COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 27, 1999 — American Electric Power Company (NYSE:AEP) today reported net income for the first quarter of 1999 of $151.1 million, or 79 cents per share, compared with $150.6 million, or 79 cents per share in 1998.

For the 12 months ended March 31, net income increased 9.8 percent to $537 million, or $2.81 a share, compared with $489 million or $2.58 a share, for the same period a year earlier.

"Growth in our retail business allowed us to maintain earnings in spite of the Cook Nuclear Plant outage and the expiration of a major wholesale power contract," said E. Linn Draper, Jr. AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer.

The extended outage of the Cook Nuclear Plant began in September 1997 when both generating units at the Bridgman, Mich., facility were shut down by the company due to questions regarding the operability of certain safety systems. The cost of the Cook outage, net of the deferral under an Indiana jurisdictional settlement, reduced earnings by 7 cents for the quarter and 25 cents for the 12 month period. An announcement of a restart schedule is planned for June.

For the 12 months ended March 31, net income increased 23 cents a share primarily due to an extraordinary item recorded in the prior period, partially offset by the unfavorable effects of the Cook outage and the expiration of the wholesale power contract.

The extraordinary item recorded in the third quarter of 1997 was the United Kingdom´s one-time windfall tax on privatized utilities, which reduced AEP´s share of Yorkshire Electricity Group´s earnings for the 12 months ended March 31, 1998 by $109.4 million. The windfall tax was based on a retroactive revaluation of the original privatization price.

AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States´ largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.


View Financial Data here