ATCO Reports First Quarter 2018 Earnings

CALGARY, Alberta, April 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ATCO Ltd. (TSX:ACO.X) (TSX:ACO.Y)

ATCO today announced first quarter adjusted earnings for 2018 of $99 million, or $0.87 per share, compared to $116 million, or $1.01 per share, in the first quarter of 2017. Lower earnings in the Company's utility businesses were mainly due to rate rebasing under Alberta's regulated model, partially offset by higher earnings from Alberta PowerLine.

ATCO invested $772 million in capital growth projects in the first quarter of 2018, of which 98 per cent was invested in assets that earn a return under a regulated business model or are under commercially secured long-term contracts.

In the period 2018 to 2020, ATCO expects to invest an additional $4.5 billion in regulated utility and commercially secured capital growth projects. This capital investment is expected to contribute significant earnings and cash flow, and create long-term value for share owners.

On April 4, 2018, ATCO declared a second quarter dividend for 2018 of 37.66 cents per Class I Non-Voting and Class II Voting Share. 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• In April 2018, Structures & Logistics executed a contract extension for accommodations for 750 persons at the Lake Charles, Louisiana project. The 29-month contract, originally awarded in 2015 for the design, construction, transportation, installation and rental of modular units for a 1,900-person village, was scheduled for completion in May 2018. The extension agreement runs until the end of 2018, with an option to extend to April 2019.
   
• On February 20, 2018, Canadian Utilities, an ATCO company, completed the acquisition of Electricidad del Golfo, which owns a long-term contracted, 35 MW hydroelectric power station based in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. The transaction was recorded for an aggregate purchase price of $112 million.
   
• In March 2018, ATCO announced we will build a 26 MW cogeneration project, known as the La Laguna Cogeneration facility, on the site of the Chemours Company Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V.'s chemical facility near Gómez Palacio, in the state of Durango, Mexico. Developed in partnership with RANMAN Energy, the La Laguna Cogeneration facility will provide low-carbon and cost-effective electricity and heat under a long-term agreement. The total investment associated with the project is approximately $70 million, and the facility is expected to be operational in 2019.