KANSAS CITY, Mo.-
Aquila Inc. said Tuesday its first-quarter loss widened sharply from a combination of unexpected plant shutdowns and lower profits from units it has since sold.
The Kansas City-based utility, which serves 900,000 electric and gas customers in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado and Nebraska, reported losing $24.3 million, or 6 cents per share, during the January-March quarter. It lost $1.1. million, or broke even, in the same period a year ago.
Measuring just those operations the company has not yet sold, the company said it lost $27.2 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with a loss of $17.6 million, or 5 cents per share, during the year-ago period.
Revenues during the quarter rose 3.1 percent from $431 million to $444.2 million.
The company’s continuing electric utilities earned $6.2 million before taxes, compared with $23.6 million during the year ago quarter, a decline the company blamed on having to buy power at higher prices and rely more on expensive natural gas for fuel after three of its plants were shut down during a colder than normal February. Aquila said it also lost power from a contract it has with the Nebraska Public Power District.
“We continue to show strong operational performance within the utility,” Richard Green, the company’s chief executive and chairman, told analysts during a conference call. “However, fuel and purchased power costs continue to pressure out Missouri electric operations. In this quarter, the pressure was exagerated.”
Aquila’s natural gas continuing operations earned $29.1 million before taxes, an improvement from $25.1 million during the same period a year ago.
Discontinued operations, which include the company’s gas businesses in Missouri, Michigan and Minnesota and its former Everest Connections telecommunications company, earned $2.9 million, or 1 cent per share, during the quarter, compared with $16.5 million, or 5 cents per share a year ago.
Aquila announced in February that it plans to sell its remaining assets to Great Plains Energy Inc. and Black Hills Corp. in separate transactions for more than $2.6 billion in cash and stock and the assumption of $1 billion in debt.
Shareholders, many of whom have expressed opposition to the sale, are expected to vote on the plan in late July or early August.
The company hasn’t issued guidance for the fiscal year. But it did share estimates it used during negotiations with Great Plains and Black Hills, expecting the company to see $375 million in earnings before taxes and other expenses in 2007.
Beth Armstrong, Aquila’s chief accounting officer, told analysts Tuesday that the company would likely miss that estimate but could make up some of the lost ground when regulators rule on several of its requests for rate increases later this year.
Aquila shares, which have traded in a 52-week range of $3.92 to $4.86, lost a penny to $4.20 in trading Tuesday.
