WPD Limited announced Wednesday (9/6) that to date it has received acceptances from shareholders of Hyder plc that — when combined with WPDL's existing ownership interests in Hyder — equal approximately 62.6 percent of the issued ordinary share capital of Hyder. To proceed with the planned acquisition of Hyder, WPDL needed to exceed 50 percent in acceptances and ownership interests by Wednesday.
WPDL is jointly owned by PPL Corp. and The Southern Company. One of the principal assets of Hyder is South Wales Electricity plc, an electric distribution company whose service territory is adjacent to Western Power Distribution, which also is jointly owned by PPL Corporation and The Southern Company.
John Biggar, PPL Corporation's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said Wednesday (9/6) that the Hyder acquisition, which is expected to close later this month, will be immediately accretive to PPL Corp. earnings, adding at least 2 cents per share for the remainder of 2000, at least 10 cents per share in 2001 (the first full calendar year of operation) and increasing thereafter. (This statement does not constitute a profit forecast in respect of Hyder under its current ownership and management.)
Biggar said PPL is continuing to experience improved performance on already strong earnings growth across its business lines in 2000. In particular, he said, the company is extracting increasing value from a portfolio of about 10,000 megawatts of merchant generation by combining its skills as an operator of low-cost power plants with the ability of its disciplined energy marketers and traders to capture value afforded by competitive energy markets.
Based on this performance, the expected accretion from the Hyder transaction and using conservative assumptions about future business conditions, the company announced Aug. 21 that it was increasing its earnings forecast to $3.00 per share for the year 2000 and to between $3.20 and $3.30 per share for 2001. The company had previously forecasted earnings of between $2.80 and $2.90 per share for this year and between $3.10 and $3.20 per share for 2001.
Based in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corp. is a FORTUNE 500. company that delivers electricity and natural gas to more than 1.3 million customers in Pennsylvania; markets wholesale or retail energy in 43 U.S. states and Canada; provides energy services for businesses in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S.; generates electricity at power plants in Pennsylvania, Maine and Montana; delivers electricity to 1.4 million customers in southwest Britain; and delivers electricity to nearly 1.8 million customers in Chile, Bolivia, El Salvador and Brazil.
Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements with respect to future earnings and performance, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although PPL Corp. believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the statements. The following are among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: 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 profitability and liquidity of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries; 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 countries where PPL Corp. or its subsidiaries conduct business; any required governmental approvals or third-party consents; capital market conditions; share price performance; foreign exchange rates; and the commitments and liabilities of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries. Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such factors and in conjunction with PPL Corp.'s Form 10-K and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.