Alliant Energy Announces Third Quarter 2013 Results, 2014 Earnings Guidance And Increased Annual Common Stock Dividend Target For 2014

MADISON, Wis., Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliant Energy Corporation LNT today announced third quarter consolidated unaudited earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations as follows:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20020405/LNTLOGO)

"We have delivered results in accordance with our plan, which included improvements in safety, reliability and customer service while controlling customer rates.  As a result of higher than expected electric and gas sales due to weather, we have increased our consolidated 2013 annual earnings guidance," said Patricia Kampling, Alliant Energy Chairman, President and CEO.

Utilities and Corporate Services - Alliant Energy's Utilities and Alliant Energy Corporate Services, Inc. (Corporate Services) operations generated $1.56 per share of EPS from continuing operations in the third quarter of 2013, which was $0.11 per share higher than the third quarter of 2012.  The quarter-over-quarter increase in earnings was primarily due to lower purchased power capacity costs related to the Riverside Energy Center (Riverside), which Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL) purchased on December 31, 2012, and lower income tax expense at IPL.  The higher earnings were partially offset by lower quarter-over-quarter electric sales attributed to weather and higher depreciation expense primarily resulting from the purchase of Riverside.

Non-regulated and Parent - Alliant Energy's non-regulated and parent operations generated ($0.13) of losses per share from continuing operations in the third quarter of 2013, which was $0.02 per share lower than the third quarter of 2012.  Earnings for Alliant Energy's non-regulated and parent businesses for the third quarters of 2013 and 2012 were negatively impacted by the timing of tax expense at the parent primarily due to IPL's tax benefit riders.  The tax benefit riders are not expected to impact full year 2013 earnings.  Anticipated losses related to the Franklin County wind project in the third quarter of 2013 contributed to lower quarter-over-quarter earnings.

Details regarding EPS from continuing operations variances between the third quarters of 2013 and 2012 for Alliant Energy's operations are as follows:

Estimated weather impact on electric sales - The impact of the weather on Alliant Energy's electric sales in the third quarter of 2013, compared to normal weather, was estimated to be a $0.07 per share increase in electric margin.  By comparison, the net impact of the unseasonably warm weather on Alliant Energy's electric sales in the third quarter of 2012 was estimated to be a $0.20 per share increase in electric margin.

Revenue requirement adjustment related to tax benefits at IPL - In February 2013, the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) issued an order allowing IPL to recognize a revenue requirement adjustment related to certain tax benefits from tax accounting method changes.  In the third quarter of 2013, the revenue requirement adjustment resulted in increased earnings of $0.03 per share.

Electric and gas tax benefit riders - In 2011 and 2012, IPL received rate orders from the IUB authorizing IPL to implement its proposed electric and gas tax benefit riders, respectively, which utilize income tax benefits from certain tax initiatives to provide retail electric and gas customers in Iowa credits on their bills and have no annual earnings impact.  These credits on customers' electric bills reduced IPL's electric revenues by $83 million during 2012.  Credits on customers' electric and gas bills are expected to reduce IPL's electric and gas revenues by approximately $53 million and $12 million, respectively, during calendar year 2013.  Due to timing of the tax credits, the tax benefit riders result in quarter-over-quarter variation in EPS at IPL as well as the Parent.  The credit on customer bills is based on kilowatt-hour usage (electric) and a monthly distribution charge (gas), which are fairly consistent throughout the year.  However, the offsetting tax benefits are recorded as a percentage of expected earnings for IPL and for Alliant Energy each quarter, which fluctuate significantly causing the quarter-over-quarter variation.  The following table shows the quarterly impacts of the tax benefit riders on EPS at IPL and the Parent for 2013 and 2012:

 

2013 Revised Earnings Guidance

Primarily due to higher than expected electric and gas sales caused by weather during the first three quarters, Alliant Energy is increasing its 2013 consolidated earnings per share guidance as follows:

Additional drivers for Alliant Energy's 2013 revised earnings guidance include, but are not limited to:

• Stable economy and resulting implications on utility sales
• Normal weather and operating conditions in its utility service territories for the remainder of the year
• Continuing cost controls and operational efficiencies
• Execution of IPL's and WPL's capital expenditure plans
• Consolidated effective tax rate of 12%

The 2013 earnings guidance does not include the impacts of any non-cash valuation adjustments, regulatory-related charges or credits, reorganizations or restructurings, discontinued operations, future changes in laws or regulations, charges related to preferred stock redemptions, adjustments made to deferred tax assets and liabilities from valuation allowances and organizational structure changes, pending lawsuits and disputes, federal and state income tax audits and other Internal Revenue Service proceedings or changes in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and tax methods of accounting that may impact the reported results of Alliant Energy.

