MT. AIRY, N.C., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pike Electric Corporation (NYSE: PEC) today announced the results for its fiscal fourth quarter and year ended June 30, 2008.

Fiscal 2008 Fourth Quarter Results

Total revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 were $137.8 million, compared to $144.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Core powerline revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 were $123.9 million, as compared to $136.6 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Core powerline revenue per billable hour increased 5.8% year over year, reflecting more favorable pricing from contract renegotiations and improved productivity of the existing workforce. Core powerline billable hours decreased 14.4% year over year in the quarter. The decrease in hours is primarily due to reduced demand for underground distribution services in our service territory. Storm restoration revenues totaled $13.9 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, compared to $7.7 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 was $23.2 million, or 16.8% of revenue, compared to $25.6 million or 17.8% of revenue, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. The margins generated by increased storm restoration revenues were more than offset by higher fuel prices.

General and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 were $10.5 million, or 7.6% of revenue, compared to $11.8 million, or 8.2% of revenue, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. This decrease is primarily related to lower legal expenses. Interest expense decreased 45.9% to $2.4 million compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 primarily due to lower debt balances.

Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 totaled $5.6 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, compared to net income of $5.6 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

'We have successfully maintained our focus on operational efficiency, improving the quality and productivity of our workforce and building our customer relationships while driving cash flow and paying down debt,' stated J. Eric Pike, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pike Electric. 'While we expect distribution spending in our service territory to remain under pressure in fiscal 2009, our actions in recent quarters positioned us to pursue the acquisition of EDS that will enable us to diversify our business and capitalize on growth in other segments of the electrical transmission and distribution market.'

'Although the electrical distribution business remains our core business and will always be a highly critical component of the electrical grid, we are excited to expand our geographic presence and diversify our service offerings through our recently completed acquisition of EDS,' continued Mr. Pike. 'Our ability to now offer a full range of engineering and design services in addition to new substation construction capabilities will enable us to capture business outside of our core market, including the solar and wind energy markets. Looking ahead, we plan to leverage our geographic footprint and transmission and distribution expertise to help meet our customers' needs as they work to provide renewable energy solutions and invest in electrical infrastructure.'

Fiscal 2008 Full Year Results

Total revenues for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008 were $552.0 million, as compared to $596.8 million for fiscal year ended June 30, 2007. Core powerline revenues were $502.6 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, as compared to $543.6 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2007, as a 6.4% increase in core powerline revenue per billable hour was offset by the 13.6% decline in core powerline billable hours. Our revenues were impacted by our decision to exit certain accounts in fiscal 2007. These accounts represented approximately $23.0 million in core revenues for the 2007 fiscal year.