OGE Energy (OGE) Q1 Earnings Meet Estimates, View Same

OGE Energy Corp. OGE reported first-quarter 2016 earnings of 13 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Reported earnings, however, plunged 40.9% year over year due to lower revenues and higher operating expenses.
 
Revenues

OGE Energy's operating revenues of $433.1 million in first-quarter 2016 declined 9.8% from the prior-year figure of $480.1 million.

Operational Highlights

Total sales in the reported quarter were 6.5 million megawatt-hours (MWh), down from 6.9 million MWh in the prior-year quarter. The decline was due to lower system sales. The company's customer count increased by 9,904 or 1.2%.

Cost of sales in the reported quarter was $177.9 million, down 15.9%.

Total operating expenses in the quarter under review increased 2.5% year over year to $217.3 million mainly due to higher operation and maintenance, and depreciation and amortization expenses. Operating income decreased 32.8% to $37.9 million from the year-ago figure of $56.4 million.

Interest expenses were $36.3 million in the reported quarter, down from $37.4 million a year ago.

Other Highlights of the Release

OGE Energy reported net income of $25 million in this quarter, down 41.9% from the prior-year figure of $43 million.

OG&E: OG&E's net income declined 64.7% year over year to $6 million in the quarter. The decrease was mainly due to lower gross margin.

Natural Gas Midstream Operations: This segment's net income was $18 million in the first quarter, down from $23 million a year ago due to lower commodity prices.

Guidance

OGE Energy has reaffirmed its 2016 consolidated earnings per share expectation in the range of $1.72–$1.83.

OG&E, the regulated utility, maintained its 2016 earnings projection in the range of $1.44–$1.50 per share.

Peer Releases

Edison International EIX reported first-quarter 2016 results, wherein adjusted earnings of 82 cents per share came in below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 89 cents by 7.9%. The quarterly number also declined 8.9% from 90 cents a year ago due to weak performance at Southern California Edison.

American Electric Power Co., Inc. AEP reported first-quarter 2016 operating earnings of $1.02 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.06 by 3.8%. Earnings also dropped 20.3% from the year-ago figure owing to an unseasonably warm winter that led to weak residential sales and low power prices.

CMS Energy CMS reported first-quarter 2016 adjusted earnings per share of 59 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents by 13.2%. Quarterly earnings also plunged 19.2% from the year-ago figure of 73 cents.

Zacks Rank

OGE Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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