Xcel profit rises 10 percent, but revenue fell on warmer-than-usual winter

Xcel Energy Inc.'s per-share profit rose 10 percent in the last three months of 2016, beating analysts' estimates by a penny. But its revenue fell well short of forecasts.

Meanwhile, a top Xcel executive told analysts Thursday that the process of building a big natural gas plant in Becker would be significantly accelerated if pending legislation authorizing the plant is approved. If the legislative path fails, Xcel would return to the traditional route through the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

Minneapolis-based Xcel said it earned $227.5 million, or 45 cents per share, up from $209 million, or 41 cents, a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of 44 cents per share on average.

"I thought [the fourth quarter] was solid, predictable and consistent, and that's what we look for from Xcel," said Andy Smith, a stock analyst at Edward Jones.

Xcel's stock closed Thursday at $41.39, up 76 cents.

Xcel's fourth-quarter revenue was $2.8 billion, up from $2.65 billion a year ago, but below analysts' forecasts of $3.5 billion. Revenue was hurt by warmer than average weather in Xcel's service territories.

Still, even adjusted for weather, Xcel's fourth-quarter residential electricity sales were down 1.7 percent compared with a year ago, while natural gas sales fell 1.5 percent

Xcel, an electricity and gas heating provider, is Minnesota's largest utility and operates in seven other states: Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Wisconsin, the Dakotas and Michigan.

Xcel wants to build a 786 megawatt gas-fired power plant in Becker, which would partly replace power lost when the company's two coal-fired generators there — each 680 megawatts — close by 2026. In October, the PUC approved the coal plants' closure and determined there's a need for 750 megawatts of power generation to essentially replace them.

But the PUC determined it was premature to approve Xcel's request, asking the company to evaluate more renewable energy options in addition to the gas plant. A bill to authorize the gas plant passed two Minnesota House committees last month. A similar bill was approved Thursday by the senate energy committee on a 7-2 vote. The bills have been criticized as an end-run around the PUC. On Thursday's conference call, a stock analyst asked about the timing difference between legislative and PUC authorization for the gas plant.

Legislation could lead to authorization by the end of the month, while getting approval from the PUC could take 18 months to two years, said Chris Clark, president of Xcel's Upper Midwest operations. The new gas plant wouldn't open until around 2025.

Overall, Fowke said in a statement, Xcel "had an excellent year" in 2016.