Idacorp posts higher 4th-quarter profit on improved utility income, projects 2010 profit

Idacorp profit grows in 4Q, co. sets 2010 guidance

BOISE, Idaho — Power company Idacorp Inc. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled as revenue jumped at its utility.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Idacorp reported net income of $23.5 million, or 49 cents per share, compared with a profit of $7.4 million, or 16 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Earnings from its utility, Idaho Power Co., jumped to $25.9 million from $7.7 million. The utility benefited from rate and tax adjustments in the most recent quarter.

Another factor was a power usage record set Dec. 10 when Idaho and eastern Oregon customers used 2,527 megawatts during a spell of subzero temperatures.

On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had predicted earnings of 29 cents per share.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, Idacorp recorded $15 million in one-time items, including an impairment charge.

For the full year, Idacorp reported net income of $124.4 million, or $2.64 per share, compared with $98.4 million, or $2.17 per share, in 2008.

The company, based in Boise, Idaho, also predicted 2010 earnings of $2.65 per share to $2.80 per share. Analysts forecast 2010 earnings of $2.57 per share.

Shares of Idacorp advanced $1.10, or 3.4 percent, to $33.80 in afternoon trading. The stock earlier hit $33.97, eclipsing a previous 52-week high of $33.33 set on Friday.