Ameren (NYSE: AEE) Announces First Quarter 2018 Results
Ameren (NYSE: AEE) Announces First Quarter 2018 Results
- First Quarter Earnings Per Share were $0.62 in 2018 vs. $0.42 in 2017
- Guidance Range for 2018 Affirmed at $2.95 to $3.15 Per Diluted Share
ST. LOUIS, May 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) today announced first quarter 2018 net income attributable to common shareholders of $151 million, or $0.62 per share, compared to first quarter 2017 net income attributable to common shareholders of $102 million, or $0.42 per share.
The increase in year-over-year first quarter earnings reflected higher Ameren Missouri electric service rates, effective April 1, 2017, and higher Ameren Missouri electric retail sales, primarily due to colder winter temperatures compared to very mild temperatures in the year-ago period. The comparison also benefited from earnings on increased infrastructure investments made at Ameren Transmission, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution and Ameren Illinois Natural Gas. While Ameren's effective income tax rate was lower in 2018 compared to 2017 reflecting federal tax reform, this benefit was almost entirely offset by a reduction in revenue reflecting the expected pass through of those savings to customers.
"We are on track to deliver within our 2018 earnings guidance range of $2.95 to $3.15 per share," said Warner L. Baxter, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ameren Corporation. "Our team continues to successfully execute our strategy, including allocating capital to jurisdictions with modern, constructive regulatory frameworks and managing costs in a disciplined manner.
"Further, we continue to advocate for forward-thinking Missouri electric utility legislation currently under consideration by the Missouri General Assembly," Baxter said. "This legislation would support Ameren Missouri's ability to invest approximately $1 billion of incremental capital over the next five years to modernize Missouri's electric grid. In addition, the legislation would create jobs and provide significant customer benefits, including passing the benefits of the lower federal income tax rate on to customers in a very timely fashion."
Earnings Guidance
Today, Ameren also affirmed its 2018 earnings guidance range of $2.95 to $3.15 per diluted share.
Earnings guidance for 2018 assumes normal temperatures for the last nine months of this year and is subject to the effects of, among other things: 30-year U.S. Treasury bond yields; regulatory, judicial and legislative actions; energy center and energy distribution 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 first quarter 2018 earnings were $38 million, compared to first quarter 2017 earnings of $5 million. The increase in year-over-year earnings reflected higher electric service rates, as well as higher electric retail sales primarily due to colder winter temperatures compared to very mild temperatures in the year-ago period. These favorable factors were partially offset by increased other operations and maintenance expenses, primarily reflecting higher-than-normal scheduled non-nuclear plant outage costs.
Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution Segment Results
Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution first quarter 2018 earnings were $33 million, compared to first quarter 2017 earnings of $30 million. The year-over-year improvement reflected increased earnings on infrastructure investments. The allowed return on equity, which is based on the average 30-year U.S. Treasury bond yield, was comparable for 2018 and 2017.
Ameren Illinois Natural Gas Segment Results
Ameren Illinois Natural Gas first quarter 2018 earnings were $42 million, compared to first quarter 2017 earnings of $33 million. The year-over-year improvement reflected increased earnings on infrastructure investments and benefits of federal tax reform.
Ameren Transmission Segment Results
Ameren Transmission first quarter 2018 earnings were $37 million, compared to first quarter 2017 earnings of $34 million. The year-over-year improvement reflected increased earnings on infrastructure investments.
Other Results
Other results, which includes items not reported in a business segment, were $1 million of earnings for the first quarter of 2018, compared to no earnings for the first quarter of 2017.
Analyst Conference Call
Ameren will conduct a conference call for financial analysts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Wednesday, May 9, to discuss 2018 earnings, earnings guidance and other matters. Investors, the news media and the public may listen to a live broadcast of the call at AmerenInvestors.com by clicking on "Webcast" under "Q1 2018 Earnings Conference Call," where an accompanying slide presentation will also be available. The conference call and presentation will be archived for one year in the "Investor News & Events" section of the website under "Events and Presentations."
About Ameren
St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric and natural gas transmission and distribution service while Ameren Missouri provides vertically integrated electric service, with generating capacity of 10,300 megawatts, and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois develops regional electric transmission projects. For more information, visit Ameren.com, or follow us at @AmerenCorp, Facebook.com/AmerenCorp, or LinkedIn/company/Ameren.
