Sempra Q1 Earnings at USD 178 Million (USA)

Sempra Energy reported first-quarter 2013 earnings of $178 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, compared with $236 million, or $0.97 per diluted share, in the first quarter 2012. First-quarter 2013 earnings included a one-time charge for income tax expense of $63 million related to a reorganization in connection with the initial public offering of Sempra Energy’s Mexican subsidiary.

“While our reported earnings declined in the first quarter, the performance of our businesses remains solid and we completed several key strategic milestones, including the sale of half of our ownership interest in our Arizona gas-fired power plant and the successful public offerings at our Sempra Mexico unit,” said Debra L. Reed, chairman and CEO of Sempra Energy. “During the quarter, we raised nearly $1 billion in external capital and attracted strong local ownership in our Mexican company, IEnova.”

Additionally, Reed said that the company continues to make progress in permitting its proposed Cameron LNG export project in Louisiana. Last month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice of its schedule for the environmental review of the project.

Cameron LNG is the first and only proposed LNG export application currently pending before the FERC to have reached this milestone in the permitting process. Based on the published schedule, the FERC is expected to release the final Environmental Impact Statement for the project in November and issue its final ruling in early 2014.

The company expects to receive the other major permit for the project from the U.S. Department of Energy by the end of this year. The project is slated to begin operations in 2017 and process up to 1.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas for export to international markets.

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LNG World News Staff, May 2, 2013