Entergy Reports Third Quarter Earnings

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) today reported third quarter 2011 as-reported earnings of $628.1 million, or $3.53 per share, compared with $492.9 million, or $2.62 per share, for third quarter 2010. On an operational basis, Entergy's third quarter 2011 earnings were $628.1 million, or $3.53 per share, compared with $518.1 million, or $2.76 per share, in third quarter 2010.

Operational Earnings Highlights for Third Quarter 2011

• Utility results were higher due primarily to a tax settlement that resulted in a significant decrease in income tax expense, which was partially offset by a regulatory charge to reflect the portion of the tax benefit that will be shared with Entergy Louisiana, LLC's customers.
• Entergy Wholesale Commodities earnings decreased as a result of lower net revenue, due primarily to lower pricing associated with the nuclear fleet, and a higher effective income tax rate.
• Parent & Other results declined due primarily to higher income tax expense on Parent & Other activities.

"Legal and regulatory proceedings dominated the quarter. In September, the trial on our federal lawsuit to prevent the state of Vermont from forcing Vermont Yankee to close in March of next year, despite the fact that the NRC has extended the license, was completed. A ruling from the District Court could be issued at any time. In New York, the hearing before Administrative Law Judges of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is under way and expected to continue into 2012," said J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer. "While we don't expect final resolution – that is, appeals are always likely – for either of these issues in the immediate future, we are now moving out of the political arena and into the judicial system. Facts matter and we believe in our cases.

"The Utility also continues to make progress on key initiatives. The Arkansas Public Service Commission issued an order late last week in its proceeding on post-System Agreement transition for Entergy Arkansas, Inc. The order provides needed clarity, affirms that an RTO is the right answer, and opens the pathway for the other operating companies to move forward. We will submit a change of control filing in Arkansas to join MISO within the next 30 days."

Other Business Highlights

• Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C., Entergy Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans, Inc. received orders resolving their 2010 test year formula rate plan filings.
• Entergy Wholesale Commodities announced its agreement to acquire the Rhode Island State Energy Center, a 583-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine facility, including a planned 33-megawatt uprate, for $346 million.
• Entergy was recognized for the 10th consecutive year as a leader in sustainability by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In addition, the Carbon Disclosure Project named Entergy to the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index for the seventh time in eight years.

Entergy will host a teleconference to discuss this release at 10 a.m. CT on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, with access by telephone, (719) 457-2080, confirmation code 4650540. The call and presentation slides can also be accessed via Entergy's website at www.entergy.com. A replay of the teleconference will be available through Nov. 8, 2011, by dialing (719) 457-0820, confirmation code 4650540. The replay will also be available on Entergy's website at www.entergy.com.

Utility

In third quarter 2011, Utility's as-reported and operational earnings were $524.1 million, or $2.95 per share, compared to $333.6 million, or $1.78 per share, on the same bases in third quarter 2010. Earnings in the current quarter reflect a tax settlement with the Internal Revenue Service entered into in August 2011 that resulted in a significant decrease in income tax expense. The majority of the income tax expense effect from the IRS settlement was recorded at the Utility; there was also some effect at the other business segments. Utility income tax expense was also lower in the current quarter due to the absence of the net effect of consolidated income tax adjustments across the Entergy companies in the third quarter of last year, which net to zero on a consolidated basis.

A portion of the Utility tax benefit from the IRS settlement will be shared with Entergy Louisiana customers, consistent with the settlement approved by the Louisiana Public Service Commission in October 2011. As a result, the decrease in Utility income tax expense was partially offset by a decrease in net revenue attributed to the regulatory charge recorded to reflect the customer sharing arrangement. Excluding the regulatory charge, net revenue was slightly lower than the prior year. Weather was significantly warmer than normal in the third quarter of both years. Also contributing to the higher earnings was lower non-fuel operation and maintenance expense due primarily to a reduction in compensation and benefit expenses. These benefits were partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization expense from higher depreciable plant balances.

