By Robb M. Stewart

Fortis logged a rise in earnings for the latest quarter, thanks to growth in the Canadian utility's rate base and new customer rates at its Central Hudson electric utility that kicked in from July.

The holding company, which has electricity and natural gas operations in North America and the Caribbean, recorded an increase in fourth-quarter net earnings to 396 million Canadian dollars ($279 million), or C$0.79 a share, from C$381 million, or C$0.78, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis to excluding items Fortis's management excludes in key decision making, per-share earnings came in at C$0.83, ahead of the C$0.81 mean forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

New customer rates at Central Hudson shifted the timing of quarterly rate recovery to related costs, which Fortis said resulted in higher revenue and earnings in the fourth quarter.

That was tempered by a refund liability recognized at its ITC electricity transmission business in the U.S., unrealized losses on derivative contracts, and prior-year gain on the sale of the Aitken Creek gas storage facilities in British Columbia in 2023. Fortis also saw lower earnings in Arizona, driven by higher operating expenses.

For the full year, earnings increased to C$1.83 billion from C$1.71 billion in 2023, while revenue slipped slightly to C$11.51 billion from C$11.52 billion.

The St. John's, Newfoundland, utility's capital expenditures for 2024 totaled C$5.2 billion. The company is targeting a capital plan of C$26 billion over 2025 to 2029, which aims to support annual dividend growth 4% to 6% over that period.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 14, 2025 06:40 ET (11:40 GMT)

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