news release > entergy reports third quarter earnings

for immediate release

entergy reports third quarter earnings

11/01/2011

new orleans – 沙特vs墨西哥让球 (nyse: etr) today reported third quarter 2011 as-reported earnings of $628.1 million, or $3.53 per share, compared with $492.9 million, or $2.62 per share, for third quarter 2010. on an operational basis, entergy's third quarter 2011 earnings were $628.1 million, or $3.53 per share, compared with $518.1 million, or $2.76 per share, in third quarter 2010.

   

consolidated earnings – reconciliation of gaap* to non-gaap measures

 

third quarter and year-to-date 2011 vs. 2010

 

(per share in u.s. $)

             
 

third quarter

year-to-date

 
 

2011

2010

change

2011

2010

change

 

as-reported earnings

3.53

2.62

0.91

6.67

5.38

1.29

 

less special items

(0.14)

0.14

(0.40)

0.40

 

operational earnings

3.53

2.76

0.77

6.67

5.78

0.89

 

*gaap refers to united states generally accepted accounting principles.

 
             

operational earnings highlights for third quarter 2011

  • utility results were higher due primarily to a tax settlement that resulted in a significant decrease in income tax expense, which was partially offset by a regulatory charge to reflect the portion of the tax benefit that will be shared with entergy louisiana, llc's customers.
  • entergy wholesale commodities earnings decreased as a result of lower net revenue, due primarily to lower pricing associated with the nuclear fleet, and a higher effective income tax rate.
  • parent & other results declined due primarily to higher income tax expense on parent & other activities.

"legal and regulatory proceedings dominated the quarter. in september, the trial on our federal lawsuit to prevent the state of vermont from forcing vermont yankee to close in march of next year, despite the fact that the nrc has extended the license, was completed. a ruling from the district court could be issued at any time. in new york, the hearing before administrative law judges of the new york state department of environmental conservation is under way and expected to continue into 2012," said j. wayne leonard, entergy's chairman and chief executive officer. "while we don't expect final resolution – that is, appeals are always likely – for either of these issues in the immediate future, we are now moving out of the political arena and into the judicial system. facts matter and we believe in our cases.

"the utility also continues to make progress on key initiatives. the arkansas public service commission issued an order late last week in its proceeding on post-system agreement transition for entergy arkansas, inc. the order provides needed clarity, affirms that an rto is the right answer, and opens the pathway for the other operating companies to move forward. we will submit a change of control filing in arkansas to join miso within the next 30 days."

other business highlights

  • entergy gulf states louisiana, l.l.c., entergy louisiana and entergy new orleans, inc. received orders resolving their 2010 test year formula rate plan filings.
  • entergy wholesale commodities announced its agreement to acquire the rhode island state energy center, a 583-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine facility, including a planned 33-megawatt uprate, for $346 million.
  • entergy was recognized for the 10th consecutive year as a leader in sustainability by the dow jones sustainability index. in addition, the carbon disclosure project named entergy to the carbon disclosure leadership index for the seventh time in eight years.

entergy will host a teleconference to discuss this release at 10 a.m. ct on tuesday, nov. 1, 2011, with access by telephone, (719) 457-2080, confirmation code 4650540. the call and presentation slides can also be accessed via entergy's website at www.entergy.com. a replay of the teleconference will be available through nov. 8, 2011, by dialing (719) 457-0820, confirmation code 4650540. the replay will also be available on entergy's website at www.entergy.com.

utility

in third quarter 2011, utility's as-reported and operational earnings were $524.1 million, or $2.95 per share, compared to $333.6 million, or $1.78 per share, on the same bases in third quarter 2010. earnings in the current quarter reflect a tax settlement with the internal revenue service entered into in august 2011 that resulted in a significant decrease in income tax expense. the majority of the income tax expense effect from the irs settlement was recorded at the utility; there was also some effect at the other business segments. utility income tax expense was also lower in the current quarter due to the absence of the net effect of consolidated income tax adjustments across the entergy companies in the third quarter of last year, which net to zero on a consolidated basis.

