HALIFAX, May 4 /CNW/ - (EMA-TSX): Emera Inc.'s consolidated net earnings were $77.1 million in Q1 2010, compared to $62.8 million in 2009. Excluding the effect of mark-to-market accounting adjustments in Bear Swamp, net earnings were $81.4 million in the first quarter of 2010, compared to $66.3 million in Q1 2009. Earnings per share were $0.68 or $0.72 excluding the mark-to-market adjustments for Q1 2010 and $0.56 or $0.59 excluding the mark-to-market adjustments for Q1 2009.
"Our record Q1 results reflect the continuing success of our strategy," said Chris Huskilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Emera. "This quarter we started to build scale in the Caribbean with our agreement to purchase 38% of Barbados Light and Power. We made a strategic link between Bangor Hydro and New Brunswick with our agreement to purchase Maine & Maritimes Corporation and we accelerated our transition to cleaner generation with our agreement to build a biomass co-generation facility in Cape Breton."
Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI) earnings were $63.3 million in Q1 2010, compared to $52.5 million in Q1 2009. This increase relates primarily to lower income tax expense as a result of tax deductions associated with NSPI's increased renewable investments.
Bangor Hydro Electric contributed $5.6 million to consolidated net earnings in Q1 2010, compared to $6.4 million in Q1 2009. The decrease was primarily due to the stronger Canadian dollar.
Emera's Pipelines contributed $9.0 million to consolidated net earnings in Q1 2010, compared to $5.4 million in the same period in 2009. The increase is due to Brunswick Pipeline's commencement of operations in July of last year.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains forward looking information. Actual future results may differ materially. Additional financial and operational information is filed electronically with various securities commissions in Canada through the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR).
Teleconference Call
The company will be hosting a teleconference at 4:00 pm Atlantic time today (3:00 pm Toronto/Montreal/New York; 2:00 pm Winnipeg; 12:00 pm Vancouver) to discuss the Q1 2010 financial results.
Analysts and other interested parties wanting to participate in the call should dial 1-866-225-0198 (in Toronto 416-340-8061) at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. No pass code is required. The teleconference will be recorded. If you are unable to join the teleconference live, you can dial for playback toll-free at 1-800-408-3053 (in Toronto 416-695-5800), access code 1763112# (available until midnight, Tuesday, May 18, 2010). The teleconference will also be web cast live at www.emera.com and available for playback for one year.
About Emera
Emera Inc. (EMA-TSX) is an energy and services company with $5.4 billion in assets. Electricity is Emera's core business. Approximately 94% of Emera's revenues are earned by Nova Scotia Power Inc (NSPI), Bangor Hydro Electric Company (BHE) and the Brunswick Pipeline. NSPI and BHE are wholly-owned regulated electric utilities which together serve 603,000 customers. The Brunswick Pipeline is a 145 km gas pipeline in New Brunswick. Emera also owns 19% of St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited, which serves more than 50,000 customers on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia and 25% of Grand Bahama Power Company which serves 19,000 customers on the Caribbean island of Grand Bahama. In addition to its electric utility investments, Emera owns Bayside Power, a 260 MW gas-fired power plant in Saint John, New Brunswick; Emera Energy Services, a physical natural gas and power marketing and asset management business; a joint venture interest in Bear Swamp, a 600 megawatt pumped storage hydro-electric facility in northern Massachusetts; a 12.9% interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline; and an 8.2% interest in Open Hydro. Visit Emera on the web at www.emera.com.
For further information: Jennifer Nicholson, CA, Senior Director, Stakeholder Relations, (902) 428-6347; Jill MacDonald, CA, Manager, Investor Relations, (902) 428-6486
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