2014 Earnings Guidance

Alliant Energy is issuing the following earnings per share guidance for 2014:

Drivers for Alliant Energy's 2014 earnings guidance include, but are not limited to:

• Appropriate regulatory outcomes to allow IPL the ability to earn its authorized rate of return
• Ability of WPL to earn its authorized rate of return
• Stable economy and resulting implications on utility sales
• Normal weather and operating conditions in its utility service territories
• Continuing cost controls and operational efficiencies
• Execution of IPL's and WPL's capital expenditure plans
• Consolidated effective tax rate of 20%

The 2014 earnings guidance does not include the impacts of any non-cash valuation adjustments, regulatory-related charges or credits, reorganizations or restructurings, discontinued operations, future changes in laws or regulations, adjustments made to deferred tax assets and liabilities from valuation allowances and organizational structure changes, pending lawsuits and disputes, federal and state income tax audits and other Internal Revenue Service proceedings or changes in GAAP and tax methods of accounting that may impact the reported results of Alliant Energy.

"In 2014, we expect to see the earnings benefit of increasing IPL and WPL rate base and AFUDC resulting from utility investments," said Kampling.  "These increased earnings are expected to have little impact on base rates charged to customers since they are offset by lower purchased power capacity expense and lower pension expense."

2014 Annual Common Stock Dividend Target

Alliant Energy's Board of Directors approved a $0.16 per share increase in its 2014 expected annual common stock dividend target to $2.04 per share from the current annual common stock dividend target of $1.88 per share.  Payment of the 2014 quarterly dividends is subject to the actual dividend declaration by the Board of Directors, which is expected in January 2014 for the first quarter dividend.

Projected Capital Expenditures

Alliant Energy has updated its projected capital expenditures for 2013 through 2017 as follows (in millions):

Earnings Conference Call

A conference call to review the third quarter of 2013 results, updated 2013 earnings guidance, 2014 earnings guidance, 2014 annual common stock dividend target, and projected capital expenditures is scheduled for Thursday, November 7th at 9:00 a.m. central time.  Alliant Energy Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Patricia Kampling and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Tom Hanson will host the call.  The conference call is open to the public and can be accessed in two ways.  Interested parties may listen to the call by dialing 888-221-9591 (United States or Canada) or 913-312-1434 (International), passcode 8244179.  Interested parties may also listen to a webcast at www.alliantenergy.com/investors.  In conjunction with the information in this earnings announcement and the conference call, Alliant Energy posted supplemental materials on its website.  A replay of the call will be available through November 14, 2013, at 888-203-1112 (United States or Canada) or 719-457-0820 (International), passcode 8244179.  An archive of the webcast will be available on the Company's Web site at www.alliantenergy.com/investors for 12 months.

Alliant Energy is the parent company of two public utility companies - Interstate Power and Light Company and Wisconsin Power and Light Company - and of Alliant Energy Resources, LLC, the parent company of Alliant Energy's non-regulated operations.  Alliant Energy is an energy-services provider with utility subsidiaries serving approximately 1 million electric and 415,000 natural gas customers.  Providing its customers in the Midwest with regulated electricity and natural gas service is the Company's primary focus.  Alliant Energy, headquartered in Madison, Wis., is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNT.  For more information, visit the Company's Web site at www.alliantenergy.com

This press release includes forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements can be identified as such because the statements include words such as "expect," "anticipate," "plan," or other words of similar import.  Similarly, statements that describe future financial performance or plans or strategies are forward-looking statements.  Such forward looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements.  Actual results could be materially affected by the following factors, among others:

