Eversource Energy (ES) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) reported first-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 97 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 91 cents by 6.6%. The reported figure also improved 14.1% from the year-ago figure of 85 cents.

Total Revenues

First-quarter revenues of $2,415.8 million topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,339 million by 3.3% and increased from the year-ago figure of $2,287.9 million by 5.6%.

Highlights of the Release

Operating expenses increased 4.1% year over year to $1,921.1 million, primarily owing to higher expenses from purchased power, fuel and transmission, plus operation and maintenance costs.

Operating income was up 11.8% from the prior-year quarter to $494.7 million. Interest expenses increased 8.8% year over year to $131.7 million in the quarter.

Net income in the quarter under review was $308.7 million, up 14.5% from the year-ago level.

Segmental Performance

Electric Distribution: Earnings from this segment were up 15.3% from the prior-year quarter to $120.1 million. The upside was primarily attributable to higher distribution revenues, partially offset by the absence of New Hampshire generation earnings.

Electric Transmission: Earnings of the segment improved 10.1% year over year to $118.2 million. The improvement was due to Eversource Energy’s additional investment in the electric transmission system.

Natural Gas Distribution: This segment’s earnings were $76.5 million, up 32.4% from $57.8 million in the year-ago quarter. The segment’s impressive first-quarter results were primarily due to the timing of distribution revenues under the recently approved decoupling mechanism for Eversource’s Connecticut natural gas business.

Water Distribution: Earnings from this segment were $0.9 million compared with $1.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The decline was primarily due to higher pension costs.

Eversource Parent & Other Companies: The segment’s net loss was $7 million compared with the year-ago loss of $1.4 million.

Guidance

Eversource Energy reiterated its 2019 earnings guidance in the range of $3.40-$3.50 per share. The midpoint of management’s 2019 EPS guidance is $3.45, which is in line with the current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the period.

Zacks Rank

Eversource Energy currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Releases

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) reported first-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $2.20 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.01 by 9.4%.

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) reported first-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 67 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 66 cents by 1.52%.

American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE:AEP) reported first-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share of $1.19, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.10 by 8.2%.

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