Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
FirstEnergy Earns $878.2M for 2004
AKRON, Ohio -- FirstEnergy Corp. reports 2004 earnings of $878.2 million, or basic earnings per share of common stock of $2.68 ($2.67 diluted). Comparatively, the company earned $422.8 million, or $1.39 per share, in 2003.The 2004 results include unusual charges related to the sale and impairment of non-core assets, severance costs associated with the reorganization of the company's nuclear operations, settlements of lawsuits and costs associated with the extended outage at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station.Total revenues for 2004 were $12.5 billion, compared with $11.7 billion in 2003. Total generation sales for the year increased 7.7%, while total electric distribution deliveries increased 1.6% during the same period. "We achieved strong financial results in 2004, particularly in the areas of earnings, cash flow and debt reduction," said Anthony J. Alexander, president and chief executive officer. "At the same time, we made strategic investments in our infrastructure to enhance the reliability of our service to customers, addressed pension funding by making a significant contribution to the plan and improved operations throughout the company."For the fourth quarter of 2004, FirstEnergy reported earnings of $238.4 million, or basic and diluted earnings of 72 cents per share of common stock, excluding unusual charges related to the sale and impairment of non-core assets.FirstEnergy continued to pursue its strategy of selling non-core assets throughout 2004. Losses and impairments recorded for such activities lowered earnings by $60.6 million. The impact of costs associated with Davis-Besse's extended outage -- which concluded on April 4, 2004, when the unit came back online at full power -- reduced earnings by $38.3 million. The company also settled all outstanding securities and derivative lawsuits related to the extended outage at Davis-Besse; the Aug. 14, 2003, regional power outages and financial restatements related to changed accounting treatments for transition costs being recovered in Ohio. This action lowered earnings by $10.6 million. Additionally, severance costs associated with the reorganization of the company's nuclear operations reduced earnings by $3.8 million.During 2004, FirstEnergy retired approximately $1 billion of debt and refinanced or restructured an additional $1.8 billion in long-term debt, thus reducing interest costs by approximately $54 million.FirstEnergy's generation fleet continued to show strong performance, enabling the company to take advantage of sales opportunities in the wholesale market. The company's generating plants posted a record output of 76 billion kilowatt-hours in 2004. Total electric generation sales for the fourth quarter were up 9.8%, contributing to an improved electric generation margin. Also, distribution deliveries to customers of FirstEnergy's electric utility companies were up 3.1%, reflecting a return to normal weather patterns in the company's service area during the quarter.Visit FirstEnergy Corp.: www.firstenergycorp.com"