Watch CBS News

DTE Energy Earnings Fall On One-Time Charges

DETROIT -- DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) Wednesday reported 2012 net income of $610 million, or $3.55 a share, down from $711 million, or $4.18 a share, in 2011. Revenue for the year was $8.79 billion, down from $8.9 billion a year earlier.

The company said its 2012 earnings included a one-time loss on the sale of shale oil assets of $56 million or 33 cents a share. 2011 earnings, meanwhile, included a one-time gain of $87 million or 50 cents a share reflecting Michigan's lower business taxes enacted in May 2011. 2012 operating earnings were $676 million, up from $636 million a year earlier.

The company said operating earnings increased in 2012 primarily due to warm weather with no revenue decoupler at the electric utility, ongoing growth at Power & Industrial Projects and continued cost reductions in Corporate & Other. These increases were partially offset by market opportunities at Energy Trading in 2011, but not repeated in 2012. Operating earnings for 2012 and 2011 exclude non-recurring items and discontinued operations.

"I'm pleased with our financial accomplishments in 2012," said Gerard M. Anderson, DTE Energy chairman, president and CEO. "The continuous improvement program we implemented a few years ago is now considered just part of normal, on-going daily responsibilities by our employees. This enabled us to not only execute on the financial priorities we set at the beginning of the year, but also enhanced our customers' experience with DTE Energy."

Anderson noted that improving the reliability of electric service is a critical component of customer satisfaction.

"In 2012, we started a multi-year program focused on improving electric reliability and we are confident this will provide a positive impact on our customers' experience," Anderson said. "In 2013 we are committing an additional $50 million in capital to improve system reliability in key areas that have had high outage frequency in recent years, effectively doubling the level of investment in these areas ... We will continue to work hard for our customers and shareholders to reach new levels of financial, operational and reliability excellence during the upcoming year."

DTE Energy confirmed its previously communicated 2013 operating earnings guidance of $3.85 to $4.15 per diluted share.

"Focusing on solid earnings and cash flow combined with a strong balance sheet allowed us to increase our dividend during this past year," said David E. Meador, DTE Energy executive vice president and CFO. "We will continue to execute on our financial growth plans which target long-term average annual operating earnings per share growth of 5 percent to 6 percent while providing an attractive dividend to shareholders. As always, these plans keep our customers at the center of everything we do, ensuring that our underlying priority is to provide them with clean, safe, reliable energy at an affordable price."

Meador also said DTE's participation in the Pure Michigan Business Initaitive, a five-year program designed to increase the services Michigan suppliers provide to companies across the state, resulted in spending $826 million with Michigan-based suppliers in 2012, up from $598 million spent in 2011 and $475 million in 2010. That increase in 2012 alone translated into nearly 7,000 full-time Michigan jobs.

This earnings announcement, as well as a package of slides and supplemental information, and a replay of a conference call discussing the results. is available at www.dteenergy.com. The replay is also available by phone at (888) 206-1112 in the United States and Canada and (719) 457-0820 elsewhere; enter passcode 6297144.

DTE Energy is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan and a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan.  The DTE Energy portfolio also includes non-utility energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects and energy trading.  Information about DTE Energy is available at dteenergy.com , twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com/dteenergy.

For the fourth quarter, revenue was $2.35 bllion, up from $2.16 billion a year earlier. Net income was $81 million or 47 cents a share, down from $150 million or 88 cents a share a year earlier.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.