Subject: enron hosts annual analyst conference provides business overview
and goals for 2000
houston - enron corp . hosted its annual equity analyst conference today in
houston . ken lay , enron chairman and chief executive officer , opened the
conference by highlighting enron  , s tremendous growth across all businesses
and the outstanding 700 percent return to shareholders over the past decade .
enron presented key objectives for 2000 :
? continued strong growth in the core wholesale energy businesses .
? break - out performance from retail energy services .
? rapid development of enron broadband services .
enron  , s ability to extend core skills and competencies to new markets was a
recurring theme throughout the day .
wholesale energy business
growth prospects remain strong for wholesale energy operations and services ,
enron  , s largest business . wholesale energy growth in north america is
expected to be driven by the continuing deregulation of power markets in the
united states and large - scale energy outsourcing by utilities and large
energy consumers . enron expects to continue to broaden its early lead across
the european continent as markets quickly open to competition . finally ,
enron is rapidly expanding its wholesale presence in other markets such as
japan , where large customers will be permitted to choose their electricity
provider in march 2000 .
enrononline will provide additional wholesale growth as incremental sales are
generated through this innovative , internet - based transaction system . over
450 customers around the world have used enrononline and over 10 , 000
transactions have been completed since its introduction in late november
1999 . yesterday , enrononline transaction levels reached a new record with
over 700 transactions , representing a notional value of $ 250 million .
transaction processing costs with enrononline are significantly lower than
costs associated with traditional transaction methods .
enron  , s gas pipeline group is also well positioned to continue growing , with
expansions planned or underway on several of its systems .
retail energy services
with over 16 , 500 facilities under management , the infrastructure is in place
to service customers worldwide . as the strong contracting momentum
continues , enron energy services is poised to rapidly increase earnings in
2000 . enron energy services  , goal for 2000 is to sign new contracts
representing $ 16 billion in future expenditures by customers for energy and
energy services , nearly double the level in 1999 .
enron broadband services
the new name of enron  , s communications business , enron broadband services ,
reflects its role in the very fast growing market for premium broadband
services . enron is deploying an open , flexible global broadband network
controlled by software intelligence , which precludes the need to invest in a
traditional point - to - point fiber network . this enron intelligent network is
widely interconnected to both other wholesale bandwidth carriers and to
internet service providers , thus providing the platform for two new enron
business centers , bandwidth intermediation and broadband content delivery .
a direct transfer of enron  , s core market making and risk management skills
from its energy businesses , bandwidth intermediation will provide
capacity - holders a vast array of alternatives for flexible , low cost
capacity . enron will also provide premium broadband content services , such
as high - quality video - streaming and large broadband file transfer , with
differentiated levels of quality in a usage - based business model .
as announced in a separate release , enron also reached an agreement with sun
microsystems that provides for accelerated development of broadband internet
services .
enron is one of the world  , s leading electricity , natural gas and
communications companies . the company , which owns approximately $ 34 billion
in energy and communications assets , produces electricity and natural gas ,
develops , constructs and operates energy facilities worldwide , delivers
physical commodities and financial and risk management services to customers
around the world , and is developing an intelligent network platform to
facilitate online business . enron  , s internet address is www . enron . com , and
the stock is traded under the ticker symbol ,  & ene .  8
# #
this press release includes forward looking statements within the meaning of
section 27 a of the securities act of 1933 and section 21 e of the securities
exchange act of 1934 . although enron believes that its expectations are based
on reasonable assumptions , it can give no assurance that its goals will be
achieved . important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward looking statements herein include
political developments in foreign countries , the ability to penetrate new
wholesale and retail natural gas , electricity and broadband services markets ,
including the energy outsource market , in the united states and europe , the
timing and extent of changes in prices for crude oil , natural gas ,
electricity and those relating to broadband services and content , the timing
and effect of changes in interest rates , the timing and success of enron  , s
efforts to develop domestic and international power , pipeline ,
communications , internet - related and other infrastructure projects , and
conditions of the capital markets and equity markets during the periods
covered by the forward looking statements .