El Paso Energy Tops Analysts' Estimates

Earnings Scorecard
Actual	Estimated*	Year-Ago
$0.73	$0.67	$0.48

El Paso Energy (EPG Quote) reported fourth-quarter earnings today that beat Wall Street's slightly raised estimate by 6 cents.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, El Paso Energy earned $127 million, or 73 cents a diluted share, excluding special items. The power and gas company reported earnings of 48 cents a share in the same period one year ago. Sixteen analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to earn 67 cents a share in the latest period.

El Paso Energy, which is based in Houston, also posted fourth-quarter revenue of $7.5 billion, up from $2.5 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

Share of El Paso Energy rose 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $63.19 in recent New York Stock Exchange trading.