New Jersey Resources Increases Fiscal 2014 Net Financial Earnings Guidance

WALL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

New Jersey Resources NJR today announced an increase in its fiscal 2014 net financial earnings (NFE) guidance to a range of $4.00 to $4.20 per basic share, from the previously announced range of $3.90 to $4.10 per basic share, subject to the risks and uncertainties identified below under “Forward-Looking Statements.”

The increase in guidance is due primarily to continued better-than-anticipated results at NJR Energy Services (NJRES), the company's wholesale provider of physical natural gas services and customized energy solutions, and strong results at its regulated utility, New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG).

“This year we've seen a significant increase in the demand for natural gas in regions affected by extreme weather conditions across the United States,” said Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey Resources. “In this high-demand environment, NJR Energy Services has continued to successfully meet the needs of its diverse customer base, which includes power generators, distribution companies, pipeline companies and industrial customers.”

Fiscal 2014 results at NJNG have been driven by higher utility gross margin from customer additions, incentive programs and regulatory initiatives, as well as the continued impact of accelerated infrastructure investments.

• Third and Fourth Quarter 2014 Net Financial Earnings Guidance

NJR expects NFE per share of between $0.05 and $0.15 in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 and estimates a NFE loss of between $0.50 and $0.60 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The forecasted loss in the fourth quarter is due to the seasonal nature of NJRES and NJNG's businesses and higher discretionary expenses, including the estimated impact of a voluntary early retirement program.

The following chart represents the NFE contributions NJR currently expects from its businesses in fiscal 2014:

Company			Expected Fiscal 2014 Net Financial Earnings Contribution
New Jersey Natural Gas			40 to 50 percent
NJR Midstream			3 to 10 percent
Total Regulated			43 to 60 percent
NJR Energy Services			35 to 45 percent
NJR Clean Energy Ventures			5 to 15 percent
NJR Home Services			2 to 5 percent

The chart below represents NJR's projected NFE contributions from its businesses in fiscal 2015:

Company			Expected Fiscal 2015 Net Financial Earnings Contribution
New Jersey Natural Gas			60 to 70 percent
NJR Midstream			5 to 10 percent
Total Regulated			65 to 80 percent
NJR Energy Services			5 to 15 percent
NJR Clean Energy Ventures			10 to 20 percent
NJR Home Services			2 to 5 percent

NJR will host a live webcast to announce its fiscal 2014 third-quarter earnings on Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 10 a.m. ET. A few minutes prior to the webcast, go to njresources.com and select “Investor Relations.” Scroll down and click “Investor Information” on the left side of the page and select “Events & Presentations” then click on the webcast link.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. NJR cautions readers that the assumptions forming the basis for forward-looking statements include many factors that are beyond NJR's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as estimates of future market conditions and the behavior of other market participants. Words such as “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “may,” “will,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “should” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking information and such forward-looking statements are made based upon management's current expectations and beliefs as of this date concerning future developments and their potential effect upon NJR. There can be no assurance that future developments will be in accordance with management's expectations or that the effect of future developments on NJR will be those anticipated by management. Forward-looking information in this release includes, but is not limited to, certain statements regarding NJR's NFE for fiscal 2014, including the third and fourth fiscal quarters of fiscal 2014, and the forecasted contribution of business segments to fiscal 2014 NFE and fiscal 2015 NFE.

