2012 Earnings, Increases Common Stock Dividend

ALLENTOWN, Pa., Feb. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) announced on Thursday (2/14) strong 2012 earnings that exceeded forecast ranges, a 2013 earnings forecast range of $2.25 to $2.50 per share, and an increase in its quarterly common stock dividend — the 11th such increase in the past 12 years.

PPL's 2012 reported earnings were $1.526 billion, or $2.60 per share, compared with $1.495 billion, or $2.70 per share in 2011. Per share earnings in 2012 include dilution of $0.14 per share because of common stock issued in April 2011 to fund the acquisition of the Midlands businesses in the United Kingdom.

Adjusting for special items, PPL's earnings from ongoing operations were $1.417 billion, or $2.42 per share, in 2012 compared with $1.509 billion, or $2.73 per share, in 2011.

The increase in the quarterly common stock dividend to $0.3675 per share is payable April 1, 2013, to shareowners of record as of March 8, 2013.  On an annualized basis, the dividend is $1.47 per share, up from $1.44 per share. PPL has increased its dividend in 11 of the last 12 years; the new dividend rate reflects a 177 percent increase over that 12-year period.

"Given the significant challenges of 2012, we are very pleased with the earnings we are announcing today, which exceed our forecast ranges," said William H. Spence, PPL's chairman, president and chief executive officer. PPL's forecast ranges for 2012 were $2.37 to $2.47 per share for reported earnings and $2.30 to $2.40 per share for earnings from ongoing operations.

"Our strong earnings — and steadily increasing dividends — deliver significant value to shareowners. Our 2012 performance also demonstrates our ability to meet the commitments we made regarding the major acquisitions in Kentucky and the United Kingdom, and reflects the persistent efforts of PPL people to manage through the challenges of the competitive wholesale power market," Spence said.

PPL's reported earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $359 million, or $0.60 per share, compared with $454 million, or $0.78 per share in the fourth quarter of 2011. Adjusting for special items, fourth quarter earnings from ongoing operations were $292 million, or $0.49 per share, compared with $410 million, or $0.71 per share in the fourth quarter of 2011.

PPL also announced its 2013 earnings forecast range of $2.25 to $2.50 per share, with a midpoint of $2.37 per share. PPL is projecting that its rate-regulated businesses will account for 85 percent of 2013 earnings, compared with 72 percent of ongoing earnings in 2012 and 58 percent of ongoing earnings in 2011.

"The 2013 earnings forecast reflects increased revenue from our three regulated businesses and lower energy margins for our supply business resulting largely from the roll-off of higher-priced hedges," Spence said.

PPL's 2013 earnings forecast also includes an additional scheduled outage at the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania that accelerates PPL's plan to address turbine blade issues that have affected both Susquehanna units.

"While the additional scheduled Susquehanna outage impacts projected 2013 earnings by about 5 cents per share, implementing a long-term solution sooner than previously planned reduces future risk and minimizes the overall financial effect on PPL," Spence said.

2012 Earnings Details

PPL's 2012 reported earnings include net special item credits of $109 million, or $0.18 per share, compared with net special item charges of $14 million, or $0.03 per share, in 2011.

The special item credits for 2012 include $0.13 per share to adjust a U.K. liability related to line losses, $0.13 per share for a reduction in the U.K. corporate income tax rate, and $0.07 per share for adjusted energy-related economic activity. These special item credits were partially offset by special item charges that include $0.06 per share for foreign currency-related economic hedges, $0.03 per share for coal contract modification payments and $0.03 per share for an impairment of an equity method investment in the Kentucky Regulated segment.

Reported earnings are calculated in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Earnings from ongoing operations, a non-GAAP financial measure, are adjusted for special items that include the impact of adjusted energy-related economic activity (principally changes in fair value of economic hedges and the ineffective portion of qualifying cash flow hedges), acquisition-related adjustments, and other impacts fully detailed at the end of this news release. 

Fourth Quarter 2012 Earnings Details

PPL's reported earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012 include net special item credits of $0.11 per share. The special item credits include $0.13 per share to adjust a U.K. liability related to line losses and $0.02 per share for adjusted energy-related economic activity. The credits were partially offset by special item charges including $0.03 per share for an impairment of an equity method investment in the Kentucky Regulated segment and $0.01 per share for foreign currency-related economic hedges.

 (Dollars in millions, except for per share amounts)

(See the tables at the end of the news release for details as to the reconciliation of earnings from ongoing operations to reported earnings.)

Annual and Fourth-Quarter 2012 Earnings by Segment

The following chart shows PPL's earnings by segment for 2012 and the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with the same periods of 2011.

(For more details and a breakout of special items by segment, see the reconciliation tables at the end of this news release.)

Key Factors Impacting Segment Earnings from Ongoing Operations

Kentucky Regulated Segment

PPL's Kentucky Regulated segment primarily consists of the regulated electricity and natural gas operations of Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company.

Segment earnings from ongoing operations decreased in 2012 by $0.07 per share compared to a year ago primarily due to higher operation and maintenance expense, higher depreciation, higher property taxes, losses from an equity method investment and dilution of $0.02 per share, partially offset by lower income taxes. 

