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Strategies & Market Trends : IPPs and Merchant Energy Co.s -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Larry S. who wrote (156)	9/23/2002 9:27:26 PM
From: Larry S.	Respond to of 3358

TECO Energy Sees Double-Digit Net Income Growth For '02 DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TAMPA, Fla. -- Teco Energy Inc. (TE) expects 2002 net income to grow more than 10% over last year, despite the general economic downturn, and added that it will not have to raise additional financing in 2003. In a press release Monday, the company said it expects earnings for the second half of the year to rise 10% to 15% above last year. In the year-ago periods, Teco Energy earned $97.3 million, or 71 cents a diluted share, in the third quarter and $64.8 million, or 47 cents a share, for the fourth quarter. For 2001, the utility holding company earned $303.7 million, or $2.24 a share Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call produced a mean earnings estimate of 73 cents a share for the third quarter, 46 cents a share for the fourth quarter and $2.31 a share for 2002. Year-ago per-share results reflect fewer shares outstanding. In June, Teco Energy completed the public offering of 15.5 million common shares, including about 2 million over-allotment shares, at $23 a share. Overall, Teco Energy expects 2002 earnings-per-share to come within a few cents of its 5% growth target, as it previously reiterated in May. For 2003, Teco Energy expects net income of $270 to $305 million, or $1.75 to $2 a share, compared with First Call estimates of $1.91 a share, based on a survey of 15 analysts. The company's 2003 business outlook focuses on continued growth in its Florida operations and the optimization of its independent power investments. At the same time, Teco plans to minimize potential earnings volatility and external financing needs while maximizing cash flow to support its capital obligations. Earlier this month, Teco Energy announced it would respond definitively to recent market reports questioning its future earnings and dividend-payment prospects after its shares hit fresh 52-week lows. "The plan we are announcing today eliminates the need for additional financing and virtually removes our cash exposure to merchant power prices for next year," Teco said. Key elements of Teco's 2003 plan include the deferral of its Dell and McAdams independent power plants and other actions to reduce capital expenditures. The company plans to monetize certain tax credits related to the production of synthetic fuel at its Teco Coal unit and the coal gasification unit at Tampa Electric's Polk Power Station and to sell its Teco Coalbed Methane gas assets in Alabama, which have 150 billion cubic feet of long-lived, proven reserves. Teco Energy also plans to raise $250 million cash from the repatriation of cash and non-recourse refinancings on generating facilities in Guatemala in addition to other financial transactions or asset sales. The sale and monetization actions are expected to generate more than $400 million. At June 30, Teco had $140.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and $635.4 million in long-term debt due within one year. Teco Energy said Monday that while its expects rating agencies to cut its debt ratings, it wants to improve its ratings. Monday, Fitch Ratings downgraded Teco Energy's senior unsecured rating to BBB from A- and changed the rating outlook to stable from negative. Fitch said the downgrade reflects the continued weakness in wholesale power markets and the expected negative impact on Teco's earnings and cash flow measures. "Depending on the rating agencies' actions we may need to do some renegotiations of our existing bank agreements," Teco said. Teco Energy's New York Stock Exchange-listed shares closed at $14.98, down 10 cents, or 0.7%, on composite volume of 1.8 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 2.2 million shares. The stock hit a year low of $14.60 on Friday and traded as high as $29.05 in April.

To: Larry S. who wrote (156)	9/23/2002 10:32:58 PM
From: Oeconomicus	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3358

Actually it's Lerach, of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes Lerach, leading trial lawyer slime of America.