ATLANTA, April
22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company today announced it
is increasing its dividend by 8 cents
per share on an annualized basis to a rate of $2.88 per share.
This marks the 76th consecutive year that Southern Company has
paid a dividend on its common stock that is equal to or greater
than the previous quarter. Additionally, this is the
23rd consecutive year the company has raised its
dividend.
Southern Company also announced a regular quarterly dividend –
including an increase of 2 cents per
share over the prior quarter – of 72
cents per share, payable June 6,
2024 to shareholders of record as of May 20, 2024.
"Across the Southern Company enterprise, thousands of dedicated
employees work tirelessly each day to provide customers with clean,
safe, reliable and affordable energy solutions that make their
lives better," said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO
Christoper C. Womack. "Today's
action by the Southern Company board reinforces our time-honored
shareholder value proposition of providing regular, predictable and
sustainable dividend growth supported by our premier
state-regulated utilities and energy infrastructure under long-term
contracts."
About Southern Company
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is
a leading energy provider serving 9 million customers across the
Southeast and beyond through its family of companies. Providing
clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy with excellent service
is our mission. The company has electric operating companies in
three states, natural gas distribution companies in four states, a
competitive generation company, a leading distributed energy
distribution company with national capabilities, a fiber optics
network and telecommunications services. Through an
industry-leading commitment to innovation, resilience and
sustainability, we are taking action to meet customers' and
communities' needs while advancing our goal of net zero greenhouse
gas emissions by 2050. Our uncompromising values ensure we put the
needs of those we serve at the center of everything we do and are
the key to our sustained success. We are transforming energy into
economic, environmental and social progress for tomorrow. Our
corporate culture and hiring practices have earned the company
national awards and recognition from numerous organizations,
including Forbes, The Military Times, DiversityInc, Black
Enterprise, J.D. Power, Fortune, Human Rights Campaign and more. To
learn more, visit www.southerncompany.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain information contained in this release is forward-looking
information based on current expectations and plans that involve
risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes,
among other things, statements concerning dividend growth. Southern
Company cautions that there are certain factors that can cause
actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to
put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is
not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of
uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the
control of Southern Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance
that such suggested results will be realized. The following
factors, in addition to those discussed in Southern Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and subsequent securities
filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from
management expectations as suggested by such forward-looking
information: the impact of recent and future federal and
state regulatory changes, including tax, environmental and other
laws and regulations to which Southern Company and its subsidiaries
are subject, as well as changes in application of existing laws and
regulations; the extent and timing of costs and legal requirements
related to coal combustion residuals; current and future litigation
or regulatory investigations, proceedings, or inquiries, including
litigation and other disputes related to the Kemper County energy
facility and Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4; the effects, extent, and
timing of the entry of additional competition in the markets in
which Southern Company's subsidiaries operate, including from the
development and deployment of alternative energy sources;
variations in demand for electricity and natural gas; available
sources and costs of natural gas and other fuels and commodities;
the ability to complete necessary or desirable pipeline expansion
or infrastructure projects, limits on pipeline capacity, public and
policymaker support for such projects, and operational
interruptions to natural gas distribution and transmission
activities; transmission constraints; the ability to control costs
and avoid cost and schedule overruns during the development,
construction, and operation of facilities or other projects,
including Plant Vogtle Unit 4 (which includes components based on
new technology that only within the last several years began
initial operation in the global nuclear industry at this scale),
due to current and/or future challenges which include, but are not
limited to, changes in labor costs, availability, and productivity;
challenges with the management of contractors or vendors;
subcontractor performance; adverse weather conditions; shortages,
delays, increased costs, or inconsistent quality of equipment,
materials, and labor; contractor or supplier delay; the impacts of
inflation; delays due to judicial or regulatory action;
nonperformance under construction, operating, or other agreements;
operational readiness, including specialized operator training and
required site safety programs; engineering or design problems or
any remediation related thereto; design and other licensing-based
compliance matters; challenges with start-up activities, including
major equipment failure, or system integration; and/or operational
performance; challenges related to pandemic health events;
continued public and policymaker support for projects;
environmental and geological conditions; delays or increased costs
to interconnect facilities to transmission grids; and increased
financing costs as a result of changes in interest rates or as a
result of project delays; the ability to overcome or mitigate the
current challenges, or challenges yet to be identified, at Plant
Vogtle Unit 4 that could further impact the cost and schedule for
the project; legal proceedings and regulatory approvals and actions
related to past and ongoing construction projects, including Public
Service Commission approvals and Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission actions; under certain specified circumstances, a
decision by holders of more than 10% of the ownership interests of
Plant Vogtle Unit 4 not to proceed with construction; in the event
Georgia Power Company ("Georgia Power") becomes obligated to
provide funding to Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia ("MEAG Power") with respect to the
portion of MEAG Power's ownership interest in Plant Vogtle Units 3
and 4 involving Jacksonville Electric Authority, any inability of
Georgia Power to receive repayment of such funding; the ability to
construct facilities in accordance with the requirements of permits
and licenses (including satisfaction of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission requirements), to satisfy any environmental performance
standards and the requirements of tax credits and other incentives,
and to integrate facilities into the Southern Company system upon
completion of construction; investment performance of the employee
and retiree benefit plans and nuclear decommissioning trust funds;
advances in technology, including the pace and extent of
development of low- to no-carbon energy and battery energy storage
technologies and negative carbon concepts; performance of
counterparties under ongoing renewable energy partnerships and
development agreements; state and federal rate regulations and the
impact of pending and future rate cases and negotiations, including
rate actions relating to return on equity, equity ratios,
additional generating capacity and fuel and other cost recovery
mechanisms; the ability to successfully operate the electric
utilities' generation, transmission, and distribution facilities,
Southern Power Company's generation facilities, and Southern
Company Gas' natural gas distribution and storage facilities and
the successful performance of necessary corporate functions; the
inherent risks involved in operating and constructing nuclear
generating facilities; the inherent risks involved in transporting
and storing natural gas; the performance of projects undertaken by
the non-utility businesses and the success of efforts to invest in
and develop new opportunities; internal restructuring or other
restructuring options that may be pursued; potential business
strategies, including acquisitions or dispositions of assets or
businesses, which cannot be assured to be completed or beneficial
to Southern Company or its subsidiaries; the ability of
counterparties of Southern Company and its subsidiaries to make
payments as and when due and to perform as required; the ability to
obtain new short- and long-term contracts with wholesale customers;
the direct or indirect effect on the Southern Company system's
business resulting from cyber intrusion or physical attack and the
threat of cyber and physical attacks; global and U.S. economic
conditions, including impacts from geopolitical conflicts,
recession, inflation, interest rate fluctuations, and financial
market conditions, and the results of financing efforts; access to
capital markets and other financing sources; changes in Southern
Company's and any of its subsidiaries' credit ratings; the ability
of Southern Company's electric utilities to obtain additional
generating capacity (or sell excess generating capacity) at
competitive prices; catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes,
explosions, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other storms,
droughts, pandemic health events, political unrest, wars, or other
similar occurrences; the direct or indirect effects on the Southern
Company system's business resulting from incidents affecting the
U.S. electric grid, natural gas pipeline infrastructure or
operation of generating or storage resources; impairments of
goodwill or long-lived assets; and the effect of accounting
pronouncements issued periodically by standard-setting bodies.
Southern Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any
forward-looking information.
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SOURCE Southern Company