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Cleco Corp. Reports Full-Year 2010 Earnings of $255.3 Million

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^{Published in Business and Finance on Thursday, February 24th 2011 at 14:30 GMT by Market Wire}  

PINEVILLE, LA--(Marketwire - February 24, 2011) - Cleco Corp. (NYSE: [ CNL ])

• 2010 Operational Diluted Earnings Per Share of $2.26, Up 31% from 2009
• 2011 Operational Earnings Guidance of $2.25 - $2.35 Per Diluted Share
• 2011/2012 Dividend Guidance Provided Below

"Our 2010 operational earnings are up 31 percent compared to 2009 operational earnings primarily because we successfully completed major projects that have been under way for a long time," said Mike Madison, president and chief executive officer of Cleco Corp.

"At Cleco Power, we brought Madison Unit 3 online, acquired Acadia Unit 1 and implemented new retail rates, the first increase in base rates for Cleco Power in more than 20 years. These projects diversified our fuel mix and increased our generating capacity. In addition, we have aligned our rates with the current cost structure of the utility," Madison said.

"At Midstream, we made progress on our goals to reduce our risk in the wholesale energy business and maximize the value of our wholesale assets by completing the Acadia Unit 1 transaction with Cleco Power and entering into an interim power sales agreement with Entergy Louisiana for the remaining half of the plant, Acadia Unit 2, until our pending sale agreement with Entergy Louisiana is closed in March of this year. The Louisiana Public Service Commission approved Entergy Louisiana's purchase of Acadia Unit 2 in January of this year. Finally, at Midstream, we restructured our tolling agreement for Coughlin Power Station and extracted all of the remaining value in the toll. At the expiration of the tolling agreement, we will have a 775-megawatt unencumbered asset with attractive prospects based on today's marketplace," Madison said.

"Together, these projects have strengthened our company and put us on firm financial footing as we head into 2011," Madison said. "Our 2011 operational earnings guidance and our 2011/2012 dividend guidance reflect the continued growth we see in our business and underscore the confidence we have in the overall financial health of Cleco."

Earnings Guidance:

Cleco is targeting 2011 consolidated operational earnings in the range of $2.25 - $2.35 per diluted share. The 2011 consolidated operational earnings estimate assumes normal weather and excludes adjustments related to company- and trust-owned life insurance (COLI/TOLI) policies and the expected gain in the range of $0.53 - $0.59 per diluted share relating to the pending Acadia Unit 2 transaction. Please refer to "Operational Earnings Adjustments" in this news release for a description of such adjustments and for the impact of COLI/TOLI on the company's earnings per diluted share in 2010 and 2009.

Dividend Guidance:

The board of directors of Cleco Corp. intends to increase Cleco's quarterly dividend rate from $0.25 per common share to $0.28 per common share beginning with the dividend payable May 16, 2011. The 12 percent increase in the dividend, subject to the board's official declaration of the dividend in April, will result in an annual dividend rate of $1.12 per common share.

Additionally, the board has indicated its intention to further increase the quarterly dividend to $0.3125 per common share beginning with the dividend payable in May 2012. This additional 12 percent increase in the dividend, subject to the board's official declaration of the dividend in April 2012, will result in an annual dividend rate of $1.25 per common share.

"These planned dividend increases by our board of directors continue the progress started last year toward achieving our long-term goal of a dividend payout level in the range of 50 percent to 60 percent of our sustainable earnings," Madison said. "We're following through on our commitment to deliver competitive total returns to our shareholders upon the successful completion of major projects."

The declaration of dividend payments is at the board's sole discretion and future dividend increases are subject to numerous factors that ordinarily affect dividend policy, including the result of Cleco's operations and its financial position as well as general economic and business conditions.

