-
Regulatory settlement positions APS well for future, offers
customers greater choice and flexibility
-
Customer growth, superior operational performance deliver
bottom-line results
-
Full-year 2017 earnings guidance maintained; 2018 guidance initiated
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Pinnacle
West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW) today reported consolidated net
income attributable to common shareholders for the 2017 third quarter of
$276.1 million, or $2.46 per diluted share. This result compares with
net income of $263.0 million, or $2.35 per share, for the same period a
year ago.
“It was a strong quarter on many fronts,” said Pinnacle West Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer Don
Brandt. “Our service territory experienced solid customer growth of
1.9 percent as new customers moved to Arizona for job opportunities and
an improved quality of life, our employees continued to demonstrate
superior customer service and operational performance, and we
successfully settled our rate review.”
Approved in August, the regulatory settlement enables the company to
invest in a smarter, cleaner energy infrastructure, and provides Arizona
Public Service Co.’s 1.2 million customers more choice through new rate
options, all while maintaining safe, reliable service.
Brandt added that the company is placing significant emphasis on
communicating the benefits of the settlement and its updated rate plans
to customers. “Our new rate options offer customers greater flexibility
and control over their energy use and bills,” he said.
Operationally, the company’s employees remained focused on delivering
safe and dependable energy to its customers throughout the hot Arizona
summer season. During the quarter, Palo Verde Generating Station’s three
units continued to perform well, operating at a combined capacity factor
of 99.4 percent. APS also achieved its best summer reliability
performance in the past five years, providing customers with dependable
service despite large-scale wildfires and seasonal storms.
In addition to solid operational performance, the 2017 third-quarter
financial results were positively impacted by the following factors
compared to the same period a year ago:
-
The company’s 2017 regulatory settlement, which included a
retail base rate increase, improved earnings $0.13 per share.
Effective Aug. 19, the comprehensive and broadly supported agreement
was APS’s first base rate increase in five years.
-
Adjustment mechanisms improved earnings by $0.03 per share
compared to the 2016 third quarter.
-
Retail electricity sales – excluding the effects of
weather variations – increased results $0.02 per share due to customer
growth partly offset by energy efficiency and distributed generation.
Weather-normalized sales were 0.2 percent higher in the third
quarter compared to 2016’s third quarter, while year-to-date sales
were 0.1 percent higher than the first nine months in 2016.
-
The effects of weather variations improved results by $0.02 per
share compared to the year-ago period despite slightly
milder-than-normal overall temperatures. Third-quarter 2017
residential cooling degree-days (a measure of the effects of weather)
were 0.6 percent greater than in the 2016 third quarter, albeit 5
percent below 10-year historical averages.
These positive factors were offset in part by the following items:
-
Higher operations and maintenance expenses reduced results by
$0.02 per share compared with the prior-year period. The increased
costs were largely the result of higher employee benefit costs. As
previously indicated, the company expects additional planned outage
costs at the Four Corners Power Plant later this year to install added
emission controls.
-
Higher depreciation and amortization expenses reduced earnings
$0.07 per share.
Financial Outlook
For 2017, the Company continues to expect its ongoing consolidated
earnings will be within a range of $4.15 to $4.30 per diluted share on a
weather-normalized basis.
Looking ahead to 2018, the Company estimates its ongoing consolidated
earnings will be within a range of $4.25 to $4.45 per diluted share, and
expects to achieve a consolidated earned return on average common equity
of more than 9.5 percent.
2017 and 2018 ongoing consolidated earnings per diluted share are
currently projected to be the same as 2017 and 2018 consolidated net
income per diluted share, respectively. Key factors and assumptions
underlying both the 2017 and 2018 outlook can be found in the
third-quarter 2017 earnings presentation slides on the Company’s website
at pinnaclewest.com/investors.
Conference Call and Webcast
Pinnacle West invites interested parties to listen to the live webcast
of management’s conference call to discuss the Company’s 2017
third-quarter results, as well as recent developments, at 12 noon ET (9
a.m. Arizona time) today, November 3. The webcast can be accessed at pinnaclewest.com/presentations
and will be available for replay on the website for 30 days. To access
the live conference call by telephone, dial (877) 407-8035 or (201)
689-8035 for international callers. A replay of the call also will be
available until 11:59 p.m. (ET), Friday, Nov. 10, 2017, by calling (877)
481-4010 in the U.S. and Canada or (919) 882-2331 internationally and
entering conference ID number 20278.
