SO Southern Co

By Anne Steele 

Southern Co. posted a sharp decline in profit in the final quarter of the year despite a surge in revenue powered by acquisitions.

Southern said earnings were helped by retail revenue at its traditional electric operating companies and weather-related revenue impacts, but offset by higher operations and maintenance costs, increased share issuances and lower customer usage.

Total electricity sales volume increased 6.2% with retail electricity sales climbing 1.7%. Wholesale volume grew 31%.

Chief Executive Thomas Fanning pointed to the acquisitions of Southern Company Gas, PowerSecure and a 50% stake in Southern Natural Gas as having "served to lengthen and strengthen" the business.

In all, Southern reported a profit of $197 million, or 20 cents a share, down from $271 million, or 30 cents, a year prior. Excluding certain items, adjusted per-share earnings fell to 24 cents from 44 cents, well below the 33 cents analysts were looking for. Operating revenue rose 45% to $5.18 billion, easily topping the average analyst estimate for $4.42 billion with a $1.11 billion contribution from Southern Company Gas.

Shares in the company, inactive premarket, have risen 1.9% so far this

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 22, 2017 08:22 ET (13:22 GMT)

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