| • FORM 10-Q • EXHIBIT 12 • EXHIBIT 31.1 • EXHIBIT 31.2 • EXHIBIT 32.1 • EXHIBIT 32.2 • XBRL TAXONOMY EXTENSION CALCULATION LINKBASE • XBRL TAXONOMY EXTENSION DEFINITION LINKBASE • XBRL TAXONOMY EXTENSION LABELS LINKBASE • XBRL TAXONOMY EXTENSION PRESENTATION LINKBASE • XBRL TAXONOMY EXTENSION SCHEMA • XBRL INSTANCE DOCUMENT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AGL RESOURCES INC.
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2012
AGL RESOURCES INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(UNAUDITED)
AGL RESOURCES INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(UNAUDITED)
See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).
AGL RESOURCES INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(UNAUDITED)
See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).
AGL RESOURCES INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(UNAUDITED)
AGL RESOURCES INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(UNAUDITED)
See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).
General
AGL Resources Inc. is an energy services holding company that conducts substantially all its operations through its subsidiaries. Unless the context requires otherwise, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” the “company,” or “AGL Resources” mean consolidated AGL Resources Inc. and its subsidiaries.
On December 9, 2011, we closed our merger with Nicor and created a combined company with increased scale and scope in the distribution, storage and transportation of natural gas. As such, the businesses acquired as part of the merger are included for 2012 but not 2011 in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. See Note 3 for additional information.
In addition, as a result of the Nicor merger, AGL Resources shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 8, 2011, received a pro rata dividend for the stub period, accruing from November 19, 2011. The dividend payments made in February 2012 were reduced by this stub period dividend.
The December 31, 2011 Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position data was derived from our audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. We have prepared the accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements under the rules and regulations of the SEC. In accordance with such rules and regulations, we have condensed or omitted certain information and notes normally included in financial statements prepared in conformity with GAAP. Our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments of a normal recurring nature that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of our financial results for the interim periods. You should read these unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in Item 8 of our 2011 Form 10-K.
Due to the seasonal nature of our business and other factors, our results of operations and our financial condition for the periods presented, are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations and financial condition to be expected as of or for any other period.
Basis of Presentation
Our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include our accounts, the accounts of our wholly owned subsidiaries, the accounts of our majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries and the accounts of our consolidated variable interest entity (VIE) for which we are the primary beneficiary. For unconsolidated entities that we do not control, but exercise significant influence over, we use the equity method of accounting and our proportionate share of income or loss is recorded in the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. See Note 8 for additional information. We have eliminated intercompany profits and transactions in consolidation except for intercompany profits where recovery of such amounts are probable under the affiliates’ rate regulation process.
Certain amounts from prior periods have been reclassified and revised to conform to the current-period presentation. The reclassifications and revisions had no material impact on our prior period balances.
Our accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in Item 8 of our 2011 Form 10-K. There were no significant changes to our accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2012.
Use of Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the related disclosures. Our estimates are based on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. We evaluate our estimates on an ongoing basis. Our estimates may involve complex situations requiring a high degree of judgment either in the application and interpretation of existing literature or in the development of estimates that impact our financial statements. The most significant estimates relate to our pipeline replacement program accruals, environmental liability accruals, uncollectible accounts and other allowance for contingent losses, goodwill and intangible assets, retirement plan benefit obligations, derivative and hedging activities and provisions for income taxes. Our actual results could differ from our estimates.
Investments
Our investments in debt and equity securities are as follows:
Investments in debt and equity securities are classified on the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as follows:
Investments categorized as trading (including money market funds) totaled $68 million at March 31, 2012 and $59 million at December 31, 2011.
Corporate bonds and certain other investments are categorized as held-to-maturity. The contractual maturities of the held-to-maturity investments at March 31, 2012 are as follows:
Our investments also include certain investments, including certificates of deposit and bank accounts, maintained to fulfill statutory or contractual requirements. These investments totaled $1 million at March 31, 2012 and $3 million at December 31, 2011. Gains or losses included in earnings resulting from the sale of investments were not significant.
Inventories
Nicor Gas’ inventory is carried at cost on a last-in-first-out (LIFO) basis. Inventory decrements occurring during interim periods that are expected to be restored prior to year-end are charged to cost of goods sold at the estimated annual replacement cost, and the difference between this cost and the actual LIFO layer cost is recorded as a temporary LIFO inventory liquidation. This is classified in other current liabilities on our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. The inventory decrement as of March 31, 2012 is expected to be restored prior to year-end. Interim inventory decrements not expected to be restored prior to year-end are charged to cost of goods sold at the actual LIFO cost of the layers liquidated.
