N@N

UIL Holdings Corporation Reports Third Quarter 2010 Results and Narrows 2010 Earnings Guidance Range

^{Published on 2010-10-29 13:25:41 - Market Wire}
 

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE: UIL) today reported consolidated net income for the third quarter of 2010 of $16.3 million, or $0.50 per basic share, compared to $21.7 million, or $0.73 per basic share, for the same period in 2009. The 2010 earnings for the third quarter include after-tax acquisition-related expenses in the amount of $4.1 million, or $0.13 per basic share. Excluding these after-tax acquisition-related expenses, consolidated net income for the third quarter of 2010 was $20.4 million, or $0.63 per basic share. In addition, excluding the impact of the earnings dilution associated with the September 2010 equity issuance, earnings for the third quarter were $0.68 per share.

"We continue to execute on our strategic plan while maintaining our high standard of operational performance"

For the first nine months of 2010, UILa™s consolidated net income was $42.4 million, or $1.38 per basic share, compared to $47.6 million, or $1.74 per basic share, for the same period in 2009. Earnings for the first nine months of 2010 include after-tax acquisition-related expenses in the amount of $8.4 million, or $0.27 per basic share. Excluding these after-tax acquisition-related expenses mentioned above, consolidated net income for the first nine months of 2010 was $50.8 million, or $1.65 per basic share. In addition, excluding the impact of the earnings dilution associated with the September 2010 equity issuance, earnings for the first nine months of 2010 were $1.69 per share.

aWe continue to execute on our strategic plan while maintaining our high standard of operational performance,a commented James P. Torgerson, UILa™s President and CEO. aTo date, GenConna™s Devon plant is operating and its Middletown plant is scheduled to be operating by June 2011, and we have announced our participation in the Connecticut portion of the New England East West Solution projects. In addition, the pending acquisition of the three gas companies is well underway, the financing is in place, an order has been received from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and on October 27^th the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control issued a draft decision, which if adopted without change, would approve the change of control of the Connecticut gas companies to UIL,a added Torgerson.

Net income for the third quarter and first nine months of 2010, compared to the same periods in 2009, by line of business, are as follows:

Distribution, CTA & Other

For the third quarter of 2010, the distribution business had total earnings of $13.8 million, compared to $15.4 million, for the same period in 2009. The decrease in earnings was primarily due to higher distribution O&M expense due to timing of expenses in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, lower Competitive Transition Assessment (CTA) rate base and the timing associated with recognizing the below the line income attributable to UIa™s participation in ISO New Englanda™s load response program.

For the first nine months of 2010, the distribution business had total earnings of $31.7 million, compared to $30.3 million, for the same period in 2009. The increase in earnings was primarily due to increased revenues from the approved rate increase effective January 1, 2010, partially offset by increased operating and interest expenses and lower CTA rate base.

Transmission

For the third quarter of 2010, the transmission business had total earnings of $7.3 million, compared to $6.9 million for the same period in 2009. For the first nine months of 2010, total transmission earnings were $21.1 million, compared to $19.2 million for the same period in 2009. The favorable earnings for both the quarter and first nine months of 2010 were primarily due to an increase in the allowance for funds used during construction, as well as higher rate base and equity capitalization compared to the same periods in 2009.

UIL Corporate

UIL Corporate incurred net after-tax expenses of $4.8 million, or $0.15 per basic share, in the third quarter of 2010 compared to net after-tax expenses of $0.6 million, or $0.02 per basic share, in the same period of 2009. UIL Corporate incurred net after-tax expenses of $10.4 million, or $0.33 per basic share, in the first nine months of 2010, compared to net after-tax expenses of $1.9 million, or $0.07 per basic share, in the same period in 2009. The increase for the third quarter and first nine months of 2010 was almost entirely due to after-tax acquisition-related expenses in the amount of $4.1 million, or $0.13 per basic share, and $8.4 million, or $0.27 per basic share, respectively.

