Duke Energy Misses Q4 Profit Estimates on Higher Interest Costs, Raises Capex

(Reuters) – Utility firm Duke Energy missed fourth-quarter profit estimates on Thursday on higher interest expenses and raised its five-year capex by $8 billion to support its transition to renewable energy.

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes to tame inflation have made borrowing more expensive for businesses, impacting utility firms like Duke.

The company’s quarterly interest expense for its Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment was at $486 million, compared with $421 million a year ago.

It reported an adjusted profit of $1.51 per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $1.54 per share, according to LSEG data.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke raised its five-year capital expenditure to $73 billion from its earlier plan of $65 billion.

“Five-year capital plan that will support our energy transition and the unprecedented growth of our jurisdictions. The strength of our regulated utilities and our increasing capital profile give us confidence in our ability to deliver sustainable value and earnings growth of 5% to 7% through 2028,” CEO Lynn Good said.

Duke Energy provides gas and electricity to over 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

The company reported revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, a 1.9% fall from the previous year, missing analysts’ average estimate of $7.49 billion, according to LSEG data.

Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai