Power company enjoys 38th profitable year

(CNS): Fortis, the parent company of CUC, reported net earnings of $285 million, or $1.65 per common share, for 2010, up $23 million from earnings in 2009. In a release on its annual results, the firm said it had raised its annualised dividend for shareholders for 38 consecutive years, which was a record for a public corporation in Canada. Despite the continued profit, the firm said its companies in the Caribbean only contributed $23 million to earnings compared to $27 million the year before. Among the numerous issues cited for the decline Fortis said the cooler-than-normal temperatures in Grand Cayman in the second half of 2010 was one of them.

Despite the poor performance in the Caribbean region, shareholders enjoyed healthy payouts. Dividends paid per common share were $1.12 in 2010, up 7.7% from $1.04 paid per common share in the previous year. The dividend payout ratio was approximately 68% in 2010. Fortis increased its quarterly common share dividend to 29 cents from 28 cents, commencing with the first quarter dividend payable on 1 March 2011, which translates into an annualised dividend of $1.16.

"For the second consecutive year our capital program surpassed $1 billion, reaching a record approximate $1.1 billion in 2010," said Stan Marshall, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fortis Inc. "The US$53 million 19-megawatt hydroelectric generating facility at Vaca in Belize was commissioned last March and completes the three-phase hydroelectric development for the Macal River. Several significant capital projects continued throughout 2010 and are slated for completion in the coming months.”

Fortis is the largest investor-owned distribution utility in Canada, serving approximately 2,100,000 gas and electricity customers. Its regulated holdings include electric utilities in five Canadian provinces and three Caribbean countries and a natural gas utility in British Columbia, Canada.

"We will continue to pursue acquisitions of regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States and Canada that will add value for our shareholders, ever mindful that the priority of Fortis is to meet our obligation to serve customers," the firm’s boss said.