a portion of the utility tax benefit from the irs settlement will be shared with entergy louisiana customers, consistent with the settlement approved by the louisiana public service commission in october 2011. as a result, the decrease in utility income tax expense was partially offset by a decrease in net revenue attributed to the regulatory charge recorded to reflect the customer sharing arrangement. excluding the regulatory charge, net revenue was slightly lower than the prior year. weather was significantly warmer than normal in the third quarter of both years. also contributing to the higher earnings was lower non-fuel operation and maintenance expense due primarily to a reduction in compensation and benefit expenses. these benefits were partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization expense from higher depreciable plant balances.

residential sales in third quarter 2011, on a weather-adjusted basis, increased 0.1 percent compared to third quarter 2010. commercial and governmental sales, on a weather-adjusted basis, increased 0.3 percent quarter over quarter. industrial sales in the third quarter increased 7.3 percent compared to the same quarter of 2010.

overall retail sales growth, on a weather-adjusted basis, was 2.6 percent in the third quarter of this year driven by strong industrial sales. entergy's service territory continues to benefit from expansions. entergy louisiana, entergy texas, inc. and entergy mississippi, inc. had the strongest industrial sales growth at 15.1 percent, 9.5 percent, and 3.1 percent, respectively.

entergy wholesale commodities

entergy wholesale commodities earned $130.2 million, or 73 cents per share, on as-reported and operational bases in third quarter 2011 compared to as-reported earnings of $143.0 million, or 76 per cents per share, and operational earnings of $168.2 million, or 90 cents per share, in third quarter 2010. entergy wholesale commodities operational earnings declined partially as a result of lower net revenue driven by lower energy and capacity pricing on its nuclear fleet. the effect of lower pricing was partially offset by higher volume as a result of fewer refueling and unplanned nuclear outage days. a higher effective income tax rate also contributed to the entergy wholesale commodities earnings decline. the higher income tax expense was due primarily to the absence of the net effect of consolidated income tax adjustments across the entergy companies in the third quarter of last year, which net to zero on a consolidated basis. these items were partially offset by lower non-fuel operation and maintenance expense attributable primarily to lower compensation and benefit expenses and the absence of a write-off of capitalized engineering costs associated with a potential uprate project in the previous period.

parent & other

parent & other reported a loss of $26.3 million, or 15 cents per share, on as-reported and operational bases in third quarter 2011, compared to earnings of $16.2 million, or 8 cents per share, on the same bases in the third quarter of last year. higher income tax expense on parent & other activities was the primary factor driving results for the quarter. income tax expense was higher due to the absence of a reversal of an income tax reserve recorded in the third quarter of last year. the absence of the net effect of consolidated income tax adjustments also contributed.

earnings guidance

as a result of the internal revenue service and lpsc settlements discussed above, entergy revised its 2011 as-reported and operational earnings guidance to a range of $7.15 to $7.65 per share. entergy's previous guidance range was $6.35 to $6.85 per share on both as-reported and operational bases. the midpoint of entergy's 2011 earnings guidance is adjusted only to reflect the year-to-date income tax expense adjustments above the level assumed in the original guidance, including the irs settlement agreement, net of amount to be shared with entergy louisiana's customers.

沙特vs墨西哥让球 is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the united states. entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in arkansas, louisiana, mississippi and texas. entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

additional information regarding entergy's quarterly results of operations, regulatory proceedings and other operations is available in entergy's investor news release dated nov. 1, 2011, a copy of which has been filed today with the securities and exchange commission on form 8-k and is available on entergy's investor relations website at www.entergy.com/investor_relations.

in this news release, and from time to time, 沙特vs墨西哥让球 makes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the private securities litigation reform act of 1995. except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, entergy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. there are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including (a) those factors discussed in: (i) entergy's form 10-k for the year ended december 31, 2010; (ii) entergy's form 10-q for the quarters ended march 31, 2011 and june 30, 2011; and (iii) entergy's other reports and filings made under the securities exchange act of 1934; (b) uncertainties associated with rate proceedings, formula rate plans and other cost recovery mechanisms; (c) uncertainties associated with efforts to remediate the effects of major storms and recover related restoration costs; (d) nuclear plant relicensing, operating and regulatory risks, including any changes resulting from the nuclear crisis in japan following its catastrophic earthquake and tsunami; (e) legislative and regulatory actions and risks and uncertainties associated with claims or litigation by or against entergy and its subsidiaries; and (f) conditions in commodity and capital markets during the periods covered by the forward-looking statements, in addition to other factors described elsewhere in this release and in subsequent securities filings.

appendix a provides a reconciliation of gaap as-reported earnings to non-gaap operational earnings.

