Spectra Energy Corp Announces 2013 Financial Plan

HOUSTON, Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE) today announced its financial plan for 2013, which includes the following:

• Ongoing 2013 diluted earnings per share (EPS) target of $1.50.
• Annual dividend of $1.22, consistent with previously announced 10-cent increase.
• Investment of approximately $1.4 billion in expansion capital in 2013, consistent with Spectra Energy's long-term growth plan of $1.5 billion average annual growth capital expenditures (CapEx).

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"Our plans for 2013 will enable us to continue to deliver solid shareholder value for the next several years, with expected EPS growth in the 6 percent range and dividend growth of at least 8 cents per year," said Greg Ebel, president and chief executive officer, Spectra Energy Corp. "Consistent with that expectation, we've set our 2013 earnings per share outlook at $1.50.

"In both the near and longer term, we see significant opportunities in all our business units," he said. "Our business momentum is driven by $25 billion in growth projects through the end of the decade and advancing our MLP drop-down strategy by leveraging recent asset additions. The growth we have underway and on the horizon is substantial: about $10 billion within our U.S. Transmission segment; at least $7 billion in Western Canada; approximately $6 billion at DCP Midstream; more than $1 billion at our Union Gas distribution business in Canada; and over $2 billion in crude oil and liquids pipelines, including our Express-Platte acquisition, which provides us with immediate scale and scope in the expanding crude oil transportation and storage space. We expect to close on this acquisition during the first half of 2013."   

Key assumptions underlying Spectra Energy's 2013 financial plan include:

• An average natural gas liquids price of 80 cents per gallon; natural gas price of $3.75 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf); and crude averaging $90 per barrel.
• Break-even earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) at the Empress gas processing plant in Western Canada.
• Expansion CapEx of $1.4 billion.
• Maintenance CapEx of $790 million.
• A Canadian/U.S. dollar exchange rate at parity.
• Excludes Express-Platte Pipeline System earnings, pending acquisition closing.
• No SE equity issuance

The company will discuss its 2013 outlook in greater detail during an analyst breakfast meeting in New York today. The session will be webcast, with the presentation scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. ET. The webcast can be accessed via the Investors Section of Spectra Energy's website at www.spectraenergy.com. Interested parties also have the option to call into the discussion by dialing 888-252-3715 in the United States or 706-634-8942 outside the United States. The conference ID is 81493832. An audio replay will be available following the event until 5 p.m. ET, April 16, 2013, by dialing 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406 with the above conference ID.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as: anticipate, believe, intend, estimate, expect, continue, should, could, may, plan, project, predict, will, potential, forecast, and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results predicted. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to: state, federal and foreign legislative and regulatory initiatives that affect cost and investment recovery, have an effect on rate structure, and affect the speed at and degree to which competition enters the natural gas industries; outcomes of litigation and regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries; weather and other natural phenomena, including the economic, operational and other effects of hurricanes and storms; the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; general economic conditions, including the risk of a prolonged economic slowdown or decline, or the risk of delay in a recovery, which can affect the long-term demand for natural gas and related services; potential effects arising from terrorist attacks and any consequential or other hostilities; changes in environmental, safety and other laws and regulations; results and costs of financing efforts, including the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit ratings and general market and economic conditions; increases in the cost of goods and services required to complete capital projects; declines in the market prices of equity and debt securities and resulting funding requirements for defined benefit pension plans; growth in opportunities, including the timing and success of efforts to develop U.S. and Canadian pipeline, storage, gathering, processing and other infrastructure projects and the effects of competition; the performance of natural gas transmission and storage, distribution, and gathering and processing facilities; the extent of success in connecting natural gas supplies to gathering, processing and transmission systems and in connecting to expanding gas markets; the effects of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by accounting standard-setting bodies; conditions of the capital markets during the periods covered by the forward-looking statements; and the ability to successfully complete merger, acquisition or divestiture plans; regulatory or other limitations imposed as a result of a merger, acquisition or divestiture; and the success of the business following a merger, acquisition or divestiture. These factors, as well as additional factors that could affect our forward-looking statements, are described under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" in our 2011 Form 10-K, filed on February 27, 2012, and in our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available via the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than we have described. All forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE), a FORTUNE 500 company, is one of North America's premier natural gas infrastructure companies serving three key links in the natural gas value chain: gathering and processing, transmission and storage, and distribution. For more than a century, Spectra Energy and its predecessor companies have developed critically important pipelines and related infrastructure connecting natural gas supply sources to premium markets. Based in Houston, Texas, the company's operations in the United States and Canada include more than 19,000 miles of transmission pipeline, over 305 billion cubic feet of storage, as well as natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas liquids operations and local distribution assets. The company also has a 50 percent ownership in DCP Midstream, one of the largest natural gas gatherers and processors in the United States. Spectra Energy is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes and the Carbon Disclosure Project's Global 500 and S&P 500 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Indexes. For more information, visit www.spectraenergy.com.

SOURCE Spectra Energy Corp