8-KRegulation FD

NEXTERA ENERGY INC 8-K Report, Regulation FD Disclosure (Jun 18, 2012)

Filed June 18, 2012For Securities:NEENEE-PNNEE-PSNEE-PTNEE-PWNEE-PVNEE-PU

Summary

This 8-K filing from NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) on June 17, 2012, primarily serves as a Regulation FD disclosure. The company's management plans to discuss long-term growth expectations, including a reaffirmation of their previously stated 2014 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) outlook of $5.05 to $5.65. This outlook excludes certain items such as accounting standard adoptions, unrealized mark-to-market effects on non-qualifying hedges, and net other-than-temporary impairment losses on nuclear decommissioning funds. It's important for investors to note that these adjusted EPS expectations are based on several assumptions, including normal weather, stable economic conditions, supportive public policy for renewables, access to capital, and no significant changes in acquisitions/divestitures, litigation, or tax policy. The filing also provides extensive cautionary statements and risk factors that could materially impact future results. These risks cover a broad range of operational, regulatory, economic, and financial aspects, including extensive regulation, cost recovery challenges, political and economic influences on regulatory decisions, potential disallowances of costs, impacts of government incentives for renewables, new or revised laws, environmental regulations, greenhouse gas emission limits, tax law changes, litigation outcomes, project development and construction risks, operational risks, customer growth, weather conditions, terrorism and cyber-attack risks, insurance availability, commodity price volatility, market liquidity, counterparty credit risk, and IT system failures. Investors are advised to review these risks alongside the company's Form 10-K and other SEC filings.

Key Highlights

  • 1NextEra Energy reaffirms its 2014 adjusted EPS guidance range of $5.05 to $5.65.
  • 2The adjusted EPS guidance excludes the impact of new accounting standards, non-qualifying hedge mark-to-market effects, and nuclear decommissioning fund impairment losses.
  • 3Management will discuss long-term growth expectations at investor meetings in Europe and at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Utilities & Renewables Conference.
  • 4The company's guidance is contingent on several assumptions including normal weather, stable economic conditions, and supportive public policy for renewables.
  • 5The filing details a comprehensive list of risk factors that could materially affect future financial results.
  • 6Key risk areas include regulatory and political factors, operational challenges, environmental regulations, commodity price volatility, and capital market conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

The primary purpose of this 8-K filing is to provide disclosure under Regulation FD, allowing NextEra Energy to communicate upcoming discussions about its long-term growth prospects and reaffirm its financial guidance to investors.

NextEra Energy reiterated its previously disclosed 2014 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) expectations to be in the range of $5.05 to $5.65.

The adjusted EPS guidance excludes the cumulative effect of adopting new accounting standards, the unrealized mark-to-market effect of non-qualifying hedges, and net other-than-temporary impairment losses on securities held in NextEra Energy Resources, LLC's nuclear decommissioning funds.

The guidance assumes, among other things, normal weather and operating conditions, no significant decline in the national or Florida economy, supportive commodity markets, public policy support for wind and solar development, market demand and transmission expansion for renewables, access to capital at reasonable costs, no acquisitions or divestitures, no adverse litigation decisions, and no changes to governmental tax policy or incentives.

The filing itself lists numerous risk factors, and investors are strongly encouraged to read these in conjunction with NextEra Energy's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, and other SEC filings made up to the date of this 8-K.