Dominion Reaffirms 2002 Earnings Guidance and
Announces Preliminary First Quarter Earnings Expectations
Dominion expects to report first-quarter earnings of
about $1.20 per share
2002 earnings expectations reaffirmed at $4.90 to $4.95
per share
Earnings conference call scheduled for Thursday, April
18, at 10 a.m., ET
RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion (NYSE: D) today reaffirmed 2002
earnings guidance under revised quarterly estimates that will be discussed on
an earnings conference call scheduled for Thursday, April 18 at 10 a.m. ET.
The first-quarter reported earnings are expected to be negatively impacted by
natural gas "corporate" hedges, the impact of which will reverse by
year end. Earnings are also expected to be negatively impacted by mild weather.
Adjusting for the timing impact of the corporate hedges, first-quarter earnings
would have been about $1.33 per share, despite mild weather that negatively
impacted earnings by about 19 cents per share. Adjusted for the weather and
the corporate hedge impacts, earnings would have been about $1.52 per share.
After the impact of these two items, Dominion expects to report first-quarter
2002 earnings of about $1.20 per share.
Thos. E. Capps, chairman, president and chief executive officer
said, "We are very encouraged by the underlying fundamental earnings power
demonstrated in the first quarter and we think it provides a very positive view
of Dominion's outlook for 2002 and beyond. We are on track to meet our 2002
earnings target of $4.90 to $4.95 per share and grow earnings an average of
10 percent per year after 2002."
The first-quarter impact from the corporate hedges is purely
a timing issue and, in combination with physical gas sales, will unwind over
the remainder of the year. This unwinding, or reversing impact, is expected
to contribute to better-than-expected earnings for the sum total of the remaining
three quarters of 2002 in an amount equal and opposite to the negative impact
in the first quarter. However, impacts on any individual quarter could be either
positive or negative relative to expectations. Including the corporate hedges,
Dominion has hedged approximately 90 percent of its expected natural gas production
and 75 percent of its expected oil production for 2002.
First-quarter earnings and related details will be discussed
further on the April 18 conference call.
April 18 earnings conference call
Dominion will host a conference call for investors at 10
a.m. ET on Thursday, April 18. Dominion management will review first-quarter
2002 earnings to be released that morning. Members of the media are also invited
to listen.
Domestic investors who wish to participate in the conference
call should dial
800-314-7867. International investors should call 719-219-0214. The confirmation
number required to join the call is 785609. Participants should dial in 5 to
10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
A live web cast of the conference call will be available
on the company's investor information page at www.dom.com/investors.
A tape recording of the conference call will be available
from approximately
1 p.m. ET April 18 through 11 p.m. ET April 23. Domestic investors may access
the recording by dialing 888-203-1112. International callers should dial 719-457-0820
to access the recording. The access code for the replay is also 785609. A replay
of the conference call also will be available on the company's investor information
home page by the end of the day April 18.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy,
with a production capability of more than 3 trillion British thermal unit of
energy per day. Dominion has a diversified and integrated energy portfolio consisting
of 22,000-megawatts of generation, 4.9 trillion cubic feet equivalent of natural
gas reserves, 7,600 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and the nation's
largest underground natural gas storage system with more than 950 billion cubic
feet of storage capacity. Dominion also serves 3.8 million franchise natural
gas and electric customers in five states. In addition, Dominion owns a managing
equity interest in Dominion Fiber Ventures LLC, owner of Dominion Telecom. For
more information about Dominion, visit the company's web site at www.dom.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements that
are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Discussion of factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from management's projections, forecasts,
estimates and expectations may include factors that are beyond the company's
ability to control or estimate precisely, such as estimates of future market
conditions, estimates of proved and unproved reserves and the behavior of other
market participants. Other factors include, but are not limited to, weather
conditions, economic conditions in the company's service area, fluctuations
in energy-related commodity prices, trading counterparty credit risks, risks
associated with successfully executing the telecommunications business plan
and other uncertainties. Other risk factors are detailed from time to time in
the company's Securities & Exchange Commission filings.
