Net income up for Unitil Corp. in 2014
Annual net income increased 14 percent for New Hampshire-based power company Unitil Corp., driven by higher natural gas and electric sales, according to an earnings statement released Wednesday.
Unitil, the utility company for residents and businesses in Fitchburg, Ashby, Lunenburg and Townsend, reported net income of $24.7 million for the year ended Dec. 31—an increase of $3.1 million over 2013. Net income for the fourth quarter declined, meanwhile, to $9.4 million, compared with $10.3 million in 2013, though sales were up overall.
The company reported $216.2 million in natural gas sales in 2014, compared with about $200 million in 2013. For the quarter, natural gas sales totaled $52.8 million, down slightly from $53.7 million in 2013. But electricity sales rose 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter to $392.2 million, compared with $387.1 million a year earlier. And for the year, electricity sales increased .6 percent to $1.67 billion, compared with $1.66 billion in 2013.
Unitil CEO Robert Schoenberger pointed to continued growth of the company’s natural gas business and the completion of recent gas and electric rate cases, which allowed the company to increase its rates, in the company’s “strong financial results” in 2014.
“As we look forward to 2015, the continued expansion of our natural gas utility business and investments in the company’s gas and electric distribution infrastructure will provide a strong foundation for sustained future growth,” Schoenberger said in a statement.
The Unitil Board of Directors voted to raise the quarterly dividend for shareholders to 35 cents per share, for an annual dividend rate of $1.40. Quarterly earnings declined to 69 cents per share, compared with 75 cents in 2013, while annual earnings per share rose to $1.79, compared with $1.57 a year earlier.
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