Cautionary statements
Important notice
This document contains certain statements that are neither reported financial results nor other historical information. These statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. For a description of factors that could affect future results, reference should be made to the full Cautionary statement below and the Risk factors.
Cautionary statement
This document comprises the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2010 for National Grid and its subsidiaries. It contains the Directors’ Report and Financial Statements, together with the Independent Auditor’s Report thereon, as required by the Companies Act 2006. The Directors’ Report and the Directors’ Remuneration Report have each been drawn up in accordance with the requirements of English law, and liability in respect thereof is also governed by English law. In particular, the liability of the Directors for these reports is solely to National Grid.
This document also contains certain statements that are neither reported financial results nor other historical information. These statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include information with respect to our financial condition, our results of operations and businesses, strategy, plans and objectives. Words such as ‘anticipates’, ‘expects’, ‘intends’, ‘plans’, ‘believes’, ‘seeks’, ‘estimates’, ‘targets’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘continue’, ‘project’ and similar expressions, as well as statements in the future tense, identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of our future performance and are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions, risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond our ability to control or estimate precisely, such as changes in laws or regulations and decisions by governmental bodies or regulators; breaches of, or changes in, environmental, climate change and health and safety laws or regulations; network failure or interruption, the inability to carry out critical non-network operations and damage to infrastructure; performance against regulatory targets and standards, including delivery of costs and efficiency savings; customers and counterparties failing to perform their obligations to us; and unseasonable weather affecting energy demands. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in this document include fluctuations in exchange rates, interest rates, commodity price indices and settlement of hedging arrangements; restrictions in our borrowing and debt arrangements; changes to credit ratings of the Company and its subsidiaries; adverse changes and volatility in the global credit markets; our ability to access capital markets and other sources of credit in a timely manner and other sources of credit on acceptable terms; deflation or inflation; the seasonality of our businesses; the future funding requirements of our pension schemes and other post-retirement benefit schemes, and the regulatory treatment of pension costs; the loss of key personnel or the inability to attract, train or retain qualified personnel; new or revised accounting standards, rules and interpretations, including changes of law and accounting standards that may affect our effective rate of tax; incorrect assumptions or conclusions underpinning business development activity, and any unforeseen significant liabilities or other unanticipated or unintended effects of such activities and the performance of the Company’s subsidiaries. In addition the Company’s reputation may be harmed if consumers of energy suffer a disruption to their supply.
For a more detailed description of some of these assumptions, risks and uncertainties, together with any other risk factors, please see our filings with and submissions to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) (and in particular the Risk factors and Operating and Financial Review sections in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F). The effects of these factors are difficult to predict. New factors emerge from time to time and we cannot assess the potential impact of any such factor on our activities or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Except as may be required by law or regulation, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document. The contents of any website references herein do not form part of this document.
Please see rights issue for important information regarding the rights issue.