Profit increases for Sierra Pacific

Friday, Nov. 12, 1999 | 11:28 a.m.

Sierra Pacific Resources reported a net income increase of 4.4 percent for the quarter ending Sept. 30, a quarter marked by its merger with Nevada Power Co.

The Reno-based utility reported net income of $64.7 million, or 93 cents per share. On a per-share basis, earnings declined 23.1 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings were driven down by one-time non-cash charges of $9.8 million, or 14 cents per share, for the quarter. Revenues, meanwhile, rose 46.1 percent, to $478.8 million. The company said the revenue increases were caused by growth in the companies' service territories and rate increases, but these benefits were offset by a cooler-than-normal summer that decreased electricity demand.

"Compared to expectations, it's pretty much on target," said Ed Tirello, utilities analyst with Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown. "It's always hard to estimate the weather. It could've been substantially better if the weather had been hotter than hell."

The earnings represented three months of earnings from Las Vegas-based Nevada Power, but just two months of earnings from Sierra Pacific. For accounting purposes, the merger between the companies was treated as a purchase by Nevada Power of Sierra Pacific. In early afternoon trading, Sierra Pacific was at $19.44, down 38 cents.