SAN DIEGO, March 8, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- In advance of its financial analysts' conference today in New York, Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) has updated its earnings outlook.
The company today provided earnings-per-share guidance for 2006 of $3.20 to $3.40 and, for 2009, a target of $3.70 to $4.20. Last month, Sempra Energy raised its 2005 earnings-per-share guidance to $3.10 to $3.30. The company will discuss earnings ranges by business segment at the conference.
During a live Webcast at 12:30 p.m. EST today, Stephen L. Baum, chairman and chief executive officer of Sempra Energy, will provide an update on Sempra Energy's strategic plan at the company's financial analysts' conference. Other key Sempra Energy executives will address developments at the major business units.
At the conference, Sempra Energy officials also will detail the company's capital-expenditure plan by business segment. For 2005, the company plans capital expenditures of approximately $1.6 billion and, over the next five years, expects annual capital expenditures to average approximately $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion.
In related news, Sempra LNG, a unit of Sempra Energy, announced earlier today that it has entered into an Heads of Agreement with Eni S.p.A. for approximately one-third of the capacity of Sempra LNG's Cameron LNG receipt terminal under development near Lake Charles, La. With this and other agreements being negotiated, Sempra LNG expects the terminal's 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of capacity to be fully contracted by mid-year, so that construction on the project can begin. The facility is scheduled to be operational in 2008.
Internet users may listen to the live Webcast at www.sempra.com by clicking on the appropriate link. Conference presentation slides will be posted on the Web site and a replay will be available on the site 24 hours after today's conference.
Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2004 revenues of $9.4 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 13,000 employees serve more than 10 million customers in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America and Asia.
This presentation contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When the company uses words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "may," "would," "should" or similar expressions, or when the company discusses its strategy or plans, the company is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions by the California Public Utilities Commission, the California State Legislature, the California Department of Water Resources, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other regulatory bodies in the United States and other countries; capital markets conditions, inflation rates, interest rates and exchange rates; energy and trading markets, including the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices; the availability of natural gas; weather conditions and conservation efforts; war and terrorist attacks; business, regulatory, environmental, and legal decisions and requirements; the status of deregulation of retail natural gas and electricity delivery; the timing and success of business development efforts; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the company's control. These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that are available through the EDGAR system without charge at its Web site, www.sec.gov and on the company's Web site, www.sempra.com
Sempra LNG is not the same company as the utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas, and is not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.