THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 31, 1995 TAG: 9501310293
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Dominion Resources Inc., citing the $42 million cost of an employee-reduction program at Virginia Power and the adverse impact of milder weather, said its net income for the Dec. 31 quarter tumbled 57 percent.
The Richmond-based parent of Virginia Power said it earned $39.3 million, or 23 cents a share, for the October-through-December period. That was down from $92 million, or 23 cents, in the comparable three months of 1993 when it had slightly fewer shares outstanding.
Virginia Power - the major source of Dominion's earnings - suffered a 2.6 percent decline in total electricity sales despite a 5.4 percent rise in sales to its industrial customers during the recent quarter.
Virginia Power's contribution to earnings dropped to 20 cents a share from 50 cents in the 1993 fourth quarter. The contribution from non-utility activities fell to 3 cents from 5 cents because of lower income from its gas-and-oil operations, Dominion said.
For the full year, Dominion's net income slipped 7 percent to $478.2 million from $516.6 million in 1993. Earnings per share dropped to $2.81 from $3.12.
Although Virginia Power benefited from unusually cold weather in the state last January and February, the utility's electricity sales and earnings were reduced by milder-than-average weather last summer, said Mark C. Stevens, a Dominion spokesman.
Virginia Power's contribution to Dominion's per-share earnings last year fell 16 percent to $2.38, while earnings from non-utility operations rose 43 percent to 43 cents. by CNB