8-KRegulation FD

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER CO INC 8-K Report, Regulation FD Disclosure (Aug 13, 2008)

Filed August 13, 2008For Securities:AEP

Summary

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) filed an 8-K on August 13, 2008, to announce that its management would be reaffirming its previously issued full-year 2008 earnings guidance of $3.10 to $3.30 per share. This guidance pertains to "ongoing earnings," which AEP defines as GAAP earnings adjusted for certain items. The company emphasizes that this adjusted measure is a primary performance metric used internally and when communicating with investors and analysts. This reaffirmation indicates management's confidence in the company's ability to meet its financial targets despite potential market fluctuations. Investors should note the forward-looking nature of this guidance and be aware of the numerous risk factors outlined in the filing that could impact actual results. These risks include, but are not limited to, regulatory decisions, fuel costs, weather conditions, and economic conditions in AEP's service territory.

Key Highlights

  • 1AEP reaffirms 2008 full-year ongoing earnings guidance of $3.10 to $3.30 per share.
  • 2The company will be meeting with investors on August 13, 2008, to discuss its outlook.
  • 3"Ongoing earnings" is a non-GAAP measure used by AEP for performance assessment and investor communication.
  • 4The filing explicitly lists a comprehensive set of risk factors that could affect future financial results.
  • 5Key risk factors include regulatory matters, fuel costs, weather, generation capacity, and economic conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main purpose of this 8-K filing is to publicly announce that American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) will be reaffirming its previously issued guidance for full-year 2008 ongoing earnings per share, which is set between $3.10 and $3.30.

Ongoing earnings are AEP's GAAP earnings adjusted for certain items. AEP considers this measure to provide a more meaningful representation of the company's performance and uses it as a primary metric for internal performance measurement and when communicating with analysts and investors about its earnings outlook and results.

AEP identifies numerous risks, including but not limited to: electric load and customer growth, weather conditions, fuel costs and availability, generating capacity performance, regulatory decisions on rate recovery and deregulation, new legislation and government regulation (especially environmental), litigation, operational costs, asset sales, economic climate in its service territory, market demand, inflationary trends, energy commodity prices, financial market conditions affecting capital availability, rating agency actions, wholesale power prices, and technological changes.

The guidance was most recently stated in a Form 8-K filed on July 31, 2008, in connection with AEP's second-quarter earnings press release.