Emera Reports Q2 2009 Earnings of $38.1 million

HALIFAX, Aug. 7 /CNW/ - (EMA-TSX): Emera Inc.'s consolidated net earnings were $38.1 million in Q2 2009, compared to $42.9 million for the same period in 2008. Excluding the effect of mark-to-market accounting adjustments in Bear Swamp, net earnings were $37.3 million in the second quarter of 2009, compared to $39.6 million in Q2 2008. Earnings per share were $0.34 or $0.33 excluding the mark-to-market adjustments for Q2 2009 and $0.39 or $0.36 excluding the mark-to-market adjustments for Q2 2008.

"We had another strong quarter and are pleased with our progress in the first half of the year," said Chris Huskilson, President and CEO of Emera. "In the quarter there were a number of events that advanced the strategy of the company." Brunswick Pipeline is now in-service and began shipping gas in mid July. As well, Emera has entered into agreements to purchase: Bayside Power in Saint John; a 9.9% interest in Algonquin Power Income Fund with the option to invest a further 5% within the next two years; and a 50% interest in the California assets of Sierra Pacific. Emera has also made a small investment in Atlantic Hydrogen.

Nova Scotia Power's (NSPI) earnings were $22.8 million in Q2 2009, in comparison to $31.0 million in Q2 2008. Included in Q2 2008 was a temporary increase in the valuation of a natural gas long-term receivable. Excluding the effect of the natural gas long-term receivable NSPI's earnings were $21.5 million in the second quarter of 2008. The Fuel Adjustment Mechanism was implemented January 1st and decreases the impact of volatile fuel costs, including the valuation of the natural gas receivable on NSPI's earnings.

Bangor Hydro Electric contributed $5.3 million to consolidated net earnings in Q2 2009, compared to $4.5 million in Q2 2008. The increase was due to the stronger US dollar.

Emera's Other operations contributed $10.0 million to net earnings in Q2 2009, compared to $7.4 million in Q2 2008. Excluding the effect of mark-to-market accounting related to a long-term contract at the Bear Swamp generating facility, net earnings from Other operations were $9.2 million in the second quarter of 2009 compared to $4.1 million in Q2 2008. This increase relates primarily to increased capitalization of financing costs (AFUDC) during construction of the Brunswick Pipeline, partially offset by increased interest expense on short-term debt.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward looking information. Actual future results may differ materially. Additional financial and operational information is filed electronically with various securities commissions in Canada through the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR).

Teleconference Call

The company will be hosting a teleconference at 4:00 pm Atlantic time today (3:00 pm Toronto/Montreal/New York; 2:00 pm Winnipeg; 12:00 pm Vancouver) to discuss the Q2 2009 financial results.

Analysts and other interested parties wanting to participate in the call should dial 1-888-575-8232 (in Toronto 416-406-6419) at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. No pass code is required. The teleconference will be recorded. If you are unable to join the teleconference live, you can dial for playback toll-free at 1-800-408-3053 (in Toronto 416-695-5800), access code 3175438(number sign) (available until midnight, Friday, August 21 2009). The teleconference will also be web cast live at www.emera.com and available for playback for one year.

About Emera

Emera Inc. (EMA-TSX) is an energy and services company with $5.3 billion in assets. Electricity is Emera's core business. The company has two wholly-owned regulated electric utility subsidiaries, Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company, which together serve 600,000 customers. Emera also owns 19% of St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited, which serves more than 50,000 customers on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia and 25% of Grand Bahama Power Company which serves 19,000 customers on the Caribbean island of Grand Bahama. In addition to its electric utility investments, Emera owns the Brunswick Pipeline, a 145 km gas pipeline in New Brunswick; Emera Energy Services, a physical natural gas and power marketing and asset management business; a joint venture interest in Bear Swamp, a 600 megawatt pumped storage hydro-electric facility in northern Massachusetts; a 12.9% interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline; a 8.1% interest in Open Hydro. Visit Emera on the web at www.emera.com.