NiSource Inc. Vice Chairman Stephen P. Adik announced Monday morning that he will retire Dec. 31, 2003. ending his direct involvement with the company and its predecessor after 16 years of service. “Although we respect Steve’s decision to retire,” said Gary L. Neale, CEO of NiSource, “we will miss his integrity, dedication, leadership, strategic insight and knowledge of the business. In the past 16 years, as a senior member of the management team at NiSource, Steve has played a key role in the growth and diversification of NiSource into a major regional gas and electric company. Adik has agreed to remain a member of the company’s board of directors. Adik, 60, joined NiSource predecessor Northern Indiana Public Service Co. in 1987 as vice president and general manager of the corporate support group. Prior to becoming vice chairman, he was senior executive vice president and CFO.
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Articles from Morning
Duke Shares Stable Despite Lower Than Expected Results, Downsizing
Duke Energy Corp. shares were flat Thursday morning despite news that the company missed third quarter earnings estimates and probably will miss earnings targets for the year. The company said its quarterly net income from continuing operations was 35 cents/share compared to the 37 cents/share average of analysts’ expectations. Large losses in the company’s trading, marketing and power generation division, Duke Energy North America (DENA), continue to overshadow improvements in other company operations.
Questar Results Benefit from Sharply Higher Realized Gas Prices
Questar Corp. shares (STR) rose nearly 2% Wednesday morning to $32.02 at noon after the company raised its earnings guidance for the year and reported a 23% increase in net income to $28.7 million, or 34/cents per diluted share, for third-quarter on much higher realized gas prices.
GOP Negotiators Plan for Tuesday Conference Vote on Energy Bill
Top Republican negotiators have scheduled a conference vote on the broad energy legislation for next Tuesday morning, and said they expect the warring House-Senate tax writers to wrap up their work on the tax package “in time to meet that schedule.”
Transportation Notes
Texas Eastern asked Monday morning that all upstream supplies be shut in following a rupture on a lateral to a power plant near Plaquemine, LA about 20 miles south of Baton Rouge. The lateral is in the East Louisiana zone on the Venice Line between the Whitecastle Compressor Station and New Roads, LA. A spokesman said the pipeline expected to restore service at the rupture site later Monday.
CMS Shares Fall 5% After 2Q Loss
CMS shares were pounded down about 5% Tuesday morning to $6.12/share after the company reported a net loss of $45 million, or $0.31 per share, for the second quarter, and adjusted its estimates of full-year reported earnings from roughly break-even to a loss of about $1 per share. The full-year adjustments, which include results from discontinued operations, were due to pension expenses, increased financing costs and changes in the timing of asset sales, such as its Loy Yang power plant in Australia.
EIA Revises Storage Data; Futures Market Corrects Lower
After a misguided attempt to rally Thursday morning, natural gas futures moved lower as traders pieced together a mixed bag of data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The June contract was hit with two waves of local and fund trader selling — one following the 10:30 a.m. EDT storage report and the other near the 2:30 p.m. closing bell. The June contract suffered the greatest loss, dipping 18.3 cents to close at $6.131.
Futures Slip Lower as Storage Refills Ramp Up
Natural gas futures dropped lower Thursday morning as bears were rousted for the second week in a row by a larger-than-expected storage injection (57 Bcf). After falling a dime in the five minutes following the storage report, the market stabilized for the rest of the session. June futures closed at $5.267, down 11.8 cents for the day.
April Drops Another 18 Cents; Out-Months Move Higher
Gas futures continued to move down Thursday morning from an overnight Access high of $7.20 and shifted around in the low $6.90s before the EIA’s storage report of a 176 Bcf storage withdrawal provided even more selling pressure. April ended the session down 17.7 cents to $6.844, which makes four straight daily declines. Trading ranges remained very wide with a daily high for April on Thursday of $7.00 and a low of $6.690.
Mirant Shares Tumble Further after Earnings Release Delay
Mirant shares fell another 14% Wednesday morning a day after the company said it would delay the release of its quarterly and year-end earnings because of an ongoing audit (see Power Market Today, Feb. 26). Mirant shares were down 23 cents to $1.39 at 2 p.m.
