Spectra Energy Reports Second Quarter Net Income Increase of More Than 20 Percent

Published on Wednesday, 04 August 2010 06:32 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

HOUSTON, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

• Reported net income (controlling interests) of $174 million, $0.27 earnings per share (EPS), versus prior year quarter's $140 million, $0.22 EPS.
• Quarter benefited from expansion project earnings and improved commodity prices.

Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE) reported 2010 second quarter net income from controlling interests of $174 million, or $0.27 diluted EPS, compared with $140 million, or $0.22 diluted EPS, in the prior year quarter.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061030/CLM051LOGO )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061030/CLM051LOGO )

The higher 2010 quarter results reflect sound performance from the company's fee-based businesses, the positive effect of higher commodity prices at its Field Services business, and a stronger Canadian dollar.

"We had another good quarter, delivering earnings solidly in line with our expectations and exceeding last year's net income by more than 20 percent. Our core, fee-based businesses continue to perform well, benefiting from earnings from expansion projects previously placed into service," said Greg Ebel, president and chief executive officer, Spectra Energy Corp. "This has been a strong first half of the year and we are well positioned to deliver on our financial, strategic, safety and operational goals."

"In addition to meeting our earnings targets and successfully executing on our capital expansion plans, we also are focused on future growth, as evidenced by our recent announcement regarding the planned acquisition of Bobcat Gas Storage, which will provide continued earnings growth. This acquisition and the resulting build-out support our stated plans to deploy at least $1 billion per year in growth capital," said Ebel.

SEGMENT RESULTS

U.S. Transmission

U.S. Transmission reported second quarter 2010 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $223 million, compared with $234 million in second quarter 2009. Second quarter 2009 results included a $24 million net benefit related to project development costs. Before the effect of this 2009 item, EBIT increased by 6 percent over last year's quarter.

During the 2010 quarter, the segment benefited from business expansion projects previously placed into service, including Gulfstream Phase III, Algonquin J-2 and Northern Bridge. In addition, the segment benefited from higher processing revenues as a result of higher prices.

Distribution

Distribution reported second quarter 2010 EBIT of $73 million, compared with $40 million in the second quarter 2009. This improvement is primarily due to a stronger Canadian dollar and lower operating fuel costs.  In addition, the second quarter 2009 results included a charge for a cumulative adjustment to the earnings sharing required under Union Gas' incentive ratemaking methodology.

Western Canada Transmission & Processing

Western Canada Transmission & Processing reported second quarter 2010 EBIT of $69 million, compared with $58 million in second quarter 2009.  The segment benefited from improved results in the base gathering and processing business, primarily driven by additional contracted volumes from expansions, including Fort Nelson, South Peace Pipeline and West Doe.  The segment also benefited from the effect of a stronger Canadian dollar.  This was partially offset by lower earnings at the Empress natural gas liquids (NGL) business as a result of a scheduled 25-day plant shutdown for maintenance activities that occurred in May 2010.

Field Services

Field Services reported second quarter 2010 EBIT of $58 million, compared with $24 million in second quarter 2009. The increase in ongoing earnings was primarily driven by higher commodity prices.

During second quarter 2010, crude oil averaged approximately $78 per barrel, compared with approximately $60 per barrel in the prior year quarter. The NGL to crude relationship averaged 49 percent during the second quarter 2010 versus 44 percent during the prior year quarter. This equates to an NGL price of $0.91 per gallon during the 2010 quarter versus $0.62 per gallon in second quarter 2009. NYMEX natural gas averaged $4.09 per million British thermal unit (MMBtu) versus $3.50 per MMBtu during the same period in 2009.

Second quarter results also reflect the benefit of non-cash mark-to-market gains on hedges used to protect distributable cash flow at DCP Midstream's master limited partnership. These increases in earnings were partially offset by lower marketing results and the timing of higher planned repair and maintenance costs.

DCP Midstream paid distributions of $112 million to Spectra Energy during the second quarter.

Other

"Other" reported net costs of $16 million in second quarter 2010, compared with net costs of $12 million in second quarter 2009.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $158 million for second quarter 2010, compared with $146 million for second quarter 2009.  This increase is primarily from the effects of the stronger Canadian dollar.

Income Taxes

Second quarter 2010 income tax expense from continuing operations was $76 million, compared with $67 million reported in second quarter 2009.  The higher tax expense resulted from higher earnings in the 2010 period. The effective tax rate was 29 percent in second quarter 2010, compared with 30 percent in second quarter 2009. 

Additional Information

Additional information about second quarter 2010 earnings can be obtained via the Spectra Energy Web site: www.spectraenergy.com.

