CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced results for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2009. For the fiscal year, the Company reported record net income and earnings per share of $122.8 million and $1.67 per diluted share, respectively. These results compare with net income of $110 million, or $1.49 per diluted share, for the 2008 fiscal year.

Chairman, President and CEO Thomas E. Skains commented, "During a year of ongoing economic challenge, we were again successful in providing our shareholders with solid financial performance, dividend growth, and record earnings per share. Over the past year we continued our efforts to grow our customer base, improve our business processes and operational efficiency, and expand our customer services - all of which made positive contributions to our success in 2009."

Gross customer additions for the year were 12,600, a growth rate of 1.3%. The decline in gross customer additions from 20,500 in 2008 reflects the slowdown in the new construction market as a result of the economic recession.

System throughput for fiscal year 2009 totaled 217 million dekatherms, compared with 210 million dekatherms for the previous year. The increase was primarily due to weather in 2009 that was 3% colder than normal and 7% colder than 2008 and an increase in deliveries to power generation customers.

For the year, margin increased by $8.6 million compared to the prior year. The increase in margin is due to the Company's 2008 general rate case in North Carolina and continued customer growth in the Company's three-state service area. Operations and maintenance expenses for the year decreased $2.7 million from the previous fiscal year primarily due to lower pension and medical expenses and contract labor expense.

Included in Other Income are results from the Company's interest in SouthStar Energy Services, which contributed $24.6 million pre-tax income in fiscal 2009 compared with $18.3 million pre-tax income for the prior year. SouthStar's increased earnings were primarily due to higher contributions from the management of storage and transportation assets, margin impacts from lower of cost or market inventory adjustments, and increased average customer usage due to colder weather.

Mr. Skains concluded his remarks about the Company's 2009 fiscal year by commenting, "Our record results in 2009 demonstrate the value our customers continue to place on natural gas as a clean, efficient and reliable energy source. Our success was driven by the commitment of our employees to quality customer service and safe and reliable operations. We have once again ended the year in a strong financial position, a source of strength as we pursue the opportunities for growth in the years ahead."

FISCAL 2010 EARNINGS GUIDANCE REAFFIRMED

Piedmont Natural Gas reaffirms its fiscal year 2010 earnings guidance of $1.90 to $2.00 per diluted share. Fiscal year 2010 guidance includes an expected $0.42 gain in the first quarter of 2010 related to Piedmont's sale of one-half of its ownership interest in SouthStar Energy Services to AGL Resources.

DIVIDEND

At its regular quarterly meeting of the Company's Board of Directors on December 17, 2009, Piedmont Natural Gas announced the declaration of a quarterly dividend on Common Stock of $0.27 cents per share, payable January 15, 2010, to holders of record at the close of business on December 28, 2009.

CONFERENCE CALL

In conjunction with this year-end earnings release, you are invited to listen to the conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet on Tuesday, January 5, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, hosted by Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas E. Skains. Log on to the web at http://www.piedmontng.com and click on Investors, then on Presentations. The conference call will be archived on the Presentations page of the website within the Investor Relations section.

    Piedmont Natural Gas
    Summary of Operations
    (in thousands except per share amounts and degree days)

    Twelve Months Ended                    October 31
    -------------------                    ----------            %Increase
                                     2009              2008      (Decrease)
                                     ----              ----      ----------

    Operating Revenues          $1,638,116        $2,089,108        (22)%
    Cost of Gas                  1,076,542         1,536,135        (30)%
    Margin                         561,574           552,973          2 %
    Operations and Maintenance
     Expenses                      208,105           210,757         (1)%
    Depreciation                    97,425            93,121          5 %
    General Taxes                   34,590            33,170          4 %
    Utility Income Taxes            70,079            62,814         12 %
    Operating Income               151,375           153,111         (1)%
    Other Income (Expense), net     18,124            16,169         12 %
    Utility Interest Charges        46,675            59,273        (21)%
    Net Income                     122,824           110,007         12 %
    Average Shares of Common
     Stock:
         Basic                      73,171            73,334          - %
         Diluted                    73,461            73,612          - %
    Earnings Per Share of
     Common Stock:
         Basic                       $1.68             $1.50         12 %
         Diluted                     $1.67             $1.49         12 %
    System Throughput -
     Dekatherms                    216,874           210,251          3 %
    Gas Customers Billed in
     October                           938               936          - %
    System Average Degree
     Days - Actual                   3,413             3,195          7 %
    System Average Degree
     Days - Normal                   3,324             3,358         (1)%
    Percent Normal Degree Days         103%               95%        n/a

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and information currently available and are believed to be reasonable and are made in good faith. However, the forward-looking statements are subject to future events, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the statements. Factors that may make the actual results differ from anticipated results include, but are not limited to, weather conditions, rate of customer growth, the cost and availability of natural gas, competition from other energy providers, new legislation and regulations and application of existing laws and regulations, economic and capital market conditions, the cost and availability of labor and materials and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. The words "expect," "believe," "project," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "could," "will," "assume," "can," "estimate," "forecast," "future," "indicate," "outlook," "plan," "predict," "seek," "target," "would," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about the risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements may be found in Piedmont's latest Forms 10-K and 10-Q, which are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

About Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million residential, commercial and industrial utility customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including 61,000 customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas storage and intrastate natural gas transportation. More information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet at http://www.piedmontng.com.

SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.piedmontng.com