Feb 27 (Reuters) - Power producer Vistra Corp VST.N reported fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, reversing a year-ago loss, as strong electricity demand from AI-server infrastructure boosted its shares by 7.3% to $159 in premarket trading.

Utilities have witnessed a huge surge in the demand for power as Big Tech pours in billions of dollars into AI technologies and the infrastructure needed to develop them.

Nuclear power utilities have been the prime beneficiaries of this demand surge. Vistra's shares soared nearly 258% in 2024, compared to a 19.6% rise in the S&P 500 utilities sector .SPLRCU in the same period.

Its adjusted core profit from continuing operations for the fourth quarter rose to $1.99 billion, compared to $965 million the previous year, driven by higher income across most segments.

The company said it is continuing to see robust load growth across markets, with energy consumption growing faster than peak load.

Vistra expects current-year adjusted core profit from continuing operations to be in the range of $5.50 billion to $6.10 billion, the midpoint of which is higher than the $5.66 billion it earned in 2024.

The Irving, Texas-based company's net income for the three months ended December 31 came in at $490 million, compared with a loss of $184 million during the same period a year earlier.

A fire erupted last month at a battery storage facility in Moss Landing, south of San Francisco, owned and operated by Vistra and one of the world's largest, prompting evacuation of the site and surrounding areas.

No injuries were reported by the company or the authorities after the fire and Vistra has not yet disclosed the details of any financial hit from the incident.

(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)

((Srivastava.Vallari@thomsonreuters.com;))