MADISON, Wis. – November 3, 2011 – Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE: LNT) today announced third quarter U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and non-GAAP consolidated earnings from continuing operations.
“The utilities produced solid results both for the quarter and year-to-date. With the one quarter remaining in 2011, we have narrowed our annual earnings guidance for our utilities,” said Bill Harvey, Alliant Energy Chairman and CEO. “The negative performance of the parent and non-regulated is part timing and part substance. The timing component relates to tax expenses associated with IPL’s Tax Benefit Rider which will even out by year’s end. However, the disappointing underperformance at RMT, driven largely by subcontractor performance failure on solar projects in New Jersey, is substance. While this will be contained to 2011, it represents a real hit to earnings for this year. We have reduced our non-regulated guidance for the year to reflect this circumstance.”
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Media Contact: Scott Reigstad, (608) 458-3145
Investor Relations: Susan Gille, (608) 458-3956
This press release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified as such because the statements include words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” or other words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe future financial performance or plans or strategies are forward-looking statements. Such forward looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements. Actual results could be materially affected by the following factors, among others:
- federal and state regulatory or governmental actions, including the impact of energy, tax, financial and health care legislation, and of regulatory agency orders;
- IPL’s and WPL’s ability to obtain adequate and timely rate relief to allow for, among other things, the recovery of operating costs, fuel costs, transmission costs, deferred expenditures, capital expenditures, and remaining costs related to generating units that may be permanently closed, earning their authorized rates of return, and the payments to their parent of expected levels of dividends;
- the ability to continue cost controls and operational efficiencies;
- the impact of IPL’s retail electric base rate freeze in Iowa through 2013;
- the state of the economy in IPL’s and WPL’s service territories and resulting implications on sales, margins and ability to collect unpaid bills;
- developments that adversely impact Alliant Energy’s, IPL’s and WPL’s ability to implement their strategic plans, including unanticipated issues with Alliant Energy Resources, LLC’s (Resources’) construction of and selling price of the electricity output from its new 100 megawatt (MW) wind generating project, new emission control equipment for various coal-fired generating facilities of IPL and WPL, WPL’s potential purchase of the Riverside Energy Center or a similar facility, IPL’s potential construction of a new natural gas-fired electric generating facility in Iowa, and the potential decommissioning of certain generating facilities of IPL and WPL;
- weather effects on results of utility operations;
- successful resolution of the pending challenge by interveners of the approval by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin of WPL’s Bent Tree - Phase I wind project;
- issues related to the availability of generating facilities and the supply and delivery of fuel and purchased electricity and price thereof, including the ability to recover and to retain the recovery of purchased power, fuel and fuel-related costs through rates in a timely manner;
- the impact that fuel and fuel-related prices may have on IPL’s and WPL’s customers’ demand for utility services;
- the ability to defend against environmental claims brought by state and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or third parties, such as the Sierra Club;
- issues associated with environmental remediation efforts and with environmental compliance generally, including changing environmental laws and regulations;
- the ability to recover through rates all environmental compliance and remediation costs, including costs for projects put on hold due to uncertainty of future environmental laws and regulations;
- impacts of future tax benefits from deductions for repairs expenditures and mixed service costs and temporary differences from historical tax benefits from such deductions that are reversing into income tax expense in future periods;
- sales and project execution for RMT, Inc. (RMT), the ability of RMT to maintain project margins, the successful resolution of claims against RMT, the level of growth in the wind and solar development market, and the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, and future legislation on the wind and solar markets;
- continued access to the capital markets on competitive terms and rates, and the actions of credit rating agencies;
- inflation and interest rates;
- financial impacts of risk hedging strategies, including the impact of weather hedges or the absence of weather hedges on earnings;
- changes to the creditworthiness of counterparties with which Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL have contractual arrangements, including participants in the energy markets and fuel suppliers and transporters;
- issues related to electric transmission, including operating in Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) energy and ancillary services markets, the impacts of potential future billing adjustments and cost allocation changes from RTOs and recovery of costs incurred;
- unplanned outages, transmission constraints or operational issues impacting fossil or renewable generating facilities and risks related to recovery of resulting incremental costs through rates;
- Alliant Energy’s ability to successfully pursue appropriate appeals with respect to, and any liabilities arising out of, the alleged violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by Alliant Energy’s Cash Balance Pension Plan;
- current or future litigation, regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries;
- Alliant Energy’s ability to sustain its dividend payout ratio goal;
- employee workforce factors, including changes in key executives, collective bargaining agreements and negotiations, work stoppages or additional restructurings;
- impacts that storms or natural disasters in IPL’s and WPL’s service territories may have on their operations and recovery of, and rate relief for, costs associated with restoration activities;
- access to technological developments;
- any material post-closing adjustments related to any past asset divestitures;
- material changes in retirement and benefit plan costs;
- the impact of incentive compensation plans accruals;
- the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by standard-setting bodies;
- the ability to utilize tax credits and net operating losses generated to date, and those that may be generated in the future, before they expire;
- the ability to successfully complete tax audits and appeals with no material impact on earnings and cash flows;
- the direct or indirect effects resulting from terrorist incidents, including cyber terrorism, or responses to such incidents;
- and factors listed in the “2011 Earnings Guidance” and “2012 Earnings Guidance” sections of this press release.
Without limitation, the expectations with respect to 2011 Earnings Guidance, 2012 Earnings Guidance and Projected Capital Expenditures in this press release are forward-looking statements and are based in part on certain assumptions made by Alliant Energy, some of which are referred to in the forward-looking statements. Alliant Energy cannot provide any assurance that the assumptions referred to in the forward-looking statements or otherwise are accurate or will prove to be correct. Any assumptions that are inaccurate or do not prove to be correct could have a material adverse effect on Alliant Energy’s ability to achieve the estimates or other targets included in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date hereof and Alliant Energy undertakes no obligation to update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Note: Unless otherwise noted, all “per share” references in this release refer to earnings per diluted share.