Latest News

Alleged quarterly profit declines due to higher operating and interest expenses

Allete, an American utility company, reported a decline in its second-quarter profits on Thursday. The fall was attributed to lower industrial margins and higher operating expenses.

The higher interest rates for longer can be a burden on utilities, as they make it more expensive to invest in critical infrastructure like electrical grids.

Interest expenses for the quarter were $23.1 million, an increase of almost 15% compared to a year earlier. Total operating expenses increased 5%, reaching $342.3 millions.

According to CFO Jeff Scissons, the results of the quarter were "primarily impacted by lower industrial margins due to lower sales to customers who purchase taconite at Minnesota Power. This trend is expected to continue until 2025."

He added that Minnesota Power would file a rate case in order to account for the reduced revenue, depreciation of capital investments, and inflationary pressures.

U.S. utilities are constantly seeking to increase customer bills in order to upgrade their infrastructure. This is due to the extreme weather conditions and increasing demand for data centers and industry electrification.

Rate case proceedings are used by utilities to determine what customers will pay for services such as electricity, gas, steam, and private water.

Minnesota Power, an Allete utility division, announced earlier this month that it also plans to build a 200-megawatt Longspur Wind Project in North Dakota, as part of the EnergyForward transition towards a future energy free of carbon.

Allete's regulated operation segment dropped 31% to $23 millions.

The company's quarterly net income dropped 3%, to $31.9m, or 55c per share. (Reporting from Pranav Mathur, Bengaluru. Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

(source: Reuters)