LAS VEGAS, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) today presented its annual Index Awards for outstanding shareholder return over a five-year period to Edison International and UniSource Energy Corporation. Edison International won in the large-cap category with a five- year return of 245 percent, and UniSource Energy Corporation won in the small- cap category with a five-year return of 172 percent.
The EEI Index of Shareholder-Owned Electric Utilities is a peer group index that values total return on each electric utility, providing a benchmark for long-term financial performance. The awards were presented today at EEI's 41st Financial Conference.
EEI reported at the conference that electricity stocks overall had produced a 16.5-percent total return for the first 10 months of 2006, compared to returns of 14.8 percent and 12.1 percent for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500, respectively. This follows impressive returns of 23.5, 22.8 and 16.1 percent for the industry over the three previous calendar years, during which time the EEI Index greatly outperformed the broader indices.
Rosemead, Calif.-based Edison International more than tripled its stock price over the past five years, a period during which the company survived the Californiapower crisis. Edison International's leadership team successfully restored the company's financial strength at its regulated utility, Southern California Edison, and at its independent power business, Edison Mission Group, by reducing leverage and continuing to strengthen the parent company's balance sheet. In 2005, the company achieved strategic-plan targets in the first full year of the plan with record earnings of $1.1 billion and total debt reduction of $1 billion. The company's total shareholder return for 2005 reached almost 40 percent, third highest among the 65 EEI Index companies and well above the performance of the broader market indices.
Tucson-based UniSource Energy Corporation in 2003 expanded its customer base by more than 40 percent through the acquisition of gas and electric systems now operated by subsidiary UniSource Energy Services, which is growing at a rate of 4 to 5 percent per year. Subsidiary Tucson Electric has an annual customer growth rate of more than 2 percent, which combined with the solid performance of its coal-based generating fleet has led to strong operating cash flows. UniSource Energy Corporation has deployed excess cash to strengthen its capital structure by reducing total debt by more than $500 million since 2001, and the company has increased its annual dividend by an average of 21 percent since reinstating it in 2000.
Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association of United States shareholder-owned electric companies, international affiliates, and industry associates worldwide. Our U.S. members serve 97 percent of the ultimate customers in the shareholder owned segment of the industry, and 71 percent of all electric utility ultimate customers in the nation. They generate almost 60 percent of the electricity produced by U.S. electric generators.
Edison Electric Institute
CONTACT: Ed Legge of Edison Electric Institute, +1-202-657-2592
