Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc (PNY)

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Piedmont Natural Gas Reports First Quarter 2008 Results


CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced results for the first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2008. For the quarter, the Company reported net income of $82.3 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, compared with net income of $70.7 million, or $0.94 per diluted share for the same period in 2007.

Margin for the quarter was $227 million, up $18.5 million from the prior year. Continued customer growth, colder weather patterns and increased wholesale marketing and power generation margins all contributed to margin growth for the Company. In addition, the discontinuation of a storage accounting practice pursuant to a regulatory order effective November 1, 2007 increased margin in the first quarter, with offsetting impacts to occur later in the fiscal year. Net adjustments to various gas cost and inventory accounts in the first quarter of 2008 and 2007 also added to the margin increase in the first quarter of 2008.

Operations and maintenance expenses of $52.6 million during the first quarter of 2008 were essentially flat with O&M expenses during the first quarter of 2007, reflecting Piedmont's continuing efforts to streamline its business processes and improve operating efficiencies.

Joint venture income of $8.7 million, before tax, was up $3.2 million from $5.5 million last year. The start of commercial operations of Hardy Storage and strong performance by SouthStar Energy both contributed to the improvement over last year.

"We are pleased with our operating performance in all areas of the Company. We saw improvement in top line margin growth, expense control and joint venture performance. At the same time, we were focused on providing quality customer service and delivering our environmentally friendly product to customers in a safe and reliable manner," commented Chairman, President and CEO, Thomas E. Skains.


DIVIDEND INCREASED FOR THIRTIETH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
As previously announced, the Board of Directors on March 6 approved an increase in the Company's quarterly dividend on Common Stock. The new quarterly rate of 26 cents per share reflects a 4% increase and will be payable on April 15 to holders of record at the close of business on March 25. Mr. Skains said, "Our thirtieth consecutive annual dividend increase reflects the Board's commitment to shareholder value and its confidence in the future growth of the Company."


FISCAL 2008 EARNINGS GUIDANCE REAFFIRMED
Piedmont Natural Gas reaffirms its fiscal 2008 guidance range of $1.45 to $1.55 per diluted share. The Company's earnings guidance includes management's assessment of overall market conditions, the margin stabilization features of its natural gas tariffs and ongoing business process improvement efficiencies and cost savings. Changes in market conditions which the Company cannot reasonably anticipate could cause earnings for the year to differ from this guidance.