Southern Co. said its fourth-quarter earnings rose 8.1% as the
electric-power company benefited from better weather patterns and
an increase in industrial and residential energy sales.
Chief Executive Thomas Fanning said the company saw stronger
economic growth in the second half of 2013 compared with the first
six months of the year, highlighted by an increase in industrial
activity, as well as continued improvement in housing markets.
Southern reported earnings of $414 million, up from $383 million
a year earlier. On a per-share basis, which reflects the payment of
preferred dividends, earnings rose to 47 cents from 44 cents.
Excluding items such as an after-tax charge and an insurance
recovery gain, adjusted earnings rose to 48 cents.
The company had previously forecast earnings of 44 cents a
share.
Revenue increased 6% to $3.93 billion, above estimates of
analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for $3.87 billion.
Total retail sales volume climbed 3.3% to $16.54 billion, as
increases in residential and industrial energy sales volume offset
a slight decline in commercial energy.
One of the largest U.S. utilities, Atlanta-based Southern's
results have been affected by charges to the Kemper County, Miss.,
clean coal power project in recent quarters.
Total shareholder charges for the plant had climbed to $1.14
billion for the plant as of October. The overall price tag for the
project--meant to showcase technology for generating clean
electricity from low-quality coal--was also raised in October by
$243 million to $5.24 billion, making it possibly the most
expensive fossil-fuel power plant ever built in the U.S.
Southern also pushed back the plant's expected completion date
to the end of 2014, replacing an earlier in-service date of May
2014.
Write to Everdeen Mason at everdeen.mason@wsj.com
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