CenterPoint Energy 2008 Annual Report Download - page 7

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2008 was an excellent year for your company.
Our employees responded admirably in the
aftermath of Hurricane Ike, and in the face
of global economic turmoil and the upheaval
in the financial markets, our businesses
delivered earnings significantly higher than
the previous year. Our diversified portfolio of
electric and natural gas delivery businesses
continues to perform well under a variety of
market conditions.
CenterPoint Energy’s net income increased
by $48 million to $447 million, an increase
of 12 percent over 2007. Earnings per
share were $1.30 compared to $1.17 from
the previous year. We raised our quarterly
common stock dividend by more than
7 percent in 2008. In January 2009,
we raised our quarterly dividend by
4 percent, marking the fourth consecutive
year we have raised our dividend since
emerging from our early transition years
as an independent company. Our goal is to
return 50 to 75 percent of our sustainable
earnings to shareholders each year.
Despite our strong earnings, the decline
in the stock market last year impacted
the value of CenterPoint Energy’s stock.
While our total shareholder return last
year was -22.5 percent, our performance
was better than the overall stock market
as well as the S&P 500 Utilities Index.
Our earnings were driven by the solid
performance of our businesses, which
serve essential energy delivery needs
of customers across the country. Each
of our businesses overcame challenges
and executed their business plans very
well. Responding to these challenges also
helped us prepare for what lies ahead.
Our electric transmission and distribution
business, which serves more than 2 million
customers in the Houston area, overcame
the impact of Hurricane Ike and increased
core operating income from transmission
and distribution operations, reporting
$407 million compared to $400 million in
2007. Customer growth, warmer weather
and increased usage all drove last year’s
performance. Though Hurricane Ike dealt
a staggering blow to our service territory,
our employees rose to the challenge as
they always do. We restored electricity to
most customers within two weeks and to
all customers capable of receiving power
within 18 days, a significant achievement
of which we are quite proud.
DEAR
SHAREHOLDER,
PAGE 5