Allegheny Energy 4Q profit boosted by cheaper fuel

posted: 4 DAYS 16 HOURS AGO

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GREENSBURG, Pa. -Allegheny Energy Inc., an electricity and natural gas provider, said Friday its fourth-quarter profit jumped as fuel costs dropped and revenue rose on more third-party sales and higher generation rates.

The company also credited a rise in revenue from transmission expansions and power hedges.

For the October-December period, Allegheny posted earnings of $109.3 million, or 64 cents a share. The year-ago quarter saw profit of $16.2 million, or 10 cents a share, which reflected a one-time $116 million loss.

The most recent results included a $13.4 million pretax interest expense related to a debt tender offer and a pretax gain of $7.9 million from hedges.

Excluding the one-time items, Allegheny's adjusted net income was $112.7 million, or 66 cents a share.

Revenue rose 22 percent to $861.1 million from $707.8 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast, on average, earnings of 50 cents a share on revenue of $912.7 million. These estimates typically exclude one-time items.

For the year, Allegheny reported a profit of $392.8 million, or $2.31 a share, compared with $395.4 million, or $2.33 a share. Revenue rose to $3.43 billion from $3.39 billion a year ago.

"In 2009, we remained solidly profitable, despite difficult economic conditions," Paul J. Evanson, chairman president and CEO, said in a statement. "Looking forward, we believe we are well positioned to benefit from economic recovery."

Shares of Allegheny Energy rose 55 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $21.04 in afternoon trading.

2010-02-05 14:05:57