The analyst call is scheduled for today, Wednesday, August 4, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. CT. The webcast can be accessed via the Investors Section of Spectra Energy's Web site or the conference call can be accessed by dialing (888) 252-3715 in the United States or Canada, or (706) 634-8942 for International. The conference code is "86559902" or "Spectra Energy Quarterly Earnings Call."

Please call five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time. A replay of the call will be available until 5:00 p.m. CT, November 1, 2010, by dialing (800) 642-1687 with conference ID 86559902. The international replay number is (706) 645-9291, with above conference ID. A replay and transcript also will be available by accessing the Investors Section of the company's Web site.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use ongoing net income and ongoing diluted EPS, which are non-GAAP financial measures as they represent net income (controlling interests) and diluted EPS, adjusted for special items and discontinued operations, as measures to evaluate operations of the company. Special items represent certain charges and credits which we believe will not be recurring on a regular basis, and discontinued operations do not represent our ongoing core business. We believe that the presentation of ongoing net income and ongoing diluted EPS provide useful information to investors, as it allows them to more accurately compare our ongoing performance across periods.

The primary performance measure used by us to evaluate segment performance is segment EBIT from continuing operations, which at the segment level represents earnings from continuing operations (both operating and non-operating) before interest and taxes, net of noncontrolling interests related to those earnings. We consider segment EBIT, which is the GAAP measure used to report segment results, to be a good indicator of each segment's operating performance from its continuing operations as it represents the results of our ownership interest in operations without regard to financing methods or capital structures.

We also use ongoing segment and Other EBIT as a measure of performance. Ongoing segment and Other EBIT is a non-GAAP financial measure as it represents reported segment and Other EBIT adjusted for special items. We believe that the presentation of ongoing segment and Other EBIT provides useful information to investors, as it allows them to more accurately compare a segment's or Other's ongoing performance across periods. The most directly comparable GAAP measure for ongoing segment or Other EBIT is reported segment or Other EBIT, which represents EBIT from continuing operations, including any special items.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes "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. Forward-looking statements represent our intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about future events. One can typically identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking words such as: may, will, could, project, believe, expect, estimate, continue, potential, plan, forecast and other similar words. Any statements that do not relate strictly to historical or current facts are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Those factors include: the implementation of state, federal and foreign legislative and regulatory initiatives that affect cost and investment recovery, have an effect on rate structure, and affect the speed at and degree to which competition enters the natural gas industries; the outcome of litigation and regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries; the effect of weather and other natural phenomena, including the economic, operational and other effects of hurricanes and storms and the impact of weather on variations on customer usage; the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; general economic conditions, which can affect the long-term demand for natural gas and related services, and in particular, the risk of a prolonged slowdown or decline in the United States or Canadian economy or the risk of delay in recovery of the United States or Canadian economy; potential effects arising from terrorist attacks and any consequential or other hostilities; changes in environmental, safety and other laws and regulations; the results of financing efforts, including the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit ratings and general market and economic conditions; increases in the cost of goods and services required to complete capital projects; declines in the market prices of equity and debt securities and resulting funding requirements for defined benefit pension plans; our ability to identify opportunities for our business units and the timing and success of efforts to develop pipeline, storage, gathering, processing and other infrastructure projects and the effects of competition; the performance of natural gas transmission and storage, distribution and gathering and processing facilities; the extent of success in connecting natural gas supplies to gathering, processing and transmission systems and in connecting to expanding gas markets; the effects of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by accounting standard-setting bodies; conditions of the capital markets in general; and our ability to successfully complete and integrate future acquisitions.  These factors, as well as additional factors that could affect our forward-looking statements, are described under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in our 2009 Form 10-K, filed on February 25, 2010, and in our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available via the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than we have described. All forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE), a FORTUNE 500 company, is one of North America's premier natural gas infrastructure companies serving three key links in the natural gas value chain: gathering and processing, transmission and storage, and distribution. For nearly a century, Spectra Energy and its predecessor companies have developed critically important pipelines and related infrastructure connecting natural gas supply sources to premium markets. Based in Houston, Texas, the company operates in the United States and Canada approximately 19,100 miles of transmission pipeline, more than 285 billion cubic feet of storage, as well as natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas liquids operations and local distribution assets. The company also has a 50 percent ownership in DCP Midstream, one of the largest natural gas gatherers and processors in the United States. Spectra Energy is a member of both the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and the U.S. S&P 500 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index. For more information, visit www.spectraenergy.com.

SOURCE Spectra Energy