Cinergy Reports First Quarter Earnings; Reaffirms 2005 Earnings Guidan

    Business Editors/Energy Editors

    CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2005--Cinergy Corp. (NYSE:CIN) today reported net income for the first quarter of 2005 of $117 million, or $0.60 per share on a diluted basis, compared with net income of $103 million, or $0.57 per share on a diluted basis in the first quarter of 2004.
    Earnings for the first quarter of 2005 were negatively impacted by ($0.12) per share resulting from the recognition of unrealized mark-to-market losses on power and gas contracts that hedge gas storage and generation assets. These contracts, which are economic power and gas hedges, do not meet the accounting requirements to qualify for either accrual accounting or cash flow hedge accounting.
    Excluding these impacts, adjusted earnings for the first quarter of 2005 were $0.72 per share, compared with $0.63 per share for the first quarter of 2004. In the first quarter of 2004, earnings were impacted by gains from similar unrealized mark-to-market adjustments of $0.05 per share and an ($0.11) per share impairment charge related to a certain technology investment.
    Cinergy uses adjusted earnings internally for analysis of performance and for reporting results to the Board of Directors to provide a more meaningful representation of Cinergy's fundamental earnings power. The company also uses adjusted earnings when communicating its earnings outlook to analysts and investors.
    "Our first quarter adjusted results were below our expectations due to milder weather and the timing of certain operating costs," said James E. Rogers, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Cinergy. "Due to strong results in our wholesale power businesses during the first quarter and recently approved price increases to retail customers, we believe we are on track to meet our previously announced earnings guidance of $2.70 to $2.85 per share in 2005, excluding the mark-to-market effect of power and gas contracts that hedge gas storage and generation assets."

    Business Segment Results

    First quarter earnings from the Commercial Businesses segment were $0.23 per share in 2005 compared with $0.25 in the same period in 2004. Excluding the ($0.12) per share impact in 2005 and the $0.05 per share impact in 2004 resulting from the unrealized mark-to-market effects of the power and gas contracts discussed above, the segment's earnings were $0.35 per share, compared with $0.20 per share from a year earlier. The segment realized increased margins through strong performances from portfolio optimization activities and power marketing, trading and origination. Higher generation margins were partially offset by increases in fuel costs that are not yet reflected in the prices charged to residential and non-retail customers.
    First quarter earnings from the Regulated Businesses segment were $0.39 per share in 2005, compared with $0.44 per share from a year earlier. The decrease in earnings was due to milder weather, increased operation and maintenance expense, higher financing costs, and higher depreciation expense, which resulted from increased plant in service and higher depreciation rates associated with PSI Energy's recent electric rate increase. Partially offsetting these decreases was an increase in electric gross margins resulting from the rate increase for PSI Energy.
    The Power Technology and Infrastructure Services segment lost ($0.02) per share, as compared to a ($0.01) per share loss from the prior year, excluding the previously-discussed impairment charge.

    Other Activities

    In the first quarter, CG&E filed a rate application with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio seeking a $78 million increase for electric distribution service in Ohio. Hearings are expected to occur in the fall with the increase expected to take effect in January 2006.
    In February, The Union Light, Heat and Power Company filed with the Kentucky Public Service Commission for an increase in natural gas distribution rates of approximately $14 million. Hearings are scheduled to take place in August, and an order is expected in the fourth quarter of 2005.
    Cinergy Solutions signed an agreement to design, build, own, operate and maintain a new steam generating plant to serve Union Carbide's South Charleston, W.Va., Technology Park. When completed, the new facility serve more than 380 laboratories at the technology park. Union Carbide is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company and joins Cinergy Solutions' list of major industrial clients across the country.
    The U.S. Department of Labor honored Cinergy with its highest award, the Secretary of Labor's Opportunity Award, for the company's innovative programs and initiatives to promote equal opportunity for all applicants and employees. The award was presented to Cinergy CEO Rogers on March 17, 2005 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

    Cinergy Corp. has a balanced, integrated portfolio consisting of two core businesses: regulated operations and commercial businesses. Cinergy's regulated public utilities in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky serve 1.5 million electric customers and about 500,000 gas customers. In addition, its Indiana regulated company owns 7,000 megawatts of generation. Cinergy's competitive commercial businesses have 6,300 megawatts of generating capacity with a profitable balance of stable existing customer portfolios, new customer origination, marketing and trading, and industrial-site cogeneration. Cinergy's integrated businesses make it a Midwest leader in providing both low-cost generation and reliable electric and gas service.

