ATCO Reports Higher First Quarter Earnings

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - April 27, 2012) - ATCO Ltd. (TSX: ACO.X, ACO.Y)

ATCO Ltd. today reported higher earnings for the first quarter of 2012 led by worldwide increased activity for ATCO Structures & Logistics and additional infrastructure investment in the utilities to support Alberta growth.

Earnings attributable to Class I and Class II Shares were $121 million ($2.09 per share) and Adjusted Earnings were $116 million for the three months ended Mar. 31, 2012, compared to $110 million ($1.89 per share) and $108 million, respectively, in the first quarter of 2011.

ATCO Structures & Logistics had a strong quarter as rental activity increased and manufacturing expanded to meet the growing demand for modular structures and services, especially new workforce housing needs in the resource- rich regions of Australia, Canada, and South America. In particular, Australia continues to be strong as building and installation is underway for major workforce housing complexes to accommodate more than 5,600 persons constructing three liquefied natural gas projects on Curtis Island, Queensland.

ATCO Electric, ATCO Gas and ATCO Pipelines invested almost $500 million in infrastructure to support Alberta's continuing growth, adding to the rate base upon which the companies earn a return. A significant amount of this quarter's investment took place to connect major industrial customers in northeast Alberta to the province's transmission grid and to reinforce the electricity system serving that growing region of the province.

ATCO's increased earnings were partially offset by lower earnings from natural gas storage operations in ATCO Midstream.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• ATCO declared a second quarter dividend for 2012 of 32.75 cents per Class I Non-Voting and Class II Voting Share. ATCO's dividend per share has increased for 19 consecutive years.
• In March, ATCO Structures & Logistics was awarded the largest Canadian contract in its history to construct a 2,586-person workforce housing lodge for BHP Billiton's Jansen Potash Project in Saskatchewan.
• ATCO Structures & Logistics is opening a 200,000 sq. ft. manufacturing plant in Pocatello, Idaho - the third in the U.S. - to help meet growing demand for its products and services throughout North America. The plant is expected to open in the second quarter of 2012.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY AND RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED EARNINGS

A financial summary and reconciliation of Adjusted Earnings to earnings attributable to Class I and Class II Shares is provided below:

	For the Three Months
	Ended March 31
($ Millions except per share data)	2012	2011
Adjusted Earnings (1) (2)	116	108
Adjustments for Rate Regulated Activities (3)	5	2
Earnings Attributable to Class I and Class II Shares	121	110
Earnings Per Share	2.09	1.89
Revenues	1,114	1,021
Funds Generated By Operations (1) (4)	456	425

(1) These measures do not have standardized meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies.

(2) Adjusted Earnings are earnings attributable to Class I and Class II Shares after adjusting for the timing of revenues and expenses associated with rate regulated activities. Adjusted Earnings also exclude one-time gains and losses and items that are not in the normal course of business or day-to-day operations. Adjusted Earnings present earnings on the same basis as was used prior to adopting IFRS - that basis being the U.S. accounting principles for rate regulated entities - and they are a key measure used to assess segment performance, to reflect the economics of rate regulation and to facilitate comparability of ATCO's earnings with other Canadian rate regulated companies.

(3) Refer to Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements for descriptions of the adjustments for rate regulated activities and the timing of their recovery from or refund to customers.

(4) This measure is cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital.

The $93 million increase in revenues was due primarily to higher business activity in ATCO Structures & Logistics and increased rate base in the utilities, as well as the addition of ATCO Gas Australia in late July 2011. These increases were partially offset by lower flow through natural gas sales in ATCO Midstream and lower Alberta Power Pool prices.

Funds Generated by Operations increased $31 million primarily for the same reasons earnings increased, as well as higher total payments by utility customers for infrastructure.

ATCO's consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the three months ended Mar. 31, 2012, will be available on the ATCO website (www.atco.com), via SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or can be requested from the Company.

Alberta-based ATCO Ltd., with more than 8,800 employees and assets of approximately $13 billion, delivers service excellence and innovative business solutions worldwide with leading companies engaged in structures & logistics (manufacturing, logistics and noise abatement), utilities (pipelines, natural gas and electricity transmission and distribution), energy (power generation, natural gas gathering, processing, storage and liquids extraction) and technologies (business systems solutions). More information can be found at www.atco.com.

Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. The Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon.

Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Corporation's expectations as of the date hereof, and is subject to change after such date. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.