Our retail operations, wholesale services and midstream operations segments evaluate the weighted average cost of their natural gas inventories against market prices to determine whether any declines in market prices below the WACOG are other-than-temporary. For any declines considered to be other-than-temporary, we record adjustments to reduce the weighted average cost of the natural gas inventory to market price. Consequently, as a result of declining natural gas prices during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, retail operations, wholesale services and midstream operations recorded LOCOM adjustments to cost of goods sold in the following amounts, to reduce the value of their inventories to market value.
Energy Marketing Receivables and Payables Our wholesale services segment provides services to retail and wholesale marketers and utility and industrial customers. These customers, also known as counterparties, utilize netting agreements, which enable our wholesale services segment to net receivables and payables by counterparty. Wholesale services also nets across product lines and against cash collateral, provided the master netting and cash collateral agreements include such provisions. The amounts due from or owed to wholesale services’ counterparties are settled net, but are recorded on a gross basis in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as energy marketing receivables and energy marketing payables.
Our wholesale services segment has some trade and credit contracts that have explicit minimum credit rating requirements. These credit rating requirements typically give counterparties the right to suspend or terminate credit if our credit ratings are downgraded to non-investment grade status. Under such circumstances, wholesale services would need to post collateral to continue transacting business with some of its counterparties. No collateral has been posted under such provisions since our credit ratings have always exceeded the minimum requirements. As of March 31, 2012, December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2011, the collateral that wholesale services would have been required to post if our credit ratings had been downgraded to non-investment grade status would not have had a material impact to our consolidated results of operations, cash flows or financial condition. However, if such collateral were not posted, wholesale services’ ability to continue transacting business with these counterparties would be negatively impacted.
Fair Value Measurements
We have several financial and nonfinancial assets and liabilities subject to fair value measures. These financial assets and liabilities include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and debt. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, short and long-term investments, derivative assets and liabilities, short-term debt, other current assets and liabilities and accrued interest approximate fair value. The nonfinancial assets and liabilities include pension and other retirement benefits, which are presented in Note 4 to our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in Item 8 of our 2011 Form 10-K.
As defined in the authoritative guidance related to fair value measurements and disclosures, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). We utilize market data or assumptions that market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk and the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. These inputs can be readily observable, market corroborated or generally unobservable. We primarily apply the market approach for recurring fair value measurements to utilize the best available information. Accordingly, we use valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. We classify fair value balances based on the observance of those inputs in accordance with the fair value hierarchy.
Natural Gas Derivative Instruments
The fair value of natural gas derivative instruments we use to manage exposures arising from changing natural gas prices reflects the estimated amounts that we would receive or pay to terminate or close the contracts at the reporting date, taking into account the current unrealized gains or losses on open contracts. We use external market quotes and indices to value substantially all of our derivative instruments. See Note 5 for additional derivative disclosures.
Distribution Operations Nicor Gas, subject to review by the Illinois Commission, and Elizabethtown Gas, in accordance with a directive from the New Jersey BPU, enter into derivative instruments to hedge the impact of market fluctuations in natural gas prices. In accordance with the authoritative guidance related to derivatives and hedging, such derivative transactions are accounted for at fair value each reporting period in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. In accordance with regulatory requirements realized gains and losses related to these derivatives are reflected in natural gas costs and ultimately included in billings to customers. Thus, hedge accounting is not elected and, in accordance with accounting guidance pertaining to rate-regulated entities, unrealized changes in the fair value of these derivative instruments are deferred or accrued as regulatory assets or liabilities.
Nicor Gas also enters into swap agreements to reduce the earnings volatility of certain forecasted operating costs arising from fluctuations in natural gas prices, such as the purchase of natural gas for use in its operations. These derivative instruments are carried at fair value. To the extent hedge accounting is not elected, changes in such fair values are immediately recorded in the current period as operation and maintenance expense.
Retail Operations We have designated a portion of these derivative instruments, consisting of financial swaps to manage the risk associated with forecasted natural gas purchases and sales, as cash flow hedges under the authoritative guidance related to derivatives and hedging. We record derivative gains or losses arising from cash flow hedges in OCI and reclassify them into earnings in the same period as the settlement of the underlying hedged item.