Segment earnings from ongoing operations in the fourth quarter of 2012 increased by $0.02 per share compared with the fourth quarter of 2011 primarily due to higher retail margins as a result of returns on new environmental investments, increased residential sales due to customer growth, and more seasonable weather than in 2011.

U.K. Regulated Segment

PPL's U.K. Regulated segment consists of the regulated electricity delivery operations of Western Power Distribution, serving Southwest and Central England and South Wales.

Segment earnings from ongoing operations in 2012 increased by $0.32 per share compared to a year ago primarily due to four additional months of earnings from the WPD Midlands businesses, higher delivery revenue and lower U.K. income taxes, partially offset by higher U.S. income taxes, higher depreciation, a less favorable currency exchange rate, and dilution of $0.07 per share.

Segment earnings from ongoing operations in the fourth quarter of 2012 increased by $0.01 per share compared with the fourth quarter of 2011 primarily due to higher delivery revenue, partially offset by higher operation and maintenance expense and higher income taxes.

Pennsylvania Regulated Segment

PPL's Pennsylvania Regulated segment consists of the regulated electricity delivery operations of PPL Electric Utilities.

Segment earnings from ongoing operations in 2012 decreased by $0.09 per share compared to a year ago primarily due to higher operation and maintenance expense, higher income and non-income taxes, lower distribution margins as a result of mild weather early in the year, higher depreciation and dilution of $0.01 per share, partially offset by higher transmission revenue and lower financing costs due to the redemption of $250 million of preferred securities.

Segment earnings from ongoing operations in the fourth quarter of 2012 decreased by $0.05 per share compared with the fourth quarter of 2011 primarily due to higher operation and maintenance expense and higher income and non-income taxes, partially offset by higher transmission revenue, higher distribution margins due to colder weather and lower financing costs.

Supply Segment

PPL's Supply segment consists primarily of the competitive electricity generation and energy marketing operations of PPL Energy Supply.

Segment earnings from ongoing operations in 2012 decreased by $0.47 per share compared to a year ago primarily due to lower Eastern energy margins resulting from lower baseload energy and capacity prices, lower Western energy margins resulting from an early 2012 contract termination related to the bankruptcy of a large customer, higher operation and maintenance expense, higher depreciation, higher income taxes, higher financing costs and dilution of $0.04 per share. 

Segment earnings from ongoing operations in the fourth quarter of 2012 decreased by $0.20 per share compared with the fourth quarter of 2011 primarily due to lower nuclear and fossil-fuel generation output in the East, lower Western energy margins, higher operation and maintenance expense, higher income taxes and higher depreciation, partially offset by higher capacity prices.

2013 Earnings Forecast by Segment

In the fourth quarter of 2012, PPL adopted a new consolidated financing strategy that, beginning in 2013, will change the presentation of operating results for purposes of assessing performance by PPL management. The segments will continue to be Kentucky Regulated, U.K. Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated and Supply; however, certain corporate-level financing and other costs will not be allocated or assigned to segments, but rather will be presented in a separate category, Corporate and Other, to reconcile segment results to PPL's consolidated results. Non-financing costs to be presented in this category are not expected to be significant.

PPL's recent growth in rate-regulated businesses provides the organization with an enhanced corporate level financing alternative, PPL Capital Funding, Inc. (Cap Funding), that further enables PPL to support targeted credit profiles cost effectively across all of PPL's rated companies. As a result, PPL plans to further utilize Cap Funding in addition to continued direct financing by the operating companies, as appropriate. 

Cap Funding participated significantly in the financing for the acquisitions of LKE and WPD Midlands. The associated financing costs, as well as the financing costs associated with prior issuances of certain other Cap Funding securities, are and will continue to be assigned to the appropriate segments. The financing costs associated with Cap Funding's $400 million of 3.5% Senior Notes issued in October 2012, as well as future securities issuances at Cap Funding, are not expected to be directly assignable or allocable to any segment and will be reflected in Corporate and Other beginning in 2013.     

  

PPL expects lower earnings in 2013 compared with 2012, primarily due to lower energy margins in the Supply segment, partially offset by higher earnings in PPL's three regulated segments.  These projected earnings also reflect dilution of $0.11 per share associated with 2013 common stock issuances related to PPL's 2010 Equity Units and April 2012 forward stock sale.   

Kentucky Regulated Segment

PPL projects higher segment earnings in 2013 compared with 2012, primarily driven by electric and gas base rate increases effective January 1, 2013, returns on additional environmental capital investments and retail load growth, partially offset by higher operation and maintenance expense. Dilution for 2013 is expected to be $0.02 per share.

U.K. Regulated Segment

PPL projects higher segment earnings in 2013 compared with 2012, primarily driven by higher electricity delivery revenue and lower income taxes, partially offset by higher operation and maintenance expense, higher depreciation and higher interest expense. Dilution for 2013 is expected to be $0.06 per share.  

Pennsylvania Regulated Segment

PPL projects higher segment earnings in 2013 compared with 2012, primarily driven by higher distribution revenues from a distribution base rate increase effective January 1, 2013, and higher transmission margins, partially offset by higher depreciation. Dilution for 2013 is expected to be $0.01 per share.

