The ratings for UtiliCorp United Inc. reflect its average business position and gradually improving financial profile. The regulated utility operations are supported by sales and earnings stability derived from international geographic and economic diversity. UtiliCorp owns portions of and operates electric and gas utilities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The credit profile of the company's unregulated operations (energy marketing and trading, gas gathering and transportation, and independent power generation) is weaker than the utility's core utility business, but UtiliCorp has announced that it plans a public offering of a 19.9% ownership stake in its wholly owned energy merchant subsidiary, Aquila Energy. UtiliCorp intends to eventually spin off the rest of Aquila to its shareholders sometime in 2001.