General Information
Pinnacle
West Capital Corp., an energy holding company based in Phoenix, has
consolidated assets of nearly $17 billion, about 6,200 megawatts of
generating capacity and 6,300 employees in Arizona and New Mexico.
Through its principal subsidiary, Arizona
Public Service, the Company provides retail electricity service to
nearly 1.2 million Arizona homes and businesses. For more information
about Pinnacle West, visit the Company’s website at pinnaclewest.com.
Earnings per share amounts are based on average diluted common shares
outstanding. For more information on Pinnacle West’s operating
statistics and earnings, please visit pinnaclewest.com/investors.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on our
current expectations, including statements regarding our earnings
guidance and financial outlook and goals. These forward-looking
statements are often identified by words such as “estimate,” “predict,”
“may,” “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “require,” “intend,” “assume,”
“project” and similar words. Because actual results may differ
materially from expectations, we caution readers not to place undue
reliance on these statements. A number of factors could cause future
results to differ materially from historical results, or from outcomes
currently expected or sought by Pinnacle West or APS. These factors
include, but are not limited to:
-
our ability to manage capital expenditures and operations and
maintenance costs while maintaining high reliability and customer
service levels;
-
variations in demand for electricity, including those due to weather,
seasonality, the general economy, customer and sales growth (or
decline), and the effects of energy conservation measures and
distributed generation;
-
power plant and transmission system performance and outages;
-
competition in retail and wholesale power markets;
-
regulatory and judicial decisions, developments and proceedings;
-
new legislation, ballot initiatives and regulation, including those
relating to environmental requirements, regulatory policy, nuclear
plant operations and potential deregulation of retail electric markets;
-
fuel and water supply availability;
-
our ability to achieve timely and adequate rate recovery of our costs,
including returns on and of debt and equity capital investment;
-
our ability to meet renewable energy and energy efficiency mandates
and recover related costs;
-
risks inherent in the operation of nuclear facilities, including spent
fuel disposal uncertainty;
-
current and future economic conditions in Arizona, including in real
estate markets;
-
the development of new technologies which may affect electric sales or
delivery;
-
the cost of debt and equity capital and the ability to access capital
markets when required;
-
environmental, economic and other concerns surrounding coal-fired
generation, including regulation of greenhouse gas emissions;
-
volatile fuel and purchased power costs;
-
the investment performance of the assets of our nuclear
decommissioning trust, pension, and other post-retirement benefit
plans and the resulting impact on future funding requirements;
-
the liquidity of wholesale power markets and the use of derivative
contracts in our business;
-
potential shortfalls in insurance coverage;
-
new accounting requirements or new interpretations of existing
requirements;
-
generation, transmission and distribution facility and system
conditions and operating costs;
-
the ability to meet the anticipated future need for additional
generation and associated transmission facilities in our region;
-
the willingness or ability of our counterparties, power plant
participants and power plant land owners to meet contractual or other
obligations or extend the rights for continued power plant operations;
and
-
restrictions on dividends or other provisions in our credit agreements
and Arizona Corporation Commission orders.
These and other factors are discussed in Risk Factors described in Part
1, Item 1A of the Pinnacle West/APS Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, and in Part II, Item 1A in of the
Pinnacle West/APS Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
June 30, 2017, which readers should review carefully before placing any
reliance on our financial statements or disclosures. Neither Pinnacle
West nor APS assumes any obligation to update these statements, even if
our internal estimates change, except as required by law.
