|
|
FOLSOM, N.J. -- Today, South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI) announced record earnings from continuing operations for the third consecutive year, of $26.9 million or $2.29 per share for 2001. This represents an 8.6 percent increase in net income and a 5.5 percent increase in earnings per share from continuing operations over 2000. SJI’s consolidated net income, including discontinued operations, improved in 2001 to $2.27 per share compared with $2.12 per share in 2000. The earnings improvement was due mainly to the success of our non-utility wholesale and retail gas marketing activities.
“We are very pleased that we were able to deliver a 15 percent total return to our shareholders in 2001 in the face of a very difficult year for the stock market,” said SJI Chairman Charles Biscieglia. “SJI’s 2001 performance demonstrates the importance of the continued development of our non-utility businesses.”
Highlights for 2001 include:
Non-Utility Earnings Rise 89 Percent: Pre-tax, non-utility earnings almost doubled to $9.0 million compared with $4.8 million in 2000. Non-utility activities accounted for 20 percent of SJI’s earnings, up from almost 12 percent in the prior year. Contributions from SJI’s wholesale and retail gas marketing activities grew significantly. The strong performance from this area reflected our ability to maximize the value of gas supply assets we acquire and manage in the mid-Atlantic region. Our meter reading and energy services businesses also contributed to the growth.
SJG Positioned for Growth in 2002: SJG produced pre-tax earnings of $37.2 million in 2001 compared with $38.6 million in 2000. The benefits of customer growth and lower interest rates on our debt were offset by reduced customer usage due to warm weather, interest carrying costs on unrecovered fuel expenditures in the first quarter and reduced contributions from our off-system sales activities. Earnings from our off-system sales were primarily impacted by timing issues related to a revenue sharing formula imbedded in our rate structure. In 2000 we recognized an unusually high level of off-system income in the fourth quarter, a situation that was not repeated in 2001. We expect off-system’s contribution to increase in 2002. Also, we completely reorganized our appliance service business line during the year. We've dedicated staff specifically to this function. We expect these actions to produce a meaningful contribution to the bottom line in 2002.
Strong Customer Growth at South Jersey Gas: In 2001, SJG added 6,658 customers for a year-end total of 288,008. SJG’s growth rate of 2.4 percent exceeds the industry average. New customer acquisitions met our expectations, however, the historically large number of shut-offs experienced during the year reduced our year- end customer total by over 1,400. In the new commercial account market, we exceeded our expectations by 37 percent in adding approximately 766,000 decatherms to annual throughput.
Marina Thermal Project Ahead of Schedule: Work on the energy plant that will serve The Borgota Resort in Atlantic City is moving full speed ahead. We arranged financing for the project in September and ground breaking took place in October. Favorable weather in November and December enabled us to outpace our original construction schedule. The facility is scheduled to be on line coinciding with The Borgota opening in Summer 2003.
SJE Awarded Statewide Contract: Following a competitive bidding process, the State of New Jersey awarded SJE a 2-year contract in November to supply natural gas for government facilities statewide. SJE will supply firm and interruptible natural gas for state-affiliated agencies, such as hospitals, transit facilities and prisons. This contract, SJE’s largest to date, will generate $20 million in revenue.
Strong 5-Year Returns to
Shareholders: Over the last five years, SJI’s annualized
shareholder return, including reinvested dividends, was 12%. That
performance exceeded not only the S&P utility average of 8%,
but the return on the S&P 500 of 11% as well.
SJI Raises Dividend:
SJI’s Board of Directors increased the dividend for the third
consecutive year effective April 2002 by $0.02 to an annual $1.50
per share. SJI’s dividend payout ratio on earnings from
continuing operations declined for the third year in a row to
64 percent.
EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL
SJI Chairman, President & CEO, Charles Biscieglia will host an open conference call and webcast to discuss the company's 2001 results today at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To participate in the call, dial 1-800-360-9865 approximately 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. To listen to the live webcast, simply visit the South Jersey Industries website at www.sjindustries.com and click the webcast icon. A recorded version of the webcast will be available at SJI’s website following the call. A rebroadcast of the conference call will also be available by phoning 1-800-428-6051 and entering the code: 224961.
South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI) is an energy services holding company for South Jersey Gas, South Jersey Energy, South Jersey Resources Group and Marina Energy. SJI’s goals are to provide consistent, sustainable dividend growth and to increase its earnings per share by 5 to 10 percent annually. Visit www.sjindustries.com to learn more about SJI and its subsidiaries.
This
release contains forward-looking statements about SJI’s financial
performance. The statements are made in good faith and deemed
reasonable at the date of this release. SJI assumes no responsibility
to update this information. Actual results may vary and SJI encourages
you to conduct your own research before making any investment
decisions including a review of SJI’s third quarter 2001
SEC Form 10Q for a complete discussion of risks and/or uncertainties
that may cause actual results to vary.