By Rob Curran


Southern Co. posted a 31% increase in first-quarter net income as rising electricity prices offset a down-tick in demand.

The Atlanta company, which operates utilities in several Southeastern states, posted first-quarter earnings of $1.13 billion, or $1.03 a share, up from $862 million, or 79 cents a share, a year earlier.

Backing out certain one-off items, Southern Co. posted adjusted earnings of $1.03 a share, topping the mean analyst estimate of 90 cents a share, as tallied by FactSet.

First-quarter revenue rose 2.6% to $6.65 billion, surpassing the average Wall Street target of $6.56 billion, as provided by FactSet.

Electricity sales as measured by kilowatt hours fell 0.4% to 46.5 million kw hours, but Southern Co. benefited from higher retail electricity rates.

Southern Co. estimates its utilities serve nine million people in states including Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama.


Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-02-24 0808ET