CALGARY, Alberta, July 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

TransAlta Corporation (TransAlta or the Company) (TSX: TA) (NYSE: TAC) today reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.

“TransAlta delivered strong operational performance across our portfolio in the second quarter, underlining our ability to generate reliable free cash flow from our diversified fleet despite a challenging Alberta market and reduced market volatility," said Joel Hunter, President and Chief Executive Officer of TransAlta.

"Our Alberta portfolio's hedging strategy and active optimization continued to generate realized prices well above spot prices, while environmental credits generated by our hydro and wind assets significantly offset our merchant gas fleet's carbon price compliance obligation. Our assets have performed well in the first half of the year, and we remain confident in our 2026 Outlook," added Mr. Hunter.

"This quarter, we realigned our executive team and I am confident that we have the right people and structure to execute our strategy. I am also very pleased with the continued advancement of our strategic priorities within the quarter, including the Centralia coal-to-gas conversion and our acquisition of new, high-quality, long-term contracted assets in Colorado. In Alberta, positive recent developments reinforce the momentum and collective commitment across government and industry to develop AI infrastructure and I am pleased with the continued progress on our project with CPP Investments and Brookfield," concluded Mr. Hunter.

Second Quarter 2026 Highlights

• Operational availability of 90.2 per cent in 2026, compared to 91.6 per cent in 2025
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $291 million, compared to $349 million for the same period in 2025
• Free cash flow (FCF)⁽¹⁾ of $143 million, or $0.47 per share, compared to $177 million, or $0.60 per share, for the same period in 2025
• Adjusted earnings before income taxes⁽¹⁾ of $105 million, compared to $122 million, for the same period in 2025
• Cash flow from operating activities of $62 million, or $0.21 per share, compared to $157 million, or $0.53 per share, for the same period in 2025
• Net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $35 million, or $0.12 per share, compared to a net loss of $112 million, or $0.38 per share, for the same period in 2025

1. IFRS financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2025 include the results attributable to Poplar Hill and Rainbow Lake facilities (collectively, the Required Divestitures), which the Company divested in accordance with a consent agreement entered into with the Commissioner of Competition for Canada. Our non-IFRS measures and operational Key Performance Indicators exclude the results of the Required Divestitures.
2. These are non-IFRS measures and ratios, which are not defined and have no standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Refer to the "Segmented Financial Performance and Operating Results by Geographic Location" section of this news release for further discussion of these items. Also, refer to the "Non-IFRS and Supplementary Financial Measures" section of this news release for more information regarding these non-IFRS measures and ratios, including, where applicable, reconciliations to measures calculated in accordance with IFRS.
3. Adjusted net earnings attributable to common shareholders per share, funds from operations (FFO) per share and free cash flow (FCF) per share are calculated using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Refer to the "Non-IFRS and Supplementary Financial Measures" section of this news release for more information regarding these non-?IFRS measures and ratios.
4. Net earnings (loss) attributable to common shareholders and Adjusted Net Earnings Attributable to Common Shareholders used in calculating net earnings (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders and Adjusted Net Earnings Attributable to Common Shareholders per share reflect the cumulative preferred share dividend entitlement required for the current period.
5. Represents a supplementary financial measure and is calculated as Cash flow from operating activities for the period divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period.

Significant and Subsequent Events

Centralia Unit 2 Mandated to Remain Available for additional 90 days

On June 12, 2026, the Company received another order from the U.S. Department of Energy (the Order) requiring that our 700 MW Centralia Unit 2 facility (Facility) remain available for operation for an additional period of 90 days, until September 12, 2026. As previously communicated, the Company has been subject to the Order from the U.S. Department of Energy since December 16, 2025. The Company is currently compliant with the Order and continues to work with the state and federal governments in relation thereto. The facility had no generation during the six months ended June 30, 2026.

Acquisition of Mountain Peak Power and Canyon Peak Power and associated public offering of common shares

On June 3, 2026, the Company announced that it had entered into an agreement with an indirect subsidiary of Blackstone, Inc., to acquire Mountain Peak Power and Canyon Peak Power, two fully contracted natural gas-fired peaking facilities totaling 318 MW near Denver, Colorado (the Acquisition). The purchase price for the Acquisition is US$1 billion, including the assumption of US$750 million of project debt.

On June 9, 2026 the Company closed a public offering of 18,230,000 common shares at a price of $19.20 per share through a syndicate of underwriters, for total gross proceeds of approximately $350 million, which will be used to fund the cash portion of the purchase price for the Acquisition. The proceeds received in advance of the Acquisition were partially used to repay the drawn amounts under the syndicated credit facility.

