Sempra cuts full-year earnings forecast but posts upbeat Q3
Nov 3 (Reuters) — Utility Sempra on Thursday topped estimates for quarterly profit on strength in its energy infrastructure business, but sharply lowered its full-year earnings forecast.
Sempra infrastructure, the company’s unit into building, operating and investing in the infrastructure critical for the clean energy transition, posted third-quarter earnings of $223 million, almost double of $114 million reported last year.
The segment got a boost from increasing global interest in lower emissions fuels, which have received a push under Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that provides incentives and credits for such projects.
However, the San Diego, California-based company cut its annual reported earnings (GAAP) forecast to the range of $4.44 per share to $4.74 per share, compared with its prior outlook of $8.78 to $9.38 per share.
Shares of the company were down 1.4% in premarket trading.
Earnings in the Sempra Texas utilities unit rose about 19% to $305 million as the segment benefited from the heatwave that hit parts of the U.S., including its key operating region Texas.
Warmer and colder weather in service areas benefits utility companies as it increases the demand for gas and electricity.
20,000 new premises were added to the company’s service territory during the quarter, Sempra said.
On an adjusted basis, U.S. power and gas utility Sempra reported per-share earnings of $1.08, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.01 per share, according to LSEG.
(Reporting by Roshia Sabu; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
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On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”