DTE Energy Q3 Profit Down 21%, Misses View; But Lifts 2014 Outlook

(RTTNews) - Electric and natural gas utility DTE Energy Co. (DTE) on Friday reported a 21 percent decline in profit for the third quarter from last year, reflecting lower earnings at its electric utility.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter missed analysts' expectations, while revenues beat their estimates. Looking ahead, the company raised its operating earnings outlook for fiscal 2014.

Detroit, Michigan-based DTE Energy's net earnings for the third quarter were $156 million or $0.88 per share, down from $198 million or $1.13 per share in the previous-year quarter.

Excluding non-recurring items, mark-to-market adjustments and discontinued operations, operating earnings for the quarter were $181 million or $1.02 per share, compared to $198 million or $1.13 per share in the same period last year.

On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.06 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Operating revenues for the quarter grew 9 percent to $2.60 billion from $2.39 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.47 billion for the quarter.

Operating expenses for the quarter increased 14 percent from the prior-year period to $2.36 billion.

Reported earnings at DTE Electric for the third quarter declined 25 percent from the year-ago period to $135 million.

Gerard Anderson, DTE Energy chairman and CEO said, "In our electric business, for the third year in a row, we experienced double the normal number of days with wind speeds above 40 m.p.h. This resulted in significant stress on our system - including the 4th largest storm outage event in our company's history."

Meanwhile, reported loss at DTE Gas for the quarter widened to $16 million from $13 million in the year-ago period. Total non-utility operations earnings edged down slightly from last year to $36 million.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2014, DTE Energy raised its operating earnings outlook to a range of $4.28 to $4.42 per share from the prior range of $4.20 to $4.40 per share. Analysts expect the company to earn $4.39 per share for the year.

Peter Oleksiak, DTE Energy senior vice president and chief financial officer, said, "We are on solid financial footing after nine months of the year, despite third quarter weather that included cool temperatures and a challenging number of severe storms. We are confident in raising operating earnings guidance from a mid-point of $4.30 to $4.35 for 2014."

DTE is trading at $80.22, up $0.22 or 0.28 percent on a volume of 161,055 shares.