Southern Company reports fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 earnings
Southern Company today reported fourth-quarter 2020 earnings of $387 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $440 million, or 42 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2019. Southern Company also reported full-year 2020 earnings of $3.12 billion, or $2.95 per share, compared with earnings of $4.74 billion, or $4.53 per share, in 2019.
Excluding the items described under “Net Income – Excluding Items” in the table below, Southern Company earned $497 million, or 47 cents per share, during the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with $283 million, or 27 cents per share, during the fourth quarter of 2019. For the full-year 2020, excluding these items, Southern Company earned $3.44 billion, or $3.25 per share, compared with $3.25 billion, or $3.11 per share, in 2019.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures |
Three Months Ended December |
|
Year-to-Date December |
||
Net Income - Excluding Items (in millions) |
2020 |
2019 |
|
2020 |
2019 |
Net Income - As Reported |
$387 |
$440 |
|
$3,119 |
$4,739 |
Less: |
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition and Disposition Impacts |
22 |
39 |
|
60 |
2,516 |
Tax Impact |
(6) |
48 |
|
(22) |
(1,081) |
Estimated Loss on Plants Under Construction |
(177) |
(11) |
|
(328) |
(27) |
Tax Impact |
45 |
(4) |
|
84 |
- |
Wholesale Gas Services |
78 |
136 |
|
17 |
215 |
Tax Impact |
(19) |
(34) |
|
(3) |
(52) |
Asset Impairments |
(52) |
(16) |
|
(206) |
(108) |
Tax Impact |
21 |
(1) |
|
101 |
26 |
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt |
(29) |
- |
|
(29) |
- |
Tax Impact |
7 |
- |
|
7 |
- |
Net Income – Excluding Items |
$497 |
$283 |
|
$3,438 |
$3,250 |
Average Shares Outstanding – (in millions) |
1,058 |
1,052 |
|
1,058 |
1,046 |
Basic Earnings Per Share – Excluding Items |
$0.47 |
$0.27 |
|
$3.25 |
$3.11 |
NOTE: For more information regarding these non-GAAP adjustments, see the footnotes accompanying the Financial Highlights page of the earnings package.
Earnings drivers for the full year 2020 were positively influenced by diligent cost control and constructive state regulatory actions completed in 2019 at the company’s utilities, more than offsetting the impact of a decline in sales related to the COVID-19 pandemic and milder weather.
“In a year that saw many challenges, Southern Company demonstrated significant resilience and operational excellence on multiple fronts,” said Chairman, President and CEO, Thomas A. Fanning. “These efforts included prioritizing the health and safety of our workforce and communities, restoring electric service amid a record storm season and maintaining outstanding generation fleet reliability while delivering best-in-class customer service.”
Fourth-quarter 2020 operating revenues were $5.1 billion, compared with $4.9 billion for the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 4.1 percent. Operating revenues for the full year were $20.4 billion, compared with $21.4 billion in 2019, a decrease of 4.9 percent. The full year decrease was primarily due to lower fuel costs and a sales decline resulting from milder weather and COVID-19.
Southern Company’s fourth-quarter earnings slides with supplemental financial information, including earnings guidance for 2021, are available at http://investor.southerncompany.com.
Southern Company’s financial analyst call will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern Time today, during which Fanning and Chief Financial Officer Andrew W. Evans will discuss earnings and provide a general business update, including an update on the Vogtle units 3 and 4 construction project. Investors, media and the public may listen to a live webcast of the call and view associated slides at http://investor.southerncompany.com/webcasts. A replay of the webcast will be available on the site for 12 months.
