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UPDATED: UniSource sees first quarter loss(Arizona Daily Star, The (Tucson) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 9--EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that UniSource posted a net loss, not a net income, in the first quarter. UniSource Energy Corp., parent of Tucson Electric Power Co., posted a loss for the first-quarter Thursday, attributing the decline to increased fuel costs and higher prices for wholesale energy at TEP. UniSource reported a net loss for the first quarter of $3 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with net income of $5 million, or 14 cents a share, a year ago. Operating revenue grew 3.9 percent to $330 million, the company reported after the close of trading Thursday. The company withdrew its previously issued earnings outlook for 2008 "because it is unable to predict UniSource Energy's 2008 full-year earnings within a reasonable range." The company previously said it expected this year's earnings to be between $1.70 and $2.20 per share. "I was way off, because I had them at 25 cents in the first quarter, positive," said Maurice E. May, an analyst for Power Insights-Soleil in Westport, Mass. May also manages a family trust that has shares in UniSource. Even so, May said he still rates the company as a "buy" and has a price target of $34.50. UniSource shares closed at $30.46 Thursday in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. "The increased cost of fuel and purchased power cannot be offset because there is no fuel adjustment clause at Tucson Electric Power," May said. Virtually all utilities, except in West Virginia and New Mexico, have fuel clauses, he said, and added that the Arizona Corporation Commission staff has recommended such a clause in the pending TEP rate case. In a statement, James Pignatelli, president and CEO of UniSource and TEP, said the second and third quarters of 2008 are likely to fall below last year's levels as well if wholesale power prices and natural-gas costs remain high. --Contact reporter Shelley Shelton at 434-4086 or [email protected]. To see more of The Arizona Daily Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.azstarnet.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |