PG&E 3Q profit rises 9 percent as revenue jumps

SAN FRANCISCO - Energy utility PG&E Corp. said Thursday its third-quarter profit rose 9 percent, though results fell shy of Wall Street's expectations.

For the period ended Sept. 30, the company posted net income of $304 million, or 83 cents per share, compared with $278 million, or 77 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $3.67 billion from $3.28 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, earnings of 86 cents per share on revenue of $3.54 billion. Analysts typically exclude one-time charges.

"Despite the challenges in the financial markets, we have had ongoing access to capital and over the past few weeks, we have placed more than $900 million of long-term debt, which can be used to fund capital expenditures," said Peter A. Darbee, chief executive, in a statement.

Operating expenses rose to $3.04 billion from $2.7 billion.

Shares fell $1.95, or 5.4 percent, to $34.35 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $26.67 and $47.61 in the past 52 weeks.

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