Dive Brief:
- PG&E Corp. reported first quarter net income of $31 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with $227 million the year before.
- The company has opted not to contest a $1.6 billion fine for violations of state and federal pipeline safety standards associated with the 2010 San Bruno explosion that killed eight people, but the Wall Street Journal notes it will cut company operating earnings by about 45% this year.
- The penalties will reduce PG&E's earnings by about $1.50 per share this year, the company estimated.
Dive Insight:
PG&E will not contest the record fine associated with the San Bruno explosion, a $1.6 billion cost that will impact its earnings significantly. The company's results include $584 million for items "management does not consider part of normal, ongoing operations," chief among them the San Bruno fines.
"The lessons of San Bruno will never be forgotten and will continue to guide our work as we pursue our goal of becoming the nation's safest and most reliable utility," PG&E Chairman, President and CEO Tony Earley said in a statement. "We have much more to do. Moving forward, we will continue to implement our plans to invest in the utility's infrastructure and deploy new technology on behalf of our customers."
The company estimated 2015 non-GAAP earnings from operations of $3.50 to $3.70 per share, but on a GAAP basis projected earnings range from $1.93 to $2.25 per share.
On a non-GAAP basis, excluding items impacting comparability, PG&E said its operating earings in the first quarter were $418 million, up from $251 million the year before. "The largest factor contributing to this quarter-over-quarter increase was the timing of expense recovery authorized in the utility's 2014 general rate case," the company said.