We currently have minimal hedge ineffectiveness defined as when the gains or losses on the hedging instrument do not offset the losses or gains on the hedged item. This cash flow hedge ineffectiveness is recorded in cost of goods sold in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income in the period in which it occurs. We have not designated the remainder of our derivative instruments as hedges under the authoritative guidance related to derivatives and hedging and, accordingly, we record changes in the fair value of such instruments within cost of goods sold in our Consolidated Statements of Income in the period of change.
We enter into weather derivative contracts as economic hedges of operating margins in the event of warmer-than-normal weather in the Heating Season. We account for these contracts using the intrinsic value method under the authoritative guidance related to financial instruments. These weather derivative instruments do not qualify for accounting hedge designation and changes in value are reflected in cost of goods sold on our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.
Wholesale Services We purchase natural gas for storage when the difference in the current market price we pay to buy and transport natural gas plus the cost to store the natural gas is less than the market price we can receive in the future, resulting in a positive net operating margin. We use NYMEX futures contracts and other OTC derivatives to sell natural gas at that future price to substantially lock in the operating margin we will ultimately realize when the stored natural gas is sold. These futures contracts meet the definition of derivatives under the authoritative guidance related to derivatives and hedging and are accounted for at fair value in our Consolidated Statements of Financial Position, with changes in fair value recorded in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income in the period of change. These futures contracts are not designated as hedges as may be permitted under the guidance.
The purchase, transportation, storage and sale of natural gas are accounted for on a weighted average cost or accrual basis, as appropriate, rather than on the fair value basis we utilize for the derivatives used to mitigate the natural gas price risk associated with our storage portfolio. This difference in accounting can result in volatility in our reported earnings, even though the economic margin is essentially unchanged from the date the transactions were consummated.
Midstream Operations During the construction of our storage caverns, we use derivative instruments to reduce our exposure to the risk of changes in the price of natural gas that will be purchased in future periods for gas associated with bringing our facilities into service, including pad gas that is considered to be a component of the storage cavern's construction costs. We use derivative instruments to economically hedge operational and optimization purchases and sales and do not qualify as cash flow hedges.
We have designated as cash flow hedges, those derivative instruments executed to manage the risk with the purchase of pad gas. Any derivative gains or losses arising from the cash flow hedges will remain in accumulated OCI until the pad gas is sold, which will not occur until the storage caverns are decommissioned. The fair value of these derivative instruments currently have minimal hedge ineffectiveness which is recorded in cost of goods sold in our Consolidated Statements of Income in the period in which it occurs.
Earnings Per Common Share We compute basic earnings per common share attributable to AGL Resources Inc. common shareholders by dividing our income attributable to AGL Resources Inc. by the daily weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per common share attributable to AGL Resources Inc. common shareholders reflect the potential reduction in earnings per common share attributable to AGL Resources Inc. common shareholders that could occur when potentially dilutive common shares are added to common shares outstanding. The increase in weighted average shares is primarily due to the issuance of 38.2 million shares in connection with the Nicor merger.
We derive our potentially dilutive common shares by calculating the number of shares issuable under restricted stock, restricted stock units and stock options. The vesting of certain shares of the restricted stock and restricted stock units depends on the satisfaction of defined performance criteria. The future issuance of shares underlying the outstanding stock options depends on whether the exercise prices of the stock options are less than the average market price of the common shares for the respective periods. The following table shows the calculation of our diluted shares attributable to AGL Resources Inc. common shareholders for the periods presented, if performance units currently earned under the plan ultimately vest and if stock options currently exercisable at prices below the average market prices are exercised:
The following table contains the weighted average shares attributable to outstanding stock options that were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per common share attributable to AGL Resources Inc. because their effect would have been anti-dilutive, as the exercise prices were greater than the average market price:
The decrease in the number of shares that were excluded from the computation for the three months ended March 31, 2012 is primarily the result of an increase in the average market value of our common shares compared to the same period during 2011.
Regulatory Assets and Liabilities
We account for the financial effects of regulation in accordance with authoritative guidance related to regulated entities whose rates are designed to recover the costs of providing service. In accordance with this guidance, incurred costs and estimated future expenditures that would otherwise be charged to expense in the current period are capitalized as regulatory assets when it is probable that such costs or expenditures will be recovered in rates in the future. Similarly, we recognize regulatory liabilities when it is probable that regulators will require customer refunds through future rates or when revenue is collected from customers for expenditures that have not yet been incurred. Generally, regulatory assets are amortized into expense and regulatory liabilities are amortized into income over the period authorized by the regulatory commissions. We are not aware of any evidence that these costs will not be recoverable through either rate riders or base rates, and we believe that we will be able to recover these costs, consistent with our historical recoveries. In the event that the authoritative guidance related to regulated operations were no longer applicable, we would recognize a write-off of regulatory assets that would result in a charge to net income, and be classified as an extraordinary item.
