The following tables set forth a reconciliation of AGL Resources’ operating margin to operating income and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to earnings before income taxes to net income to net income attributable to AGL – as reported and net income attributable to AGL – as adjusted, for the indicated periods.

Download GAAP Reconciliation

A reconciliation of operating margin and EBIT by segment is available in our quarterly reports (Form 10-Q) and annual reports (Form 10-K) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Our management evaluates segment financial performance based on EBIT, which includes the effects of corporate expense allocations. EBIT is a non-GAAP (accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America) financial measure. Items that are not included in EBIT are financing costs, including debt and interest expense and income taxes. We evaluate each of these items on a consolidated level and believe EBIT is a useful measurement of our performance because it provides information that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of our businesses from an operational perspective, exclusive of the costs to finance those activities and exclusive of income taxes, neither of which is directly relevant to the efficiency of those operations.

We also use EBIT internally to measure performance against budget and in reports for management and the Board of Directors. Projections of forward-looking EBIT are used in our internal budgeting process, and those projections are used in providing forward-looking business segment EBIT projections to investors. We are unable to reconcile our forward-looking EBIT business segment guidance to GAAP net income, because we do not predict the future impact of unusual items and mark-to-market gains or losses on energy contracts. The impact of these items could be material to our operating results reported in accordance with GAAP.

Operating margin is a non-GAAP measure calculated as operating revenues minus cost of goods sold and revenue taxes, excluding operation and maintenance expense, depreciation and amortization, and taxes other than income taxes. These items are included in the company's calculation of operating income. We believe operating margin is a better indicator than operating revenues of the contribution resulting from customer growth, since cost of goods sold and revenue taxes are generally passed directly through to customers.

EBIT and operating margin should not be considered as alternatives to, or more meaningful indicators of, our operating performance than operating income or net income, as determined in accordance with GAAP. In addition, our EBIT or operating margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of another company.

Net income attributable to AGL Resources, as adjusted and Basic and Diluted earnings per share, as adjusted are non-GAAP measures and exclude transaction costs related to the merger with Nicor. We believe these financial measures are useful to investors because they provide an alternative method for assessing the Company’s operating results in a manner that is focused on the performance of the Company’s ongoing operations. The presentation of these financial measures is not meant to be a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.