Business
Emera Reports Record Q1 2010 Earnings of $77.1 million
Emera Reports Record Q1 2010 Earnings of $77.1 million
About this update from Emera Incorporated
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n May 4, 2010 (Canada NewsWire Group) -- (EMA-TSX): Emera Inc.'s consolidated net earnings were $77.1 million in Q1 2010, compared to $62.8 million in 2009. Excluding the effect of mark-to-market accounting adjustments in Bear Swamp, net earnings were $81.4 million in the first quarter of 2010, compared to $66.3 million in Q1 2009. Earnings per share were $0.68 or $0.72 excluding the mark-to-market adjustments for Q1 2010 and $0.56 or $0.59 excluding the mark-to-market adjustments for Q1 2009.\n"Our record Q1 results reflect the continuing success of our strategy," said Chris Huskilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Emera. "This quarter we started to build scale in the Caribbean with our agreement to purchase 38% of Barbados Light and Power. We made a strategic link between Bangor Hydro and New Brunswick with our agreement to purchase Maine & Maritimes Corporation and we accelerated our transition to cleaner generation with our agreement to build a biomass co-generation facility in Cape Breton."\nNova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI) earnings were $63.3 million in Q1 2010, compared to $52.5 million in Q1 2009. This increase relates primarily to lower income tax expense as a result of tax deductions associated with NSPI's increased renewable investments.\nBangor Hydro Electric contributed $5.6 million to consolidated net earnings in Q1 2010, compared to $6.4 million in Q1 2009. The decrease was primarily due to the stronger Canadian dollar.\nEmera's Pipelines contributed $9.0 million to consolidated net earnings in Q1 2010, compared to $5.4 million in the same period in 2009. The increase is due to Brunswick Pipeline's commencement of operations in July of last year.\n\nForward Looking Information\n\nThis 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).\n\nTeleconference Call\n\nThe 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 Q1 2010 financial results.\nAnalysts and other interested parties wanting to participate in the call should dial 1-866-225-01...