, Dec. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- (NYSE: PNY) today announced results for its fiscal year ended October 31, 2015. For the year, the Company reported net income of , or per diluted share, compared with net income of , or per diluted share for 2014. Adjusted for merger-related expenses incurred during the Company's fourth quarter, net income and earnings per diluted share were and , respectively, increases of 2.9% and 1.6% over the prior year.

Commenting on the Company's fiscal year 2015 results, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, 'We are pleased with our solid financial and operating performance in 2015. During the year, we experienced strong customer growth through the addition of slightly more than 17,000 new customers. This is an increase of approximately 5% compared to our prior year growth rate and reflects an overall customer addition growth rate of 1.7%. We also made investments of approximately in support of utility customer growth and system infrastructure, integrity management programs, and non-utility joint venture opportunities.' Skains continued, 'In addition to these results, our customer service performance in 2015 was outstanding and we achieved national recognition in residential customer satisfaction and utility brand trust surveys. As we look ahead to 2016 and the closing of our merger agreement with , we are excited about the future opportunities for our customers and our employees in the new .'

System throughput in 2015 totaled 471.5 million dekatherms, compared with 410.7 million dekatherms in 2014. The increase was largely due to a 30 percent increase in volumes delivered to power generation customers. Overall, weather during 2015 was 6 percent colder than normal and 3 percent warmer than 2014.

Margin was , an increase of from the prior year. The increase in margin is primarily attributable to integrity management rider rate adjustments in and as well as customer growth in all three states, partially offset by lower margin sales from secondary market transactions.

Operations and maintenance expenses increased from the previous year to a total of . This includes related to the proposed acquisition, of which is in contract labor and in equity plan accruals from a higher stock price at , 2015. The remaining increase in O&M was primarily due to other additional contract labor, employee benefits, payroll and increased regulatory amortization, partially offset by lower bad debt expense.

Utility interest charges were in 2015 compared to in 2014. The increase was primarily due to an increase in long-term debt outstanding in the current year and a decrease in capitalized interest recorded as income.

Pre-tax income from equity method investments was in 2015 compared with in 2014. The increase was primarily due to higher capitalized interest associated with increased capital expenditures for the Constitution pipeline project, partially offset by a decrease in SouthStar's income from lower value of hedged derivatives and less usage in and due to warmer weather, partially offset by favorable margins in , and .

FISCAL 2016 EARNINGS GUIDANCE REAFFIRMED

reaffirms its fiscal year 2016 earnings guidance of per diluted share before any merger-related expenses.

DIVIDEND

At the Company's regular quarterly meeting of its Board of Directors on December 11, 2015, a quarterly dividend on Common Stock of per share, payable on January 15, 2016 to holders of record at the close of business on December 24, 2015.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and information currently available and are believed to be reasonable and are made in good faith. However, the forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the statements. Factors that may make the actual results differ materially from anticipated results include, but are not limited to, weather conditions, rate of customer growth, the cost and availability of natural gas, competition from other energy providers, new legislation and regulations and application of existing laws and regulations, economic and capital market conditions, operational interruptions to our gas distribution and transmission activities, change in number of outstanding shares, cybersecurity breaches or failure of technology systems, inability to complete necessary or desirable pipeline expansion or infrastructure projects, costs of providing pension benefits, the cost and availability of labor and materials and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. The words 'expect,' 'believe,' 'project,' 'anticipate,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'should,' 'could,' 'assume,' 'estimate,' 'forecast,' 'future,' 'indicate,' 'outlook,' 'plan,' 'predict,' 'seek,' 'target,' 'would,' 'guidance,' and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about the risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements may be found in latest Forms 10-K and 10-Q, which are available on the website at http://www.sec.gov.

About

is an energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in portions of , and , including customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, regulated interstate natural gas transportation and storage, and regulated intrastate natural gas transportation businesses. More information about is available on the Internet at http://www.piedmontng.com/.

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SOURCE

Investor Relations, Nick Giaimo, +1-704-731-4952, [email protected], Media Relations, David Trusty, +1-704-731-4391, [email protected]