BRYN MAWR, Pa., May 8, 2002 -- Philadelphia Suburban Corp. on Wednesday announced first quarter net income of $11.9 million or $0.17 per share compared to $13.1 million or $0.19 per share in 2001 on an additional 1.1 million average shares outstanding.
First quarter 2001 was positively impacted by a $0.02 per share gain on the sale of land with no comparable gain in the first quarter of 2002. Absent the impact of the sale of land, income for the first quarter of 2002 was $11.9 million, versus $11.4 million for the same period in 2001, an increase of 4.4 percent and income per share was $0.17 for the quarters ended March 31, 2002 and 2001.
Revenues for the quarter increased 2.1 percent to $71.7 million, versus $70.2 million in 2001. The company's increased revenue was due to customer growth and rate relief in various states in which the company operates, partially offset by a decline in the company's industrial water sales on a same-system basis and reduced residential usage due to drought restrictions in two of the company's operating subsidiaries; Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Operations and maintenance expenses for the quarter increased four percent in comparison to the first quarter of 2001. The increase in O&M expenses is attributed to expenses associated with customer growth (newly acquired systems), higher insurance expenses and other normal expense increases.
PSC announced four acquisitions and other growth ventures during the first quarter, and seven acquisitions and growth ventures to date including the company's acquisition of Piedmont Water Company, Inc., a private water utility serving more than 2,800 customers in Iredell and Catawba counties in North Carolina.
With the Piedmont purchase, PSC now serves more than 25,000 residents in 22 counties in North Carolina.
On April 29, 2002 the company announced its proposed merger with Pennichuck Corporation (NASDAQ:PNNW - news), the largest publicly traded water utility in New Hampshire serving approximately 30,000 customers. New Hampshire will become the seventh state in which the company operates. The merger will create a combined company with over 630,000 customer accounts, serving over two million people.
According to PSC Chairman and President Nicholas DeBenedictis, "We are very pleased with the announcement of the Pennichuck merger. This transaction represents the launching of another growth platform for PSC. The Pennichuck merger is consistent with the company's growth strategy and we are optimistic that it will provide additional opportunities for growth in this region."
PSC is one of the nation's largest investor-owned water utilities, serving approximately two million residents in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Maine, and North Carolina. PSC is a publicly-traded company listed on both the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol "PSC" and has been committed to the preservation and improvement of the environment throughout its history, which spans more than 100 years.