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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, 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:
-- regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions, including the effects of
the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) and any changes in regulatory
policies and ratemaking determinations, such as those that may result
from the complaint case filed in February 2015 with the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission seeking a reduction in the allowed base return on
common equity under the Midcontinent Independent System Operator tariff,
Ameren Missouri's proceedings with the Missouri Public Service
Commission to pass through to its customers the effect of the reduction
in the federal statutory corporate income tax rate enacted under the
TCJA, Ameren Illinois' natural gas regulatory rate review filed with the
Illinois Commerce Commission in January 2018, Ameren Illinois' April
2018 annual electric distribution formula rate update filing, and future
regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions that change regulatory
recovery mechanisms and the resulting impacts on our results of
operations, financial position, and liquidity;
-- the effect of Ameren Illinois' participation in performance-based
formula ratemaking frameworks under the Illinois Energy Infrastructure
Modernization Act and the Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA),
including the direct relationship between Ameren Illinois' return on
common equity and 30-year United States Treasury bond yields, and the
related financial commitments;
-- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and other
governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, and energy policies;
-- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local tax laws,
regulations, interpretations, or rates, amendments or technical
corrections to the TCJA, and any challenges to the tax positions we have
taken;
-- the effects on demand for our services resulting from technological
advances, including advances in customer energy efficiency and private
generation sources, which generate electricity at the site of
consumption and are becoming more cost-competitive;
-- the effectiveness of Ameren Missouri's customer energy-efficiency
programs and the related revenues and performance incentives earned
under its Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act programs;
-- Ameren Illinois' ability to achieve the FEJA electric energy-efficiency
goals and the resulting impact on its allowed return on program
investments;
-- our ability to align overall spending, both operating and capital, with
frameworks established by our regulators and to recover these costs in a
timely manner in our attempt to earn our allowed returns on equity;
-- the cost and availability of fuel, such as ultra-low-sulfur coal,
natural gas, and enriched uranium used to produce electricity; the cost
and availability of purchased power, zero emission credits, renewable
energy credits, and natural gas for distribution; and the level and
volatility of future market prices for such commodities and credits,
including our ability to recover the costs for such commodities and
credits and our customers' tolerance for any related price increases;
-- disruptions in the delivery of fuel, failure of our fuel suppliers to
provide adequate quantities or quality of fuel, or lack of adequate
inventories of fuel, including nuclear fuel assemblies from Westinghouse
Electric Company, LLC, the Callaway Energy Center's only Nuclear
Regulatory Commission-licensed supplier of such assemblies;
-- the effectiveness of our risk management strategies and our use of
financial and derivative instruments;
-- the ability to obtain sufficient insurance, including insurance for
Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center, or, in the absence of
insurance, the ability to recover uninsured losses from our customers;
-- business and economic conditions, including their impact on interest
rates, collection of our receivable balances, and demand for our
products;
-- disruptions of the capital markets, deterioration in our credit metrics,
including as a result of the implementation of the TCJA, or other events
that may have an adverse effect on the cost or availability of capital,
including short-term credit and liquidity;
-- the actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such actions;
-- the impact of adopting new accounting guidance and the application of
appropriate accounting rules and guidance;
-- the impact of weather conditions and other natural phenomena on us and
our customers, including the impact of system outages;
-- the construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery of
generation, transmission, and distribution assets;
-- the effects of breakdowns or failures of equipment in the operation of
natural gas transmission and distribution systems and storage
facilities, such as leaks, explosions, and mechanical problems, and
compliance with natural gas safety regulations;
-- the effects of our increasing investment in electric transmission
projects as well as potential wind and solar generation projects, our
ability to obtain all of the necessary approvals to complete the
projects, and the uncertainty as to whether we will achieve our expected
returns in a timely manner;
-- operation of Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center, including planned
and unplanned outages, and decommissioning costs;
-- the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions
and divestitures;
-- the impact of current environmental regulations and new, more stringent,
or changing requirements, including those related to carbon dioxide,
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 Ameren
Missouri's energy centers, increase our costs or investment
requirements, result in an impairment of our assets, cause us to sell
our assets, reduce our customers' demand for electricity or natural gas,
or otherwise have a negative financial effect;
-- the impact of negative opinions of us or our utility services that our
customers, legislators, or regulators may have or develop, which could
result from a variety of factors, including failures in system
reliability, failure to implement our investment plans or protect
sensitive customer information, increases in rates, or negative media
coverage;
-- the impact of complying with renewable energy portfolio requirements in
Missouri and Illinois and with the zero emission standard in Illinois;
-- labor disputes, work force reductions, future wage and employee benefits
costs, including changes in discount rates, mortality tables, and
returns on benefit plan assets;
-- the inability of our counterparties 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 Missouri's energy centers or required to satisfy
Ameren Missouri's energy sales;
-- legal and administrative proceedings;
-- the impact of cyber-attacks, which could, among other things, result in
the loss of operational control of energy centers and electric and
natural gas transmission and distribution systems and/or the loss of
data, such as customer, employee, financial, and operating system
information; and
-- acts of sabotage, war, terrorism, or other intentionally disruptive
acts.
