Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced results for its fiscal year ended October 31, 2008. For the fiscal year, the Company reported record net income and earnings per share of $110 million and $1.49 per diluted share, respectively. These results compare with net income of $104.4 million, or $1.40 per diluted share, for the 2007 fiscal year. Chairman, President and CEO Thomas E. Skains commented, “In 2008, we continued our track record of solid financial performance and dividend growth for shareholders. Although not at the upper end of our guidance range, our earnings per diluted share of $1.49 were at record levels due to top line margin growth from continued customer growth and expense reductions from ongoing cost management programs.”
System throughput for fiscal year 2008 totaled 210.3 million dekatherms, compared with 206 million dekatherms for the previous year. The increase was primarily due to colder weather and customer growth. Weather for the year was 5% warmer than normal but 7% colder than 2007.
For the year, margin increased by 5% compared to the prior year. The increase in margin was positively influenced by 2% growth in gross customer additions in the Company’s service area and net adjustments resulting from regulatory gas cost accounting reviews.
Operations and maintenance expenses for the year decreased $3.7 million from the previous fiscal year primarily as a result of lower pension expense accruals resulting from the Company’s restructuring of its defined benefit pension program.
Included in Other Income are results from the Company’s interest in SouthStar Energy Services, which contributed $18.3 million pre-tax income in fiscal 2008 compared with $28.2 million pre-tax income for the prior year. Results in the fourth quarter of 2008 were impacted by a pre-tax reduction of $4.5 million as a result of a lower of cost or market accounting adjustment to lower the value of SouthStar’s gas inventory due to declining wholesale natural gas prices. The Company’s interest in Hardy Storage, which completed its first full year of operations in fiscal 2008, contributed $4.6 million pre-tax income compared with $3.8 million pre-tax income for the prior year.
