Entergy lowers 2010 profit guidance following end of spinoff plan

Entergy lowers 2010 profit guidance

NEW ORLEANS — Entergy lowered its 2010 profit guidance Thursday after abandoning a plan to spin off its wholesale nuclear power generators into a separate company.

New Orleans’ Entergy said it expected 2010 earnings to range from $5.95 to $6.80 per share, down from its previous guidance of $6.15 to $6.95 per share. The company said the downgrade was due to potential charges from ending its plan to create a separate company known as Enexus Energy Corp.

It dropped those plans earlier this month after utility regulators in New York rejected the idea.

Company shares fell 47 cents to $80.91

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, had forecast 2010 earnings of $6.71 per share, and first-quarter earnings of $1.30 per share. Those forecasts typically do not include special items.

Entergy also said it expected first-quarter earnings of about $1.11 per share, compared with $1.20 per share for the first quarter of 2009. The company said it would have special items dealing with the Enexus plan, including the write-off of capitalized costs and expenses for outside services.

The company said utility operational earnings would rise because of increased sales from a colder-than-normal winter. Entergy Nuclear will have a decrease because of higher non-fuel and maintenance expenses and a higher tax rate.

Entergy Corp. is scheduled to release its first-quarter results on April 29.