The Acquisition is subject to Canyon Peak Power achieving commercial in-service as well as customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals. The Acquisition is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Executive Team Changes

John Kousinioris, President and Chief Executive Officer and a Director of TransAlta, retired on April 30, 2026. Joel Hunter, TransAlta's Executive Vice President, Finance and CFO, succeeded Mr. Kousinioris as President and Chief Executive Officer effective April 30, 2026. Mr. Hunter was also elected to the Board of Directors at the Corporation's annual shareholder meeting on April 30, 2026.

Mike Politeski was appointed Executive Vice President, Finance and CFO, effective May 1, 2026 and Grant Arnold was appointed Executive Vice President, Growth and Chief Commercial Officer, effective May 6, 2026. Nancy Brennan, who previously held the position of Executive Vice President, Legal and External Affairs, was appointed Chief Legal, People and Corporate Affairs Officer, effective June 8, 2026. Chris Fralick, who previously held the position of Executive Vice President, Generation was appointed Executive Vice President, Generation and Chief Operating Officer, effective June 8, 2026.

Mothballing of Sheerness Unit 1

On April 1, 2026, the Company mothballed Sheerness Unit 1. The Company initially provided notice to the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) on December 18, 2025, that Sheerness Unit 1 would be mothballed on April 1, 2026, for a period of up to two years. The Company maintains the flexibility to return the mothballed unit to service when market fundamentals improve or contracting opportunities are secured.

Conference call and webcast

TransAlta will host a conference call and webcast at 9:00 a.m. MDT (11:00 a.m. EDT) today, July 31, 2026, to discuss our second quarter 2026 results. The call will begin with comments from Joel Hunter, President and Chief Executive Officer and Mike Politeski, EVP, Finance & Chief Financial Officer, followed by a question and answer period.

Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call
Webcast link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/k43sno5h

To access the conference call via telephone, please register ahead of time using the call link here: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIf87bf81b4ea347a6ac0b52f7d7c89586. Once registered, participants will have the option of 1) dialing into the call from their phone (via a personalized PIN); or 2) clicking the “Call Me” option to receive an automated call directly to their phone.

If you are unable to participate in the call, the replay will be accessible at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/k43sno5h. A transcript of the broadcast will be posted on TransAlta’s website once it becomes available.

TransAlta is in the process of filing its unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes, and the associated Management’s Discussion & Analysis (MD&A). These documents will be available today on the Investors section of TransAlta’s website at www.transalta.com or through SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.

About TransAlta Corporation:

TransAlta is one of Canada’s largest publicly traded power generators, delivering reliable electricity across Canada, the United States and Western Australia. For more than 115 years, our people have safely operated and evolved essential energy infrastructure that powers customers and communities. Our technology-diverse portfolio and disciplined execution allow us to deliver dependable power across evolving energy systems. We take a practical, responsible approach to meeting today’s energy needs while building for what comes next.

For more information about TransAlta, visit our website at transalta.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes "forward-looking information," within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, and "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of applicable United States securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are not facts, but only predictions and generally can be identified by the use of statements that include phrases such as "may", "will", "believe", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "forecast", "continue" or other similar words. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements about the timing of the closing of the Acquisition (as defined herein).

Forward-looking statements and future-oriented financial information in this news release are intended to provide the reader information about management's current expectations and plans and readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are subject to important risks and uncertainties and are based on certain key assumptions. All forward-looking statements reflect TransAlta's beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statements were made and as such are not guarantees of future performance. As actual results could vary significantly from the forward-looking statements, you should not put undue reliance on forward-looking statements and should not use future-oriented information or financial outlooks for anything other than their intended purpose. We do not update our forward-looking statements due to new information or future events, unless we are required to by law. For additional information on the assumptions made, and the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from the anticipated results, refer to our most recent MD&A, which forms part of this news release, and the 2025 Annual Report, including the section titled "Governance and Risk Management" in our MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed under TransAlta's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov

Non-IFRS and Supplementary Financial Measures

This news release contains references to the following Non-IFRS measures: Adjusted EBITDA; Free Cash Flow (FCF) (including per share); Adjusted earnings before income taxes; Adjusted net earnings attributable to common shareholders (including per share); Funds from operations (FFO) (including per share); Non-IFRS measures do not have standardized meanings under IFRS and are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and should not be viewed in isolation from, as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, our IFRS results. We use these measures to evaluate our performance and the performance of our business segments and believe that these measures, read together with our IFRS measures, provide readers with a better understanding of how management assesses results. Presenting these measures from period to period provides management and investors with the ability to evaluate earnings trends more readily in comparison to prior periods' results. These measures are calculated by adjusting certain IFRS measures for certain items we believe are not reflective of our ongoing operations in a period and are calculated on a consistent basis from period to period and are adjusted for specific items in each period, unless stated otherwise. Refer to the Non-IFRS and Supplementary Measures section of our most recent MD&A, which forms part of this news release, for more information about these measures including, where applicable, reconciliations to measures calculated in accordance with IFRS.

Note: All financial figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

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