MILWAUKEE, May 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — At the Wisconsin Energy (NYSE:WEC) 2008 annual meeting of stockholders today, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Gale Klappa highlighted 2007 achievements, discussed construction progress and reviewed actions management is taking to grow the company, improve customer satisfaction and enhance shareholder value. Approximately 500 stockholders attended the meeting at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, Wis.
During the meeting, stockholders approved re-election of the following directors to terms expiring at the 2009 annual meeting: John F. Bergstrom, Barbara L. Bowles, Patricia W. Chadwick, Robert A. Cornog, Curt S. Culver, Thomas J. Fischer, Gale E. Klappa, Ulice Payne, Jr. and Frederick P. Stratton, Jr. Stockholders also ratified Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditors for 2008.
2007 Highlights — Klappa cited the following 2007 highlights:— Achieving “the year’s most important strategic initiative” — selling
the company’s Point Beach Nuclear Plant for the highest price per unit
of capacity ever achieved for the full sale of a nuclear unit in the
United States.
— Being recognized as the most reliable utility in the Midwest for the
fifth time in the past six years.
— Reaching an all-time high of $50.48 a share for Wisconsin Energy stock
on Dec. 21.
— Earning recognition as one of the nation’s 15 best corporate citizens
by Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine.
— Making solid progress with critical infrastructure projects at Oak
Creek, Port Washington and the company’s Blue Sky Green Field wind farm
in Fond du Lac County.
— Completing a $257 million environmental upgrade at the company’s
Pleasant Prairie Power Plant in Kenosha County, on time and well below
the budget approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.
— Producing a record amount of electricity at the company’s Presque Isle
Power Plant in Marquette, Mich. — the most in the 50-plus years of
operation at the site.
— Improving employee safety – reducing lost-time accidents by 22 percent
and OSHA recordable injuries by 5.7 percent from the previous year.
— Receiving a perfect 10 rating for the twelfth consecutive time for the
company’s corporate governance practices – one of only three U.S.
companies to consistently earn this distinction from GovernanceMetrics
International, an independent ratings agency.
— Finishing the year with electric rates ranking 4 percent below the
national average.
Stock price performance — Over the past five years, Wisconsin Energy stock outperformed both the S&P 500 and a Peer Group of Highly Regulated Utilities nationwide. One hundred dollars invested in Wisconsin Energy at the end of 2002 was worth $219 at the end of 2007, assuming reinvested dividends. The same investment in the Peer Group and the S&P 500 was valued at $203 and $183, respectively.
Earnings — Wisconsin Energy’s earnings from continuing operations were $2.84 per share in 2007 as compared with $2.64 per share in 2006. In 2006, the company recorded a gain of 5 cents per share from the reversal of state tax operating losses, as well as a 1 cent per share gain on the sale of its interest in the Guardian Pipeline. Excluding the effects of these items, adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $2.58 per share in 2006. Klappa added that earnings per share during the first quarter of 2008 rose more than 20 percent over the first quarter of 2007, at $1.04 per share versus 85 cents per share.
Dividend increase — In January 2008, Wisconsin Energy’s board of directors raised the dividend by 8 percent, to $1.08 per share. The company’s dividend rate is now 35 percent higher than it was at the beginning of 2004. Klappa said the company’s goal has been to raise the dividend annually at approximately half the rate of earnings per share growth. “We plan to take a fresh look at the dividend policy in 2009, as our major construction projects near completion,” he said.
Power the Future — Klappa estimated the direct impact to the Wisconsin economy of the company’s Power the Future construction plan at $950 million for labor and suppliers. Work at the company’s major construction projects at Oak Creek and Port Washington made good progress in 2007. The second natural gas-fired unit at Port Washington is expected to come on line in the second quarter of 2008. The first unit began operation in July 2005. When complete, the Port Washington Generating Station is projected to have a total capacity of 1,090 megawatts. Work on the Oak Creek expansion is more than 50 percent complete. The first 615-megawatt unit is scheduled for completion in 2009 and the second in 2010.
Appeal of Water Intake Permit — Klappa discussed the one legal challenge still pending on the Oak Creek expansion, explaining that two environmental groups are seeking to overturn the company’s permit to operate the water intake system, which was earlier approved by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). In November 2007, an administrative law judge ruled that the expansion units at Oak Creek must be treated as a new facility for purposes of the permit. That means the DNR must decide if the water intake system the company has already built is the best technology available for a new facility. “We believe it is clearly the best environmental solution,” Klappa stated. The company expects a decision and a draft, modified permit from the DNR in May.
Blue Sky Green Field — Construction of the company’s Blue Sky Green Field wind project is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2008. The company has erected 88 turbines with a capacity of up to 145 megawatts to help meet the state’s renewable energy mandate. The mandate requires 10 percent of the state’s electricity to be supplied by renewable sources by 2015. The projected cost of this wind project is approximately $300 million.
Customer satisfaction — Reiterating the company’s long-term goal “to be the industry leader in customer satisfaction,” Klappa reported that among customers who had contact with We Energies during the first quarter of 2008, 92 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the transaction – and more than 85 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the company.
Earnings per share listed in this news release are on a fully diluted basis.
A replay of the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is available on the Wisconsin Energy Web site — http://www.wisconsinenergy.com/.
Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE:WEC) , based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation’s premier energy companies, serving more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and more than 1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. The company’s principal utilities are We Energies and Edison Sault Electric. The company’s non-utility businesses include renewable energy technology and real estate development.
Wisconsin Energy Corporation (http://www.wisconsinenergy.com/) has more than $11 billion of assets, approximately 5,000 employees and more than 50,000 stockholders of record.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based upon management’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those matters described under the heading “Factors Affecting Results, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and under the headings “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information” and “Risk Factors” contained in Wisconsin Energy Corporation’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and other factors described in subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “may,” “objectives,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “projects” or similar terms or variations of these terms. We expressly disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:
Source: Wisconsin Energy Corporation
CONTACT: media, Rick James, +1-414-221-4444, or analysts, Colleen F.
Henderson, CFA, +1-414-221-2592, colleen.henderson@wisconsinenergy.com, both
of Wisconsin Energy Corporation
Web site: http://www.wisconsinenergy.com/
