Ameren (NYSE: AEE) Announces Third Quarter 2013 Results Updates 2013 Guidance

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) today announced net income from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2013 of $305 million, or $1.25 per diluted share, compared to $309 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2012. As a result of the March 2013 agreement to divest its merchant generation business to an affiliate of Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN) and its plan to sell its Elgin, Gibson City and Grand Tower merchant gas-fired energy centers, Ameren has  classified the results of this business as discontinued operations in its financial statements.

The reduction in earnings from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2013, compared to the third quarter of 2012, was primarily the result of lower electric sales volumes to native load customers due to temperatures that were cooler than those of the prior-year period. Partially offsetting factors included a rate increase for Missouri electric service, effective in Jan. 2013, and higher Illinois electric delivery earnings recognized under formula ratemaking reflecting timing differences, increased rate base and a higher allowed return on equity.

"Cooler-than-normal weather had a negative impact on third quarter earnings," said Thomas R. Voss, chairman, president and CEO of Ameren Corporation. "As a result, we have updated our 2013 guidance for earnings from continuing operations to a range of $2.00 to $2.10 per diluted share, compared to our prior range of $2.00 to $2.15 per diluted share.

"We have achieved three important milestones in recent weeks," Voss added. "In August, the Illinois Commerce Commission approved a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for key portions of the Illinois Rivers transmission project and we expect the remainder of the project to be approved by March of next year. Further, in October, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved our divestiture of the merchant generation business to a Dynegy affiliate and we announced an agreement to sell our merchant gas-fired energy centers. Both transactions are expected to close by year-end. These milestones reflect our focus on rate-regulated operations and allocation of growth capital to higher and more predictable return opportunities."

Ameren recorded net income from continuing operations for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2013 of $464 million, or $1.91 per diluted share, compared to $507 million, or $2.09 per diluted share, for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2012. This earnings decline reflected lower electric sales volumes to native load customers due to summer temperatures that were cooler than those of the prior-year period. The earnings comparison was also negatively impacted by 2013 Callaway refueling and maintenance outage expenses as there were no such expenses in the year-ago period when there was no refueling outage. The comparison was also impacted by the absence, in 2013, of the 2012 benefit of 7 cents per diluted share from a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order related to a disputed Missouri purchased power agreement and a 2013 charge of 7 cents per diluted share resulting from a Missouri court decision related to fuel adjustment clause treatment of certain prior-period wholesale sales. These negative factors were partially offset by rate increases for Missouri electric and Illinois transmission service, both effective in Jan. 2013, as well as higher Illinois electric delivery earnings. The latter reflected the absence, in 2013, of a 2012 required donation, as well as increased rate base and a higher allowed return on equity under formula ratemaking.

2013 Earnings Guidance

Ameren now expects 2013 earnings from continuing operations to be in a range of $2.00 to $2.10 per diluted share, compared to the prior range of $2.00 to $2.15 per diluted share. This updated guidance incorporates the negative impact of cooler-than-normal third quarter 2013 temperatures on electric sales volumes. The updated guidance continues to incorporate approximately 20 cents per diluted share of parent company and other costs, including certain costs which were previously allocated to the merchant generation business. Guidance is presented on a continuing operations basis reflecting classification of the merchant generation business as discontinued operations.

Ameren's 2013 earnings guidance for continuing operations assumes normal temperatures for the fourth quarter of the year. In addition, this guidance is subject to the effects of, among other things, completion of Ameren's divestiture of the merchant generation business, including sale of the Elgin, Gibson City, and Grand Tower gas-fired energy centers; changes in 30-year United States Treasury bond yields; regulatory decisions and legislative actions; energy center operations; energy, economic, capital and credit market conditions; severe storms; unusual or otherwise unexpected gains or losses; and other risks and uncertainties outlined, or referred to, in the Forward-looking Statements section of this press release.

Ameren Missouri Segment Results

Ameren Missouri segment third quarter 2013 earnings were $238 million, compared to third quarter 2012 earnings of $236 million. The increase in earnings reflected an increase in rates for electric service, effective in Jan. 2013, and disciplined cost management. These positive factors were partially offset by lower electric sales volumes to native load customers due to temperatures that were cooler than those of the prior-year period.