 Consolidated Earnings - Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures Diluted Earnings Per Share -------------- Three months ended Dec. 31 -------------- Subsidiary 2010 2009 ------ ------ Cleco Power LLC $ 0.40 $ 0.35 Cleco Midstream Resources LLC(1) (0.04) (0.21) Corporate and Other(1),(2) (0.02) 0.01 ------ ------ Operational diluted earnings per share (Non-GAAP) 0.34 0.15 Adjustments(3) - 0.06 ------ ------ Diluted earnings per share applicable to common stock $ 0.34 $ 0.21 GAAP refers to United States generally accepted accounting principles. (1) Includes affiliate interest charges/interest income on affiliate debt related to Cleco's investment in Acadia of $0.01 per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009 (2) Includes dividends on preferred stock (3) Refer to "Operational Earnings Adjustments" in this news release Consolidated Earnings - Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures Diluted Earnings Per Share -------------- Year ended Dec. 31 -------------- Subsidiary 2010 2009 ------ ------ Cleco Power LLC $ 2.42 $ 1.84 Cleco Midstream Resources LLC(1) (excluding 2010 gains from the Evangeline and Acadia Unit 1 transactions) (0.04) (0.29) Corporate and Other(1),(2) (0.12) 0.18 ------ ------ Operational diluted earnings per share (Non-GAAP) 2.26 1.73 Adjustments(3) 1.94 0.03 ------ ------ Diluted earnings per share applicable to common stock $ 4.20 $ 1.76 GAAP refers to United States generally accepted accounting principles. (1) Includes affiliate interest charges/interest income on affiliate debt related to Cleco's investment in Acadia ($0.01 per share and $0.05 per share for the years ended Dec. 31, 2010, and 2009, respectively) (2) Includes dividends on preferred stock (3) Refer to "Operational Earnings Adjustments" in this news release 

Financial Highlights:

Fourth Quarter 2010

• Cleco reports fourth-quarter earnings applicable to common stock of $20.6 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, compared to $12.8 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2009.

Year-to-Date 2010

• Cleco reports earnings applicable to common stock for 2010 of $255.3 million, or $4.20 per diluted share, compared to $106.3 million, or $1.76 per diluted share, for 2009.

 Quarter-Over-Quarter Operational Earnings Per Share Reconciliation: $ 0.15 2009 fourth-quarter diluted operational earnings per share 0.59 Non-fuel revenue, net of rate refund accrual 0.01 Income taxes (0.16) Other expenses, net (0.39) AFUDC (allowance for funds used during construction) ------ $ 0.05 Cleco Power results 0.17 Cleco Midstream results (0.03) Corporate results ------ $ 0.34 2010 fourth-quarter diluted operational earnings per share - Adjustments(1) ------ $ 0.34 Reported GAAP diluted earnings per share (1) Refer to "Operational Earnings Adjustments" in this news release 

Cleco Power

• Non-fuel revenue, net of rate refund accrual, increased earnings by $0.59 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. The impact of the retail base rate increases that became effective in February 2010, which included Madison Unit 3 and Acadia Unit 1, contributed approximately $0.55 per share, while the impact from weather contributed approximately $0.06 per share. Higher transmission revenue and customer forfeited discounts also contributed $0.01 per share. These increases were partially offset by $0.03 per share as a result of recording an estimated accrual for a rate refund.
  
  
• Income taxes increased earnings by $0.01 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 primarily due to miscellaneous tax items.
  
  
• Other expenses, net, were $0.16 per share higher compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 primarily due to $0.10 per share of higher operating and maintenance expenses and $0.08 per share of higher depreciation expense both primarily resulting from Madison Unit 3 being placed in service and the acquisition of Acadia Unit 1 both in the first quarter of 2010 and $0.03 per share of higher other miscellaneous expenses. These increases were partially offset by $0.02 per share of lower capacity payments made during the fourth quarter of 2010 primarily due to the commencement of commercial operations at Madison Unit 3 and the acquisition of Acadia Unit 1 in the first quarter of 2010 and $0.03 per share of lower interest charges.
  
  
• AFUDC, primarily associated with the first quarter 2010 completion of Madison Unit 3, reduced earnings by $0.39 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. The equity portion of AFUDC primarily associated with the Madison Unit 3 project decreased $0.32 per share, while the debt portion of AFUDC decreased $0.07 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.

Cleco Midstream Resources

• Evangeline's results increased earnings by $0.10 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 primarily due to lower interest charges and lower maintenance expenses. These increases were partially offset by lower tolling revenue due to the Evangeline restructuring and pricing of the new tolling agreement.
  
  
• Acadia's results increased earnings by $0.07 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 primarily due to the absence of removal and retirement costs and lower turbine and general maintenance expenses.

