8-K Dated 8/5/14
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D. C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 5, 2014
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Commission | | Registrant; State of Incorporation; | | I.R.S. Employer |
File Number | | Address; and Telephone Number | | Identification No. |
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333-21011 | | FIRSTENERGY CORP. | | 34-1843785 |
| | (An Ohio Corporation) | | |
| | 76 South Main Street | | |
| | Akron, OH 44308 | | |
| | Telephone (800)736-3402 | | |
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Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2.):
[ ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
[ ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition
On August 5, 2014, FirstEnergy Corp. (FirstEnergy) issued two public documents regarding, among other things, results as of the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2014. FirstEnergy’s Press Release and Consolidated Report to the Financial Community, which are attached as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 hereto and incorporated by reference contain non-GAAP financial measures. Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G and Item 10(e)(i) of Regulation S-K, FirstEnergy has provided quantitative reconciliations within the Press Release and Consolidated Report to the Financial Community of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). The information in the Press Release and the Consolidated Report to the Financial Community and the information contained in Items 2.02 and 9.01 shall not be deemed filed for purposes of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor shall such information and Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.
The Press Release and Consolidated Report to the Financial Community contain references to non-GAAP financial measures including, among others, Operating earnings, Adjusted Equity, Adjusted Debt and Adjusted Capitalization. In addition, Basic EPS and Basic EPS-Operating, each calculated on a segment basis, are also non-GAAP financial measures. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s historical or future financial performance, financial position, or cash flows that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Operating earnings are not calculated in accordance with GAAP because they exclude the impact of “special items”. Basic EPS for each segment is calculated by dividing segment net income (loss) on a GAAP basis by the basic weighted average shares outstanding for the period. Basic EPS-Operating for each segment is calculated by dividing segment Operating earnings, which exclude special items as discussed above, by the basic weighted average shares outstanding for the period. Management uses non-GAAP financial measures such as Operating earnings to evaluate the company’s performance and manage its operations and frequently references these non-GAAP financial measures in its decision-making, using them to facilitate historical and ongoing performance comparisons. Additionally, management uses Basic EPS and Basic-EPS Operating by segment to further evaluate FirstEnergy’s performance by segment and references these non-GAAP financial measures in its decision-making. Management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures of “Operating earnings,” “Basic EPS” and “Basic EPS-Operating” provide consistent and comparable measures of performance of its businesses to help shareholders understand performance trends. Management uses Adjusted Equity, Adjusted Debt, and Adjusted Capitalization to calculate and monitor its compliance with the debt to total capitalization financial covenant under the FirstEnergy credit facility and term loan. These financial measures, as calculated in accordance with the FirstEnergy credit facility and term loan, help shareholders understand compliance and provide a basis for understanding FirstEnergy's incremental debt capacity under the debt to total capitalization financial covenant. The financial covenant requires FirstEnergy to maintain a consolidated debt to total capitalization ratio of no more than 65%, measured at the end of each fiscal quarter. All of these non-GAAP financial measures are intended to complement, and are not considered as an alternative to, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Also, the non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure
On August 5, 2014, FirstEnergy expects to post to its website this morning at www.firstenergycorp.com/ir the investor FactBook, which has been, among other things, updated in certain respects with information as of the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2014.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
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Exhibit No. | | Description |
99.1 | | Press Release issued by FirstEnergy Corp., dated August 5, 2014 |
99.2 | | Consolidated Report to the Financial Community, dated August 5, 2014 |
Forward-Looking Statements: This form 8-K includes forward-looking statements based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. These statements include declarations regarding management's intents, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms “anticipate,” “potential,” “expect,” "will," "intend," “believe,” “estimate” and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may include the following: the speed and nature of increased competition in the electric utility industry, in general, and the retail sales market in particular; the ability to experience growth in the Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission segments and to successfully implement our revised sales strategy in the Competitive Energy Services segment; the accomplishment of our regulatory and operational goals in connection with our transmission plan and planned distribution rate cases and the effectiveness of our repositioning strategy; the impact of the regulatory process on the pending matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and in the various states in which we do business including, but not limited to, matters related to rates and pending rate cases and the Electric Security Plan IV; the uncertainties of various cost recovery and cost allocation issues resulting from American Transmission Systems, Incorporated's realignment into PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.; economic or weather conditions affecting future sales and margins such as the polar vortex or other significant weather events, and all associated regulatory events or actions; regulatory outcomes associated with storm restoration, including but not limited to, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene and the October snowstorm of 2011; changing energy, capacity and commodity market prices including, but not limited to, coal, natural gas and oil, and their availability and impact on margins; the continued ability of our regulated utilities to recover their costs; costs being higher than anticipated and the success of our policies to control costs and to mitigate low energy, capacity and market prices; other legislative and regulatory changes, and revised environmental requirements, including, but not limited to, possible greenhouse gas emission, water discharge, and coal combustion residual regulations, the potential impacts of Cross State Air Pollution Rule, and the effects of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rules including our estimated costs of compliance; the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures that may arise in connection with any litigation, including New Source Review litigation or potential regulatory initiatives or rulemakings (including that such expenditures could result in our decision to deactivate or idle certain generating units); the uncertainties associated with the deactivation of certain older regulated and competitive fossil units including the impact on vendor commitments, and the timing thereof as they relate to, among other things, Reliability Must Run arrangements and the reliability of the transmission grid; adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes with respect to our nuclear operations (including, but not limited to the revocation or non-renewal of necessary licenses, approvals or operating permits by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or as a result of the incident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant); issues arising from the indications of cracking in the shield building at Davis-Besse; the impact of future changes to the operational status or availability of our generating units; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and like proceedings, including, but not limited to, any such proceedings related to vendor commitments; replacement power costs being higher than anticipated or not fully hedged; the ability to comply with applicable state and federal reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes in customers' demand for power, including but not limited to, changes resulting from the implementation of state and federal energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic and financial goals including, but not limited to, the ability to reduce costs and to successfully complete our announced financial plans designed to improve our credit metrics and strengthen our balance sheet, including but not limited to, our announced dividend reduction and our proposed capital raising initiatives; our ability to improve electric commodity margins and the impact of, among other factors, the increased cost of fuel and fuel transportation on such margins; changing market conditions that could affect the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our Nuclear Decommissioning Trusts, pension trusts and other trust funds, and cause us and our subsidiaries to make additional contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger than currently anticipated; the impact of changes to material accounting policies; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our announced financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us and our subsidiaries; actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect us and our subsidiaries' access to financing, increase the costs thereof, and increase requirements to post additional collateral to support outstanding commodity positions, letters of credit and other financial guarantees; changes in national and regional economic conditions affecting us, our subsidiaries and our major industrial and commercial customers, and other counterparties including fuel suppliers, with which we do business; the impact of any changes in tax laws or regulations or adverse tax audit results or rulings; issues concerning the stability of domestic and foreign financial institutions and counterparties with which we do business; the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and other similar factors. Dividends declared from time to time on FirstEnergy Corp.'s common stock during any period may in the aggregate vary from prior periods due to circumstances considered by FirstEnergy Corp.'s Board of Directors at the time of the actual declarations. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy or hold securities and is subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. The foregoing review of factors should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy expressly disclaims any current intention to update, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
August 5, 2014
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| FIRSTENERGY CORP. |
| Registrant |
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By: | /s/ K. Jon Taylor |
| K. Jon Taylor Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer |
Exhibit Index
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Exhibit No. | | Description |
99.1 | | Press Release issued by FirstEnergy Corp., dated August 5, 2014 |
99.2 | | Consolidated Report to the Financial Community, dated August 5, 2014 |