Supply Segment

PPL projects lower segment earnings in 2013 compared with 2012 primarily driven by lower energy prices, higher fuel costs, higher operation and maintenance expense, higher depreciation and higher financing costs, which are partially offset by higher capacity prices and higher nuclear generation output despite scheduled outages for both Susquehanna units to implement a long-term solution to turbine blade issues. Dilution for 2013 is expected to be $0.02 per share.

Corporate and Other

This category primarily includes unallocated corporate-level financing and other costs.

PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), with annual revenue of more than $12 billion, is one of the largest companies in the U.S. utility sector. The PPL family of companies delivers electricity and natural gas to about 10 million customers in the United States and the United Kingdom, owns more than 18,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and sells energy in key U.S. markets. More information is available at www.pplweb.com.

(Note: All references to earnings per share in the text and tables of this news release are stated in terms of diluted earnings per share.)

Conference Call and Webcast

PPL invites interested parties to listen to a live Internet webcast of management's teleconference with financial analysts about annual and fourth quarter 2012 financial results at 9 a.m. (Eastern Time) Thursday, February 14. The meeting is available online live, in audio format, along with slides of the presentation, on PPL's website: www.pplweb.com. The webcast will be available for replay on the PPL website for 30 days. Interested individuals also can access the live conference call via telephone at 702-696-4769 (ID#97396937).

"Earnings from ongoing operations" should not be considered as an alternative to reported earnings, or net income attributable to PPL, which is an indicator of operating performance determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). PPL believes that "earnings from ongoing operations," although a non-GAAP financial measure, is also useful and meaningful to investors because it provides management's view of PPL's fundamental earnings performance as another criterion in making investment decisions. PPL's management also uses "earnings from ongoing operations" in measuring certain corporate performance goals. Other companies may use different measures to present financial performance.

"Earnings from ongoing operations" is adjusted for the impact of special items. Special items include:

• Adjusted energy-related economic activity (as discussed below).
• Foreign currency-related economic hedges.
• Gains and losses on sales of assets not in the ordinary course of business.
• Impairment charges (including impairments of securities in the company's nuclear decommissioning trust funds).
• Workforce reduction and other restructuring impacts.
• Acquisition-related adjustments.
• Other charges or credits that are, in management's view, not reflective of the company's ongoing operations.

Adjusted energy-related economic activity includes the changes in fair value of positions used economically to hedge a portion of the economic value of PPL's generation assets, full-requirement sales contracts and retail activities. This economic value is subject to changes in fair value due to market price volatility of the input and output commodities (e.g., fuel and power) prior to the delivery period that was hedged. Also included in adjusted energy-related economic activity is the ineffective portion of qualifying cash flow hedges, the monetization of certain full-requirement sales contracts and premium amortization associated with options. This economic activity is deferred, with the exception of the full-requirement sales contracts that were monetized, and included in earnings from ongoing operations over the delivery period of the item that was hedged or upon realization. Management believes that adjusting for such amounts provides a better matching of earnings from ongoing operations to the actual amounts settled for PPL's underlying hedged assets. Please refer to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A in PPL Corporation's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information on adjusted energy-related economic activity.

Statements contained in this news release, including statements with respect to future earnings, cash flows, financing, regulation and corporate strategy, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although PPL Corporation believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the statements. The following are among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: market demand and prices for energy, capacity and fuel; weather conditions affecting customer energy usage and operating costs; competition in power markets; the effect of any business or industry restructuring; the profitability and liquidity of PPL Corporation and its subsidiaries; new accounting requirements or new interpretations or applications of existing requirements; operating performance of plants and other facilities; the length of scheduled and unscheduled outages at our plants; environmental conditions and requirements and the related costs of compliance, including environmental capital expenditures and emission allowance and other expenses; system conditions and operating costs; development of new projects, markets and technologies; performance of new ventures; asset or business acquisitions and dispositions, and PPL Corporation's ability to realize the expected benefits from acquired businesses, including the 2010 acquisition of Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company and the 2011 acquisition of the Central Networks electricity distribution businesses in the U.K.; any impact of hurricanes or other severe weather on our business, including any impact on fuel prices; receipt of necessary government permits, approvals, rate relief and regulatory cost recovery; capital market conditions and decisions regarding capital structure; the impact of state, federal or foreign investigations applicable to PPL Corporation and its subsidiaries; the outcome of litigation against PPL Corporation and its subsidiaries; stock price performance; the market prices of equity securities and the impact on pension income and resultant cash funding requirements for defined benefit pension plans; the securities and credit ratings of PPL Corporation and its subsidiaries; political, regulatory or economic conditions in states, regions or countries where PPL Corporation or its subsidiaries conduct business, including any potential effects of threatened or actual terrorism or war or other hostilities; foreign exchange rates; new state, federal or foreign legislation, including new tax legislation; and the commitments and liabilities of PPL Corporation and its subsidiaries. Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such important factors and in conjunction with PPL Corporation's Form 10-K and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE PPL Corporation