    This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect", "continue", "should", "could", "may", "plan", "project", "predict", "will", and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results predicted. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to, unanticipated weather conditions; unscheduled generation outages; unusual maintenance or repairs; unanticipated changes in costs; environmental incidents, including costs of compliance with existing and future environmental requirements; electric transmission or gas pipeline system constraints; legislative and regulatory initiatives; additional competition in electric or gas markets and continued industry consolidation; financial or regulatory accounting principles; political, legal, and economic conditions and developments in the countries in which we have a presence; changing market conditions and other factors related to physical energy and financial trading activities; the performance of projects undertaken by our non-regulated businesses and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities; availability of, or cost of, capital; employee workforce factors; delays and other obstacles associated with mergers, acquisitions, and investments in joint ventures; and costs and effects of legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations, and claims. Please refer to the company's SEC filings for additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information contained herein.
    Following are summaries of Cinergy's unaudited consolidated financial information for the first quarter.

CINERGY CORP. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME For the Periods Ended March 31, 2005 and 2004 (unaudited) (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Quarter Ended --------------------- 2005 2004 ---------- ----------

Operating Revenues Electric $926,297 $858,436 Gas 313,096 350,846 Other 104,856 79,376 ---------- ---------- Total Operating Revenues 1,344,249 1,288,658

Operating Expenses Fuel, emission allowances and purchased power 304,963 293,890 Gas purchased 208,600 223,516 Costs of fuel resold 85,843 57,462 Operation and maintenance 331,708 310,836 Depreciation 126,486 104,857 Taxes other than income taxes 78,932 82,247 ---------- ---------- Total Operating Expenses 1,136,532 1,072,808

Operating Income 207,717 215,850

Equity in Earnings of Unconsolidated Subsidiaries 4,836 2,748 Miscellaneous Income (Expense) - Net 2,340 (15,508) Interest Expense 64,064 67,395 Preferred Dividend Requirements of Subsidiaries 858 858 ---------- ----------

Income Before Taxes 149,971 134,837

Income Taxes 32,615 31,822 ---------- ----------

Net Income $117,356 $103,015

Average Common Shares Outstanding - Basic 195,647 179,261

Earnings Per Common Share - Basic $0.60 $0.57

Average Common Shares Outstanding - Diluted 196,712 181,926

Earnings Per Common Share - Diluted $0.60 $0.57

Cash Dividends Declared Per Common Share $0.48 $0.47

Note: Prior year data has been reclassified to conform with current year presentation.

CINERGY CORP. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited) (in thousands) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- March 31 December 31 2005 2004 ------------- -------------

ASSETS Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents $124,108 $164,541 Notes receivable, current 126,984 214,513 Accounts receivable less accumulated provision for doubtful accounts of $5,000 at March 31, 2005, and $5,514 at December 31, 2004 985,262 1,061,140 Fuel, emission allowances, and supplies 390,064 444,750 Prepayments and other 234,303 174,624 Energy risk management current assets 450,770 381,146 ------------- ------------- Total current assets 2,311,491 2,440,714

Property, Plant, and Equipment - at Cost Utility plant in service 10,136,415 10,076,468 Construction work in progress 429,817 333,687 ------------- ------------- Total utility plant 10,566,232 10,410,155 Non-regulated property, plant, and equipment 4,734,719 4,700,009 Accumulated depreciation 5,257,604 5,180,699 ------------- ------------- Net property, plant, and equipment 10,043,347 9,929,465

Other Assets Regulatory assets 1,016,347 1,030,333 Investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries 495,195 513,675 Energy risk management non-current assets 239,028 138,787 Notes receivable, non-current 188,391 193,857 Other investments 123,654 125,367 Goodwill and intangible assets 154,293 132,752 Restricted funds held in trust 341,126 358,006 Other 118,260 119,361 ------------- ------------- Total other assets 2,676,294 2,612,138

Total Assets $15,031,132 $14,982,317

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Current Liabilities Accounts payable $1,272,124 $1,348,576 Accrued taxes 251,493 216,804 Accrued interest 61,000 54,473 Notes payable and other short-term obligations 449,844 958,910 Long-term debt due within one year 222,748 219,967 Energy risk management current liabilities 427,161 310,741 Other 129,366 171,188 ------------- ------------- Total current liabilities 2,813,736 3,280,659

