CALGARY, ALBERTA — (Marketwire) — 05/09/12 — HIGHLIGHTS
(all financial figures are unaudited and in Canadian dollars)
Enbridge Inc. (TSX: ENB) (NYSE: ENB) – “With first quarter adjusted earnings of $376 million, or $0.50 per share, Enbridge begins 2012 firmly on track to achieve our full year adjusted earnings guidance of $1.58 to $1.74 per share,” said Patrick D. Daniel, Chief Executive Officer.
First quarter 2012 earnings of $264 million included unrealized non-cash mark-to-market losses, primarily related to the revaluation of financial derivatives used to risk manage the profitability of forward transportation and storage transactions. These short-term non-cash fluctuations in reported earnings are a result of Enbridge–s hedging program, which over the long-term will support the Company–s reliable cash flows and capacity for ongoing dividend growth.
In the first quarter, Enbridge announced it had received sufficient commitments from shippers to upsize its proposed Flanagan South Pipeline Project and, with joint venture partner, Enterprise Products Partners, L.P. (Enterprise) to twin the Seaway Crude Pipeline System, bringing Enbridge–s expected investment in its U.S. Gulf Coast initiative to $5.2 billion.
“The commitments secured in the open seasons held in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2012 will support additional infrastructure to meet the growing transportation needs of Bakken and western Canadian producers and U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, contributing to North America–s energy security,” said Mr. Daniel. “The new upsized Flanagan South Pipeline, combined with our existing Spearhead Pipeline system, will offer shippers 775,000 barrels per day of capacity from Flanagan to Cushing, with the Seaway Crude Pipeline System reversal and expansion offering capacity of 850,000 barrels per day from Cushing to the Gulf Coast.
“By leveraging existing infrastructure wherever possible, impacts to landowners, communities and the environment will be minimized,” added Mr. Daniel.
In green energy, Enbridge added to its growing portfolio of renewable generation assets with the acquisition of a 100% interest in the Silver State North Solar Project (Silver State) development in Nevada.
“Silver State marks Enbridge–s entry into the U.S. solar energy market, which offers significant growth opportunities given the excellent solar resource, supportive regulatory environment and expanding portfolio of solar energy projects,” said Mr. Daniel. “The project complements Enbridge–s growing portfolio of renewable and alternative energy technologies that now includes interests in eight wind farms, four solar projects, a hybrid fuel cell, geothermal and four waste heat recovery facilities. Together, Enbridge has interests in a renewable energy portfolio of almost 1,000 megawatts.”
During the quarter, Enbridge continued to be active in capital markets. Noted Mr. Daniel, “Over the past eight months Enbridge has issued $2 billion in preference shares, bolstering our balance sheet as we embark upon the largest slate of growth projects we–ve ever had before us.”
In January, Enbridge was recognized as one of the Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, and in March, FTSE Group reaffirmed Enbridge–s membership in the FTSE4Good Index series which identifies companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards. In April, Enbridge was named one of Canada–s Greenest Employers.
“It is gratifying to be recognized for the sustainability of our business model, our commitment to delivering on our social responsibilities, and our continuing efforts to minimize the environmental impact of our activities,” said Mr. Daniel. “Enbridge–s more than 7,000 employees work tirelessly to achieve our vision of being the leading energy delivery company in North America. I thank all of them for their outstanding work and continuing commitment to our corporate values and to Corporate Social Responsibility.”
“Enbridge continues to deliver strong financial performance across our liquids pipelines, gas pipelines and processing, gas distribution and green energy businesses,” concluded Mr. Daniel. “We have had exceptional success in securing new projects across all of our business units, we are well positioned to fund our growth and, with a strong start to the year, we expect to continue to deliver superior returns to our investors.”
FIRST QUARTER 2012 OVERVIEW
For more information on Enbridge–s growth projects and operating results, please see the Management–s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) which is filed on SEDAR and EDGAR and also available on the Company–s website at .
CONFERENCE CALL
Enbridge will hold a conference call on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (7:00 a.m. Mountain Time) to discuss the first quarter 2012 results. Analysts, members of the media and other interested parties can access the call at 617-213-8059 or toll-free at 1-866-825-1692 using the access code of 47854821. The call will be audio webcast live at . A webcast replay and podcast will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the event and a transcript will be posted to the website within 24 hours. The replay at toll-free 1-888-286-8010 or 617-801-6888 (access code 17767809) will be available until May 16, 2012.
