ATCO Reports Higher Third Quarter Earnings

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Nov. 1, 2012) - ATCO Ltd. (TSX: ACO.X, ACO.Y)

ATCO today reported higher earnings for the third quarter led by strong contributions from ATCO Structures & Logistics and growth in utility infrastructure.

Earnings attributable to Class I and Class II Shares were $82 million ($1.43 per share) for the third quarter compared to $54 million ($0.93 per share) for the same period in 2011. Adjusted Earnings were $80 million for the third quarter of 2012 and $78 million for the same period in 2011.

Earnings attributable to Class I and Class II Shares were $276 million ($4.80 per share) for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 compared to $225 million ($3.89 per share) for the same period in 2011. Adjusted Earnings were $270 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 compared to $247 million for the same period in 2011.

Earnings at ATCO Structures & Logistics increased mainly due to strong contributions from Modular Structures operations, particularly in Australia due to the construction of workforce housing for three liquefied natural gas plants which are progressing on schedule and are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2013.

In the third quarter, ATCO Electric, ATCO Gas and ATCO Pipelines invested an additional $557 million in infrastructure to support Alberta's continuing growth, bringing the total investment in the first nine months of 2012 to $1.5 billion. A significant amount of this capital investment is related to regulated transmission infrastructure projects required to reinforce the electricity system and supply growing electricity demand in northeast Alberta. ATCO earns a regulated return on its infrastructure investments.

Construction continues on the Hanna Region Transmission Development Project in southeast Alberta with an expected in-service by the end of the second quarter of 2013. Pre-construction activities continue on the Eastern Alberta Transmission Line with final approval of the facility application expected by late 2012.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• ATCO Structures & Logistics announced a contract to build the second phase of a workforce accommodation expansion for the Escondida copper mine in northern Chile. Construction of the first phase of the project, which was awarded at the end of 2011, was completed at the end of September 2012. When both phases are complete, the 7,700 person facility will provide sleeping accommodations, common facilities and utility infrastructure to support a mine expansion project at the world's largest copper mine.
  
  
• ATCO declared a fourth quarter dividend for 2012 of 32.75 cents per Class I Non-Voting and Class II Voting Share. ATCO's annual dividend per share has increased for 19 consecutive years.
  
  
• On August 1, 2012, ATCO announced the combination of the operations of ATCO Midstream and ATCO Energy Solutions under the name ATCO Energy Solutions, reflecting its focus on offering comprehensive gas storage, industrial water infrastructure, natural gas gathering, processing, transportation and gas liquids services to the oil and gas sector.
  
  
• ATCO's subsidiary, CU Inc., issued $500 million of 3.805% Debentures maturing on September 10, 2042 and $200 million of 3.825% Debentures maturing on September 11, 2062.
  
  

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 September 30			For the Nine Months Ended September 30
($ Millions except per share data)		2012	2011		2012	2011
Adjusted Earnings (1)		80	78		270	247
Adjustments for Rate Regulated Activities (2)		2	-		6	4
Acquisition Transaction Costs		-	(24	)	-	(26	)
Earnings Attributable to Class I and Class II
	Shares	82	54		276	225
Earnings Per Share		1.43	0.93		4.80	3.89
Revenues		1,076	958		3,177	2,861
Funds Generated By Operations (3)		422	318		1,210	1,040
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) This measure is cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital. It does not have standardized meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies.

The increase in revenues in the third quarter and the first nine months of 2012 was due primarily to higher business activity in ATCO Structures & Logistics, increased rate base in the Utilities, and the addition of ATCO Gas Australia in late July 2011. These increases in revenues were partially offset by lower flow through natural gas sales in ATCO Energy Solution's natural gas liquids extraction operations.

Funds Generated by Operations increased in the third quarter and the first nine months of 2012 primarily for the same reasons earnings increased, as well as higher contributions by utility customers required to connect customers to utility infrastructure.

ATCO's consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, will be available on the ATCO website (www.atco.com), via SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or can be requested from the Corporation.

Alberta-based ATCO Ltd., with more than 8,800 employees and assets of approximately $14 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.