Dominion to Affirm 2006 Operating Earnings Guidance
During Boston Analyst Meeting Today
Management will provide earnings forecast for 2007 through 2009
and will discuss strategy
RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion (NYSE: D) will affirm its 2006
operating earnings guidance of $5.05 to $5.25 per share when it hosts an analyst
meeting today at The Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00
p.m. EDT.
Dominion management will discuss its business strategy and
provide details about its 2006 operating earnings guidance as well as its financial
forecast for 2007 through 2009 including operating earnings, cash flow, credit
metrics and supporting drivers and assumptions.
Dominion will forecast operating earnings per share in a range
from $6.05 to $6.25 in 2007; $8.30 to $8.80 in 2008; and $8.80 to $9.80 in 2009
based on commodity prices as of April 28, 2006. Dominion’s forecasted
earnings are sensitive to changes in commodity prices including natural gas,
oil, electricity and other energy-related commodities. The correlated sensitivity
to earnings that corresponds to a $1 positive or negative change per mmbtu in
the price of natural gas at Henry Hub is estimated as follows: 20-cents per
share in 2007, 55-cents per share in 2008 and $1.10 per share in 2009. For 2006,
earnings are neutral to changes in commodity prices.
Dominion uses operating earnings as the primary performance
measurement of its earnings outlook and results for public communications with
analysts and investors. Dominion also uses operating earnings internally for
budgeting, reporting to the board of directors and for the company’s annual
incentive plan. Dominion management believes operating earnings provide a more
meaningful representation of the company’s fundamental earnings power.
In providing operating earnings guidance, the company notes
that there could be differences between expected GAAP and operating earnings
for matters such as, but not limited to, divestitures or changes in accounting
principles. Dominion management is not able to estimate the impact, if any,
of these items on GAAP earnings. Accordingly, Dominion is not able to provide
a corresponding GAAP equivalent for its 2006 operating earnings guidance or
its financial forecast relating to operating earnings for 2007 through 2009.
A live Web cast of the presentation and the question and answer
period will be available on the company’s investor information page at
http://www.dom.com/investors/.
In addition, Dominion will post a copy of the presentation to the investor information
page.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy,
with a portfolio of about 28,100 megawatts of generation, about 6.3 trillion
cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves and 7,800 miles of natural
gas transmission pipeline. Dominion also operates the nation's largest underground
natural gas storage system with about 950 billion cubic feet of storage capacity
and serves retail energy customers in nine states. For more information about
Dominion, visit the company's Web site at http://www.dom.com/.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements
including our operating earnings guidance for 2006 and our preliminary financial
forecast for 2007, 2008 and 2009 that are subject to various risks and uncertainties.
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 fluctuations
in energy-related commodity prices, including changes in the cost of fuel for
our regulated electric business, the timing of the closing dates of acquisitions
or divestitures, realization of and timing of the receipt of expected business
interruption insurance proceeds and decreased availability of business interruption
insurance on commercially reasonable terms, estimates of future market conditions,
estimates of proved and unproved reserves, the company’s ability to meet
its natural gas and oil production forecasts, the behavior of other market participants,
and the effects of hurricanes on our operations, oil and gas production and
realized prices. Other factors include, but are not limited to, weather conditions,
governmental regulations, economic conditions in the company's service area,
risks of operating businesses in regulated industries that are subject to changing
regulatory structures, changes to regulated gas and electric rates recoverable
by Dominion, transitional issues related to the transfer of control over electric
transmission facilities to a regional transmission organization, changes to
rating agency requirements and ratings, changing financial accounting standards,
trading counter-party credit risks, risks related to energy trading and marketing,
and other uncertainties. Other risk factors are detailed from time to time in
Dominion’s most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q or annual report
on Form 10-K filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Our financial forecast for 2007, 2008 and 2009 contained
herein, is a preliminary estimate which is based on certain underlying assumptions
that are subject to change. These assumptions include, without limitation, the
assumptions that: a certain level of market prices for electricity, energy-related
commodities and locational basis differentials are maintained, we do not make
any further capital market equity issuances and we do not engage in any mergers,
acquisitions or divestitures other than those previously announced. Changes
in these base assumptions could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected.
