Dominion Resources Comments On S&P Decision
To Attach Negative Outlook; Says It Will Not Issue New Equity In Response
RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) today issued
the following statement by Thos. E. Capps, chief executive officer, following
a decision by Standard & Poor's (S&P) to revise Dominion's investment-grade
credit outlook from Stable to Negative:
"Dominion's credit ratios are stronger today than they
were a year ago, when S&P last confirmed our BBB plus rating with a Stable
Outlook. Today's decision by S&P to place us on Negative Outlook is disappointing.
It does not square with Dominion's deliberate, successful and ongoing policy
to strengthen its credit ratios. Nor does it square with the assessments of
professional fixed-income investors, who continue to invest in and have confidence
in Dominion.
"Unfortunately, S&P's standards for evaluating our
industry continue to change, at times unexpectedly. So we will not penalize
our equity investors by diluting earnings through a new equity issuance to satisfy
standards that are constantly changing. Instead, we expect to meet S&P's
latest concerns by continuing to carry out our successful business plan while
improving our strong credit ratios, including cash interest coverage and debt
to capitalization.
"In short, our fixed-income and equity investors can
be assured that we are and will continue to be the company they know and trust."