|
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PINNACLE WEST CAPITAL CORPORATION
|
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
|
(unaudited)
|
(dollars and shares in thousands, except per share amounts)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
THREE MONTHS ENDED
|
|
|
NINE MONTHS ENDED
|
|
|
|
SEPTEMBER 30,
|
|
|
SEPTEMBER 30,
|
|
|
|
2017
|
|
|
2016
|
|
|
2017
|
|
|
2016
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating Revenues
|
|
$
|
1,183,322
|
|
|
|
$
|
1,166,922
|
|
|
|
$
|
2,805,637
|
|
|
|
$
|
2,759,483
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating Expenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fuel and purchased power
|
|
|
310,469
|
|
|
|
|
336,120
|
|
|
|
|
777,475
|
|
|
|
|
832,253
|
|
Operations and maintenance
|
|
|
224,305
|
|
|
|
|
217,568
|
|
|
|
|
658,294
|
|
|
|
|
703,042
|
|
Depreciation and amortization
|
|
|
133,912
|
|
|
|
|
120,428
|
|
|
|
|
387,278
|
|
|
|
|
362,977
|
|
Taxes other than income taxes
|
|
|
45,169
|
|
|
|
|
41,284
|
|
|
|
|
133,294
|
|
|
|
|
125,902
|
|
Other expenses
|
|
|
3,385
|
|
|
|
|
264
|
|
|
|
|
5,479
|
|
|
|
|
2,141
|
|
Total
|
|
|
717,240
|
|
|
|
|
715,664
|
|
|
|
|
1,961,820
|
|
|
|
|
2,026,315
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating Income
|
|
|
466,082
|
|
|
|
|
451,258
|
|
|
|
|
843,817
|
|
|
|
|
733,168
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Income (Deductions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Allowance for equity funds used during construction
|
|
|
12,728
|
|
|
|
|
10,194
|
|
|
|
|
32,666
|
|
|
|
|
31,079
|
|
Other income
|
|
|
1,091
|
|
|
|
|
71
|
|
|
|
|
2,055
|
|
|
|
|
385
|
|
Other expense
|
|
|
(4,993
|
)
|
|
|
|
(5,205
|
)
|
|
|
|
(12,495
|
)
|
|
|
|
(12,085
|
)
|
Total
|
|
|
8,826
|
|
|
|
|
5,060
|
|
|
|
|
22,226
|
|
|
|
|
19,379
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest Expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest charges
|
|
|
55,644
|
|
|
|
|
51,293
|
|
|
|
|
162,477
|
|
|
|
|
154,886
|
|
Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction
|
|
|
(6,000
|
)
|
|
|
|
(4,321
|
)
|
|
|
|
(15,378
|
)
|
|
|
|
(14,849
|
)
|
Total
|
|
|
49,644
|
|
|
|
|
46,972
|
|
|
|
|
147,099
|
|
|
|
|
140,037
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income Before Income Taxes
|
|
|
425,264
|
|
|
|
|
409,346
|
|
|
|
|
718,944
|
|
|
|
|
612,510
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income Taxes
|
|
|
144,319
|
|
|
|
|
141,446
|
|
|
|
|
237,497
|
|
|
|
|
209,102
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Income
|
|
|
280,945
|
|
|
|
|
267,900
|
|
|
|
|
481,447
|
|
|
|
|
403,408
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
|
|
|
4,873
|
|
|
|
|
4,873
|
|
|
|
|
14,620
|
|
|
|
|
14,620
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Income Attributable To Common Shareholders
|
|
$
|
276,072
|
|
|
|
$
|
263,027
|
|
|
|
$
|
466,827
|
|
|
|
$
|
388,788
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-Average Common Shares Outstanding - Basic
|
|
|
111,835
|
|
|
|
|
111,416
|
|
|
|
|
111,787
|
|
|
|
|
111,363
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-Average Common Shares Outstanding - Diluted
|
|
|
112,401
|
|
|
|
|
112,100
|
|
|
|
|
112,314
|
|
|
|
|
111,987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings Per Weighted-Average Common Share Outstanding
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income attributable to common shareholders - basic
|
|
$
|
2.47
|
|
|
|
$
|
2.36
|
|
|
|
$
|
4.18
|
|
|
|
$
|
3.49
|
|
Net income attributable to common shareholders - diluted
|
|
$
|
2.46
|
|
|
|
$
|
2.35
|
|
|
|
$
|
4.16
|
|
|
|
$
|
3.47
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171103005101/en/
Source: Pinnacle West Capital Corp.