Our regulatory assets and liabilities are summarized in the following table.
As of March 31, 2012, there have been no new types of regulatory assets or liabilities from those discussed in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes in Item 8 of our 2011 Form 10-K.
Accounting Developments
On January 1, 2012, we adopted authoritative guidance related to fair value measurements. The guidance expands the qualitative and quantitative disclosures for Level 3 significant unobservable inputs, permits the use of premiums and discounts to value an instrument if it is standard practice. The guidance also limits the application of best use valuation to non-financial assets and liabilities. This guidance had no impact on our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. See Note 4 for additional fair value disclosures.
On January 1, 2012, we adopted authoritative guidance related to comprehensive income. The guidance eliminates the option to present other comprehensive income in the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Equity, but allows companies to elect to present net income and other comprehensive income in one continuous statement (unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income) or in two consecutive statements. This guidance does not change any of the components of net income or other comprehensive income and earnings per share will still be calculated based on net income. This guidance did not have a material impact on our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
On December 9, 2011, we completed our $2.5 billion merger with Nicor. The preliminary allocation of the total consideration transferred in the merger to the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed included adjustments for the fair value of Nicor’s assets and liabilities. The preliminary allocation of the purchase price is presented in the following table.
The estimated fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed were determined based on the accounting guidance for fair value measurements under GAAP, which defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The estimated fair value measurements assume the highest and best use of the assets by market participants, considering the use of the asset that is physically possible, legally permissible and financially feasible at the measurement date. Modifications to the purchase price allocation may occur as a result of continuing review of the assumptions and estimates underlying the preliminary fair value adjustments of environmental site remediation and other adjustments.
We concluded that net book value is a reasonable estimate of fair value for Nicor’s tangible and intangible assets and liabilities that are explicitly subject to cost-of-service ratemaking. The company determined the fair value of Nicor’s long-term debt using the income approach, and used a discounted cash flow technique that incorporates a market interest yield curve with adjustments for duration, optionality and risk profile. As a result, our purchase price allocation included an adjustment of $99 million to step-up the basis of Nicor’s long-term debt to fair value as of the merger date. A corresponding regulatory asset was recorded in connection with the fair value adjustment of the debt. While the regulatory asset related to debt is not included in rate base, the costs are recovered over the term of the debt through the authorized rate of return component of base rates. The following table summarizes our purchase price allocation for Nicor Gas’ regulatory assets and liabilities.
For all other assets and liabilities acquired from Nicor, we considered the income, market and cost approaches to fair valuation. The income approach estimates the fair value by discounting the projected future cash flows at our weighted average cost of capital. We utilized this approach to obtain the business enterprise values for each reporting unit. Additionally, we used the income approach to determine the fair values for intangible trade names and customer relationships assets.
The market approach is based on the premise that the fair value can be determined through the use of prices and other relevant information generated by the market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. Finally, the cost approach utilizes the concept of replacement cost as an indicator of fair value. We applied the market and cost approach to estimate the fair value of the property, plant and equipment. Our valuations included a $31 million step-up for Nicor’s non-regulatory property, plant and equipment. This was primarily related to the vessels and related equipment at our cargo shipping segment.
The excess of the purchase price paid over the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed was recognized as goodwill, which is not deductible for tax purposes. A preliminary rollforward of total goodwill recognized by segment in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position is as follows:
The preliminary valuation of the additional intangible assets recorded as result of the merger is as follows:
The fair value measurements of intangible assets were primarily based on significant unobservable inputs and represent Level 3 measurements as defined in accounting guidance for fair value measurements.
The following table summarizes the estimated fair value of the acquired receivables recorded in connection with the merger:
In connection with the merger, AGL Resources recorded merger transaction costs of $10 million ($6 million net of tax) for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $5 million ($3 million net of tax) incurred by AGL Resources for the same period in 2011. These costs were expensed as incurred.
Pro forma financial information The following unaudited pro forma financial information reflects our consolidated results of operations as if the merger with Nicor had taken place on January 1, 2011. The unaudited pro forma information has been calculated after conforming our accounting policies and adjusting Nicor’s results to reflect the depreciation and amortization that would have been charged assuming fair value adjustments to property, plant and equipment, debt and intangible assets had been applied on January 1, 2011, together with the consequential tax effects.
