"Calpine sees EPS potential of $8/shr within 5 years:"
Wednesday September 20, 6:05 pm Eastern Time
Calpine sees EPS potential of $8/shr within 5
years
NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Independent power producer Calpine
Corp. (NYSE:CPN - news) has the potential to boost its annual earnings of
$8.00 per share within the next five years from 87 cents a share in 1999,
Calpine Senior Vice President, Finance Bob Kelly said on Wednesday.
Calpine earned 87 cents a share in 1999, he pointed out at the CIBC World Markets Power
Technologies Conference.
Kelly had no specific comments on this year's results, noting only that the company has benefited from
this summer's price surge in California, but that prices it received in the Midwest and Northeast have
trailed last year's levels.
PaineWebber analyst Ronald Barone on Tuesday raised his estimate of Calpine's 2000 earnings per
share to $1.80 from $1.50 and next year's to $2.25 from $1.90, citing strong California power prices
in Calpine's areas of operation and the forward pricing curve through 2001.
The First Call/Thomson Financial consensus estimates are $1.56 and $1.94 per share, respectively.
In third market trading Wednesday Calpine shares advanced to $97-1/2, pushing composite volume to
1.8 million shares, after ending the New York Stock Exchange session unchanged at $96-15/16. The
stock has traded at a new high of $103-3/8 Monday and matched that price on the opening Tuesday.
In addition to raising his Calpine estimates, Barone raised his 12-month target price for the stock to
$125 from $92.
Citing expected cash flow and the $4.6 billion raised with equity and debt sales last month, Kelly
said Calpine has the capital needed to build another 25,000 megawatts to 27,000 megawatts of
generating capacity over the next five years.
During the meetings with analysts prior to the financings, he noted, company officials said Calpine
would be selling more equity capital within the next couple of years.
biz.yahoo.com
Once again, thank you, Kevin!
Lynn |