   

appendix a:  consolidated earnings – reconciliation of gaap to non-gaap measures

third quarter and year-to-date 2011 vs. 2010

 

(per share in u.s. $)

 
 

third quarter

year-to-date

 
 

2011

2010

change

2011

2010

change

 

as-reported

             

utility

2.95

1.78

1.17

5.24

3.68

1.56

 

entergy wholesale commodities

0.73

0.76

(0.03)

1.78

1.77

0.01

 

parent & other

(0.15)

0.08

(0.23)

(0.35)

(0.07)

(0.28)

 

   consolidated as-reported earnings

3.53

2.62

0.91

6.67

5.38

1.29

 
               

less special items

             

utility

 

entergy wholesale commodities

(0.14)

0.14

(0.50)

0.50

 

parent & other

0.10

(0.10)

 

   consolidated special items

(0.14)

0.14

(0.40)

0.40

 
               

operational

             

utility

2.95

1.78

1.17

5.24

3.68

1.56

 

entergy wholesale commodities

0.73

0.90

(0.17)

1.78

2.27

(0.49)

 

parent & other

(0.15)

0.08

(0.23)

(0.35)

(0.17)

(0.18)

 

   consolidated operational earnings

3.53

2.76

0.77

6.67

5.78

0.89

 
               
   
             
   

沙特vs墨西哥让球

 

consolidated income statement

 

three months ended september 30

 

(in thousands)

 
         
 

2011

 

2010

 
 

(unaudited)

 

operating revenues:

       

    electric

$2,733,601

 

$2,638,752

 

    natural gas

26,439

 

27,263

 

    competitive businesses

635,513

 

666,161

 

                     total

3,395,553

 

3,332,176

 

operating expenses:

       

   operation and maintenance:

       

        fuel, fuel-related expenses, and gas purchased for resale

849,982

 

748,863

 

        purchased power

475,335

 

484,694

 

        nuclear refueling outage expenses

64,566

 

64,885

 

        other operation and maintenance

708,821

 

808,688

 

    decommissioning

56,467

 

53,380

 

    taxes other than income taxes

152,044

 

138,217

 

    depreciation and amortization

283,581

 

264,621

 

    other regulatory charges (credits) – net

203,848

 

(1,814)

 

                     total

2,794,644

 

2,561,534

 

operating income

600,909

 

770,642

 

other income (deductions):

       

    allowance for equity funds used during construction

21,516

 

15,064

 

    interest and investment income

33,238

 

38,705

 

    miscellaneous – net

(14,137)

 

(14,748)

 

                     total

40,617

 

39,021

 

interest expense:

       

    interest expense

137,301

 

136,075

 

    allowance for borrowed funds used during construction

(9,713)

 

(8,949)

 

                     total

127,588

 

127,126

 

income before income taxes

513,938

 

682,537

 

income taxes

(119,131)

 

184,636

 

consolidated net income

633,069

 

497,901

 

preferred dividend requirements of subsidiaries

5,015

 

5,015

 

net income attributable to 沙特vs墨西哥让球

$628,054

 

$492,886

 
         
         

earnings per average common share

       

    basic

$3.55

 

$2.65

 

    diluted

$3.53

 

$2.62

 
         

average number of common shares outstanding – basic

176,950,469

 

185,962,431

 

average number of common shares outstanding – diluted

177,723,020

 

187,777,172

 
   
         
   

沙特vs墨西哥让球

 

consolidated income statement

 

nine months ended september 30

 

(in thousands)

 
         
 

2011

 

