Utility parent Eversource grew its profits by 8% in the final quarter of 2019, thanks to higher revenue and lower expenses.
Profits for the three months ended Dec. 31 totaled $250 million, or 76 cents per diluted share, up from $231.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Revenue increased to $2.05 billion, up from $2.03 billion.
The results, released after markets closed Wednesday, fell short of analyst consensus compiled by Zacks Investment Research. Eversource shares were trading at $94.30 in pre-market trading Thursday, down about half-a-percent from Wednesday’s closing price.
The recent quarter was the second consecutive quarter of year-over-year gains for the Hartford/Boston-based electricity, natural gas and water company, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the cost of its failed Northern Pass transmission project last summer. The now abandoned proposal to build a 192-mile transmission line to bring hydropower from Canada to the region resulted in a $204-million impairment charge in the second quarter.
That dragged down full-year profits, which fell from $1.03 billion, or $325 per diluted share, in 2018, to $909.1 million, or $2.81 per share, in 2019.
For 2020, Eversource is projecting earnings per share between $3.60 and $3.70.
