Continuing its evolution to take advantage of opportunities in the new energy marketplace, the Fortune 500 energy company based in Allentown, Pa., announced Monday (2/14) that its name is changing to PPL Corporation.
"Our customers know us as a no-nonsense company that gets right to the point in providing high-quality and competitively priced energy and energy services," said Chairman William F. Hecht. "As we realign our company to reflect the significant expansion that we've experienced in the past several years, we are changing our name to make it easier for our customers to identify us.
"PPL is easy to remember and, because it is our New York Stock Exchange symbol, it's how the investment community has referred to us for years," said Hecht. For the past five years, the holding company for the $11 billion enterprise has been known as PP&L Resources.
The company's familiar blue and white starburst logo will not change. The company's common stock will begin trading under the PPL Corporation name on Tuesday (2/15).
Hecht said the company's four major business lines also will have new names, better reflecting the business opportunities the company is pursuing throughout the United States and around the world. Hecht said that while the actual corporate realignment will take place following regulatory approvals now expected to be received by mid-year, the company will begin using the new names in advertising and communications immediately.
The new PPL Corp. will have four major business lines:
7 PPL Utilities, which will operate the company's 1.3 million-customer electricity delivery business in Pennsylvania and its natural gas delivery operation, which has 70,000 customers in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
7 PPL EnergyPlus, which will market wholesale and retail electricity in 43 states as well as Canada. PPL EnergyPlus is one of the leading suppliers of competitively priced electricity in the mid-Atlantic region.
7 PPL Generation, which will operate the company's growing fleet of domestic power plants. The company will own and operate plants in Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine and other areas as PPL expands its generation holdings.
7 PPL Global, which owns companies in the United Kingdom and Latin America that deliver electricity to 2.2 million customers and develops generation projects in the United States. PPL Global currently owns power plants in Spain and Portugal and is building plants in Connecticut, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
"In many ways, we have come a long way from the days in which we were known as Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. -- or PP&L -- and our only customers were in central and eastern Pennsylvania," said Hecht. "But, while we have grown, we still retain the same values -- a belief in integrity and meeting customer needs -- that made us one of the most successful electric utility companies in the country.
"People have always known us by the three letters -- PPL -- that we carry with us today around the world," said Hecht. "We are proud of that heritage and we pledge to continue to make the people of Pennsylvania proud of their 'home town' energy company."
Hecht said the company's integrated corporate strategy to generate and sell competitively priced energy in key U.S. markets and to operate high-quality delivery businesses around the world is resulting in remarkable success.
In fact, earlier this month the company told financial analysts that it expects earnings per share for 2001 of $2.95 to $3.00. The forecast for 2001 earnings represents an increase of about 27 percent over 1999 adjusted earnings of $2.35 per share and about a 13 percent increase over forecasted 2000 earnings per share of $2.60 to $2.65.
Today's announcement means that the company will phase out use of PP&L, Inc. and Penn Fuel Gas. These companies will operate under the name PPL Utilities.
Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements with respect to future, earnings are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although PPL Corp. believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The following are among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: regulatory developments; new legislation; national or regional economic conditions; market demand and prices for energy, capacity and fuel; weather variations affecting customer energy usage; competition in retail and wholesale power markets; the effect of any business or industry restructuring; the company's profitability and liquidity; new accounting requirements or new interpretations or applications of existing requirements; operating performance of plants and other facilities; environmental conditions and requirements; system conditions and operating costs; performance of new ventures; political, regulatory or economic conditions in foreign countries; foreign exchange rates; and the company's commitments and liabilities. Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such important factors and in conjunction with PPL Corporation's 1998 Form 10-K and interim reports on file with the SEC.