2010

 
 

(unaudited)

 

operating revenues:

       

    electric

$6,811,538

 

$6,859,791

 

    natural gas

126,453

 

154,426

 

    competitive businesses

1,802,050

 

1,940,256

 

                     total

8,740,041

 

8,954,473

 

operating expenses:

       

   operation and maintenance:

       

        fuel, fuel-related expenses, and gas purchased for resale

1,921,007

 

1,939,077

 

        purchased power

1,289,180

 

1,376,055

 

        nuclear refueling outage expenses

191,517

 

191,395

 

        other operation and maintenance

2,077,066

 

2,211,382

 

    decommissioning

167,229

 

157,423

 

    taxes other than income taxes

406,493

 

400,597

 

    depreciation and amortization

812,672

 

789,392

 

    other regulatory charges (credits) – net

204,338

 

15,555

 

                     total

7,069,502

 

7,080,876

 

operating income

1,670,539

 

1,873,597

 

other income (deductions):

       

    allowance for equity funds used during construction

59,558

 

45,990

 

    interest and investment income

95,906

 

121,869

 

    miscellaneous – net

(40,498)

 

(32,050)

 

                     total

114,966

 

135,809

 

interest expense:

       

    interest expense

409,484

 

463,454

 

    allowance for borrowed funds used during construction

(27,397)

 

(27,274)

 

                     total

382,087

 

436,180

 

income before income taxes

1,403,418

 

1,573,226

 

income taxes

196,072

 

536,227

 

consolidated net income

1,207,346

 

1,036,999

 

preferred dividend requirements of subsidiaries

15,046

 

15,048

 

net income attributable to 沙特vs墨西哥让球

$1,192,300

 

$1,021,951

 
         
         

earnings per average common share

       

    basic

$6.70

 

$5.44

 

    diluted

$6.67

 

$5.38

 
         

average number of common shares outstanding – basic

177,857,667

 

187,968,582

 

average number of common shares outstanding – diluted

178,805,215

 

189,914,439

 
   
         
   

沙特vs墨西哥让球

 

utility electric energy sales & customers

 
               

three months ended september 30

 
                   
   

2011

 

2010

 

%

change

 

%

weather-adjusted

 
   

(millions of kwh)

         

electric energy sales:

                 

residential

 

12,376

 

12,365

 

0.1

 

0.1

 

commercial

 

8,655

 

8,660

 

(0.1)

 

0.1

 

governmental

 

689

 

681

 

1.2

 

2.2

 

industrial

 

11,024

 

10,276

 

7.3

 

7.3

 

   total to ultimate customers

 

32,744

 

31,982

 

2.4

 

2.6

 

wholesale

 

1,038

 

1,063

 

(2.4)

     

   total sales

 

33,782

 

33,045

 

2.2

     
                   
                   

nine months ended september 30

 
                   
   

2011

 

2010

 

%

change

 

%

weather-adjusted

 
   

(millions of kwh)

         

electric energy sales:

                 

residential

 

29,411

 

29,715

 

(1.0)

 

0.4

 

commercial

 

22,048

 

21,935

 

0.5

 

(0.1)

 

governmental

 

1,875

 

1,854

 

1.2

 

0.8

 

industrial

 

30,681

 

28,871

 

6.3

 

6.3

 

   total to ultimate customers

 

84,015

 

82,375

 

2.0

 

2.4

 

wholesale

 

3,021

 

3,351

 

(9.8)

     

   total sales

 

87,036

 

85,726

 

1.5

     
                   
                   

september 30

 
                   
   

2011

 

2010

 

%

change

     

electric customers  (end of period):

                 

residential

 

2,369,437

 

2,356,216

 

0.6

     

commercial

 

337,558

 

334,642

 

0.9

     

governmental

 

16,345

 

16,166

 

1.1

     

industrial

 

47,575

 

47,622

 

(0.1)

     

   total ultimate customers

 

2,770,915

 

2,754,646

 

0.6

     

wholesale

 

23

 

24

 

(4.2)

     

   total customers

 

2,770,938

 

2,754,670

 

0.6