Non-current Liabilities Long-term debt 4,240,579 4,227,741 Deferred income taxes 1,574,111 1,597,120 Unamortized investment tax credits 97,524 99,723 Accrued pension and other post- retirement benefit costs 710,788 688,277 Regulatory liabilities 563,873 557,419 Energy risk management non-current liabilities 247,127 127,340 Other 224,599 225,298 ------------- ------------- Total non-current liabilities 7,658,601 7,522,918

Total Liabilities 10,472,337 10,803,577

Cumulative Preferred Stock of Subsidiaries Not subject to mandatory redemption 62,818 62,818

Common Stock Equity Common stock - $0.01 par value; authorized shares - 600,000,000; issued shares - 198,128,516 at March 31, 2005 and 187,653,506 at December 31, 2004; outstanding shares - 197,989,654 at March 31, 2005 and 187,524,229 at December 31, 2004 1,981 1,877 Treasury shares at cost - 138,862 at March 31, 2005, and 129,277 shares at December 31, 2004 (4,635) (4,336) Paid-in capital 2,919,758 2,559,715 Retained earnings 1,638,704 1,613,340 Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (59,831) (54,674) ------------- ------------- Total common stock equity 4,495,977 4,115,922

Total Liabilities and Equity $15,031,132 $14,982,317

Note: Prior year data has been reclassified to conform with current year presentation.

CINERGY CORP. BUSINESS SEGMENT SUMMARY INFORMATION For the Quarter Ended March 31 (unaudited) (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) ----------------------------------------------------------------------

2005 2004 ----------- ----------- Regulated Businesses --------------------

Net Income $ 75,896 $ 80,861

Earnings Per Share - diluted $ 0.39 $ 0.44

Operational Statistics: Electric Retail MWh Sales and Transportation 13,310,288 13,367,364 Gas Retail Mcf Sales and Transportation 38,537,137 41,640,672 Electric Customers (End of Period) 1,569,861 1,546,261 Gas Customers (End of Period) 513,577 513,422

Commercial Businesses ---------------------

Net Income $ 45,192 $ 44,736

Earnings Per Share - diluted $ 0.23 $ 0.25

Operational Statistics: Electricity Trading Volumes (MWhs) 50,317,278 45,604,114 Physical and Financial Gas Trading Volumes (Bcf/d) 71.6 45.8

Power Technology & Infrastructure Services ------------------------------------------

Net Income $ (3,732) $ (22,582)

Earnings Per Share - diluted $ (0.02) $ (0.12)

For 2004, the Regulated and Commercial segments have each been restated from prior presentations to reflect the reclassification of PSI's off-system sales from the Commercial Businesses to the Regulated Businesses.

CINERGY CORP. BUSINESS SEGMENT EARNINGS DRIVER ANALYSIS For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2005 (unaudited) ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Regulated Businesses --------------------

Earnings Per Share - diluted - 2004 $0.44

Weather (0.02) Electric sales volumes 0.01 Price increases 0.12 Regulatory deferrals 0.02 Operation and maintenance (0.07) Depreciation (0.05) Financing and dilution (0.05) Other - net (0.01) --------

Earnings Per Share - diluted - 2005 $0.39 =======

Commercial Businesses ---------------------

Earnings Per Share - diluted - 2004 (Adjusted(a)) $0.20

Weather (0.01) Electric sales volumes 0.01 Price increases 0.04 Fuel costs (0.03) Operation and maintenance (0.01) Optimization activities 0.10 Power marketing, trading and origination 0.04 Financing and dilution (0.01) Other - net 0.02 --------

Earnings Per Share - diluted - 2005 (Adjusted(a)) $0.35 =======

Power Technology & Infrastructure Services ------------------------------------------

Earnings Per Share - diluted - 2004 (Adjusted(a)) ($0.01)

Results of investments (0.01) --------

Earnings Per Share - diluted - 2005 (Adjusted(a)) ($0.02) =======

For 2004, the Regulated and Commercial segments have each been restated from prior presentations to reflect the reclassification of PSI's off-system sales from the Commercial Businesses to the Regulated Businesses.

(a) See press release for a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measure.

--30--KR/cl*

CONTACT: Cinergy Corp., Cincinnati News contact: Steve Brash, 513-287-2226 (w) or 513-543-7489 (c) Angeline Protogere, 317-838-1338 (w) or 317-367-3306 (p) Investor contact: Brad Arnett, 513-287-3024 Website: www.cinergy.com

KEYWORD: KENTUCKY INDIANA OHIO INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ENERGY UTILITIES EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALLS SOURCE: CINERGY CORP.

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