Xcel Energy's Fourth-Quarter Profit Increases 22% to $164.1 Million

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Xcel Energy Incorporated (NYSE:XEL) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) has posted a fourth-quarter 2008 net income of $164.1 million, up 22% compared with $134 million in the same period the previous year. The company said it attributes the increase to higher electric and natural gas margins. "Overall, 2008 was a challenging year due to the global financial crisis and economic meltdown," Chairman, President and CEO Richard Kelly said in a statement.

Operating Revenues

• Electric: $1.98 billion, up from $1.91 billion year over year
• Natural gas: $706.29 million, up from $669.28 million year over year
• Other: $22.46 million, up from $20.98 million year over year

Operating Expenses

• Electric fuel and purchased power: $1.08 billion
• Cost of natural gas sold and transported: $533.97 million
• Cost of sales -- other: $6.99 million
• Other operating and maintenance program expenses: $437.57 million
• Conservation and demand-side management program expenses: $25.44 million
• Depreciation and amortization: $205.87 million
• Taxes (other than income taxes): $68.36 million

Operating income: $352.84 million

Xcel is targeting 7,000 megawatts of renewable generation capacity by 2020, Chief Financial Officer Ben Fowke said. "One of our goals is to own more renewable energy assets, he said. As part of our North American Project Database, Industrial Info is tracking 61 active Xcel projects worth $4.93 billion. The projects range from a $1.5 million maintenance outage to a $1.3 billion unit addition. The database also includes information on Xcel's 100-megawatt Grand Meadow windfarm, which became operational in December.

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