Idacorp earnings rise in 3rd quarter 

Idaho Power Co. parent Idacorp Inc. on Nov. 6 reported third-quarter net income of $51.7 million or $1.14 per diluted share, compared to $28.9 million or 65 cents per diluted share a year earlier. The Idaho Power unit reported third-quarter net income of $47.4 million, up from $24.1 million in the third quarter of 2007.

J. Lamont Keen, president and CEO of Idacorp, said in a release that the parent company’s improved earnings reflected  “progress from prolonged and purposeful regulatory efforts,” good weather and water conditions for generating hydroelectric power, and efficiencies throughout the company.

"This year's regulatory accomplishments both in Idaho and Oregon highlight the achievement of key milestones of our strategy,” he said. “Our service area experienced near-normal temperatures and better water conditions this year, in stark contrast to the extreme temperatures and drought of recent years. Our workforce responded well to both operational and economic challenges in 2008, demonstrating the ability to effectively manage the bottom line while continuing to provide our customers some of the lowest electric rates in the nation."

Keen said the company is still not earning the full rate of return that state regulators allow.

“Looking forward, we must continue our strategy of timely regulatory filings in order to match our revenues with our costs,” he said. “We must also increase our efforts to evaluate and manage capital and operating expenditures to match economic realities."

Analysts, on average, expected Idacorp to earn 83 cents per share in the recent quarter. Factors in the company’s better-than-expected results included regulatory rate relief, a change in how net power-supply costs are allocated, and higher coal prices and volumes, D.A. Davidson & Co. analyst Jim Bellessa wrote in a research note.

Bellessa raised his 12- to 18-month target price from $31 to $32 and reiterated his “buy” rating for Idacorp. The stock closed at $27.54 Nov. 10.

“An offset to lower overall valuations due to October’s stock market crash is the hope above-normal reservoir levels on the upper Snake River portend a return to normal stream flows in 2009,” he wrote. “We continue to find the stock attractive for total return prospects, including a 4.2 percent dividend yield.”

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