American Electric Power Beats EPS Estimates

Friday morning, American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) reported that its 2012 second-quarter earnings came to $362 million, or 75 cents per share. That was up from $352 million or $0.73 per share for second quarter of 2011.

Revenue stayed flat at $3.6 billion, but that exceeded analysts’ expectations.

American Electric also said that costs for maintenance and other operations fell 11% to $756 million for the second quarter.

Results benefited from warmer-than-expected weather in many of the states served by the Columbus, Ohio-based utility, that pushed demand higher, as well as some economic recovery that boosted the customer base. But the company warned that third-quarter earnings would be lower.

“We have received an order from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio regarding capacity charges, but a decision on the Electric Security Plan, or ESP, isn’t expected until early August,” said CEO Nicholas Akins. American Electric also faces costs associated with severe storms on the East Coast in June that left millions without power and damaged infrastructure.

Because of these two things, the company declined to provide guidance for the full year.

American Electric’s profit has grown for the past four quarters. However, a drop in revenue in the first quarter ended a streak of three straight quarters of rising revenue.

The stock closed at $42.00, a multiyear high, on Thursday. But it fell about 0.5% to $41.80 just after Friday’s opening bell.