Wisconsin Energy announces plan to increase dividend by 8.3%

MILWAUKEE, Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Wisconsin Energy Corporation WEC today announced that it is planning to raise the quarterly dividend to 42.25 cents a share on the company's common stock in the first quarter of 2015. This would represent an increase of 3.25 cents a share over the current quarterly rate. 

The directors expect to declare the new dividend at their regularly scheduled meeting in January. The dividend – which would be equivalent to an annual rate of $1.69 a share – is expected to be payable March 1, 2015, to stockholders of record on Feb. 13, 2015.

"For the long term, we're targeting a dividend payout ratio of 65 to 70 percent of earnings as we strive to make our dividend policy more competitive with our peers across the utility industry," said Gale Klappa, chairman and chief executive officer. "The board's plan for 2015 marks another important step toward that goal."

The company also reaffirmed that it expects 2014 adjusted earnings to be in a range of $2.60 to $2.64 a share. This guidance excludes an estimated 5 cents a share of legal, professional, and banking fees related to the acquisition of Integrys Energy Group TEG.

Wisconsin Energy Corporation WEC, based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation's premier energy companies, serving more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula and 1.1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin.  The company's principal utility is We Energies.  The company's other major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants.

Wisconsin Energy (wisconsinenergy.com), a component of the S&P 500, has nearly $15 billion of assets, 4,300 employees and approximately 40,000 stockholders of record.

Non-GAAP Earnings Measures
Expected earnings, adjusted to reflect estimated costs of the company's acquisition of Integrys (non-GAAP earnings), excludes nonoperational items that are not associated with the company's ongoing operations, are provided as a complement to, and should not be considered as an alternative to, reported earnings that will be presented in accordance with GAAP.  The excluded items are not indicative of the company's operating performance.  Therefore, we believe that the presentation of the company's expected adjusted earnings is relevant and useful to investors to understand Wisconsin Energy's expected operating performance.  Management uses such measures internally to evaluate the company's performance and manage its operations.

Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are "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.  These statements are based upon management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the statements.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements.  Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning management's expectations and projections regarding earnings, dividend payments and other matters.  In some cases, forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "guidance," "intends," "may," "objectives," "plans" "possible," "potential," "projects," "should" or similar terms or variations of these terms.

Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements.  In addition to the assumptions and other factors referred to specifically in connection with these statements, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions, including business and competitive conditions in the company's service territories; continued industry consolidation; varying weather conditions; availability of electric generating and distribution facilities and natural gas distribution facilities; unanticipated changes in purchased power costs; unanticipated changes in coal or natural gas prices and supply and transportation availability; the ability to recover fuel and purchased power costs; nonperformance by purchased power or natural gas suppliers under existing contracts; environmental incidents; key personnel changes; inflation rates; customer growth and declines; energy conservation efforts; timing, resolution and impact of rate cases and other regulatory decisions; cyber-security threats; construction risks; changes in the interpretation or enforcement of permit conditions by permitting agencies; restrictions imposed by financing arrangements and regulatory requirements on the ability of the company's subsidiaries to transfer funds to it in the form of cash dividends, loans or advances; current and future litigation and regulatory investigations; the company's ability to continue to mitigate the impact of Michigan customers switching to an alternative electric supplier; the impact of recent and future federal, state and local legislative and regulatory changes; equity and bond market fluctuations that may affect the availability and cost of capital; the investment performance of the company's pension and other post-retirement benefit trusts; the financial performance of the American Transmission Company; foreign, governmental, economic, political and currency risks; and other factors described under the heading "Factors Affecting Results, Liquidity and Capital Resources" in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and under the headings "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" contained in the company's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2013 and in subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Wisconsin Energy Corporation