The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from NJR's expectations include, but are not limited to, weather and economic conditions; demographic changes in the NJNG service territory and their effect on NJNG's customer growth; volatility of natural gas and other commodity prices and their impact on NJNG customer usage, NJNG's BGSS incentive programs, NJRES' operations and on the Company's risk management efforts; changes in rating agency requirements and/or credit ratings and their effect on availability and cost of capital to the Company; the impact of volatility in the credit markets on our access to capital; the ability to comply with debt covenants; the impact to the asset values and resulting higher costs and funding obligations of NJR's pension and post employment benefit plans as a result of downturns in the financial markets, a lower discount rate, and impacts associated with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; accounting effects and other risks associated with hedging activities and use of derivatives contracts; commercial and wholesale credit risks, including the availability of creditworthy customers and counterparties and liquidity in the wholesale energy trading market; the ability to obtain governmental approvals and/or financing for the construction, development and operation of certain non-regulated energy investments; risks associated with the management of the Company's joint ventures and partnerships; risks associated with our investments in renewable energy projects and our investments in an onshore wind developer, including the availability of regulatory and tax incentives, logistical risks and potential delays related to construction, permitting, regulatory approvals and electric grid interconnection, the availability of viable projects and NJR's eligibility for ITCs and PTCs, the future market for SRECs and operational risks related to projects in service; timing of qualifying for ITCs due to delays or failures to complete planned renewable energy projects and the resulting effect on our effective tax rate and earnings; regulatory approval of NJNG's planned infrastructure programs; the level and rate at which NJNG's costs and expenses (including those related to restoration efforts resulting from Superstorm Sandy) are incurred and the extent to which they are allowed to be recovered from customers through the regulatory process; access to adequate supplies of natural gas and dependence on third-party storage and transportation facilities for natural gas supply; operating risks incidental to handling, storing, transporting and providing customers with natural gas; risks related to our employee workforce, including a work stoppage; the regulatory and pricing policies of federal and state regulatory agencies; the possible expiration of the NJNG CIP, the costs of compliance with the proposed regulatory framework for over-the-counter derivatives; the costs of compliance with present and future environmental laws, including potential climate change-related legislation; risks related to changes in accounting standards; the disallowance of recovery of environmental-related expenditures and other regulatory changes; environmental-related and other litigation and other uncertainties; risks related to cyber-attack of failure of information technology systems; and the impact of natural disasters, terrorist activities, and other extreme events on our operations and customers, including any impacts to utility gross margin, and restoration costs. The aforementioned factors are detailed in the “Risk Factors” sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on November 26, 2013, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is available on the SEC's website at sec.gov. Information included in this release is representative as of today only and while NJR periodically reassesses material trends and uncertainties affecting NJR's results of operations and financial condition in connection with its preparation of management's discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition contained in its Quarterly and Annual Reports filed with the SEC, NJR does not, by including this statement, assume any obligation to review or revise any particular forward-looking statement referenced herein in light of future events.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

This press release includes the non-GAAP measures NFE and utility gross margin. As an indicator of the company's operating performance, these measures should not be considered alternatives to, or more meaningful than, operating income or gross margin as determined in accordance with GAAP. This information has been provided pursuant to the requirements of SEC Regulation G.

NFE excludes unrealized gains or losses on derivative instruments related to the company's unregulated subsidiaries and certain realized gains and losses on derivative instruments related to natural gas that has been placed into storage at NJRES. Volatility associated with the change in value of these financial and physical commodity contracts is reported in the income statement in the current period. In order to manage its business, NJR views its results without the impacts of the unrealized gains and losses, and certain realized gains and losses, caused by changes in value of these financial instruments and physical commodity contracts prior to the completion of the planned transaction because it shows changes in value currently instead of when the planned transaction ultimately is settled. An annual estimated effective tax rate is calculated for NFE purposes and any necessary quarterly tax adjustment is applied to NJRCEV, as such adjustment is related to tax credits generated by NJRCEV.

NJNG's utility gross margin represents the results of revenues less natural gas costs, sales and other taxes and regulatory rider expenses, which are key components of the company's operations that move in relation to each other. Natural gas costs, sales and other taxes and regulatory rider expenses are passed through to customers and, therefore, have no effect on gross margin. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental measures to other GAAP results to provide a more complete understanding of the company's performance.

Management uses non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental measures to other GAAP results to provide a more complete understanding of the company's performance. Management believes these non-GAAP measures are more reflective of the company's business model, provide transparency to investors and enable period-to-period comparability of financial performance. For a full discussion of NJR's non-GAAP financial measures, please see NJR's most recent Form 10-K, Item 7 and most recent Form 10-Q, Part I, Item 2.

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources NJR is a Fortune 1000 company that provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution and asset management. With annual revenues in excess of $3 billion, NJR is comprised of five key businesses:

• New Jersey Natural Gas is NJR's principal subsidiary that operates and maintains 7,000 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve half a million customers in New Jersey's Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris and Middlesex counties.
• NJR Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar and onshore wind projects with a total capacity in excess of 75 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low-carbon solutions.
• NJR Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural gas services and customized energy solutions to its customers across North America.
• NJR Midstream serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its equity ownership in a natural gas storage facility and a transportation pipeline, both of which are Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC-regulated investments.
• NJR Home Services provides heating, central air conditioning, standby generators, solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential homes and businesses throughout New Jersey and serves approximately 120,000 service contract customers.

NJR and its more than 900 employees are committed to helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency through Conserve to Preserve^® and initiatives such as The SAVEGREEN Project^® and The Sunlight Advantage^®.

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