By Robb M. Stewart


Canadian utility Fortis logged a rise in earnings for the latest quarter thanks to new cost-of-capital parameters approved for its British Columbia operations and increased retail revenue in Arizona with warmer weather and new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.

The holding company, which has electricity and natural gas operations in North America and the Caribbean, recorded an increase in third-quarter net earnings to 394 million Canadian dollars ($284.9 million), or C$0.81 a share, from C$326, or C$0.68, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, excluding the impact of mark-to-market accounting of natural gas derivatives at the Aitken Creek storage facility in British Columbia, per-share earnings rose to C$0.84, beating the C$0.81 mean forecast of 11 analysts polled by FactSet.

Fortis said its earnings for the quarter were further supported by a higher U.S.-to-Canadian dollar exchange rate, as well as higher earnings at its Aitken Creek storage business, though earnings were tempered by lower long-term wholesale and transmission revenue and higher operating and corporate finance costs.

Fortis in May agreed to sell the Aitken Creek underground natural gas storage facility in western Canada to Enbridge for roughly C$400 million.

The company said it its C$4.3 billion capital plans for the year remain on track, with C$3 billion invested through September. Fortis intends to invest C$25 billion from 2024 through 2028, C$2.7 billion more than with its previous five-year plan, driven largely by regional transmission projects and investments in Arizona.


Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-27-23 0644ET