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We had $149
million of available borrowings under
our revolving credit facility at December
31, 2002.
The Debt
Reduction Plan provides for a systematic
disposal of our non-utility and non-core
assets and, if necessary, a sale of
our equity. The proceeds of these transactions
will be used to reduce debt. We may
reduce debt pursuant to terms stated
in the debt agreements or through open
market purchases or tender offers. We
may engage a financial advisor to assist
in completing debt repurchases in the
most cost-effective manner.
We have registered
debt securities for sale with the SEC.
As of December 31, 2002, these included
$400 million of unsecured senior notes,
$500 million of our first mortgage bonds,
and $50 million of KGE first mortgage
bonds. Any issuance of debt would require
that we seek KCC approval.
The Westar
Energy mortgage prohibits additional
first mortgage bonds from being issued
(except in connection with certain refundings)
unless Westar Energy’s unconsolidated
net earnings available for interest,
depreciation and property retirement
(which as defined, does not include
earnings or losses attributable to the
ownership of securities of subsidiaries),
for a period of 12 consecutive months
within 15 months preceding the issuance,
are not less than the greater of twice
the annual interest charges on, and
10% of the principal amount of, all
first mortgage bonds outstanding after
giving effect to the proposed issuance.
In addition, the issuance of bonds is
subject to limitations based upon the
amount of bondable property additions.
As of December 31, 2002, $70.4 million
principal amount of additional first
mortgage bonds could be issued under
the most restrictive provisions in the
mortgage, except in connection with
refundings.
KGE’s mortgage
prohibits additional first mortgage
bonds from being issued (except in connection
with certain refundings) unless KGE’s
net earnings before income taxes and
before provision for retirement and
depreciation of property for a period
of 12 consecutive months within 15 months
preceding the issuance are not less
than either two and one-half times the
annual interest charges on, or 10% of
the principal amount of, all KGE first
mortgage bonds outstanding after giving
effect to the proposed issuance. In
addition, the issuance of bonds is subject
to limitations based upon the amount
of bondable property additions. As of
December 31, 2002, approximately $302.5
million principal amount of additional
KGE first mortgage bonds could be issued
under the most restrictive provisions
in the mortgage.
We may from
time to time issue equity securities
in private transactions and public offerings.
We have approximately 11.2 million shares
of common stock registered for sale
with the SEC.
Cash Flows from
(used in) Operating Activities
Our
primary sources of operating cash flows are the operations of our
electric utility and monitored services businesses and dividends
from our ONEOK investment. Cash flows from operating activities
increased $154.4 million to
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$372.7 million in 2002, from $218.3 million
in 2001. This increase is mostly attributable to an approximate
$131.2 million increase in utility gross margin for 2002 compared
to 2001.
Cash flows from
operating activities decreased $252.5
million to $218.3 million in 2001, from
$470.8 million in 2000. This decrease
is mostly attributable to changes in
our working capital. Operating cash
flows in 2001 also decreased due to
the continued declines in Protection
One’s and Protection One Europe’s customer
bases, which reduced our recurring monthly
cash flow stream. Operating cash flows
also decreased in 2001 as we purchased
additional coal to restock our inventory
from the levels that existed in December
2000.
Cash Flows from (used
in) Investing Activities
In general, cash
used for investing purposes relates
to the growth and maintenance of the
operations of our electric utility and
monitored services businesses. The utility
business is capital intensive and requires
significant investment in plant on an
annual basis. We spent $126.8 million
in 2002, $227.0 million in 2001 and
$285.4 million in 2000 on net additions
to utility property, plant and equipment,
which included $52.2 million in 2001
and $87.7 million in 2000 for new generation
facilities. We did not construct any
new generation facilities in 2002. The
monitored services business also requires
significant capital related to the generation
of customer accounts. Investment in
customer accounts amounted to $43.4
million in 2002, $23.1 million in 2001
and $45.7 million in 2000.
Investing cash
flows were also impacted significantly
by dispositions of monitored services
businesses and the sale of marketable
securities. These activities provided
cash of $16.8 million in 2002, $50.8
million in 2001 and $218.6 million in
2000.
Cash Flows from (used
in) Financing Activities
We used $203.6
million of net cash flows in 2002 for
financing activities compared to net
cash flows from financing activities
of $22 million in 2001, primarily due
to the debt refinancings completed during
2002. In 2001, an increase in short-term
debt was the principal source of cash
flows from financing activities. Cash
from financing activities was used to
fund the retirement of long-term debt,
deposits to the trustee to provide for
repayment of an obligation, the acquisition
of treasury stock, and the payment of
dividends on our common stock. In 2000,
we reduced our indicated annual dividend
from $2.14 per share to $1.20 per share.
This reduction, and continued reinvestment
of dividends by our shareholders through
the dividend reinvestment program, resulted
in a significant reduction in our net
cash dividend requirements.
Future Cash Requirements
The November 8, 2002 KCC order requires
us to reduce debt by $100 million annually in each of the next two
years from internally generated cash flow. While we believe we can
generate this level of internally generated cash flow, if we fail
to meet this requirement, the KCC may, among other things, require
us to reduce or eliminate our dividend or issue equity securities.
In the Debt Reduction Plan, we anticipate meeting the $100 million
debt reduction goal.
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