Constellation Energy Group, Inc. has reported total revenues of $19.8 billion for the year-end 2008, compared with the total revenues of $21.2 billion in the previous year-end. It has also reported a net loss of $1.3 billion for the year-end 2008, compared with the net income of $821.5 million in the previous year-end.

For the full year 2008, Constellation Energy’s adjusted earnings were $3.57 per share, down from adjusted earnings of $4.60 per share for the full year 2007. The adjusted earnings exclude the impact of special items, discontinued operations, certain economic, non-qualifying hedges and synfuel earnings. On a GAAP basis, Constellation Energy has lost $7.34 per share for the full year 2008, compared with earning $4.50 per share in 2007. For 2008, special items primarily reflected expenses of $6.72 per share related to Constellation Energy’s merger activities and impairment charges of $3.04 per share recorded in the third and fourth quarters related to upstream gas properties, merchant energy segment goodwill and other investments adversely impacted by events in the financial markets.

For the fourth quarter of 2008, the company’s adjusted earnings per share was 3 cents, compared with $1.48 per share earned in the same period in 2007. Adjusting for special items and certain economic, non-qualifying hedges totaling $7.78, reported GAAP earnings were a loss of $7.75 per share in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with $1.42 per share earned in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The rapid deterioration of the global credit and financial markets, coupled with one of the most volatile commodities markets in our history, made 2008 an extremely challenging year for our company, said Mayo A. Shattuck III, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Constellation Energy. To ensure our viability, the company was required in the fall of 2008 to execute rapidly on a series of strategic initiatives, including a proposed merger, to address the adequacy of our balance sheet and significant exposures in our capital-intensive commodities businesses. We moved decisively to protect the company during a time of great stress and preserved the strategic flexibility that allowed us to later enter into a more desirable joint venture with EDF. Unfortunately, these necessary steps came at the expense of significant near-term losses and earnings dilution.

Reflecting on the events of 2008, we have commenced a comprehensive restructuring that will emphasize our core businesses – owning and operating generation assets, selling energy to wholesale and retail customers, and providing safe and reliable regulated utility service to our Baltimore Gas and Electric customers. The successful restructuring will deliver more predictable earnings and free cash flow, position the company to reduce variability in collateral and liquidity positions, and provide investors with improved transparency.

Earnings Outlook

Constellation Energy set earnings guidance for 2009 at $2.90 to $3.20 per share. The company expects earnings per share in 2010 in the range of $3.05 to $3.45.

The next 12 to 24 months will be a period of transition that if appropriately executed will help strengthen the company, said Shattuck. The EDF joint venture is critical to this transformation and we are working with our partner to close this transaction as quickly as possible.

We are squarely focused on the execution of our near-term initiatives, which are designed to specifically stabilize our company in this challenging economic environment. When successfully executed, these initiatives position Constellation Energy to invest capital in projects with attractive risk-adjusted returns and build long-term shareholder value, Shattuck concluded.