AGL Resources and Nicor together incurred approximately $86 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 and $7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2011. These expenses are excluded from the pro forma earnings presented below.
The unaudited pro forma financial information has been presented for illustrative purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of results of operations that would have been achieved had the pro forma events taken place on the dates indicated, or the future consolidated results of operations of the combined company.
The methods used to determine the fair value of our assets and liabilities are described within Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies and Methods of Application.
Derivative Instruments
The following table summarizes, by level within the fair value hierarchy, our derivative assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of the periods presented. See Note 5 – Derivative Instruments for additional derivative instrument information.
Money Market Funds
Debt
Our long-term debt is recorded at amortized cost, with the exception of Nicor Gas’ first mortgage bonds, which are recorded at acquisition date fair value. We estimate the fair value of our debt using a discounted cash flow technique that incorporates a market interest yield curve with adjustments for duration, optionality and risk profile. The following table presents the amortized cost and fair value of our long-term debt as of the following periods.
Certain of our derivative instruments contain credit-risk-related or other contingent features that could increase the payments for collateral we post in the normal course of business when our financial instruments are in net liability positions. As of March 31, 2012 for agreements with such features, derivative instruments with liability fair values totaled approximately $103 million for which we had posted no collateral to our counterparties. In addition, our energy marketing receivables and payables, which also have credit-risk-related or other contingent features, are discussed in Note 2. Our derivative instrument activities are included within operating cash flows as an adjustment to net income and were $15 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and $48 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. See Note 4 – Fair Value Measurements for additional derivative instrument information.
The following table summarizes the various ways in which we account for our derivative instruments and the impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements:
Distribution Operations
Unrealized changes in the fair value of these derivative instruments are deferred as regulatory assets or liabilities respectively within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position until recovered from customers. The following amounts represent realized losses incurred for the three months ended March 31.
Quantitative Disclosures Related to Derivative Instruments
As of the periods presented, our derivative instruments were comprised of both long and short natural gas positions. A long position is a contract to purchase natural gas, and a short position is a contract to sell natural gas. We had net long natural gas contracts outstanding in the following quantities:
Derivative Instruments on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
The following table presents the fair value and unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position classification of our derivative instruments as of the periods presented:
5
Derivative Instruments on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
The following table presents the gain or (loss) on derivative instruments in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:
Any amounts recognized in operating income, related to ineffectiveness or due to a forecasted transaction that is no longer expected to occur, were immaterial for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.
Our expected net loss to be reclassified from OCI into cost of goods sold, operation and maintenance expense, and operating revenues and recognized in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income over the next 12 months is $8 million. These pre-tax deferred losses are recorded in OCI related to natural gas derivative contracts. The expected losses are based upon the fair values of these financial instruments at March 31, 2012.
There have been no other significant changes to our derivative instruments, as described in Note 2 and Note 4 to our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in Item 8 of our 2011 Form 10-K.
Pension Benefits
We sponsor three tax-qualified defined benefit retirement plans for our eligible employees, the Nicor Gas Retirement Plan, the AGL Retirement Plan and the NUI Retirement Plan. A defined benefit plan specifies the amount of benefits an eligible participant eventually will receive using information about the participant. Following are the combined cost components of our three defined benefit pension plans for the periods indicated:
Other Defined Benefit Retirement Benefits
We sponsor two defined benefit retirement health care plans for our eligible employees, the Health and Welfare Plan for Retirees and Inactive Employees of AGL Resources Inc. (AGL Welfare Plan) and the Nicor Gas Welfare Benefit Plan. Eligibility for these benefits is based on age and years of service.
Following are the cost components of our other retirement benefit costs for the periods indicated:
Contributions
Our employees generally do not contribute to these pension and other retirement plans, however, Nicor Gas and AGL Resources pre-65 retirees make nominal contributions to their health care plan. We fund the qualified pension plans by contributing at least the minimum amount required by applicable regulations and as recommended by our actuary. However, we may also contribute in excess of the minimum required amount. As required by The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the Act), we calculate the minimum amount of funding using the traditional unit credit cost method.
The Act contained new funding requirements for single employer defined benefit pension plans and established a 100% funding target (over a 7-year amortization period) for plan years beginning after December 31, 2007. If certain conditions were met, the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 allowed us to measure our required minimum contributions based on a funding target of 100% in 2011 and 2012. In the first three months of 2012 we contributed $17 million to the AGL Retirement Plan and the NUI Retirement Plan and $38 million during the same period last year. For more information on our pension plans, see Note 11 to our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in Item 8 of our 2011 Form 10-K.
