Dominion announces first-quarter earnings

Dominion Resources today announced operating earnings for the three months ended March 31, 2016, of $572 million ($0.96 per share), compared to operating earnings of $584 million ($0.99per share) for the same period in 2015.  Operating earnings are defined as reported earnings, determined in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), adjusted for certain items.

Unaudited reported GAAP earnings for the three months ended March 31, 2016, were $524 million ($0.88 per share) compared with earnings of $536 million ($0.91 per share) for the same period in 2015.

Dominion uses operating earnings as the primary performance measurement of its earnings guidance and results for public communications with analysts and investors.  Dominion also uses operating earnings internally for budgeting, for reporting to the Board of Directors, for the company’s incentive compensation plans and for its targeted dividend payouts and other purposes. Dominion management believes operating earnings provide a more meaningful representation of the company’s fundamental earnings power.

The principal difference between GAAP earnings and operating earnings for the quarter was due to charges associated with an organizational design initiative.

Business segment results and detailed descriptions of items included in 2016 and 2015 reported earnings but excluded from operating earnings can be found on Schedules 1, 2 and 3 of this release.

Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said:

“Our first-quarter operating earnings were in the middle of our guidance range of $0.90 to $1.05 per share.

“We continue to execute with strong operational and safety performance while also investing in an array of clean energy infrastructure.  Brunswick County, the 1,358-megawatt natural gas combined-cycle facility, was placed in commercial operation last week ahead of schedule.  Our request for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) and rate rider for the proposed 1,588-megawatt Greensville County project was recently approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission.  We continued our commitment to increase the renewable energy in Virginia by signing solar agreements with the Commonwealth of Virginia and Microsoft.

“Our Cove Point liquefaction project is also progressing on time and on budget.  The project overall is about 64 percent complete and engineering 99 percent complete as we are on schedule for a late 2017 in-service date.”