The conference call will begin with presentations by the Company–s Chief Executive Officer, the President and the Chief Financial Officer, followed by a question and answer period for investment analysts. A question and answer period for members of the media will then immediately follow.
The unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A, which contain additional notes and disclosures, are available on the Enbridge website at .
Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, is a North American leader in delivering energy and one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates, in Canada and the U.S., the world–s longest crude oil and liquids transportation system. The Company also has a significant and growing involvement in the natural gas gathering transmission and midstream businesses, and an increasing involvement in power transmission. As a distributor of energy, Enbridge owns and operates Canada–s largest natural gas distribution company, and provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. Enbridge employs more than 7,000 people, primarily in Canada and the U.S., and is ranked as one of Canada–s Greenest Employers and one of the Top 100 Companies to Work for in Canada. Enbridge–s common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB. For more information, visit . None of the information contained in, or connected to, Enbridge–s website is incorporated in or otherwise part of this news release.
Forward-Looking Information
Forward-looking information, or forward-looking statements, have been included in this news release to provide the Company–s shareholders and potential investors with information about the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including management–s assessment of Enbridge–s and its subsidiaries– future plans and operations. This information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “anticipate”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “plan”, “intend”, “target”, “believe” and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or statements included or incorporated by reference in this document include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: expected earnings or adjusted earnings; expected earnings or adjusted earnings per share; expected costs related to projects under construction; expected in-service dates for projects under construction; expected capital expenditures; estimated future dividends; and expected costs related to leak remediation and potential insurance recoveries.
Although Enbridge believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available on the date such statements are made and processes used to prepare the information, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Material assumptions include assumptions about: the expected supply and demand for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL); prices of crude oil, natural gas and NGL; expected exchange rates; inflation; interest rates; the availability and price of labour and pipeline construction materials; operational reliability; customer project approvals; maintenance of support and regulatory approvals for the Company–s projects; anticipated in-service dates; and weather. Assumptions regarding the expected supply and demand of crude oil, natural gas and NGL, and the prices of these commodities, are material to and underlie all forward-looking statements. These factors are relevant to all forward-looking statements as they may impact current and future levels of demand for the Company–s services. Similarly, exchange rates, inflation and interest rates impact the economies and business environments in which the Company operates, may impact levels of demand for the Company–s services and cost of inputs, and are therefore inherent in all forward-looking statements. Due to the interdependencies and correlation of these macroeconomic factors, the impact of any one assumption on a forward-looking statement cannot be determined with certainty, particularly with respect to expected earnings or adjusted earnings and associated per share amounts, or estimated future dividends. The most relevant assumptions associated with forward-looking statements on projects under construction, including estimated in-service dates, and expected capital expenditures include: the availability and price of labour and pipeline construction materials; the effects of inflation and foreign exchange rates on labour and material costs; the effects of interest rates on borrowing costs; and the impact of weather and customer and regulatory approvals on construction schedules.
Enbridge–s forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to operating performance, regulatory parameters, project approval and support, weather, economic and competitive conditions, exchange rates, interest rates, commodity prices and supply and demand for commodities, including but not limited to those risks and uncertainties discussed in this news release and in the Company–s other filings with Canadian and United States securities regulators. The impact of any one risk, uncertainty or factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as these are interdependent and Enbridge–s future course of action depends on management–s assessment of all information available at the relevant time. Except to the extent required by law, Enbridge assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made in this news release or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Enbridge or persons acting on the Company–s behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.
Non-GAAP Measures
This news release contains references to adjusted earnings/(loss), which represent earnings or loss attributable to common shareholders adjusted for non-recurring or non-operating factors on both a consolidated and segmented basis. These factors are reconciled and discussed in the financial results sections for the affected business segments. Management believes that the presentation of adjusted earnings/(loss) provides useful information to investors and shareholders as it provides increased transparency and predictive value. Management uses adjusted earnings/(loss) to set targets, assess performance of the Company and set the Company–s dividend payout target. Adjusted earnings/(loss) and adjusted earnings/(loss) for each of the segments are not measures that have a standardized meaning prescribed by U.S. GAAP and are not considered GAAP measures; therefore, these measures may not be comparable with similar measures presented by other issuers.
Contacts:
Enbridge Inc.
Jennifer Varey
Media
(403) 508-6563 or Toll Free: 1-888-992-0997
Enbridge Inc.
Jody Balko
Investment Community
(403) 231-5720