GAS Agl Resources, Inc. (delisted)

By Tess Stynes 

Southern Co. said its first-quarter earnings fell 5.5% amid a decline in revenue that the power company attributed mostly to lower fuel costs.

However, per-share earnings, excluding certain one-time items, and revenue beat expectations.

The Atlanta company also posted more charges related to its Kemper County project, a clean-coal power plant under construction in Mississippi. The latest period also included charges related to the company's pending acquisition of natural-gas utility AGL Resources Inc.

Southern in August struck a deal to buy AGL Resources for about $8 billion in a move to access fast-growing gas markets from New Jersey to Florida. The companies expect the deal to close in the second half of this year.

The company, one of the biggest utilities in the U.S., said mild weather contributed to a decline in electricity sales during the latest quarter. Total electricity sales volume dropped 1.7%. Retail electricity sales fell 3%, including a 7.2% decline in residential volume. Wholesale volume improved by 5.7%

Over all, Southern reported a profit of $496 million, down from $525 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, which reflects preferred dividends, per-share earnings declined to 53 cents from 56 cents. Excluding items such as acquisition-related expenses and charges related to the clean-coal project in Kemper, Miss., adjusted per-share earnings were 58 cents. Revenue decreased 5.2% to $3.97 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of 53 cents and revenue of $4.26 billion.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2016 10:49 ET (14:49 GMT)

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