Corporate and Other

• Higher interest charges decreased earnings by $0.08 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 primarily due to $0.07 per share of net interest charges related to uncertain tax positions and $0.01 per share related to a bank term loan executed in February 2010.
  
  
• Lower income taxes increased earnings by $0.03 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 as a result of a $0.04 per share decrease in tax expense to reflect tax expense at the consolidated annual effective tax rate. This increase was partially offset by $0.01 per share for miscellaneous tax items.
  
  
• Lower other miscellaneous expenses increased earnings by $0.02 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.

 Year-Over-Year Operational Earnings Per Share Reconciliation: $ 1.73 Year ended Dec. 31, 2009, diluted operational earnings per share 2.39 Non-fuel revenue, net of rate refund accrual 0.01 Energy hedging, net 0.01 Income taxes (0.61) Other expenses, net (1.22) AFUDC ------ $ 0.58 Cleco Power results 0.25 Cleco Midstream results (0.30) Corporate results ------ $ 2.26 Year ended Dec. 31, 2010, diluted operational earnings per share 1.94 Adjustments(1) ------ $ 4.20 Reported GAAP diluted earnings per share (1) Refer to "Operational Earnings Adjustments" in this news release 

Cleco Power

• Non-fuel revenue, net of rate refund accrual, increased earnings by $2.39 per share in the year-to-year comparison. The impact of the retail base rate increases that became effective in February 2010, which included Madison Unit 3 and Acadia Unit 1, contributed approximately $2.12 per share. The impact from favorable weather was approximately $0.17 per share, while the impact from new service to a wholesale customer was approximately $0.12 per share. Mineral lease payments, higher transmission revenue, and higher customer forfeited discounts contributed $0.08 per share. These increases were partially offset by $0.10 per share as a result of recording an estimated accrual for a rate refund.
  
  
• Favorable results from energy hedging positions tied to a fixed-price wholesale contract increased earnings by $0.01 per share year over year.
  
  
• Income taxes increased earnings by $0.01 per share year over year due to $0.05 per share related to the implementation of new retail rates and $0.01 per share for miscellaneous tax items. These increases were partially offset by $0.03 per share for Medicare Part D resulting from health care legislation enacted in the first quarter of 2010 and $0.02 per share for the tax impact of a valuation allowance for capital loss carryforwards.
  
  
• Other expenses, net, were $0.61 per share higher compared to 2009 primarily due to $0.29 per share of higher depreciation expense resulting from Madison Unit 3 being placed in service and the acquisition of Acadia Unit 1 both in the first quarter of 2010, along with $0.37 per share of higher operating and maintenance expenses. Also contributing to the increase was $0.03 per share of higher payroll and state franchise taxes and $0.06 per share of higher other net miscellaneous expenses. These increases were partially offset by $0.14 per share of lower capacity payments, primarily resulting from Madison Unit 3 being placed in service and the acquisition of Acadia Unit 1, which resulted in less capacity purchased from third parties.
  
  
• AFUDC, primarily associated with the first quarter 2010 completion of the Madison Unit 3 project, reduced earnings by $1.22 per share compared to 2009. The equity portion of AFUDC primarily associated with the Madison Unit 3 project decreased earnings by $1.00 per share, while the debt portion of AFUDC decreased earnings by $0.22 per share compared to 2009.

Cleco Midstream Resources

• Acadia's results increased earnings by $0.26 per share year over year primarily due to lower removal and asset retirement costs, lower depreciation expense resulting from certain Acadia assets meeting the criteria of assets held for sale, the contractual expiration of an underlying indemnification related to the sale of Acadia Unit 1, lower legal fees and lower interest charges.
  
  
• Evangeline's results were comparable to the same period last year. Tolling revenue was lower as a result of the Evangeline restructuring and pricing of the new tolling agreement. However, this decrease was offset by lower interest charges as a result of the payoff of Evangeline's debt and lower maintenance expenses resulting from the absence of a 2009 outage.
  
  
• Higher other expenses at Midstream decreased results by $0.01 per share year over year.

For a discussion of other transactions affecting the results of Cleco Midstream, please refer to "Operational Earnings Adjustments -- Gains from Evangeline and Acadia Unit 1 Transactions" below.

