Amen Properties Reports First Quarter 2008 Results
17 May 2008 - 12:00AM
Business Wire
Amen Properties (NASDAQ:AMEN) today announced financial results for
its fiscal 2008 first quarter ended March 31, 2008. The Company
posted revenue of $3.7 million and a net quarterly profit of $977
thousand, or $0.26 per diluted share. These results compare to
revenue of $3.1 million and net quarterly profit of $509 thousand,
or $0.14 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Priority
Power, the Company�s energy aggregation, brokering and consulting
business, continued to deliver strong revenue and earnings growth
in the first quarter of 2008. Priority Power�s revenue and earnings
increased 82% and 75%, respectively, in the first quarter versus
the year-ago quarter, primarily due to new customer acquisition and
receipt of a $300 thousand payment earned as part of a power plant
development engagement. Amen recorded a gain of $535 thousand on
the liquidation of its investment in Santa Fe Energy Trust and
recorded $279 thousand in income related to its one-third ownership
of SFF Royalty, LLC and SFF Production, LLC (the �SFF Group�). The
Company does not expect its investment in the SFF Group to generate
significant accounting income due to the depletion expense that
will be incurred by the SFF Group. However, Amen reported that it
received $500 thousand in cash distributions from the SFF Group
during the first quarter of 2008 and expects to receive $500-800
thousand per quarter in distributions for the remainder of this
year. Increased commodity and delivery prices resulted in decreased
earnings for the company�s retail electricity unit, W Power &
Light. W Power generated revenue of $2.3 million and income of $89
thousand for the quarter, compared to revenue of $2.3 million and
income of $389 thousand in the same quarter last year. �We are
extremely concerned about the structural market changes we are
witnessing in the Texas retail electricity market,� said Kevin
Yung, Amen�s Chief Operating Officer. �We expect the increased
volatility that we have seen in recent months to continue for the
remainder of this year, making it difficult for any retail
electricity provider to be profitable. We are seriously evaluating
whether this is a market that Amen wants to participate in long
term.� Amen Properties is engaged in the acquisition and management
of strong, profitable energy-related businesses. W Power &
Light, a wholly�owned subsidiary, is a Retail Electricity Provider
in Texas, the largest electricity marketplace in the United States.
Priority Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary acquired in April 2006,
is an energy management and consulting services firm. The Company
has other energy�related holdings through its other subsidiaries,
Amen Minerals and Amen Delaware. Certain information in this
document may contain "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of Section 21e of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact
are "forward-looking statements" for purposes of these provisions,
including, but not limited to, any projections of earnings,
revenues or other financial items, any statements of the plans and
objectives of management for future operations, any statements
concerning proposed new products or services, any statements
regarding future economic conditions or performance, and any
statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In some
cases, "forward-looking statements" can be identified by the use of
terminology such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "plans,"
"anticipates," "estimates," "potential," or "continue," or the
negative thereof or other comparable terminology. Although the
Company believes that the expectations reflected in its
forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance
that such expectations or any of its "forward-looking statements"
will prove to be correct, and actual results could differ
materially from those projected or assumed in the Company's
"forward-looking statements." Our financial condition and results,
as well as any other "forward-looking statements," are subject to
inherent risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to
those risk factors discussed in our 10-KSB for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2007.