MILWAUKEE, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Wisconsin Energy (NYSE:WEC) reported net income from continuing operations of $70.8 million or 60 cents per share for the third quarter of 2006. This compares with net income from continuing operations of $65.8 million or 56 cents per share in the third quarter of 2005.
While electric sales were down in part because of milder summer weather, the company benefited from continued cost controls, favorable collection of fuel costs and stronger gas margins.
Residential use of electricity was down 1.7 percent in this year’s third quarter. Usage by residential customers was also down 3.6 percent in the first nine months of 2006.
Consumption of electricity by small commercial and industrial customers was down 1.8 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, in the third quarter and first nine months of 2006.
Usage of electricity by large commercial and industrial customers was down 7.5 percent in the third quarter and down 4.3 percent in the first nine months of 2006. This decline was due, in part, to planned outages at facilities of our two largest industrial customers during September. Excluding the impact of these outages, sales of electricity to large commercial and industrial customers were down 2.9 percent in the third quarter and 1.6 percent in the first nine months of 2006.
On July 31, the company set a new all-time demand record of 6,505 MW as a summer heat wave blanketed the region.
Third quarter 2006 revenues from continuing operations were $839.8 million compared with $797.3 million in the third quarter last year.
“We posted solid financial results in the first nine months of this year,” said Gale Klappa, Wisconsin Energy’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “And our focus remains on generating high levels of customer satisfaction and world-class reliability at competitive prices.”
Earnings per share listed in this news release are on a fully diluted basis.