Corporate and Other

• Higher income taxes decreased earnings by $0.02 per share compared to 2009 due to $0.01 per share for Medicare Part D resulting from health care legislation enacted in the first quarter of 2010 and $0.01 per share for miscellaneous tax items.
  
  
• Higher interest charges decreased earnings by $0.20 per share compared to 2009 primarily due to $0.13 per share of net interest charges related to uncertain tax positions, $0.03 per share related to the absence of a 2009 favorable settlement of a franchise tax lawsuit and $0.04 per share related to a bank term loan executed in February 2010.
  
  
• Higher other miscellaneous expenses decreased earnings by $0.08 per share compared to last year primarily due to $0.05 per share of lower interest income, $0.02 per share from the absence of adjustments related to amended franchise tax returns filed in 2009, and $0.01 per share from other net miscellaneous expenses.

Operational Earnings Adjustments:

Cleco's management uses operational earnings per share to evaluate the operations of Cleco and to establish goals for management and employees. Management believes this presentation is appropriate and enables investors to more accurately compare Cleco's operational financial performance over the periods presented. Operational earnings as presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. The following table provides a reconciliation of operational earnings per share to reported GAAP earnings per share.

 Reconciliation of Operational Earnings Per Share to Reported GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share Diluted Earnings Per Share ----------------- Three months ended Dec. 31 ----------------- 2010 2009 ------- -------- Operational earnings per share $ 0.34 $ 0.15 Company- and trust-owned life insurance policy adjustments 0.01 0.01 Tax levelization (0.01) 0.05 ------- -------- Reported GAAP diluted earnings per share applicable to common stock $ 0.34 $ 0.21 Diluted Earnings Per Share ----------------- Year ended Dec. 31 ----------------- 2010 2009 ------- -------- Operational earnings per share $ 2.26 $ 1.73 Company- and trust-owned life insurance policy adjustments 0.02 0.03 Gain from Evangeline transaction 1.51 - Gain from Acadia Unit 1 transaction 0.41 - ------- -------- Reported GAAP diluted earnings per share applicable to common stock $ 4.20 $ 1.76 

Reconciling adjustments from operational earnings per share to GAAP diluted earnings per share are as follows:

COLI/TOLI Adjustments

Cleco has both Company-Owned Life Insurance and Trust-Owned Life Insurance policies covering certain members of management. These policies are payable to Cleco upon death of the insured. COLI/TOLI assets are acquired at fair value and adjusted for changes in market value and any payments/redemptions of cash surrender values. The resulting adjustments for these items increased earnings by $0.01 per share for the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2009. These adjustments increased earnings by $0.02 per share for 2010 and increased earnings by $0.03 per share for 2009. Cleco is unable to predict changes in the market values and amounts of cash surrender values of these policies and management does not consider these adjustments to be a component of operational earnings.

Tax Levelization

Generally accepted accounting principles require companies to apply an effective tax rate to interim periods that is consistent with a company's estimated annual effective tax rate. As a result, quarterly, Cleco projects the annual effective tax rate and then adjusts the tax expense recorded in that quarter to reflect the projected annual effective tax rate. During the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2009, Cleco recorded a $0.01 per share expense and a $0.05 per share benefit, respectively, from the levelization of its annual tax rate to bring the actual tax rate in line with the projected annual effective tax rate. The incremental adjustment for tax levelization is not related to operational earnings because it reflects the effect of the change in tax rates on operational earnings for the entire year.

Gains from Evangeline and Acadia Unit 1 Transactions

On Feb. 22, 2010, the existing Evangeline tolling agreement was terminated and a new tolling agreement was executed with the same counterparty resulting in the recognition of a gain of $1.51 per share for 2010. On Feb. 23, 2010, Cleco Power's acquisition of Acadia Unit 1 and half of Acadia Power Station's common facilities was completed resulting in the recognition of a gain of $0.41 per share for 2010. Because these are one-time gains, management does not consider these adjustments to be components of operational earnings.

Cleco management will discuss the company's fourth-quarter and full year 2010 results during a conference call scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern time (10 a.m. Central time) Friday, Feb. 25, 2011. The call will be webcast live on the Internet. A replay will be available for 12 months. Investors may access the webcast through the company's Web site at [ www.cleco.com ] by selecting "Investor Relations" and then "Q4 2010 Cleco Corp. Earnings Conference Call."

