Energy and Utility company PPL Corp. (NYSE:PPL) is expected to report lower earnings when it reports its fourth quarter results on Feb.10.
Wall Street expects the company to earn 62 cents a share on revenue of $3.04 billion, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The earnings estimate is 25 percent lower than the 83 cents it reported in the fourth quarter of 2010.
In the past three quarters, PPL earnings have managed to beat Street expectations twice and the analysts' expectations have increased from 61 cents to 62 cents.
However, the revenue projection is 63.2 percent higher than last year when it generated $1.86 billion in revenue.
In the third quarter of 2011, PPL earned $444 million, or 76 cents a share, up from $248 million, or 51 cents a share, a year ago. The company's earnings topped Street consensus by 6 cents. Revenues advanced 43 percent to $3.12 billion and topped consensus estimate of $2.96 billion.
PPL's shift to a more regulated business portfolio allows the company to perform well in the current economic environment, while the competitive supply business also preserves a substantial upside potential when wholesale electricity prices recover.
Among the competitors, Exelon Corp. (NYSE:EXC) reported fourth-quarter net income of $606 million or 91 cents a share, higher than $524 million or 79 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Excluding items, the company earned 82 cents.Operating revenues for the quarter dropped to $4.251 billion from $4.494 billion last year. Analysts expected earnings of 88 cents a share on revenue of $4.80 billion.
During the Nov.9, 2011 to Feb.8 2012 period, shares of PPL fell 7 percent. For the past 52-weeks, shares have been trading in the range of $24.10 to $30.27.
Shares of PPL were down 13 cents in the Thursday late morning session to $27.65 on the New York Stock Exchange.