ATCO Ltd. reported higher earnings for the second quarter led by worldwide increased activity for ATCO Structures & Logistics, additional infrastructure investment in the utilities to support Alberta growth and increased earnings from ATCO Australia, offset by the impact of major planned maintenance outages at two of ATCO Power's generating plants.

Earnings attributable to Class I and Class II Shares were $73 million ($1.28 per share) and Adjusted Earnings were $74 million for the second quarter of 2012 compared to $61 million ($1.07 per share) and $61 million, respectively, in the same period of 2011.

Earnings attributable to Class I and Class II Shares were $194 million ($3.37 per share) and Adjusted Earnings were $190 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared to $171 million ($2.96 per share) and $169 million, respectively, in the first half of 2011.

ATCO Structures & Logistics continued its strong performance this quarter as rental activity increased and manufacturing expanded to meet the growing demand for modular structures and services, especially new workforce housing in the resource-rich regions of Australia, Canada, and South America. In particular, building and installation are progressing as planned for major workforce housing complexes to accommodate more than 5,600 persons constructing three liquefied natural gas projects on Curtis Island, Queensland, Australia.

ATCO Electric, ATCO Gas and ATCO Pipelines invested an additional $438 million in the second quarter in infrastructure to support Alberta's continuing growth, bringing the total for the first half of 2012 to $937 million, which was more than double the $458 million invested in the first half of 2011. These expenditures add to the rate base upon which the companies earn a return. A significant amount of this investment was required to connect major industrial customers in northeast Alberta to the province's transmission grid and to reinforce the electricity system serving that growing region of the province.

Earnings from ATCO Australia include those from ATCO Gas Australia, which was acquired at the end of July 2011. This quarter, ATCO Gas Australia received a favorable decision on its appeal of an earlier decision covering the current access arrangement period 2010 to 2014, which resulted in increased Adjusted Earnings of $5 million.

ATCO's increased earnings for the second quarter and first half of 2012 were reduced by major planned maintenance outages at the largest of ATCO Power's three Battle River units and one of its two Sheerness units. Scheduled maintenance is undertaken to ensure continued safe, reliable and efficient plant operations.