CenterPoint 3Q profit up on more power customers

HOUSTON - CenterPoint Energy Inc. said Wednesday more customers and greater energy usage drove third-quarter earnings up 49 percent to top Wall Street expectations by a wide margin.

Net income advanced to $136 million, or 39 cents per share, from $91 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose to $2.52 billion from $1.88 billion last year.

The results easily beat estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who expected profit of 21 cents per share on revenue of $2.10 billion.

"Strong results in our field services and competitive natural gas businesses helped offset the loss of revenue from Hurricane Ike,"' said David M. McClanahan, president and chief executive, in a statement.

The company said it lost about $17 million in revenue when a hurricane knocked out power to about 90 percent of its customers in September. It added 42,000 metered customers year-over-year and recorded increased power consumption.

CenterPoint shares rose 73 cents, or 6 percent, to $12.39 in morning trading. In the past year, the stock has ranged from $8.48 to $18.63. The company delivers electricity and natural gas to more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.