Aquila Reports First-Quarter Results
Net Income and EPS Both Up More Than 350%
KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 2001--Aquila, Inc. (NYSE:ILA - news) announced today first-quarter net income of $49.3 million or $.57 per share, an increase of more than 350 percent over the prior year's first-quarter net income of $10.8 million or $.13 per share.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were up 278 percent. First-quarter sales increased from $4.0 billion last year to $11.0 billion in 2001.
``Our client-centric business model continues to fuel extraordinary growth in earnings in this dynamic energy market,'' said Keith Stamm, Aquila's chief executive officer. ``Our expectation of 25 percent annual earnings growth is well in hand and we are confident in our ability to achieve or beat this objective.''
Aquila, Inc. closed its initial public offering of Class A Aquila common shares including the overallotment option on April 27. The sale price was $24.00, which was higher than the $21.00 to $23.00 range given in Aquila's preliminary filing. The offering raised net proceeds to Aquila of approximately $320 million. UtiliCorp now owns approximately 80 percent of Aquila's outstanding shares and the public owns the remainder.
``The success of Aquila's IPO marks an important milestone in Aquila's history,'' said Robert K. Green, chairman of Aquila and president and chief operating officer of UtiliCorp. ``This is a strong statement of the market's confidence in Aquila's ability to execute on its strategy and provide shareholders with outstanding returns.''
Wholesale Services
EBIT from Wholesale Services increased to $62.4 million for the 2001 quarter from $15.3 million in last year's first quarter. Favorable market conditions and strong winter season demand for gas, power and carbon commodity services substantially increased opportunities versus the prior year. In addition, Aquila's structured products and services business continued to post excellent EBIT growth -- up 59 percent in 2001 compared to 2000.
Transaction flow in Aquila's capital services business was also up 100 percent from 2000, originating approximately $65 million of new transactions during the first quarter of 2001 compared to approximately $25 million in new transactions in the 2000 first quarter.
Aquila's exposure to certain California clients remains minimal and fully reserved. ``The California situation hasn't impacted 2001 results so far and we do not expect any material impact in the future,'' Stamm said.
Capacity Services
The Capacity Services business had EBIT of $27.1 million in 2001 compared to $8.4 million in the 2000 quarter. This increase is primarily due to new earnings stemming from Aquila's acquisition of GPU International in December 2000. To date, the results from GPUI have been better than expected, reflecting strong power project performance. In addition, Aquila's mid-stream gas business posted better results due to stronger natural gas prices that favorably impacted its Katy storage facility and increased demand for transportation services. Aquila continues to be on track with its generation development program and expects to have another 1,000 MW of power on line this summer.
Webcast
Aquila's chairman, chief executive officer and chief financial officer will discuss first-quarter results and outlook for the remainder of 2001 tomorrow, Tuesday, May 1, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time in a live webcast that can be viewed at www.aquila.com.
Based in Kansas City, Aquila is one of the top wholesalers of electricity and natural gas in North America, is an innovative provider of risk management products and services and owns and controls a diverse portfolio of merchant assets including power plants, gas storage, pipeline, and processing facilities, and other complementary merchant infrastructure facilities. Aquila also provides wholesale energy services in the U.K., Scandinavia, Germany and Spain. Additional information is available at www.aquila.com. |