New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in any forward-looking statement. 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.
AMEREN CORPORATION (AEE)
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
(Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2018 2017
---- ----
Operating Revenues:
Electric $1,223 $1,207
Natural gas 362 308
--- ---
Total operating
revenues 1,585 1,515
----- -----
Operating Expenses:
Fuel 188 206
Purchased power 163 180
Natural gas
purchased for
resale 171 130
Other operations and
maintenance 431 418
Depreciation and
amortization 234 221
Taxes other than
income taxes 125 118
--- ---
Total operating
expenses 1,312 1,273
----- -----
Operating Income 273 242
Other Income, Net 23 18
Interest Charges 101 99
--- ---
Income Before Income
Taxes 195 161
Income Taxes 42 57
--- ---
Net Income 153 104
Less: Net Income
Attributable to
Noncontrolling
Interests 2 2
--- ---
Net Income
Attributable to
Ameren Common
Shareholders $151 $102
---------------- ---- ----
Earnings per Common
Share - Basic and
Diluted $0.62 $0.42
Weighted-average
Common Shares
Outstanding - Basic 242.9 242.6
AMEREN CORPORATION (AEE)
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
(Unaudited, in millions)
March 31, December 31,
2018 2017
---- ----
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $30 $10
Accounts receivable -trade (less
allowance for doubtful accounts) 514 445
Unbilled revenue 258 323
Miscellaneous accounts receivable 98 70
Inventories 453 522
Current regulatory assets 130 144
Other current assets 84 98
--- ---
Total current assets 1,567 1,612
----- -----
Property, Plant, and Equipment, Net 21,666 21,466
Investments and Other Assets:
Nuclear decommissioning trust fund 698 704
Goodwill 411 411
Regulatory assets 1,205 1,230
Other assets 532 522
--- ---
Total investments and other assets 2,846 2,867
---------------------------------- ----- -----
TOTAL ASSETS $26,079 $25,945
------------ ------- -------
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt $1,170 $841
Short-term debt 960 484
Accounts and wages payable 497 902
Taxes accrued 91 52
Interest accrued 97 99
Customer deposits 115 108
Current regulatory liabilities 130 128
Other current liabilities 285 326
--- ---
Total current liabilities 3,345 2,940
----- -----
Long-term Debt, Net 6,766 7,094
Deferred Credits and Other Liabilities:
Accumulated deferred income taxes,
net 2,564 2,506
Accumulated deferred investment tax
credits 47 49
Regulatory liabilities 4,363 4,387
Asset retirement obligations 636 638
Pension and other postretirement
benefits 541 545
Other deferred credits and
liabilities 445 460
--- ---
Total deferred credits and other
liabilities 8,596 8,585
----- -----
Ameren Corporation Shareholders' Equity:
Common stock 2 2
Other paid-in capital, principally
premium on common stock 5,546 5,540
Retained earnings 1,699 1,660
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (17) (18)
--- ---
Total Ameren Corporation
shareholders' equity 7,230 7,184
Noncontrolling Interests 142 142
--- ---
Total equity 7,372 7,326
------------ ----- -----
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $26,079 $25,945
---------------------------- ------- -------
AMEREN CORPORATION (AEE)
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited, in millions)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2018 2017
---- ----
Cash Flows From Operating Activities:
Net income $153 $104
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by
operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 230 217
Amortization of nuclear fuel 24 24
Amortization of debt issuance costs and premium/
discounts 5 6
Deferred income taxes and investment tax
credits, net 26 51
Allowance for equity funds used during
construction (5) (6)
