Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.'s (PEG) first-quarter
profit rose 7.1% as its electric-and-gas business's profit
increased, but adjusted earnings declined.
"We are managing well in difficult market conditions," said
Chairman and Chief Executive Ralph Izzo. He also noted that
"although there are signs of economic recovery, a decline in
contracted energy and capacity prices from year-ago levels
beginning in the second quarter will have an impact on operating
earnings for the full year." The company reiterated its full-year
earnings forecast.
New Jersey's largest utility has seen continued pressure because
of stagnant demand. It also faces pressure in coming years after
New Jersey enacted a series of long-term incentives to build
natural gas power plants as the state looked to lower electricity
rates.
The company has also been involved in an ongoing battle over the
storage of nuclear waste. It joined more than a dozen power
companies in suing the Energy Department in March to try to suspend
annual fees the companies would pay for nuclear waste storage.
Meanwhile, New Jersey has sought to join a multistate challenge
that would limit how long shuttered nuclear power plants can store
waste on site. PSEG owns and operates several nuclear power plants
in the southern part of the state.
PSEG posted a profit of $526 million, or $1.04 a share, up from
$491 million, or 97 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding the
effects from hedging and other items, per-share operating earnings
were 85 cents, down from 87 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson
Reuters expected earnings of 77 cents.
PSEG Power, the company's largest unit by earnings, posted a 14%
lower profit. The company's electric and gas business saw profit of
$163 million, up from $117 million, helped by higher rates.
Shares closed Wednesday at $32.34 and were inactive premarket.
The stock has risen 1.7% so far this year.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855;
nathan.becker@dowjones.com