Ameren Illinois Segment Results

Ameren Illinois segment third quarter 2013 earnings were $77 million, compared to third quarter 2012 earnings of $71 million. The increase in earnings reflected higher Illinois electric delivery earnings recognized under formula ratemaking resulting from timing differences, increased rate base and a higher allowed return on equity. This positive factor was partially offset by lower electric sales volumes to native load customers largely due to temperatures that were cooler than those of the prior-year period.

Parent Company and Other

Parent company and other results from continuing operations were a loss of $10 million for the third quarter of 2013, compared to earnings of $2 million for the third quarter of 2012. This decrease in earnings primarily reflected a decrease in asset retirement obligation costs in the prior-year period and higher income tax expense in the current-year period. Parent company and other results include interest expense and certain other costs which were previously allocated to the merchant generation business, as well as other costs historically not allocated to Ameren's business segments.

Discontinued Operations

Ameren's net loss from discontinued operations for the third quarter of 2013 was $3 million, or 1 cent per diluted share, compared to third quarter 2012 earnings of $65 million, or 26 cents per diluted share. This decrease in earnings primarily reflected the absence, in 2013, of a third quarter 2012 noncash income tax benefit of $45 million related to a first quarter 2012 asset impairment charge, as well as lower realized power sales prices. The tax benefit arose from the requirement to recognize interim period income tax expense using the annual estimated effective rate.  

Ameren's net loss from discontinued operations for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2013 was $212 million, or 88 cents per diluted share, compared to a net loss from discontinued operations for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2012 of $325 million, or $1.34 per diluted share. This reduced loss reflected lower asset impairment charges partially offset by lower realized power sales prices.

Summary of Net Results  

Ameren recorded third quarter 2013 net income of $302 million, or $1.24 per diluted share, compared to third quarter 2012 net income of $374 million, or $1.54 per diluted share. Net income for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2013 was $252 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, compared to net income for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2012 of $182 million, or 75 cents per diluted share.

Ameren's earnings or loss per diluted share from continuing operations and discontinued operations, as well as net income or loss per diluted share, was as follows:

Analyst Conference Call

Ameren will conduct a conference call for financial analysts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, Nov. 7, to discuss third quarter 2013 earnings, 2013 earnings guidance and other matters. Investors, the news media and the public may listen to a live Internet broadcast of the call at Ameren.com by clicking on "Q3 2013 Ameren Corporation Earnings Conference Call," followed by the appropriate audio link. An accompanying slide presentation will be available on Ameren's website. This presentation will be posted in the "Investors" section of the website under "Webcasts & Presentations." The analyst call will also be available for replay on the Internet for one year. In addition, a telephone playback of the conference call will be available beginning at approximately noon Central Time from Nov. 7 through Nov. 14 by dialing U.S. 877.660.6853 or international 201.612.7415, and entering ID number 423009.

About Ameren

St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation serves 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through our Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric and natural gas delivery service while Ameren Missouri provides vertically integrated electric service, with generating capacity of 10,300 megawatts, and natural gas delivery service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois develops regional electric transmission projects. In 2013, we entered into definitive agreements to divest our Illinois-based merchant generation business. For more information, visit Ameren.com.  

Forward-looking Statements

Statements in this release not based on historical facts are considered "forward-looking" and, accordingly, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. Although such forward-looking statements have been made in good faith and are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that the expected results will be achieved. These statements include (without limitation) statements as to future expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, objectives, events, conditions, and financial performance. In connection with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, we are providing this cautionary statement to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. The following factors, in addition to those discussed under Risk Factors in Ameren's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and Ameren's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, and elsewhere in this release and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations suggested in such forward-looking statements:

