MILWAUKEE, WI (STL.News) WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) today reported net income of $266.8 million, or 84 cents per share, for the third quarter of 2020 — up from $234.3 million, or 74 cents per share, for last year’s third quarter.
For the first nine months of 2020, the company recorded net income of $960.9 million, or $3.04 per share — up from $890.1 million, or $2.81 per share, in the corresponding period a year ago.
Consolidated revenues totaled $1.7 billion for the third quarter of 2020 and $5.3 billion for the first nine months. Third-quarter revenues were up $43.0 million compared to the same quarter in 2019, while year-to-date revenues were down $267.3 million compared to the prior year.
“A rebound in economic activity, warmer summer weather and efficiency gains throughout our operations were the major factors shaping another strong quarter,” said Gale Klappa, executive chairman. “Our management team is resilient and focused on delivering value as we head into the closing months of a challenging year.”
Retail deliveries of electricity — excluding the iron ore mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — were down by 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2020, compared to the third quarter of 2019.
Residential electricity use rose by 7.1 percent.
Electricity consumption by small commercial and industrial customers declined by 2.5 percent. Electricity use by large commercial and industrial customers — excluding the iron ore mine — dropped by 5.4 percent during the third quarter of 2020.
On a weather-normal basis, retail deliveries of electricity during the third quarter of this year – excluding the iron ore mine — decreased by 1.5 percent.
At the end of September, the company was serving approximately 11,000 more electric customers and 32,000 more natural gas customers than at the same time a year ago.
In light of its strong performance, the company is narrowing and raising its earnings guidance for 2020 to a range of $3.74 to $3.76 per share with an expectation of reaching the top end of the range. This assumes normal weather for the remainder of the year. Previous guidance was in the range of $3.71 to $3.75 per share.
Earnings per share listed in this news release are on a fully diluted basis.
Conference call
A conference call is scheduled for 1 p.m. Central time, Tuesday, Nov. 3. The call will review 2020 third-quarter earnings and the company’s outlook for the future.
All interested parties, including stockholders, news media and the general public, are invited to listen. Access the call at 877-683-2228 up to 15 minutes before it begins. The number for international callers is 647-689-5446. The conference ID is 4494487.
Conference call access also is available at wecenergygroup.com. Under ‘Webcasts,’ select ‘Q3 Earnings.’ In conjunction with this earnings announcement, WEC Energy Group will post on its website a package of detailed financial information on its third-quarter performance. The materials will be available at 6:30 a.m. Central time, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Replay
A replay will be available on the website and by phone. Access to the webcast replay will be available on the website about two hours after the call. Access to a phone replay also will be available approximately two hours after the call and remain accessible through Nov. 17, 2020. Domestic callers should dial 800-585-8367. International callers should dial 416-621-4642. The replay conference ID is 4494487.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation’s premier energy companies, serving 4.5 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
The company’s principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources. Another major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants. In addition, WEC Infrastructure LLC owns a growing fleet of renewable generation facilities in the Midwest.
WEC Energy Group (wecenergygroup.com) is a Fortune 500 company and a component of the S&P 500. The company has approximately 45,000 stockholders of record, 7,500 employees and $35 billion of assets.
NOTE: this is NOT the complete release.
View complete release at: https://investor.wecenergygroup.com/investors/news-releases/press-release-details/2020/WEC-Energy-Group-reports-third-quarter-results/default.aspx