The following table provides maturity dates, year-to-date weighted average interest rates and amounts outstanding for our various debt securities and facilities that are included in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. For additional information on our debt see Note 7 in our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes in Item 8 of our 2011 Form 10-K.
Financial and Non-Financial Covenants
The AGL Credit Facility and the Nicor Gas Credit Facility each include a financial covenant that requires us to maintain a ratio of total debt to total capitalization of no more than 70%; however, our goal is to maintain this ratio at levels between 50% and 60%. These ratios, as calculated in accordance with the debt covenants include standby letters of credit and surety bonds and exclude OCI pension adjustments. Adjusting for these items, the following table contains our debt-to-capitalization ratios for the periods presented.
The credit facilities contain certain non-financial covenants that, among other things, restrict liens and encumbrances, loans and investments, acquisitions, dividends and other restricted payments, asset dispositions, mergers and consolidations and other matters customarily restricted in such agreements.
Default Provisions
Our credit facilities and other financial obligations include provisions that, if not complied with, could require early payment or similar actions. The most important default events include:
We have no triggering events in our debt instruments that are tied to changes in our specified credit ratings or our stock price and have not entered into any transaction that requires us to issue equity based on credit ratings or other triggering events. We are in compliance with all existing debt provisions and covenants, both financial and non-financial, as of March 31, 2012 and 2011.
As of March 31, 2012, we had ownership interests in SouthStar, Triton, Horizon Pipeline and Sawgrass Storage.
Variable Interest Entities
On a quarterly basis we evaluate all of our owner interests to determine if they represent a VIE as defined by the authoritative accounting guidance on consolidation, and if so, which party is the primary beneficiary. We have determined that SouthStar, a joint venture owned by us and Piedmont, is the only VIE for which we are the primary beneficiary, which requires us to consolidate its assets, liabilities and Statements of Income. See Note 10 to our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in Item 8 of our 2011 Form 10-K. Earnings from SouthStar in 2012 and 2011 were allocated entirely in accordance with the ownership interests.
SouthStar markets natural gas and related services under the trade name Georgia Natural Gas to retail customers primarily in Georgia, and under various other trade names to retail customers in Ohio, Florida and New York and to commercial and industrial customers, principally in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
During the three months ended March 31, 2012, there have been no significant changes to the primary risks associated with SouthStar as discussed in our risk factors included in Item 1A of our 2011 Form 10-K.
SouthStar’s financial results are seasonal in nature, with business depending to a great extent on the first and fourth quarters of each year. SouthStar’s current assets consist primarily of natural gas inventory, derivative instruments and receivables from its customers. SouthStar also has receivables from us due to its participation in AGL Capital’s commercial paper program. See Note 2 for additional discussions of SouthStar’s inventories. SouthStar’s restricted assets consist of customer deposits and were immaterial as of March 31, 2012 and 2011. SouthStar’s current liabilities consist primarily of accrued natural gas costs, other accrued expenses, customer deposits, derivative instruments and payables to us from its participation in AGL Capital’s commercial paper program.
SouthStar’s other contractual commitments and obligations, including operating leases and agreements with third party providers, do not contain terms that would trigger material financial obligations in the event that such contracts were terminated. As a result, our maximum exposure to a loss at SouthStar is considered to be immaterial. SouthStar’s creditors have no recourse to our general credit beyond our corporate guarantees we have provided to SouthStar’s counterparties and natural gas suppliers. We have provided no financial or other support that was not previously contractually required. With the exception of our corporate guarantees, we have not entered into any arrangements that could require us to provide financial support to SouthStar.
Price and volume fluctuations of SouthStar’s natural gas inventories can cause significant variations in our working capital and cash flow from operations. Changes in our operating cash flows are also attributable to SouthStar’s working capital changes resulting from the impact of weather, the timing of customer collections, payments for natural gas purchases and cash collateral amounts that SouthStar maintains to facilitate its derivative instruments.
Cash flows used in our investing activities include capital expenditures of $1 million and $1 million for SouthStar for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively and $2 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. Cash flows used in our financing activities include SouthStar’s distribution to Piedmont for its portion of SouthStar’s annual earnings from the previous year. Generally, this distribution occurs in the first or second quarter of each fiscal year. For the three months ended March 31, 2012, SouthStar distributed $14 million to Piedmont and $16 million during the same period last year. The decrease of $2 million was primarily the result of decreased earnings year-over-year.
The following table provides additional information for the dates presented, which are consolidated within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||