New Haven-based Avangrid Inc. more than doubled its fourth-quarter profits, reflecting stable growth following the merger of Iberdrola USA and UIL Holdings Corp. the year before.
In the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016, net income for the newly formed utility rose to $207 million, or 67 cents a share, compared to $96 million, or 37 cents a share in the year-ago period.
For the year, net income also more than doubled to $630 million, or $2.04 a share, compared to $267 million, or $1.05 a share in 2015.
As a result of the 2015 merger, the utility today is comprised of Avangrid Networks, which includes eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving 3.1 million customers in New York and New England, and Avangrid Renewables, which operates 6.3 gigawatts of electricity capacity, primarily through wind power, in states across the U.S.
James P. Torgerson, Avangrid’s CEO, said integration of the two companies contributed to company growth, along with execution of a regulatory strategy using further investments, rate base growth and constructive rate agreements.
“ … 2016 was clearly a very productive first year,” said Torgerson. “Our financial performance and cash flow significantly improved in 2016 helping us to fund our growth strategy as we invested $1.9 billion of capital in [both divisions] in 2016.”
