Nov 4 (Reuters) - Eversource Energy reported a third-quarter loss on Monday as the company incurred an expense related to its offshore wind business divesture and narrowed its 2024 profit forecast.
The company had flagged it would incur an aggregate net loss on the completion of its offshore wind business divesture of $520 million in the third quarter. This includes a liability of $360 million, expected to be settled in 2026.
Eversource completed the sale of its offshore wind business to Global Infrastructure Partners in September. However, it only realized $745 million in adjusted gross proceeds from the sale, compared to an expected purchase price of about $1.12 billion.
The utility serves about 4.4 million customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and is mainly involved in the electric distribution, electric transmission and natural gas distribution businesses. It operates New England's most extensive energy delivery system.
The company also narrowed its current-year adjusted profit forecast to between $4.52 and $4.60 per share, from its previous expectation of $4.50 and $4.67 apiece, on a higher-than-anticipated impact of interest expenses.
Higher-for-longer interest rates can weigh on utilities, as it makes investing in the construction and maintenance of critical infrastructure such as electrical grids more expensive.
However, it reported about a 17% rise in quarterly earnings from its electric distribution segment, helped by higher electricity rates and lower storm-related operations and maintenance expenses.
The utility firm also raised its capital investment forecast by $600 million to $23.7 billion for the 2024-2028 period.
The company reported a loss of $118.1 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $339.7 million from a year ago, as the company incurred a loss of $524 million from the divesture.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava and Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona)
((mailto:Srivastava.Vallari@thomsonreuters.com))
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