• federal and state regulatory or governmental actions, including the impact of energy, tax, financial and health care legislation, and of regulatory agency orders;
• IPL's and WPL's ability to obtain adequate and timely rate relief to allow for, among other things, the recovery of operating costs, fuel costs, transmission costs, deferred expenditures, capital expenditures, and remaining costs related to generating units that may be permanently closed, earning their authorized rates of return, and the payments to their parent of expected levels of dividends;
• the ability to continue cost controls and operational efficiencies;
• the impact of WPL's retail electric and gas base rate freeze in Wisconsin through 2014;
• weather effects on results of utility operations including impacts of temperature changes in IPL's and WPL's service territories on customers' demand for electricity and gas;
• the impact of the economy in IPL's and WPL's service territories and the resulting impacts on sales volumes, margins and the ability to collect unpaid bills;
• the impact of energy efficiency, franchise retention and customer owned generation on sales volumes and margins;
• developments that adversely impact Alliant Energy's, IPL's and WPL's ability to implement their strategic plan, including unanticipated issues with new emission controls equipment for various coal-fired electric generating facilities of IPL and WPL, IPL's construction of its proposed natural gas-fired electric generating facility in Iowa, IPL's and WPL's transmission upgrade projects, WPL's potential generation investment, Alliant Energy Resources, LLC's selling price of the electricity output from its 100 megawatt Franklin County wind project, the potential decommissioning of certain generating facilities of IPL and WPL, and the pending sales of IPL's electric and gas distribution assets in Minnesota;
• issues related to the availability of generating facilities and the supply and delivery of fuel and purchased electricity and the price thereof, including the ability to recover and to retain the recovery of purchased power, fuel and fuel-related costs through rates in a timely manner;
• the impact that price changes may have on IPL's and WPL's customers' demand for utility services;
• issues associated with environmental remediation and environmental compliance, including compliance with the Consent Decree between WPL, the Sierra Club and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), future changes in environmental laws and regulations and litigation associated with environmental requirements;
• the ability to defend against environmental claims brought by state and federal agencies, such as the EPA, or third parties, such as the Sierra Club;
• the ability to recover through rates all environmental compliance and remediation costs, including costs for projects put on hold due to uncertainty of future environmental laws and regulations;
• the direct or indirect effects resulting from terrorist incidents, including physical attacks and cyber attacks, or responses to such incidents;
• the impact of penalties or third-party claims related to, or in connection with, a failure to maintain the security of personally identifiable information, including associated costs to notify affected persons and to mitigate their information security concerns;
• impacts of future tax benefits from deductions for repairs expenditures and mixed service costs and temporary differences from historical tax benefits from such deductions that are included in rates when the differences reverse in future periods;
• any material post-closing adjustments related to any past asset divestitures, including the sale of RMT, Inc.;
• continued access to the capital markets on competitive terms and rates, and the actions of credit rating agencies;
• inflation and interest rates;
• changes to the creditworthiness of counterparties with which Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL have contractual arrangements, including participants in the energy markets and fuel suppliers and transporters;
• issues related to electric transmission, including operating in Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) energy and ancillary services markets, the impacts of potential future billing adjustments and cost allocation changes from RTOs and recovery of costs incurred;
• unplanned outages, transmission constraints or operational issues impacting fossil or renewable generating facilities and risks related to recovery of resulting incremental costs through rates;
• any liabilities arising out of the alleged violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by the Alliant Energy Cash Balance Pension Plan and Alliant Energy's ability to successfully pursue appropriate appeals with respect to any such liability;
• current or future litigation, regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries;
• Alliant Energy's ability to sustain its dividend payout ratio goal;
• employee workforce factors, including changes in key executives, collective bargaining agreements and negotiations, work stoppages or restructurings;
• impacts that storms or natural disasters in IPL's and WPL's service territories, including floods, droughts and forest or prairie fires, may have on their operations and recovery of, and rate relief for, costs associated with restoration activities;
• the impact of distributed generation, including alternative electric suppliers, in IPL's and WPL's service territories on system reliability, operating expenses and customers' demand for electricity;
• access to technological developments;
• material changes in retirement and benefit plan costs;
• the impact of performance-based compensation plans accruals;
• the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by standard-setting bodies;
• the impact of changes to production tax credits for wind projects;
• the impact of adjustments made to deferred tax assets and liabilities from state apportionment assumptions;
• the ability to utilize tax credits and net operating losses generated to date, and those that may be generated in the future, before they expire;
• the ability to successfully complete tax audits, changes in tax accounting methods, including changes required by new tangible property regulations, and appeals with no material impact on earnings and cash flows; and
• factors listed in the "2013 Earnings Guidance" and "2014 Earnings Guidance" sections of this press release.

Without limitation, the expectations with respect to 2013 and 2014 earnings guidance, 2014 annual common stock dividend target, and 2013 - 2017 capital expenditures guidance in this press release are forward-looking statements and are based in part on certain assumptions made by Alliant Energy, some of which are referred to in the forward-looking statements.  Alliant Energy cannot provide any assurance that the assumptions referred to in the forward-looking statements or otherwise are accurate or will prove to be correct.  Any assumptions that are inaccurate or do not prove to be correct could have a material adverse effect on Alliant Energy's ability to achieve the estimates or other targets included in the forward-looking statements.  The forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date hereof and Alliant Energy undertakes no obligation to update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all "per share" references in this release refer to earnings per diluted share.

 

 

 

 

SOURCE Alliant Energy Corporation