Piedmont Natural Gas has reported a net income of $80.9m, or $1.10 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2009, compared to $82.3m, or $1.12 per diluted share, for the same period of 2008.
The company has reported operating revenues of $779.64m for the first quarter of 2009, compared to $788.47m for the same period of 2008.
Piedmont Natural Gas has reported operations and maintenance expenses of $50.7m for the first quarter of 2009, compared to $52.58m for the same period of 2008.
Margin for the quarter was $220.7m, a decrease of $6.3m from the prior year’s quarter. The decrease in margin is primarily attributable to a decrease in commercial and industrial margins from the deepening economic recession and the net adjustments to regulatory gas cost accounts that occurred in the prior year quarter, partially offset by an increase in residential margins from customer growth.
Thomas Skains, chairman, president and CEO of Piedmont Natural Gas, said: We are pleased with our operating performance during the first quarter of fiscal 2009, particularly in light of the deepening economic recession and the resulting slower growth in the new construction market.
While our gross customer additions in the first quarter fell to an annualized growth rate of 1.5%, we continue to take advantage of the growth opportunities in our markets and work to lower operations and maintenance expenses while providing quality customer service.
