Xcel Energy Earnings: Two Quarters in a Row of Rising Profit

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Xcel Energy Inc (NYSE:XEL) reported net income above Wall Street’s expectations for the third quarter. Xcel Energy is a holding company that is engaged in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity and natural gas.

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Xcel Energy Inc Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for the utility-electric power rose to $398.1 million (81 cents per share) vs. $338.3 million (69 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 17.7% from the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Fell 3.8% to $2.72 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Xcel Energy Inc beat the mean analyst estimate of 72 cents per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $2.72 billion.

Quoting Management: “We experienced a solid quarter, with earnings increasing mainly due to both our continued system investments that provide long-term value to our customers and timely cost recovery,” said Ben Fowke, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our third quarter 2012 results also benefited from hot summer weather, although we experienced similar weather in 2011, it was not a variance driver in the period over period quarterly comparison.”

Key Stats:

For three consecutive quarters, the company has topped analyst estimates. It beat the mark by 3 cents in the second quarter and by one cent in the first quarter.

Revenue has fallen for the past three quarters. In the second quarter, revenue declined 6.7% to $2.27 billion while the figure fell 8.5% in the first quarter from the year earlier.

Net income has increased 6.9% year-over-year on average across the last five quarters. The biggest gain came in the most recent quarter, when income climbed 17.7% from the year-earlier quarter.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly negative about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the fourth quarter has moved down from 33 cents a share to 32 cents over the last ninety days. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has been unchanged at $1.78 a share.

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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