Looking Forward

UIL is narrowing the range on its earnings per share guidance to $1.95 to $2.05 per basic share, from $1.92 to $2.07 per basic share. This guidance excludes the impact of the transactions, including one-time acquisition expenses, interest expense from the debt financing, dilution from the equity issuance and any projected earnings from the acquired entities. This basis is consistent with previous earnings guidance provided during 2010. Details of the components are summarized as follows and explained below:

The revised earnings estimate for distribution, CTA and other is $1.10 to $1.17 per share, compared to the previously reported earnings estimate of $1.06 to $1.13 per share. The change reflects better than anticipated earnings performance through the first nine months of 2010 and revised operations and maintenance expenses for the fourth quarter of 2010.

The revised earnings estimate for transmission is $0.90 to $0.94 per share, compared to the previously reported earnings estimate of $0.87 to $0.93 per share. The change reflects increases in the allowance for funds used during construction.

The revised earnings estimate for GenConn is $0.03 to $0.04 per share, compared to the previously reported earnings estimate of $0.05 to $0.07 per share. The change reflects the financial impacts resulting from a delay in the Devon plant achieving commercial operation.

The revised estimate for UIL Corporate is ($0.11) to ($0.07) per share, compared to the previously reported earnings estimate of ($0.09) to ($0.05) per share. The change reflects a true-up of the effective tax rate.

Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call

In conjunction with this earnings release, UIL will conduct a webcast conference call with financial analysts on Monday, November 1, 2010, beginning at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. UILa™s executive management will present an overview of the financial results followed by a question and answer session. Interested parties, including analysts, investors and the media, may listen live via the internet by logging onto the Investors section of UILa™s website at [ http://www.uil.com ]. Institutional investors can access the call via Thomson Street Events ([ www.streetevents.com ]), a password-protected event management site.

UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL), headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, is the holding company for The United Illuminating Company, a regulated utility providing electricity and energy related services to 324,000 customers in the Greater New Haven and Bridgeport areas. For more information on UIL Holdings, visit us at [ http://www.uil.com ].

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

UIL Holdings believes that a breakdown, presented on a net income and per share basis, of how the acquisition expenses described above contributed to the change in net income is useful in understanding the overall change in the consolidated results of operations for UIL Holdings from one reporting period to another. UIL Holdings presents such per share amounts by taking the dollar amount of the applicable change for the acquisition expenses, booked in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and applying UIL Holdings' combined effective statutory federal and state tax rate and then dividing by the average number of shares of UIL Holdings common stock outstanding for the periods presented. Any such amounts provided are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to be used to calculate "Pro-forma" amounts.

UIL Holdings also believes earnings per share (EPS) information as presented in its earnings guidance is useful in understanding the earnings expectations for the business, as a whole.The amounts presented in the earnings guidance show the EPS for each of UIL Holdingsa™ lines of business.EPS is calculated by dividing the projected 2010 net income for each line of business by the projected average number of shares of UIL Holdings common stock outstanding for 2010.Total consolidated EPS is a GAAP-basis presentation.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein, regarding matters that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These include statements regarding managementa™s intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or forecasts for the future including, without limitation, UILa™s expectations with respect to the benefits, costs and other anticipated financial impacts of the proposed gas company acquisition transaction; future financial and operating results of UIL; UILa™s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations and services; approval of the proposed transaction by governmental regulatory authorities; the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the proposed transaction; and the timing of the completion of the proposed transaction. Such forward-looking statements are based on UILa™s expectations and involve risks and uncertainties; consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, legislative and regulatory changes, changes in demand for electricity and other products and services, changes in financial markets, unanticipated weather conditions, changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines, and other economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting the operations, timing, markets, products, services and prices of UILa™s subsidiaries. Examples of such risks and uncertainties specific to the transaction include, but are not limited to: the possibility that the proposed transaction is delayed or does not close, including due to the failure to receive required regulatory approvals, the taking of governmental action (including the passage of legislation) to block the transaction, or the failure of other closing conditions; and the possibility that the expected benefits will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period. The foregoing and other factors are discussed and should be reviewed in UILa™s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof and the UIL undertakes no obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances.

The following are summaries of UIL Holdingsa™ unaudited consolidated financial information for the third quarter and first nine months of 2010 and 2009: