Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation. The Company consolidates all entities in which it has a controlling financial interest. The equity method is used to account for entities in which the Company has a non-controlling financial interest. All significant intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated.

During the quarter ended March 31, 2011, the Company sold its 50% equity method investments in Seneca Energy and Model City for $59.4 million, resulting in a gain of $50.9 million. Seneca Energy and Model City generate and sell electricity using methane gas obtained from landfills owned by outside parties.

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Reclassification. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform with current year presentation. This includes the reclassification of $63.7 million from Other Regulatory Liabilities to Other Regulatory Assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2011. This reclassification pertains to pension and post-retirement benefit regulatory asset and regulatory liability balances. The Company has switched from a “gross” presentation to a “net” presentation, which is consistent with the methodology used by the various regulators in analyzing such regulatory asset and liability balances. This reclassification did not impact the Consolidated Statement of Income. In the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended June 30, 2011, the change in Other Liabilities was reduced by $1.9 million and the change in Other Assets was increased by $1.9 million.

The Company also reclassified $26.6 million from Other Regulatory Assets to Other Current Assets and $13.8 million from Other Regulatory Liabilities to Other Accruals and Current Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2011. The reclassification was made to distinguish long-term regulatory assets and liabilities from current regulatory assets and liabilities. Current regulatory assets are defined as assets recoverable from ratepayers over a twelve-month period. Current regulatory liabilities are defined as liabilities which will be passed back to ratepayers over a twelve-month period. These reclassifications did not impact the Consolidated Statement of Income. However, the reclassifications did impact the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended June 30, 2011. On that statement, the line item labeled Prepayments and Other Current Assets was increased by $13.6 million and the line item labeled Other Assets was reduced by $13.6 million. Additionally, the line item labeled Other Accruals and Current Liabilities was reduced by $0.3 million and the line item labeled Other Liabilities was increased by $0.3 million.

Earnings for Interim Periods. The Company, in its opinion, has included all adjustments that are necessary for a fair statement of the results of operations for the reported periods. The consolidated financial statements and notes thereto, included herein, should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes for the years ended September 30, 2011, 2010 and 2009 that are included in the Company's 2011 Form 10-K. The consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2012 will be audited by the Company's independent registered public accounting firm after the end of the fiscal year.

The earnings for the nine months ended June 30, 2012 should not be taken as a prediction of earnings for the entire fiscal year ending September 30, 2012. Most of the business of the Utility and Energy Marketing segments is seasonal in nature and is influenced by weather conditions. Due to the seasonal nature of the heating business in the Utility and Energy Marketing segments, earnings during the winter months normally represent a substantial part of the earnings that those segments are expected to achieve for the entire fiscal year. The Company’s business segments are discussed more fully in Note 7 – Business Segment Information.

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. For purposes of the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, the Company considers all highly liquid debt instruments purchased with a maturity of generally three months or less to be cash equivalents.

At June 30, 2012, the Company accrued $98.4 million of capital expenditures. This amount was excluded from the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows at June 30, 2012 since it represents a non-cash investing activity at that date. Accrued capital expenditures at June 30, 2012 are included in Other Accruals and Current Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

At September 30, 2011, the Company accrued $72.2 million of capital expenditures. This amount was excluded from the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows at September 30, 2011 since it represented a non-cash investing activity at that date. These capital expenditures were paid during the quarter ended December 31, 2011 and have been included in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended June 30, 2012. Accrued capital expenditures at September 30, 2011 are included in Other Accruals and Current Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

At June 30, 2011, the Company accrued $66.6 million of capital expenditures. This amount was excluded from the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows at June 30, 2011 since it represented a non-cash investing activity at that date.

At September 30, 2010, the Company accrued $55.5 million of capital expenditures. This amount was excluded from the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows at September 30, 2010 since it represented a non-cash investing activity at that date. These capital expenditures were paid during the quarter ended December 31, 2010 and have been included in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended June 30, 2011.

Hedging Collateral Deposits. This is an account title for cash held in margin accounts funded by the Company to serve as collateral for hedging positions. At June 30, 2012, the Company had hedging collateral deposits of $3.4 million related to its exchange-traded futures contracts. At September 30, 2011, the Company had hedging collateral deposits of $5.5 million related to its exchange-traded futures contracts and $14.2 million related to its over-the-counter crude oil swap agreements. In accordance with its accounting policy, the Company does not offset hedging collateral deposits paid or received against related derivative financial instruments liability or asset balances.

Gas Stored Underground - Current. In the Utility segment, gas stored underground – current is carried at lower of cost or market, on a LIFO method. Gas stored underground – current normally declines during the first and second quarters of the year and is replenished during the third and fourth quarters. In the Utility segment, the current cost of replacing gas withdrawn from storage is recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Income and a reserve for gas replacement is recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets under the caption “Other Accruals and Current Liabilities.” Such reserve, which amounted to $30.5 million at June 30, 2012, is reduced to zero by September 30 of each year as the inventory is replenished.

Property, Plant and Equipment. In the Company’s Exploration and Production segment, oil and gas property acquisition, exploration and development costs are capitalized under the full cost method of accounting. Under this methodology, all costs associated with property acquisition, exploration and development activities are capitalized, including internal costs directly identified with acquisition, exploration and development activities. The internal costs that are capitalized do not include any costs related to production, general corporate overhead, or similar activities. The Company does not recognize any gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of oil and gas properties unless the gain or loss would significantly alter the relationship between capitalized costs and proved reserves of oil and gas attributable to a cost center.

Capitalized costs include costs related to unproved properties, which are excluded from amortization until proved reserves are found or it is determined that the unproved properties are impaired. Such costs amounted to $147.8 million and $226.3 million at June 30, 2012 and September 30, 2011, respectively. All costs related to unproved properties are reviewed quarterly to determine if impairment has occurred. The amount of any impairment is transferred to the pool of capitalized costs being amortized.

In April 2011, the Company completed the sale of its offshore oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico. Initial proceeds received through June 30, 2011 totaled $61.8 million. Price adjustments subsequent to June 30, 2011 reduced the final net proceeds to $55.4 million.

Capitalized costs are subject to the SEC full cost ceiling test. The ceiling test, which is performed each quarter, determines a limit, or ceiling, on the amount of property acquisition, exploration and development costs that can be capitalized. The ceiling under this test represents (a) the present value of estimated future net cash flows, excluding future cash outflows associated with settling asset retirement obligations that have been accrued on the balance sheet, using a discount factor of 10%, which is computed by applying prices of oil and gas (as adjusted for hedging) to estimated future production of proved oil and gas reserves as of the date of the latest balance sheet, less estimated future expenditures, plus (b) the cost of unevaluated properties not being depleted, less (c) income tax effects related to the differences between the book and tax basis of the properties. The natural gas and oil prices used to calculate the full cost ceiling are based on an unweighted arithmetic average of the first day of the month oil and gas prices for each month within the twelve-month period prior to the end of the reporting period. If capitalized costs, net of accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization and related deferred income taxes, exceed the ceiling at the end of any quarter, a permanent impairment is required to be charged to earnings in that quarter. At June 30, 2012, the ceiling exceeded the book value of the oil and gas properties by approximately $107.0 million.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss. The components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss, net of related tax effect, are as follows (in thousands):


	At June 30, 2012	At September 30, 2011
Funded Status of the Pension and Other Post-Retirement Benefit Plans	$(89,587)	$(89,587)
Net Unrealized Gain on Derivative Financial Instruments	39,502	40,979
Net Unrealized Gain on Securities Available for Sale	2,145	909
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	$(47,940)	$(47,699)

Other Current Assets. The components of the Company’s Other Current Assets are as follows (in thousands):


	At June 30, 2012	At September 30, 2011

Prepayments	$9,762	$9,489
Prepaid Property and Other Taxes	11,020	13,240
Federal Income Taxes Receivable	385	385
State Income Taxes Receivable	-	6,124
Fair Values of Firm Commitments	5,479	9,096
Regulatory Assets	21,600	26,589
	$48,246	$64,923

Earnings Per Common Share. Basic earnings per common share is computed by dividing net income available for common stock by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per common share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. For purposes of determining earnings per common share, the only potentially dilutive securities the Company has outstanding are stock options, SARs and restricted stock units. The diluted weighted average shares outstanding shown on the Consolidated Statements of Income reflects the potential dilution as a result of these securities as determined using the Treasury Stock Method. Stock options, SARs and restricted stock units that are antidilutive are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per common share. There were 976,870 and 833,170 securities excluded as being antidilutive for the quarter and nine months ended June 30, 2012, respectively. There were 6,512 securities excluded as being antidilutive for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. There were no antidilutive securities for the nine months ended June 30, 2011.

Stock-Based Compensation. During the nine months ended June 30, 2012, the Company granted 166,000 non-performance based SARs having a weighted average exercise price of $55.09 per share. The weighted average grant date fair value of these SARs was $11.20 per share. These SARs will be settled in shares of common stock of the Company and are considered equity awards under the current authoritative guidance for stock-based compensation. The accounting for those SARs is the same as the accounting for stock options. The non-performance based SARs granted during the nine months ended June 30, 2012 vest annually in one-third increments and become exercisable on the third anniversary of the date of grant. The weighted average grant date fair value of these non-performance based SARs granted during the nine months ended June 30, 2012 was estimated on the date of grant using the same accounting treatment that is applied for stock options. There were no stock options granted during the nine months ended June 30, 2012.

The Company granted 41,525 restricted share awards (non-vested stock as defined by the current accounting literature) during the nine months ended June 30, 2012. The weighted average fair value of such restricted shares was $55.09 per share. In addition, the Company granted 68,450 restricted stock units during the nine months ended June 30, 2012. The weighted average fair value of such restricted stock units was $47.10 per share for the nine months ended June 30, 2012. Restricted stock units represent the right to receive shares of common stock of the Company (or the equivalent value in cash or a combination of cash and shares of common stock of the Company, as determined by the Company) at the end of a specified time period. These restricted stock units do not entitle the participant to receive dividends during the vesting period. The accounting for these restricted stock units is the same as the accounting for restricted share awards, except that the fair value at the date of grant of the restricted stock units must be reduced by the present value of forgone dividends over the vesting term of the award.

The Company did not fully recognize a tax benefit from excess tax deductions related to stock-based compensation for calendar years 2009 through 2011 due to tax loss carryforwards. The Company expects to recognize additional tax benefits of $32.2 million as an adjustment to Paid in Capital in future years as the tax loss carryforwards are utilized.

New Authoritative Accounting and Financial Reporting Guidance. In May 2011, the FASB issued authoritative guidance regarding fair value measurement as a joint project with the IASB. The objective of the guidance was to bring together as closely as possible the fair value measurement and disclosure guidance issued by the two boards. The guidance includes a few updates to measurement guidance and some enhanced disclosure requirements. For all Level 3 fair value measurements, the guidance requires quantitative information about significant unobservable inputs used and a description of the valuation processes in place. The guidance also requires a qualitative discussion about the sensitivity of recurring Level 3 fair value measurements and information about any transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. The new guidance also contains a requirement that all fair value measurements, whether they are recorded on the balance sheet or disclosed in the footnotes, be classified as Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy. This authoritative guidance became effective for the quarter ended March 31, 2012. The Company has updated its disclosures to reflect the new requirements in Note 2 – Fair Value Measurements.

In June 2011, the FASB issued authoritative guidance regarding the presentation of comprehensive income. The new guidance allows companies only two choices for presenting net income and other comprehensive income: in a single continuous statement, or in two separate, but consecutive, statements. The guidance eliminates the current option to report other comprehensive income and its components in the statement of changes in equity. This authoritative guidance will be effective as of the Company’s first quarter of fiscal 2013 and is not expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s results of operations.

In September 2011, the FASB issued revised authoritative guidance that simplifies the testing of goodwill for impairment. The revised guidance allows companies the option to perform a “qualitative” assessment to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary. The revised authoritative guidance is required to be effective for the Company’s annual impairment test performed in fiscal 2013. While early adoption is permitted, the Company has not adopted the new provisions to date.

In December 2011, the FASB issued authoritative guidance requiring enhanced disclosures regarding offsetting assets and liabilities. Companies are required to disclose both gross information and net information about both instruments and transactions eligible for offset in the statement of financial position and instruments and transactions subject to an agreement similar to a master netting arrangement. This authoritative guidance will be effective as of the Company’s first quarter of fiscal 2014 and is not expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s financial statements