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Emera Reports Earnings for Q2 2010

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^{Published in Business and Finance on Friday, August 6th 2010 at 10:11 GMT by Market Wire}  

HALIFAX, Aug. 6 /CNW/ - (EMA-TSX): Emera Inc.'s consolidated net earnings were $29.6 million or $0.26 per share in the second quarter of 2010, compared to $38.1 million or $0.34 per share for the same period in 2009. The decrease in quarterly earnings is largely the result of lower earnings in Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI). In the first half of the year, net earnings increased to $110.8 million or $0.98 per share compared to $103.6 million or $0.92 per share for the same period in 2009. This excludes the effect of mark-to-market accounting adjustments in Bear Swamp. These adjustments were immaterial in the quarter.

"The first half of 2010 has been very strong and we are on course to meet our 4 to 6% growth target for the year," said Chris Huskilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Emera Inc. "In the second quarter we acquired 38% of Light and Power Holdings in Barbados and, in July, the shareholders of Maine and Maritimes Corporation voted in favour of the merger agreement with Bangor Hydro Holdings Inc.".

NSPI earnings were $14.9 million in Q2 2010, compared to $22.8 million in Q2 2009. This decrease relates to reduced electric margin and increased operating costs driven by pension expense and investments in customer service initiatives. Consistent with Q1 2010, NSPI has lower income tax expense as a result of tax deductions associated with NSPI's increased renewable investments.

Bangor Hydro Electric contributed $7.0 million to consolidated net earnings in Q2 2010, compared to $5.3 million in Q2 2009. This increase is due primarily to transmission revenue increases and recovery of regionally funded transmission investments.

Emera's Pipelines contributed $8.7 million to consolidated net earnings in Q2 2010, compared to $4.7 million in the same period in 2009. The increase is due to Brunswick Pipeline's service commencement in July 2009.

Emera's other investments earned $2.3 million in the second quarter of 2010, compared to $2.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2009.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward looking information. Actual future results may differ materially. Additional financial and operational information is filed electronically with various securities commissions in Canada through the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR).

Teleconference Call

The company will be hosting a teleconference at 4:00 pm Atlantic time today (3:00 pm Toronto/Montreal/New York; 2:00 pm Winnipeg; 12:00 pm Vancouver) to discuss the Q2 2010 financial results.

Analysts and other interested parties wanting to participate in the call should dial 1-866-225-0198 (in Toronto 416-340-8061) at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. No pass code is required. The teleconference will be recorded. If you are unable to join the teleconference live, you can dial for playback toll-free at 1-800-408-3053 (in Toronto 416-695-5800), access code 2831860# (available until midnight, Friday, August 20, 2010). The teleconference will also be web cast live at [ www.emera.com ] and available for playback for one year.

About Emera

Emera Inc. (EMA-TSX) is an energy and services company with $5.7 billion in assets. Electricity is Emera's core business. Approximately 94% of Emera's revenues are earned by Nova Scotia Power Inc (NSPI), Bangor Hydro Electric Company (BHE) and the Brunswick Pipeline. NSPI and BHE are wholly-owned regulated electric utilities which together serve 603,000 customers. The Brunswick Pipeline is a 145 km gas pipeline in New Brunswick. Emera also owns 38% of Barbados Light and Power which serves 120,000 customers on the Caribbean island of Barbados, 19% of St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited, which serves more than 50,000 customers on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia and 25% of Grand Bahama Power Company which serves 19,000 customers on the Caribbean island of Grand Bahama. In addition to its electric utility investments, Emera owns Bayside Power, a 260 MW gas-fired power plant in Saint John, New Brunswick; Emera Energy Services, a physical natural gas and power marketing and asset management business; a joint venture interest in Bear Swamp, a 600 megawatt pumped storage hydro-electric facility in northern Massachusetts; a 12.9% interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline; and an 8.2% interest in Open Hydro. Visit Emera on the web at [ www.emera.com ].