Gentler Winter Causes 21% Drop in Great Plains' First-Quarter 2015 Profits

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP) (Kansas City, Missouri) said its net earnings for first-quarter 2015 were 21% lower than those for the same period in 2014, largely because of a return to more normal winter weather conditions this year from the "polar vortex" of 2014. The power and transmission company, which operates in Kansas and Missouri, reported first-quarter net income of $18.5 million, compared with $23.4 million in the first quarter of 2014.

Great Plains reported first-quarter capital expenditures of $217.9 million.

Industrial info is tracking 12 active Great Plains projects worth $910.50 million, including three in Kansas, totaling $553 million in value, and nine in Missouri, totaling $358 million. Ten projects, worth $586 million in total investment value, are under construction; one project, worth $280 million, is in the engineering phase; and one project, valued at $45 million, is in the planning phase.

First-quarter operating revenues amounted to $549.1 million, down from $585.1 million in the same period a year earlier. Great Plains, which owns Kansas City Power & Light Company and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company (GMO), reported overall megawatt-per-hour (MWh) sales were down 4.3% compared with the first quarter of 2014.

Speaking during the company's earnings conference call, Chief Executive Officer Terry Bassham noted new environmental control equipment at the La Cygne generation station in Kansas has been placed into service. The $270 million retrofit of the 893-megawatt, coal-fired unit kicked off in late 2011, according to Industrial Info's project data. Great Plains said it has invested about $1.5 billion in emission control equipment at its coal-fired units to improve regional air quality.

During the quarter, higher residential demand growth was almost entirely offset by lower industrial demand, Chief Financial Officer Jim Shay said during the conference call.

Looking forward, Shay said second-quarter earnings are expected to be lower than those in second-quarter 2014.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.