• completion of Ameren's divestiture of its merchant generation business, which is subject to Illinois Pollution Control Board approval of an Illinois Multi-Pollutant Standard (MPS) variance in favor of Illinois Power Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of Dynegy Inc., on the same material terms as Ameren Energy Resources' existing Illinois MPS variance, and completion of the sale of the Elgin, Gibson City, and Grand Tower gas-fired energy centers, which is subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other regulatory approvals;
• Ameren's exit from the merchant generation business, which could result in additional impairments of long-lived assets, disposal-related losses, contingencies, reduction of existing deferred tax assets, or could have other adverse impacts on the financial condition, results of operations and liquidity of Ameren;
• regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions, including changes in regulatory policies and ratemaking determinations, such as the outcome of Ameren Illinois' natural gas delivery service rate case filed in 2013; the court appeals of Ameren Illinois' electric rate order issued in 2012; Ameren Missouri's request with the Missouri Public Service Commission for an accounting authority order relating to the deferral of certain fixed costs; Ameren Illinois' request for rehearing of FERC's July 2012 and June 2013 orders regarding the alleged inclusion of acquisition premiums in Ameren Illinois transmission rates; and future regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions that seek to change regulatory recovery mechanisms;
• the effect of Ameren Illinois participating in a performance-based formula ratemaking process under the Illinois Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act (IEIMA), including the direct relationship between Ameren Illinois' return on common equity and the 30-year United States Treasury bond yields, the related financial commitments required by the IEIMA and the resulting uncertain impact on the financial condition, results of operations and liquidity of Ameren Illinois;
• the effects of Ameren Illinois' expected participation, beginning in 2014, in the regulatory framework provided by the state of Illinois' recently enacted Natural Gas Consumer, Safety and Reliability Act, which allows for the use of a rider to recover costs of certain infrastructure investments made between rate cases;
• the effects of, or changes to, the Illinois power procurement process;
• the effects of increased competition in the future due to, among other things, deregulation of certain aspects of our business at both the state and federal levels, and the implementation of deregulation;
• changes in laws and other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, and tax policies, such as changes that result in our being unable to claim all or a portion of the cash tax benefits that are expected to result from the divestiture of the merchant generation business;
• the effects on demand for our services resulting from technological advances, including advances in energy efficiency and distributed generation sources, which generate electricity at the site of consumption;
• increasing capital expenditure and operating expense requirements and our ability to recover these costs;
• the cost and availability of fuel such as coal, natural gas and enriched uranium used to produce electricity; the cost and availability of purchased power and natural gas for distribution; and the level and volatility of future market prices for such commodities, including the ability to recover the costs for such commodities;
• the effectiveness of our risk management strategies and the use of financial and derivative instruments;
• the level and volatility of future prices for power in the Midwest, which may have a significant effect on the financial condition of Ameren's merchant generation segment;
• business and economic conditions, including their impact on interest rates, bad debt expense, and demand for our products;
• disruptions of the capital markets, deterioration in our credit metrics, or other events that make our access to necessary capital, including short-term credit and liquidity, impossible, more difficult, or more costly;
• our assessment of our liquidity, including liquidity concerns for Ameren's merchant generation business, and specifically for Ameren Energy Generating Company, whose ability to borrow additional funds from external third-party sources is restricted;
• the impact of the adoption of new accounting guidance and the application of appropriate technical accounting rules and guidance;
• actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such actions;
• the impact of weather conditions and other natural phenomena on us and our customers, including the impacts of droughts which may cause lower river levels and could limit our energy centers' ability to generate power;
• the impact of system outages;
• generation, transmission, and distribution asset construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery;
• the effects of our increasing investment in electric transmission projects and uncertainty as to whether we will achieve our expected investment and returns in a timely fashion, if at all;
• the extent to which Ameren Missouri prevails in its claims against insurers in connection with its Taum Sauk pumped-storage hydroelectric energy center incident;
• the extent to which Ameren Missouri is permitted by its regulators to recover in rates the investments it made in connection with additional nuclear generation at its Callaway Energy Center;
• operation of Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center, including planned, unplanned  and refueling outages, and future  decommissioning costs;
• the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, including the divestiture of the merchant generation business, and any related tax implications;
• the impact of current environmental regulations on utilities and power generating companies and new, more stringent or changing requirements, including those related to greenhouse gases, other emissions and discharges, cooling water intake structures, coal combustion residuals, and energy efficiency, that are enacted over time and that could limit or terminate the operation of certain of our energy centers, increase our costs, result in an impairment of our assets, result in sales of our assets, reduce our customers' demand for electricity or natural gas, or otherwise have a negative financial effect;
• the impact of complying with renewable energy portfolio requirements in Missouri;
• labor disputes, workforce reductions, future wage and employee benefits costs, including changes in discount rates and returns on benefit plan assets;
• the inability of our counterparties and affiliates to meet their obligations with respect to contracts, credit agreements, and financial instruments;
• the cost and availability of transmission capacity for the energy generated by Ameren's and Ameren Missouri's energy centers or required to satisfy energy sales made by Ameren or Ameren Missouri;
• legal and administrative proceedings; and
• acts of sabotage, war, terrorism, cybersecurity attacks or intentionally disruptive acts.

Given these uncertainties, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events.  

SOURCE Ameren Corporation