ITC Holdings Corp. (ITC), Wednesday provided initial outlook for fiscal 2010 earnings per share, while it reaffirmed its 2009 forecast.
For fiscal 2009, the company still expects earnings of $2.32 to $2.42 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $2.37 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
For fiscal 2010, the company anticipates earnings of $2.52 to $2.62 per share. Street expects earnings of $2.70 per share for the year 2010.
Excluding the $0.11 per share impact on 2009 earnings per share associated with the creation of regulatory assets for start-up and development expenses for ITC Great Plains, the midpoint of the 2010 earnings per share guidance range represents an increase of about 14%, compared to the midpoint of the adjusted 2009 guidance range.
Additionally, ITC unveiled a new five year capital expenditure plan of about $3 billion. During the years 2010 to 2014, ITC anticipates investing about $2.3 billion in its base businesses, including expected transmission investments associated with generator interconnections, and about $700 million in its development projects.
The five year capital investment plan is projected to increase ITC's consolidated rate base from about $2.1 billion as of the end of 2008 to about $4.5 billion at the end of 2014.
The company noted that this increase in rate base is expected to result in compound annual growth in earnings per share of about 13% to 15% over this period.
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