Delaney tells OGE shareholders he is proud of employees who delivered operational and financial accomplishments
Dividend declared; shareholders approve increase in number of authorized shares to facilitate two-for-one stock split
OKLAHOMA CITY, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) Chairman, President and CEO Pete Delaney today told shareholders gathered for the company's annual meeting that he is proud of the company's employees who delivered operational and financial accomplishments in 2012.
"Our Company received some 17 awards recognizing many different areas of our businesses, including our information technology work in smart grid, a J.D. Power and Associates award for customer satisfaction, and an award from Edison Electric Institute for highest five-year total shareholder return in our industry – 103 percent," Delaney said.
At OG&E, growth in the customer base increased last year by approximately 9,000 customers, as OG&E recently crossed a milestone of serving approximately 800,000 customers.
At Enogex, Delaney said the recently closed midstream natural gas joint venture between Enogex LLC and CenterPoint will be a formidable competitor in the years ahead. "The market agreed with our assessment of the benefits of this new partnership, sending OGE Energy's common stock up 10 percent the day after the announcement," said Delaney. Plans are to take the partnership public late this year or early next.
In voting announced at the annual meeting, OGE Energy shareholders:
- Approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to named executive officers;
- Ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's principal independent accountants for 2013;
- Elected 10 members of the company's board of directors to one-year terms:
- James H. Brandi, former Managing Director of BNP Paribas Securities Corp., UBS Securities, LLC and Dillon, Read & Co Inc., was re-elected. He has been a director of OGE Energy and OG&E since February 2010.
- Wayne H. Brunetti, retired chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Xcel Energy Inc., was re-elected. He has been a director of OGE Energy and OG&E since August 2008.
- Luke R. Corbett, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kerr-McGee, was re-elected. He has been a director of OGE Energy and OG&E since December 1996.
- Peter B. Delaney, current Chairman, President and CEO of OGE Energy Corp.
- John D. Groendyke, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Groendyke Transport Inc., was re-elected. He has been a director of OGE Energy and OG&E since January 2003.
- Kirk Humphreys, chairman and manager of The Humphreys Company LLC, was re-elected. He has been a director of OGE Energy and of OG&E since November 2007.
- Robert Kelley, president of Kellco Investments Inc., was re-elected. He has been a director of OGE Energy and OG&E since December 1996.
- Robert O. Lorenz, retired partner of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, was re-elected. He has been a director of OGE Energy and OG&E since July 2005.
- Judy R. McReynolds, president and chief executive officer of Arkansas Best Corporation, was re-elected. She has been a director of OGE Energy and of OG&E since July 2011.
- Leroy C. Richie, counsel to the law firm Lewis & Munday, P.C., was re-elected. He has been a director of OGE Energy and of OG&E since November 2007.
- Approved an amendment to the certificate of incorporation to increase the number of authorized common shares to 450 million, from 225 million, to facilitate a two-for-one stock split. The stock split will take effect July 1, 2013 to shareholders of record on June 18, 2013.
- Did not approve, by the required 80 percent vote, an amendment to the restated certificate of incorporation to eliminate supermajority voting provisions;
- Approved the OGE Energy Corp. 2013 stock incentive plan;
- Approved the OGE Energy Corp. 2013 annual incentive compensation plan; and
- Defeated a shareholder proposal to reincorporate the company in Delaware.
Also today the OGE Energy Corp. Board of Directors approved a two-for-one stock split of the company's common stock, par value $.01 per share, effective July 1, 2013. Each shareholder of record of the company's common stock will be entitled to one additional share of common stock for each share of common stock held on June 18, 2013. The Board then declared a post-split quarterly dividend of $0.20875 per common share of stock, to be paid July 30, 2013 to shareholders of record on July 11, 2013.
OGE Energy is the parent company of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, a regulated electric utility serving more than 800,000 customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas. In addition, OGE holds 50 percent of the general partner interest created by the combination of OGE's Enogex LLC midstream subsidiary and the pipeline and field services businesses of Houston-based CenterPoint Energy.
Some of the matters discussed in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements are intended to be identified in this document by the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "objective", "plan", "possible", "potential", "project" and similar expressions. Actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions, including the availability of credit, access to existing lines of credit, access to the commercial paper markets, actions of rating agencies and their impact on capital expenditures; the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to access the capital markets and obtain financing on favorable terms as well as inflation rates and monetary fluctuations; prices and availability of electricity, coal, natural gas and natural gas liquids, each on a stand-alone basis and in relation to each other as well as the processing contract mix between percent-of-liquids, percent-of-proceeds, keep-whole and fixed-fee; business conditions in the energy and natural gas midstream industries; competitive factors including the extent and timing of the entry of additional competition in the markets served by the Company; unusual weather; availability and prices of raw materials for current and future construction projects; Federal or state legislation and regulatory decisions and initiatives that affect cost and investment recovery, have an impact on rate structures or affect the speed and degree to which competition enters the Company's markets; environmental laws and regulations that may impact the Company's operations; changes in accounting standards, rules or guidelines; the discontinuance of accounting principles for certain types of rate-regulated activities; the cost of protecting assets against, or damage due to, terrorism or cyber attacks and other catastrophic events; advances in technology; creditworthiness of suppliers, customers and other contractual parties; the higher degree of risk associated with the Company's nonregulated business compared with the Company's regulated utility business; the risk that the midstream partnership between OGE Energy and CenterPoint Energy, Inc. may not be able to successfully integrate the operations of Enogex LLC and a wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy Inc.; and other risk factors listed in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission including those listed in Risk Factors and Exhibit 99.01 to the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.
SOURCE OGE Energy Corp.
Share this article