8-KEarnings & Results

SOUTHERN CO 8-K Report, Financial Results (Oct 23, 2008)

Filed October 23, 2008For Securities:SOSOJESOJFSOJCSOJDSOMN

Summary

Southern Company (SO) filed an 8-K on October 23, 2008, to report its financial results for the periods ended September 30, 2008. The filing highlights the company's earnings and earnings per share (EPS) for both the third quarter and the first nine months of the year. Key to this report is the company's discussion of non-GAAP financial measures. Southern Company provided EPS figures both on a GAAP basis and on an adjusted basis, excluding certain significant charges and discontinued operations. Specifically, the company detailed a charge related to the application of FASB Interpretation No. 48 concerning income tax uncertainties on leveraged leases, and also excluded results from its now-ended synthetic fuel investments. Management uses these adjusted figures to assess ongoing business performance and believes they offer valuable comparative information to investors, though they are not a substitute for GAAP reporting.

Key Highlights

  • 1Southern Company reported its financial results for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2008.
  • 2The 8-K filing includes a press release and supplementary financial information as exhibits.
  • 3The company presented both GAAP and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share figures.
  • 4Adjusted EPS excludes a significant charge related to the application of FASB Interpretation No. 48 for leveraged lease tax uncertainties.
  • 5Adjusted EPS also excludes the results from Southern Company's synthetic fuel investments, which concluded at the end of 2007.
  • 6Management uses these adjusted non-GAAP measures to evaluate ongoing business performance.
  • 7The filing is a combined report furnished by Southern Company and its subsidiaries: Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power, and Southern Power.

Frequently Asked Questions

Southern Company provided adjusted EPS to exclude a significant charge related to income tax uncertainties on leveraged leases (FASB Interpretation No. 48) and the results from its synthetic fuel investments, which have ended. Management uses these figures to evaluate the performance of the company's ongoing business activities and believes they offer useful comparative information for investors.

The company disclosed a significant charge related to the application of FASB Interpretation No. 48, 'Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes,' to its investments in leveraged leases. This charge materially impacted the presentation of earnings and EPS for the nine months ended September 30, 2008, and is not expected to occur regularly.

The company's synthetic fuel investments, which claimed federal income tax credits, ended on December 31, 2007. The results from these investments were excluded from the adjusted EPS figures presented in this report.

This is a combined Form 8-K report furnished by The Southern Company and its six subsidiaries: Alabama Power Company, Georgia Power Company, Gulf Power Company, Mississippi Power Company, and Southern Power Company. Information relating to each registrant is provided solely by that registrant.