PPL Posts Slight Decline In 1st-quarter Profit

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — PPL Corp., an energy and utility holding company, said Friday its first-quarter profit fell just over 7 percent, but adjusted earnings beat Wall Street expectations and the company reaffirmed a 2009 earnings outlook in line with analysts' forecast.

Quarterly income fell to $241 million, or 64 cents per share, from $260 million, or 69 cents per share, during the prior-year period. The company said the decline was driven primarily by less favorable U.K. currency exchange rates and lower wholesale energy margins in the U.S.

Excluding one-time items, PPL's first-quarter earnings totaled 60 cents per share — beating the 46 cents-per-share average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts typically exclude one-time items. ...