Stock-based compensation costs 6 4
Other 2 (4)
Changes in assets and liabilities (183) (65)
---- ---
Net cash provided by operating activities 258 331
----------------------------------------- --- ---
Cash Flows From Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures (579) (504)
Nuclear fuel expenditures (12) (27)
Purchases of securities - nuclear
decommissioning trust fund (38) (40)
Sales and maturities of securities - nuclear
decommissioning trust fund 34 34
Other (2) (2)
--- ---
Net cash used in investing activities (597) (539)
------------------------------------- ---- ----
Cash Flows From Financing Activities:
Dividends on common stock (111) (107)
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest
holders (2) (2)
Short-term debt, net 475 356
Issuances of common stock 17 -
Repurchases of common stock for stock-based
compensation - (24)
Employee payroll taxes related to stock-based
compensation (19) (15)
Other - (1)
--- ---
Net cash provided by financing activities 360 207
Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and
restricted cash 21 (1)
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at
beginning of year 68 52
--- ---
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at
end of period $89 $51
---------------------------------------------- --- ---
AMEREN CORPORATION (AEE)
OPERATING STATISTICS
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018 2017
---- ----
Electric Sales -kilowatthours (in
millions):
Ameren Missouri
Residential 3,780 3,227
Commercial 3,528 3,357
Industrial 1,053 1,035
Street lighting and
public authority 29 33
Ameren Missouri
retail load subtotal 8,390 7,652
Off-system 2,549 3,188
Ameren Missouri total 10,939 10,840
------ ------
Ameren Illinois Electric
Distribution
Residential 3,071 2,717
Commercial 2,977 2,917
Industrial 2,794 2,736
Street lighting and
public authority 146 132
--- ---
Ameren Illinois
Electric
Distribution total 8,988 8,502
----- -----
Eliminate affiliate
sales (78) (168)
--- ----
Ameren Total 19,849 19,174
------------ ------ ------
Electric Revenues (in millions):
Ameren Missouri
Residential $332 $290
Commercial 252 232
Industrial 61 58
Other, including
street lighting and
public authority 27 29
Ameren Missouri
retail load subtotal $672 $609
Off-system 69 138
Ameren Missouri total $741 $747
---- ----
Ameren Illinois Electric
Distribution
Residential $219 $219
Commercial 124 133
Industrial 35 28
Other, including
street lighting and
public authority 22 5
---
Ameren Illinois
Electric
Distribution total $400 $385
---- ----
Ameren Transmission
$62 $60
Ameren Illinois Transmission(a)
ATXI 42 42
--- ---
Ameren Transmission
total $104 $102
---- ----
Other and
intersegment
eliminations (22) (27)
--- ---
Ameren Total $1,223 $1,207
------------ ------ ------
(a) Includes $13 million and $6
million, respectively, of
electric operating revenues
from transmission services
provided to the Ameren Illinois
Electric Distribution segment.
AMEREN CORPORATION (AEE)
OPERATING STATISTICS
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018 2017
----
Gas Sales -dekatherms (in
millions):
Ameren Missouri 9 6
Ameren Illinois
Natural Gas 68 58
--- ---
Ameren Total 77 64
------------ --- ---
Gas Revenues (in millions):
Ameren Missouri $51 $44
Ameren Illinois
Natural Gas 311 264
Ameren Total $362 $308
------------ ---- ----
March 31, December 31,
2018 2017
---- ----
Common Stock:
Shares outstanding
(in millions) 243.6 242.6
Book value per share $29.68 $29.61
CONTACT: Media: Joe Muehlenkamp, 314.554.2182, jmuehlenkamp@ameren.com; Analysts: Doug Fischer, 314.554.4859, dfischer@ameren.com or Andrew Kirk, 314.554.3942, akirk@ameren.com; Investors: Investor Services, 800.255.2237, invest@ameren.com
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