Sempra Energy's
Third-Quarter 2011 Earnings per Share Rise
- Quarterly
Earnings per Share of $1.22 Reflect Strong Operating Results, Growth
Across Businesses
- Company
Reaffirms 2011 Earnings-per-Share Guidance of $4 to $4.30, Excluding Gain
on South American Utility Acquisitions
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) today
reported third-quarter 2011 earnings of $296 million, or $1.22 per diluted
share, up from $131 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, in the third quarter
2010.
Third-quarter 2010
results included an after-tax charge of $139 million, or $0.56 per diluted
share, from the write-down of Sempra Energy's investment in the RBS Sempra
Commodities joint venture, which was sold last year.
Sempra Energy's
earnings for the first nine months of 2011 were $1.1 billion, or $4.40 per
diluted share, up from $459 million, or $1.84 per diluted share, in the same
period last year. Excluding a second-quarter 2011 gain of $277 million related
to the South American utility acquisitions, Sempra Energy's nine-month earnings
in 2011 were $788 million, or $3.26 per diluted share.
"Based on our
excellent results in the third quarter and continued progress on our major
projects, we expect to meet our financial and operational objectives for the
year," said Debra L. Reed, chief executive officer of Sempra Energy.
In September, Sempra
Energy announced several key executive appointments. Additionally, the company
announced that, effective Jan. 1, 2012, its Sempra Generation, Sempra Pipelines
& Storage and Sempra LNG subsidiaries will be consolidated into two new
operating units: Sempra International and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power.
OPERATING
HIGHLIGHTS
San Diego Gas &
Electric
Earnings for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) increased to $113 million in the third quarter 2011 from
$106 million in last year's third quarter, due primarily to higher earnings for
construction projects in progress, including the Sunrise Powerlink
transmission line.
For the first nine
months of 2011, SDG&E's earnings were $273 million, compared with $264
million in the first nine months of 2010.
Southern
California Gas Co.
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) earnings were $81 million in the
third quarter 2011, compared with $78 million in the third quarter 2010.
For the nine-month
period, SoCalGas' earnings were $208 million in 2011,
compared with $212 million last year.
Sempra Generation
In the third quarter 2011, Sempra Generation's earnings were $49 million, compared with $59 million in the
prior-year's quarter, primarily due to lower earnings from the company's
natural gas-fired power plants, partially offset by an income-tax benefit.
For the first nine
months of 2011, Sempra Generation's earnings rose to $143 million from $60
million in the first nine months of 2010. The nine-month results in 2010
included a charge of $86 million related to a litigation settlement.
Sempra Pipelines
& Storage
Third-quarter earnings for Sempra Pipelines & Storage
increased to $66 million in 2011 from $43 million last year,
due primarily to the company's increased ownership in the South American
utilities and a foreign-currency gain in Chile.
For the nine-month
period, earnings for Sempra Pipelines & Storage rose to $457 million in
2011 from $120 million in 2010. The nine-month earnings for 2011 included the
second-quarter gain of $277 million related to the South American utility
acquisitions.
Sempra LNG
Sempra LNG earned $24 million in the third quarter 2011, up from $5 million in
last year's third quarter, due primarily to additional revenues for contracted
cargoes that were not delivered.
In the first nine
months of 2011, Sempra LNG earnings rose to $75 million from $50 million in the
same period last year.
Earnings Outlook
Sempra Energy today reaffirmed its earnings-per-share guidance for 2011 of $4
to $4.30, excluding the gain related to the South American utility acquisitions
in the second quarter 2011. On a GAAP basis, the company's earnings-per-share
guidance for 2011 is $5.14 to $5.44.
Internet Broadcast
Sempra Energy will broadcast a live discussion of its earnings results over the
Internet today at 1 p.m. EDT with senior management of the company. Access is
available by logging onto the website at www.sempra.com. For those unable to log onto the live webcast, the teleconference will
be available on replay a few hours after its conclusion by dialing (888) 203-1112
and entering passcode 1645521.
Sempra Energy, based
in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2010
revenues of $9 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 17,500 employees serve
more than 31 million consumers worldwide.
Non-GAAP Financial
Measures
The 2011 nine-month earnings for Sempra Energy and Sempra Energy's 2011
earnings-per-share guidance excluding the gain on the South American utility
acquisitions are non-GAAP financial measures. Additional information regarding
these non-GAAP financial measures is in the appendix on Table A of the
third-quarter financial tables.