Complete Earnings Tables
- Consolidated net income reported under GAAP
was $0.71 per share for PG&E Corporation for
the quarter ended March 31, 2007, compared with
$0.60 per share in the same quarter of 2006. (All “per
share” amounts are presented on a diluted
basis.)
- Guidance for 2007 earnings from operations is
reaffirmed in the $2.70-$2.80 per share range.
Guidance for 2008 earnings from operations is reaffirmed
at $2.90-$3.00 per share.
(San Francisco) -- PG&E Corporation’s
(NYSE: PCG) consolidated net income reported in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
was $256 million, or $0.71 per share, in the first
quarter of 2007. In the same period last year, consolidated
net income was $214 million, or $0.60 per share.
"We had a strong operational and financial
first quarter," said Peter A. Darbee, PG&E
Corporation Chairman, CEO and President. "We
are grateful to the 20,000 men and women of PG&E
for the tremendous effort they are making to transform
the company into the nation's leading energy utility." Darbee
noted that as part of this effort, business customers
ranked PG&E among the highest in the nation in
terms of the company's ability to deliver superior
service. Darbee also noted that a key element of
its customer satisfaction initiative is how the company
procures and generates electricity. "Our objective
is to secure 20 percent of all customer electricity
needs through renewable resources by 2010. Additionally,
our customers are some of the most efficient users
of electricity and natural gas in the nation, and
we continue to develop leading edge customer energy
efficiency and demand-side management programs to
help 15 million Californians maintain their lead
in the efficient and wise use of energy."
QUARTER-OVER-QUARTER COMPARISON
Earnings from operations for the first quarter
of 2007 were $0.11 per share above levels for the
same period in 2006. The quarter-over-quarter difference
primarily reflects higher authorized revenues associated
with higher investment in infrastructure to improve
reliability and customer service. Earnings per share
also reflect the difference in storm-related spending,
which was higher in the first quarter of 2006 when
compared to the first quarter of 2007 (see “Earnings
per Common Share from Operations, First Quarter 2007
vs. First Quarter 2006” in the accompanying
financial tables).
EARNINGS GUIDANCE
PG&E Corporation reaffirmed its previous guidance
for earnings from operations in the range of $2.70-$2.80
per share for 2007 and $2.90-$3.00 per share for
2008.
Guidance assumes that the utility’s rate
base averages $17 billion in 2007 and $18.7 billion
for 2008, that the company earns its authorized return
on equity, and that the ratemaking capital structure
is maintained at 52 percent equity.
PG&E Corporation bases guidance on “earnings
from operations” in order to provide a measure
that allows investors to compare the underlying financial
performance of the business from one period to another,
exclusive of items that management believes do not
reflect the normal course of operations. Earnings
from operations are not a substitute or alternative
for consolidated net income presented in accordance
with GAAP (see the accompanying financial tables
for a reconciliation of guidance of earnings from
operations to guidance of consolidated net income
in accordance with GAAP). There were no differences
between earnings from operations and consolidated
net income as reported in accordance with GAAP for
the three month periods ended March 31, 2007 or 2006.
Supplemental Financial Information:
- In addition to the financial information accompanying
this release, an expanded package of supplemental
financial and operational information for the quarter
will be furnished to the Securities and Exchange
Commission and also will be available shortly on
PG&E Corporation’s website (www.pgecorp.com).
Conference Call with the Financial Community
to Discuss First Quarter Results:
- Today’s call at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time
is open to the public on a listen-only basis via
webcast. Please visit www.pgecorp.com for more
information and instructions for accessing the
webcast. The call will be archived on the website.
Also, a toll-free replay will be accessible shortly
after the live call through 9:00 p.m. EDT, on May
16, 2007, by dialing 877-690-2089. International
callers may dial 402-220-0645.
This press release contains
forward-looking statements regarding management’s guidance for PG&E
Corporation’s 2007 and 2008 EPS from operations.
These statements are based on current expectations
and various assumptions which management believes
are reasonable, including that the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company’s (Utility) rate base averages
$17 billion in 2007 and $18.7 billion in 2008, that
the Utility earns at least its authorized rate of
return on equity, and that the Utility’s ratemaking
capital structure is maintained at 52 percent equity.
These statements and assumptions are necessarily
subject to various risks and uncertainties, the realization
or resolution of which are outside of management's
control. Actual results may differ materially. Factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially
include:
- the Utility’s
ability to timely recover costs through rates;
- the outcome of regulatory proceedings, including
ratemaking proceedings pending at the California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission;
- the adequacy and price of electricity and natural
gas supplies, and the ability of the Utility to
manage and respond to the volatility of the electricity
and natural gas markets;
- the effect of weather,
storms, earthquakes, fires, floods, disease,
other natural disasters, explosions, accidents,
mechanical breakdowns, acts of terrorism, and
other events or hazards that could affect the
Utility’s facilities and
operations, its customers, and third parties on
which the Utility relies;
- the potential impacts
of climate change on the Utility’s electricity
and natural gas business;
- changes in customer demand for electricity and
natural gas resulting from unanticipated population
growth or decline, general economic and financial
market conditions, changes in technology including
the development of alternative energy sources,
or other reasons;
- operating performance
of the Utility’s
Diablo Canyon nuclear generating facilities ( Diablo
Canyon), the occurrence of unplanned outages at
Diablo Canyon, or the temporary or permanent cessation
of operations at Diablo Canyon;
- the ability of the Utility to recognize benefits
from its initiatives to improve its business processes
and customer service;
- the ability of the Utility to timely complete
its planned capital investment projects;
- the impact of changes in federal or state laws,
or their interpretation, on energy policy and the
regulation of utilities and their holding companies;
- the impact of changing
wholesale electric or gas market rules, including
the California Independent System Operator’s
new rules to restructure the California wholesale
electricity market;
- how the CPUC administers
the conditions imposed on PG&E Corporation when it became the Utility’s
holding company;
- the extent to which
PG&E Corporation or
the Utility incur costs and liabilities in connection
with pending litigation that are not recoverable
through rates, from third parties, or through insurance
recoveries;
- the ability of PG&E
Corporation and/or the Utility to access capital
markets and other sources of credit;
- the impact of environmental
laws and regulations and the costs of compliance
and remediation;
- the effect of municipalization,
direct access, community choice aggregation,
or other forms of bypass; and
- other risks and
factors disclosed in PG&E Corporation’s
and the Utility’s SEC reports.