Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Energy Corp. today reported third quarter net income of $126.3 million, or 56 cents per share, down from $137.5 million, or 60 cents per share, in the third quarter of 2013.
Operating revenues at the utility were $1 billion, down from $1.1 billion in the same period a year ago.
The company attributed the decline to costs incurred by the ongoing acquisition of Integrys Energy and a cooler summer. Residential electricity use declined by 7.9 percent from the third quarter of 2013, while consumption by small commercial and industrial users was down 1.4 percent and large commercial and industrial usage was about flat.
“Despite a very cool summer — with the high temperature in Milwaukee never reaching 90 degrees — we delivered solid results,” said Gale Klappa, chairman and chief executive officer. “Our focus on financial discipline and industry leading reliability continued to serve us well,” Klappa added. “We also saw signs of a slightly stronger economy across the region as Wisconsin’s unemployment rate dipped to 5.5 percent.”
