OGE Energy Corp. (OGE) reported fourth-quarter earnings of 29 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 27 cents by 7.4%. Reported earnings were, however, flat year over year.
2014 earnings came in at $1.98 per share, higher than the year-ago number by 2.1%.
Total Revenue
OGE Energy’s operating revenues of $526.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 were on par with the Street expectation. Operating revenues increased 3.4% from the prior-year figure of $508.9 million.
Total operating revenues in 2014 were $2,453.1 million, down 14.5% from $2,867.7 million in 2013.
Operational Highlights
Total sales in the reported quarter were 6.8 million megawatt-hour (MWH) compared with 6.9 million MWH in the prior-year quarter. The decline was due to lower system sales. The company’s customer count increased by roughly 1% over the prior year.
Cost of sales in the reported quarter was $237 million, up 2% year over year.
Total operating expenses in the quarter under review increased 0.4% year over year to $204.1 million. Lower operation and maintenance expenses were partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization expenses. Operating income increased 16.1% to $85.1 million from the year-ago figure of $73.3 million.
Interest expenses were $35.9 million in the reported quarter compared with $35.3 million a year ago.
Other Highlights of the Release
OGE Energy reported a net income of $396 million in 2014, up 2.1% from the prior-year figure of $388 million.
OG&E reported net income of $292 million in 2014, down from $293 million in the prior year. The decline mainly resulted from higher operating and interest expenses, and a milder weather. This was partially offset by higher revenues from new customer additions.
Natural Gas Midstream Operations’ net income of $102 million in 2014 was higher than the prior-year figure of $100 million.
Guidance
OGE Energy expects 2015 earnings to be $1.76 to $1.89 per share.
OG&E, the regulated utility, is expected to earn $1.41 to $1.49 per share in 2015.
Other Peer Releases
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) reported adjusted fourth-quarter 2014 earnings of 34 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 26 cents by 30.8%.
PG&E Corp.’s (PCG) adjusted operating earnings per share of 53 cents in the fourth quarter of 2014 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 54 cents.
Edison International (EIX) reported solid fourth-quarter 2014 results with adjusted earnings of $1.06 per share coming in ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 84 cents by an impressive 26.2%. The quarterly number also rose 30.9% from the year-ago figure of 79 cents per share.
Zacks Rank
OGE Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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