Utility Ameren Corp posts fall in fourth-quarter profit

Ameren

22/02/2024 22:26

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Ameren Corp  AEE.N  posted a fall in
fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as the utility firm was hit
by lower demand for electricity and natural gas.
    The St. Louis, Missouri-based company forecast 2024 earnings
between $4.52 and $4.72 per share, the mid-point of which is
above analysts' estimates of $4.57 per share, according to LSEG.
        Demand for electricity and natural gas usually shoots up
in the winter months, but milder-than-expected temperatures
during the reporting period weighed on the utility.
    Electric revenues fell 16% to $1.34 billion during the
reported quarter, while natural gas revenues fell about 37% to
$275 million.
        Higher interest charges also dented Ameren's profits as
they rose to $153 million in the fourth-quarter, from $130
million, a year earlier.
        The U.S. utility serves 2.4 million electric customers
and about 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile
area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois
rate-regulated utility subsidiaries.
        Ameren's net income dropped to $158 million, or 60 cents
per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $163 million, or
63 cents per share, a year earlier.
    
    

 (Reporting by Roshia Sabu and Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
 ((Srivastava.Vallari@thomsonreuters.com;))