Planalytics software beats the street

Planalytics has announced that the company's Weathernomics Gas Buyer planning tool for buyers and sellers of natural gas beat the average natural gas market month-end settlement price by 17% this year. From January through December 2000, the average cost to buy natural gas at the month-end settlement price was $3.91 per MMBtu. Over the same period, the average cost using Weathernomics Gas Buyer was $3.24 per MMBtu, or $0.67 lower. The month-end settlement price is computed as the average of the closing price on the last three days of each month.

"That's a savings of nearly $12 million for a company buying an average of 50, 00 MMBtu's per day using Weathernomics Gas Buyer," said Frederic Fox, President and CEO of Planalytics. "At current prices for January and February 2001 contracts, we have clients that have saved more than $2.00 per MMBtu." Commenting on the performance, Planalytics Energy Senior Vice President, Paul Corby, said "In the summer, inventories were below both last year and the five-year average. We projected storage levels being 80 to 85% of capacity coming into the heating season. Combined with our climate forecast made 12 months previously, Weathernomics Gas Buyer suggested to users that low storage and cold weather meant every contract was a good buy well prior to expiration, and long before the dramatic increases in price."

Planalytics is hosting a live WebCast on the Weathernomics Gas Buyer at 3:30 p.m. (EST) on December 14. The 30-minute WebCast will introduce the tool and the benefits it brings to gas buyers. To register for the event go to www.planalytics.com/energy. Weathernomics Gas Buyer does not attempt to forecast gas prices in a traditional sense. Rather, it predicts the turning points and direction of gas price changes, and uses that knowledge to determine the most cost-effective method to purchase natural gas on any given day, enabling users to consistently purchase natural gas below the month-end settlement price.

Weathernomics Gas Buyer combines long-range weather intelligence, American Gas Association weekly storage data, inventory change forecasts, real-time NYMEX futures contract pricing, and proprietary Weathernomics technology into an engine that makes one of six daily buy-sell suggestions. Weathernomics Gas Buyer is not based on mathematical or statistical probabilities of weather, but rather on reliable long-range weather forecasts from a commercially proven source, Planalytics, Inc.

Wayne, PA-based Planalytics is a supply chain planning portal serving three vertical markets: retail, agriculture, and energy. Planalytics provides vital future external intelligence into supply chain planning and forecasting, quantifying how, where, and when weather, demographic, economic, and competitive shifts from year to year will affect supply and demand for specific products and services./CONTACT: Jim Gagne, 610-407-2956, jgagne@planalytics.com

Edited by Stephen Heiser