Cleco Corp. is a regional energy company headquartered in Pineville, La. It operates a regulated electric utility company, Cleco Power LLC, which serves about 279,000 retail customers across Louisiana. Cleco also operates a wholesale energy business, Cleco Midstream Resources LLC, which includes the pending sale of Acadia Unit 2. For more information about Cleco, visit [ www.cleco.com ].

 For the three months ended Dec. 31 -------------------------------------------------- (Unaudited) (million kWh) (thousands) -------------------------------------------------- 2010 2009 Change 2010 2009 Change ----- ----- ------- -------- -------- ------ Electric Sales Residential 822 823 (0.1)% $ 62,970 $ 35,186 79.0 % Commercial 614 602 2.0 % 43,142 23,582 82.9 % Industrial 592 599 (1.2)% 22,385 12,911 73.4 % Other retail 33 34 (2.9)% 2,458 1,426 72.4 % Surcharge - - - 1,683 4,987 (66.3)% Other - - - (1,621) - - ----- ----- -------- -------- Total retail 2,061 2,058 0.1 % 131,017 78,092 67.8 % Sales for resale 223 128 74.2 % 13,755 7,337 87.5 % Unbilled 45 (38) 218.4 % (684) (1,275) 46.4 % ----- ----- -------- -------- Total retail and wholesale customer sales 2,329 2,148 8.4 % $144,088 $ 84,154 71.2 % For the year ended Dec. 31 -------------------------------------------------- (Unaudited) (million kWh) (thousands) -------------------------------------------------- 2010 2009 Change 2010 2009 Change ----- ----- ------- -------- -------- ------ Electric Sales Residential 3,978 3,637 9.4 % $271,781 $157,672 72.4 % Commercial 2,605 2,484 4.9 % 160,039 95,453 67.7 % Industrial 2,271 2,232 1.7 % 78,158 50,957 53.4 % Other retail 138 136 1.5 % 9,186 5,715 60.7 % Surcharge - - - 8,888 19,661 (54.8)% Other - - - (6,005) - - ----- ----- -------- -------- Total retail 8,992 8,489 5.9 % 522,047 329,458 58.5 % Sales for resale 807 560 44.1 % 47,954 23,371 105.2 % Unbilled 46 60 (23.3)% 22,675 2,262 902.4 % ----- ----- -------- -------- Total retail and wholesale customer sales 9,845 9,109 8.1 % $592,676 $355,091 66.9 % CLECO CORP. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Thousands, except share and per share amounts) (Unaudited) For the three months ended Dec. 31 2010 2009 ---------- ---------- Operating revenue Electric operations $ 246,574 $ 181,178 Tolling operations 3,052 - Other operations 10,105 7,971 Affiliate revenue 137 2,947 ---------- ---------- Gross operating revenue 259,868 192,096 Electric customer credits (3,282) - ---------- ---------- Operating revenue, net 256,586 192,096 Operating expenses Fuel used for electric generation 86,823 48,243 Power purchased for utility customers 17,459 52,697 Other operations 32,731 31,497 Maintenance 22,396 15,523 Depreciation 29,304 19,971 Taxes other than income taxes 8,136 7,135 Loss on sales of assets 375 - ---------- ---------- Total operating expenses 197,224 175,066 ---------- ---------- Operating income 59,362 17,030 Interest income 40 461 Allowance for other funds used during construction 1,361 20,928 Equity loss from investees (363) (18,134) Other income 1,678 827 Other expense (2,611) (626) Interest charges Interest charges, including amortization of debt expenses, premium, and discount, net of capitalized interest 24,265 18,401 Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction (510) (7,016) ---------- ---------- Total interest charges 23,755 11,385 ---------- ---------- Income before income taxes 35,712 9,101 Federal and state income tax expense (benefit) 15,087 (3,678) ---------- ---------- Net income 20,625 12,779 Preferred dividends requirements, net of tax 12 12 ---------- ---------- Net income applicable to common stock $ 20,613 $ 12,767 ========== ========== Average shares of common stock outstanding Basic 60,511,692 60,254,541 Diluted 60,892,646 60,622,385 Basic earnings per share Net income applicable to common stock $ 0.34 $ 0.21 Diluted earnings per share Net income applicable to common stock $ 0.34 $ 0.21 Cash dividends paid per share of common stock $ 0.250 $ 0.225 CLECO CORP. