Public Service Enterprise Group beats Q3 profit estimates on higher sales

Public Service Enterprise

04/11/2024 14:17

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Public Service Enterprise Group
 PEG.N  beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on
Monday, as the electric and gas utility benefited from growth in
distribution margins and higher retail sales. 
    U.S. electric firms are seeking to raise customer power
bills to fund infrastructure upgrades, as the country's electric
and gas grids face extreme weather conditions such as
hurricanes, storms and wildfires, and increased demand from
industrial consumers like data centers.
    Public Service Enterprise reached a settlement for its base
electric and gas distribution rate case with the New Jersey
Board of Public Utilities (BPU), with an effective date of Oct.
15, providing an additional $505 million in annual revenue.
    It narrowed its full-year adjusted profit forecast to
$3.64-$3.68 per share from its prior forecast of $3.60-$3.70 per
share. 
    The mid-point of the new forecast matches analyst
expectations of annual profit $3.66 per share.
    The utility provides electric and gas services to about 4.3
million customers across New Jersey. It also operates
nuclear-generating assets through its PSEG Power segment.
    Its electricity and natural gas distribution segment posted
a 7% rise in operating revenue from a year earlier to $2.14
billion.
    Public Service Enterprise's retail sales rose 2% from a year
earlier, largely led by an uptick in residential sales. 
    The Newark, New Jersey-based company posted an adjusted
profit of 90 cents per share in the third quarter, compared with
analysts' estimates of 87 cents, according to data compiled by
LSEG.

 (Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna
Chandra Eluri)
 ((Pooja.Menon@thomsonreuters.com;))