Missed

If you missed the last bandwagon, stick around; there will be another one coming along soon. Not to be outdone by health care reform friends and foes, energy companies and environmentalists are going on the road with the aim of staging as many rallies as possible in Congressional home districts during the August recess, aiming to influence votes in September. It’s the populist revolution and everyone’s in the game.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) missed a special meeting Tuesday of its oversight board but hopes to get approval in the next few weeks for a public power consortium’s pre-paid natural gas supply contract. A source close to the arrangement that was brokered by a public power financing arm, the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), said LADWP is taking more time than previously anticipated to get the deal approved.

BP plc’s share price slid 3% in early trading Tuesday after the London-based major missed its production targets and reported that its 4Q2006 oil and natural gas output fell for the sixth straight quarter on start-up delays in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and reduced oil flow from its Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska.

Only a few scattered points missed out on a continued moderate rally in a majority of the market Wednesday. Once again, buying to replace storage gas that was withdrawn during the recent weeks-long heat wave was believed to be the primary support for cash numbers, although high temperatures across much of the southern U.S. are still contributing significant power generation load.

Dominion reported operating earnings of $1.08/share in the third quarter which fell short of earnings guidance of $1.20-1.25/share, missed Wall Street estimates of $1.18/share and were about 13 cents/share lower than operating earnings in the third quarter of 2004, mainly because of the significant impact that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had on production, operations and natural gas prices. Nevertheless, Dominion shares fell only slightly because the company sees no long-term impact from the hurricanes.

Williams missed Wall Street earnings estimates of 8 cents/share for the first quarter of 2004, but reported income from continuing operations of 1 cent/share or $5.4 million compared to a restated loss of 9 cents/share or $39.3 million for 1Q2003. It also posted net income of $9.9 million, or 2 cents/share, compared to a net loss of $814.5 million, or $1.59/share a year earlier.

Williams missed Wall Street earnings estimates of 8 cents/share for the first quarter of 2004, but reported income from continuing operations of 1 cent/share or $5.4 million compared to a restated loss of 9 cents/share or $39.3 million for 1Q2003. It also posted net income of $9.9 million, or 2 cents/share, compared to a net loss of $814.5 million, or $1.59/share a year earlier.

Exxon Mobil Corp. missed Wall Street’s quarterly expectations by 7 cents/share on Thursday, and the world’s largest energy company also reported a 3% drop in oil and gas production — despite higher upstream spending. Meanwhile, Unocal Corp. eclipsed Wall Street expectations, but its production numbers also were lower, which it attributed to asset sales and natural field declines.

Duke Energy missed analysts earnings estimates for the fourth quarter and full year, posting earnings per share (EPS) of 35 cents and $2.64, respectively, compared to average Wall Street consensus estimates of 45 cents for the fourth quarter and $2.74 for the year. In 4Q2000, the company posted EPS of 47 cents and for the full year it posted $2.10. Lower commodity prices hindered growth in Duke’s field services operations and mild weather hurt results from the company’s North Carolina utility company. Based on the results, Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Curt Launer said he was lowering expectations for this year from $2.85 to $2.75/share. Duke’s stock price was down nearly 3% by mid-day on Thursday after its announcement. However, Duke’s marketing and merchant power operations performed well and are expected to showed continued strong growth this year. In addition, the company is buying Canadian pipeline giant Westcoast Energy. “Despite all of the turbulence in the industry, it was our best year ever,” said CEO Richard Priory, noting a 26% increase in ongoing earnings per share before special charges in 2001. Non-recurring items, however, brought earnings per share gains down to only 2.5%, and the company’s fourth quarter was particularly difficult with diluted earnings per share after special items down 26% to 28 cents. Priory said the company’s balanced energy portfolio led to full-year improvements. Marketing and trading operations, merchant power and Duke’s other unregulated businesses showed earnings growth of 127%. Before special items, the company posted record earnings of $2.64/share compared to $2.10 in 2000, but short of the $2.74 average of analysts’ estimates. Including non-recurring items, Duke posted $2.45/share in 2001 compared to $2.39 in 2000. Net income for the year rose to $1.9 billion from $1.8 billion in 2000. Revenues for 2001 grew 21% to $60 billion. Fourth quarter net income fell to $225 million from $284 million.