Residential sales in third quarter 2011, on a weather-adjusted basis, increased 0.1 percent compared to third quarter 2010. Commercial and governmental sales, on a weather-adjusted basis, increased 0.3 percent quarter over quarter. Industrial sales in the third quarter increased 7.3 percent compared to the same quarter of 2010.

Overall retail sales growth, on a weather-adjusted basis, was 2.6 percent in the third quarter of this year driven by strong industrial sales. Entergy's service territory continues to benefit from expansions. Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Texas, Inc. and Entergy Mississippi, Inc. had the strongest industrial sales growth at 15.1 percent, 9.5 percent, and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Entergy Wholesale Commodities

Entergy Wholesale Commodities earned $130.2 million, or 73 cents per share, on as-reported and operational bases in third quarter 2011 compared to as-reported earnings of $143.0 million, or 76 per cents per share, and operational earnings of $168.2 million, or 90 cents per share, in third quarter 2010. Entergy Wholesale Commodities operational earnings declined partially as a result of lower net revenue driven by lower energy and capacity pricing on its nuclear fleet. The effect of lower pricing was partially offset by higher volume as a result of fewer refueling and unplanned nuclear outage days. A higher effective income tax rate also contributed to the Entergy Wholesale Commodities earnings decline. The higher income tax expense was due primarily to the absence of the net effect of consolidated income tax adjustments across the Entergy companies in the third quarter of last year, which net to zero on a consolidated basis. These items were partially offset by lower non-fuel operation and maintenance expense attributable primarily to lower compensation and benefit expenses and the absence of a write-off of capitalized engineering costs associated with a potential uprate project in the previous period.

Parent & Other

Parent & Other reported a loss of $26.3 million, or 15 cents per share, on as-reported and operational bases in third quarter 2011, compared to earnings of $16.2 million, or 8 cents per share, on the same bases in the third quarter of last year. Higher income tax expense on Parent & Other activities was the primary factor driving results for the quarter. Income tax expense was higher due to the absence of a reversal of an income tax reserve recorded in the third quarter of last year. The absence of the net effect of consolidated income tax adjustments also contributed.

Earnings Guidance

As a result of the Internal Revenue Service and LPSC settlements discussed above, Entergy revised its 2011 as-reported and operational earnings guidance to a range of $7.15 to $7.65 per share. Entergy's previous guidance range was $6.35 to $6.85 per share on both as-reported and operational bases. The midpoint of Entergy's 2011 earnings guidance is adjusted only to reflect the year-to-date income tax expense adjustments above the level assumed in the original guidance, including the IRS settlement agreement, net of amount to be shared with Entergy Louisiana's customers.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

Additional information regarding Entergy's quarterly results of operations, regulatory proceedings and other operations is available in Entergy's investor news release dated Nov. 1, 2011, a copy of which has been filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8-K and is available on Entergy's investor relations website at www.entergy.com/investor_relations.

In this news release, and from time to time, Entergy Corporation makes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, Entergy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including (a) those factors discussed in: (i) Entergy's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010; (ii) Entergy's Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2011 and June 30, 2011; and (iii) Entergy's other reports and filings made under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (b) uncertainties associated with rate proceedings, formula rate plans and other cost recovery mechanisms; (c) uncertainties associated with efforts to remediate the effects of major storms and recover related restoration costs; (d) nuclear plant relicensing, operating and regulatory risks, including any changes resulting from the nuclear crisis in Japan following its catastrophic earthquake and tsunami; (e) legislative and regulatory actions and risks and uncertainties associated with claims or litigation by or against Entergy and its subsidiaries; and (f) conditions in commodity and capital markets during the periods covered by the forward-looking statements, in addition to other factors described elsewhere in this release and in subsequent securities filings.

Appendix A provides a reconciliation of GAAP as-reported earnings to non-GAAP operational earnings.

SOURCE Entergy Corporation