Allegheny Energy 3Q Profit Falls 14 Percent

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Allegheny Energy Inc., an electricity and natural gas provider, on Thursday said its third-quarter earnings dropped 14 percent on interest and hedging charges.

The company also was hurt by weak economic conditions which continued to hamper demand for energy and pressured power prices. Additionally, planned outages at one of the company's power plants reduced operating revenues.

Quarterly earnings fell to $77 million, or 45 cents per share, from $89 million, or 52 cents per share, during the same period last year.

The latest quarter's results include $19.3 million in a one-time interest expense related to a debt tender offer and a hedging charge of $18.3 million. Excluding special charges, adjusted earnings were 59 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters projected profit of 53 cents per share. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.

Improved results in the company's regulated delivery and transmission business drove improvement in adjusted earnings.

Revenue declined 7 percent to $793.7 million from $849.6 million. Analysts forecast revenue of $952.1 million.

Shares of the company fell 70 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $24.32 in afternoon trading.