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Pinnacle West (PNW) Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Up

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Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings per share of 3 cents in the first quarter of 2018, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 10 cents by 70%. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported adjusted earnings of 21 cents per share.

The effects of federal corporate tax cuts and higher operations and maintenance expenses negatively impacted the quarterly results. The increased costs were primarily due to higher planned outage costs, including expenses at the Four Corners Power Plant to install added emission controls. Also, the effects of weather variations negatively impacted earnings in the reported quarter.

Total Revenues

In the quarter under review, total revenues of $692.7 million reflected year-over-year growth of 2.2%.

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Operational Highlights

In first-quarter 2018, higher operations and maintenance expenses adversely impacted earnings by 18 cents per share. In the first quarter, effects of weather variations negatively impacted earnings by 9 cents per share.

Operating income in the reported quarter decreased 53.5% year over year to $31.3 million.

Interest expenses for the quarter jumped 10.1% to $52.2 million from $47.4 million a year ago.

Financial Condition

Pinnacle West Capital had cash and cash equivalents of $15.4 million as of Mar 31, 2018, up from $13.9 million as of Dec 31, 2017.

Long-term debt as of Mar 31, 2018 was $4,290.5 million, reflecting a decrease from $4,789.7 million as of Dec 31, 2017.

Its net cash flow from operating activities during the quarter was $166.9 million compared with $140.1 million recorded as of Dec 31, 2017.

Guidance

Pinnacle West reaffirmed 2018 earnings guidance in the range of $4.35 to $4.55 per share, higher than $4.25-$4.45 guided a year ago.

Zacks Rank

Pinnacle West currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Peer Releases

Dominion Energy Inc. (D - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2018 operating earnings of $1.14 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.03 per share by 10.7%.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $1.94 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.78 by 9%.

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents per share by 1.5%.

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