ALLENTOWN, Pa.---PP&L Resources, Inc. (NYSE: PPL) Wednesday (1/26) reported the highest annual earnings in the company's 80-year history. Adjusted earnings for 1999, that is earnings excluding one-time items, were $2.35 per share, 26 percent higher than the similarly adjusted earnings per share of $1.87 reported one year ago.

"The record earnings level for 1999 demonstrates that PP&L's integrated corporate strategy is successfully building value for our shareowners," said John R. Biggar, PP&L Resources' senior vice president and chief financial officer. BR>
"Clearly, our strategy to generate and sell competitively priced energy in key U.S. markets and to operate high-quality energy delivery businesses around the world is working," said Biggar. "We look forward to continuing this unprecedented growth in 2000

Biggar said the company's adjusted 1999 earnings per share record of $2.35 exceeded the consensus analysts' earnings estimate of $2.31 per share. "We expect this significant growth in earnings to continue beyond 1999," Biggar said. He said the company's earnings for the year 2000 are expected to be between $2.60 and $2.65 per share, which would represent an additional increase of 11 to 13 percent over the record results for 1999.

The company also reported adjusted earnings of 64 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 1999, 60 percent higher than the 40 cents reported for the same period a year ago.

Contributing to earnings growth during the fourth quarter of 1999 were a 14 percent increase in electricity supplied to commercial and industrial customers, lower taxes, lower depreciation on generation assets in connection with the transition from a regulated to a competitive energy market, increased contributions from unregulated operations and fewer shares of common stock outstanding as a result of stock repurchase programs. These benefits were partially offset by a one-year 4 percent rate reduction for electric delivery customers in Pennsylvania and by the loss of customers who shopped for alternate electricity generation suppliers under Pennsylvania's customer choice program. The earnings improvement for the year reflects similar factors, as well as significantly higher margins on wholesale energy and marketing activities in 1999 compared with 1998

Reported earnings for 1999, that is earnings including one-time items, were $2.84 per share, also a record. This compares to a loss of $3.46 in 1998, which reflected $948 million of net write-offs related to the settlement of the company's restructuring case before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and another competition-related case before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Reported fourth quarter 1999 earnings were $1.02 per share, compared to 56 cents for the same period of 1998, an increase of 82 percent, when reflecting the net benefits of one-time adjustments in both periods

One-time boosts to earnings during the fourth quarter of 1999 included a gain from the sale of a generation plant in Sunbury, Pa. and a gain from the sale of the supply portion of the company's electricity business in the United Kingdom - SWEB, now renamed Western Power Distribution (WPD). Partially offsetting these benefits during the fourth quarter of 1999 was a one-time adjustment to write down the carrying value of certain investments made by PP&L Global, the company's international energy development subsidiary

In addition to an 8 percent increase in electricity supplied to commercial and industrial customers in 1999, the company also recognized a 4 percent increase in electricity supplied to residential customers, even though it did not compete for customers in the residential market. In total, electricity supplied to retail customers in 1999 increased by 7 percent over the previous year. This reflects the success of PP&L EnergyPlus, the company's competitive retail marketing subsidiary.

"Overall, the company's strategy to own and effectively operate power plants is one that maximizes the value of our physical assets in order to minimize the cost of our product. That enables us to be successful in the competitive marketplace," said Biggar

Consolidated Financial Information (unaudited)

Based in Allentown, Pa., PP&L Resources, Inc. (www.pplresources.com) is a Fortune 500 company that delivers electricity and natural gas to more than 1.3 million customers in Pennsylvania; sells wholesale and retail energy in 35 U.S. states and Canada; generates electricity at power plants in Pennsylvania, Maine and Montana; delivers electricity to 1.4 million customers in southwest Britain; and delivers electricity to more than 800,000 customers in Chile, Bolivia and El Salvador.
Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements with respect to future earnings, performance and financial results of domestic and foreign subsidiaries, wholesale and retail marketing results and other statements which are statements of other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although PP&L Resources 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: state and federal regulatory developments; new state or federal 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; PP&L Resources' and PP&L, Inc.'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 where PP&L Global makes investments; foreign exchange rates; and PP&L Resources' and PP&L, Inc.'s commitments and liabilities. Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such important factors and in conjunction with PP&L Resources' 1998 Form 10-K and interim reports on file with the SEC. New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for PP&L Resources to predict all of such factors, or the extent to which any such factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and PP&L Resources undertakes no obligation to updatethe information contained in such statement to reflect subsequent developments or information.