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Thousands, except share and per share amounts) (Unaudited) For the year ended Dec. 31 2010 2009 ----------- ----------- Operating revenue Electric operations $ 1,086,102 $ 808,646 Tolling operations 26,067 - Other operations 44,529 33,651 Affiliate revenue 1,564 11,461 ----------- ----------- Gross operating revenue 1,158,262 853,758 Electric customer credits (9,596) - ----------- ----------- Operating revenue, net 1,148,666 853,758 ----------- ----------- Operating expenses Fuel used for electric generation 363,550 261,456 Power purchased for utility customers 141,864 216,906 Other operations 119,516 109,060 Maintenance 81,228 51,300 Depreciation 112,203 78,204 Taxes other than income taxes 34,626 29,947 Loss on sales of assets 338 76 ----------- ----------- Total operating expenses 853,325 746,949 ----------- ----------- Operating income 295,341 106,809 Interest income 409 1,512 Allowance for other funds used during construction 12,413 73,269 Equity income (loss) from investees 38,849 (17,423) Gain on toll settlement 148,402 - Other income 5,242 5,581 Other expense (6,991) (2,807) Interest charges Interest charges, including amortization of debt expenses, premium, and discount, net of capitalized interest 100,339 77,228 Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction (4,563) (26,173) ----------- ----------- Total interest charges 95,776 51,055 ----------- ----------- Income before income taxes 397,889 115,886 Federal and state income tax expense 142,498 9,579 ----------- ----------- Net income 255,391 106,307 Preferred dividends requirements, net of tax 46 46 ----------- ----------- Net income applicable to common stock $ 255,345 $ 106,261 =========== =========== Average shares of common stock outstanding Basic 60,431,142 60,187,894 Diluted 60,754,589 60,498,205 Basic earnings per share Net income applicable to common stock $ 4.23 $ 1.77 Diluted earnings per share Net income applicable to common stock $ 4.20 $ 1.76 Cash dividends paid per share of common stock $ 0.975 $ 0.900 CLECO CORP. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Thousands) (Unaudited) At Dec. 31, At Dec. 31, 2010 2009 ----------- ----------- Assets Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 191,128 $ 145,193 Accounts receivable, net 92,197 70,557 Other current assets 325,525 278,175 ----------- ----------- Total Current Assets 608,850 493,925 Property, plant and equipment, net 2,784,225 2,247,030 Equity investment in investees 86,732 251,617 Prepayments, deferred charges and other 681,603 702,275 ----------- ----------- Total Assets $ 4,161,410 $ 3,694,847 ----------- ----------- Liabilities Current Liabilities Short-term debt $ 150,000 $ - Long-term debt due within one year 12,269 11,478 Accounts payable 125,923 114,541 Other current liabilities 189,489 115,785 ----------- ----------- Total Current Liabilities 477,681 241,804 Deferred credits 965,813 1,016,672 Long-term debt, net 1,399,709 1,320,299 ----------- ----------- Total Liabilities 2,843,203 2,578,775 ----------- ----------- Shareholders' Equity Preferred stock 1,029 1,029 Common shareholders' equity 1,328,816 1,126,334 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (11,638) (11,291) ----------- ----------- Total Shareholders' Equity 1,318,207 1,116,072 ----------- ----------- Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $ 4,161,410 $ 3,694,847 =========== =========== 

Please note: In addition to historical financial information, this news release contains forward-looking statements about future results and circumstances. There are many risks and uncertainties with respect to such forward-looking statements, including the weather and other natural phenomena, state and federal legislative and regulatory initiatives, the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices and interest rates, the operating performance of Cleco Power's and Cleco Midstream's facilities, the financial condition of the company's tolling agreement counterparty, the performance of the tolling agreement by such counterparty, the completion of the Acadiana Load Pocket project, the completion of the Acadia Unit 2/Entergy Louisiana transaction, the impact of the global economic environment, and other risks and uncertainties more fully described in the company's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements.