GPU, Inc. Reports Higher 1999 Earnings; Reviews Actions to Achieve First Quartile Positioning.Business &Energy Editors MORRISTOWN Morristown. 1 Town (1990 pop. 16,189), seat of Morris co., N N.J., on the Whippany River; settled c.1710, inc. 1865. Although chiefly residential, it has diverse manufactures, including electronic products, health and beauty aids, auto parts, and , N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2000 GPU GPU: see secret police. (Graphics Processing Unit) A specialized logic chip devoted to rendering 2D or 3D images. Display adapters contain one or more GPUs for fast graphics rendering. , Inc. today announced that net income for the fourth quarter of ended December December: see month. 31, 1999 was $73.5 million or $0.60 per share, against $83.5 million or $0.65 per share for the 1998 fourth quarter. Non-recurring items in the 1999 fourth quarter amounted to a net increase of $5.4 million or $0.04 per share. They included a net increase of $8.3 million or $0.07 per share for the sale of GPU Energy's generating assets, partially offset by a reduction of $2.9 million or $0.03 per share in the previously recorded gain on the sale of the supply business of Midlands Energy plc, GPU's British subsidiary. There were no non-recurring items in the fourth quarter of 1998. Excluding the impact of non-recurring items in 1999, GPU's earnings for the fourth quarter of 1999 would have been $68.1 million or $0.56 per share, compared to $83.4 million or $0.65 per share in 1998. The decrease was primarily due to lower rates under the New Jersey regulatory settlement that took effect August l, 1999. Net income for the year 1999 was $459 million or $3.66 per share, up 27 percent from the $360.1 million, or $2.83 per share reported in 1998. There were non-recurring items in both 1999 and 1998. Non-recurring items for 1999 amounted to a net charge of $25.1 million or $0.20 per share. They consisted of a charge of $68 million after-tax af·ter-tax also af·ter·tax adj. Relating to or being that which remains after payment, especially of income taxes: after-tax profits. or $0.54 per share resulting from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is a regulatory authority in New Jersey charged with the responsibility of seeing that "safe, adequate, and proper utility services are provided at reasonable rates for customers in New Jersey. restructuring restructuring - The transformation from one representation form to another at the same relative abstraction level, while preserving the subject system's external behaviour (functionality and semantics). order issued in April, partially offset by a gain of $36.1 million after-tax, or $0.29 per share on the sales of GPU Energy's generating facilities and a gain of $6.8 million after-tax or $0.05 per share, on the sale of the Midlands supply business. Included in net income for 1998 was a net non-recurring charge of $65.8 million after-tax, or $0.52 per share as a result of restructuring orders issued by the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (pĕnsəlvā`nyə), one of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States. It is bordered by New Jersey, across the Delaware River (E), Delaware (SE), Maryland (S), West Virginia (SW), Ohio (W), and Lake Erie and New York Public Utilities Commission. Excluding non-recurring charges, earnings for 1999 would have been $484.1 million, or $3.86 per share, against $425.9 million, or $3.35 per share in 1998, an increase of 15 percent. Seeking First Quartile Quartile A statistical term describing a division of observations into four defined intervals based upon the values of the data and how they compare to the entire set of observations. Notes: Each quartile contains 25% of the total observations. Positioning &uot;GPU was active during the fourth quarter in efforts to position itself as a first quartile company within the electric utility sector,&uot; said Fred (Friendly Rollabout Engineered for Doctors) A mobile medical conferencing unit. See videoconferencing. 1. FRED - Robert Carr. Language used by Framework, Ashton-Tate. 2. D. Hafer, chairman, president and chief executive officer. He noted that during the quarter, GPU: -- Announced that it is seeking to sell a significant portion of its holdings in Australia. The proposed sale is aimed at raising at least $500 million, which will be used to reduce debt levels, provide for a continuation of its common stock repurchase Stock repurchase A firm's repurchase of outstanding shares of its common stock. program, and fund growth initiatives. -- Made several key management appointments. Michael B. Roche was named senior vice president of GPU Energy in New Jersey with responsibility for customer service; Michael Hughes Notable people named Michael Hughes include:
executive of Midlands Electricity The Midlands Electricity Board was formed in 1947, under the Electricity Act of that year. The counterpart of the East Midlands board, it served southern, and western parts of Warwickshire, as well as the counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire, as , plc, was named executive vice president - international operations Internal Operations (I.O., IO or I/O) is a fictional American Intelligence Agency in Wildstorm comics. It was originally called International Operations. I.O. first appeared in WildC.A.T.S. volume 1 #1 (August, 1992) and was created by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee. of GPU Service; Ronald P. Lantzy was appointed president of GPU International; and Douglas J. Howe was appointed vice president-regulatory policy for GPU Service. -- Completed the sale of its remaining fossil-fueled and hydroelectric generating assets (referenced in the earnings discussion above), involving 21 power plants, 15 generation development properties, three support service organizations and an office building, to Sithe Energies for $1.62 billion. GPU also completed the sale of its Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear plant to AmerGen for $100 million. These sales, together with one additional pending agreement, are the final steps in GPU's plan to exit the merchant generation business. -- Agreed to purchase MYR MYR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Malaysian Ringgit. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. Group, Inc., a suburban Chicago-based utility infrastructure construction company for $215 million. MYR, the nation's fifth largest specialty construction company, complements GPU's utility services business and will provide a platform for building the non-regulated portion of its activities. GPU, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :GPU), headquartered in Morristown, NJ, is a registered public utility holding company providing utility and utility-related services to customers throughout the world. GPU serves 4.6 million customers directly through its electric companies -- GPU Energy in the US, Midlands Electricity plc in the UK, and Emdersa in Argentina. It serves another 1.4 million customers indirectly through its electric and gas transmission subsidiaries GasNet and PowerNet in Australia. The company's independent power project business units own interests in and operate 22 projects in 7 countries and the US. GPU's 1999 revenues were $4.8 billion and its total assets were $21.7 billion. GPU's other subsidiaries include GPU Advanced Resources, Inc., GPU International, Inc., GPU Nuclear, Inc., GPU Service, Inc. and GPU Telcom Services, Inc. (http://www.gpu.com)
GPU, Inc. Financial Summary for Periods Ended December 31, 1999 &1998
(Dollar amounts in thousands except per-share data)
Twelve Months Ended December 31, (Unaudited) 1999 1998
-------------------------------------------- ---- ----
Sales to customers (gigawatt-hours) (Note 1) 44,588 43,765
Operating revenues (000) $4,757,124 $4,248,792
Net income (000) (Notes 2 &3) $ 459,014 $ 360,126
Basic - Earnings per share (Notes 2 &3) $ 3.66 $ 2.83
- Average common shares
outstanding (000) 125,368 127,093
Diluted - Earnings per share (Notes 2 &3) $ 3.66 $ 2.83
- Average common shares
outstanding (000) 125,570 127,312
Three Months Ended December 31, (Unaudited) 1999 1998
------------------------------------------- ---- ----
Sales to customers (gigawatt-hours) (Note 1) 10,421 10,527
Operating revenues (000) $1,371,435 $1,021,817
Net income (000) (Note 4) $ 73,486 $ 83,473
Basic - Earnings per share (Note 4) $ 0.60 $ 0.65
- Average common shares
outstanding (000) 123,129 127,975
Diluted - Earnings per share (Note 4) $ 0.60 $ 0.65
- Average common shares
outstanding (000) 123,175 128,200
Note 1: Gigawatt-hour sales pertain to pertain to verb relate to, concern, refer to, regard, be part of, belong to, apply to, bear on, befit, be relevant to, be appropriate to, appertain to GPU Energy only and exclude interchange An interchange is a location where two things meet, usually perform some kind of exchange, and possibly go on their ways again. It is most commonly used in four contexts:
Note 2: Earnings for the twelve months ended December 31, 1999 include net after-tax gains Net after-tax gain Capital gain after income taxes have been paid. of $36.1 million, or $0.29 per share, as a result of the sales of substantially all of GPU Energy's electric generating stations as well as an after-tax gain on the sale of the Midlands supply business of $6.8 million, or $0.05 per share. Also in 1999, as a result of the NJBPU NJBPU New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Restructuring Order, JCP& recorded an after-tax charge of $68 million, or $0.54 per share. Note 3: Earnings for the twelve months ended December 31, 1998 include an after-tax charge to income of $65.8 million, or $0.52 per share, for the impact of the PaPUC Restructuring Orders for Met-Ed and Penelec. Note 4: Earnings for the three months ended December 31, 1999 include an after-tax increase of $8.3 million, or $0.07 per share, for the net gains on the sales of substantially all GPU Energy's remaining generating assets; and, as a result of adjustments to the working capital estimate, an after-tax reduction of $2.9 million, or $0.03 per share, was taken against the previous gain on the sale of the Midlands supply business. |
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