San Diego-based Sempra Energy said Thursday its second-quarter earnings declined from $295 million to $16 million due primarily to losses from the sale of its stake in the Rockies Express natural-gas pipeline.
The parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric said the losses would be reversed by year end and reaffirmed its forecast of annual earnings in the range of $4.60 to $5 per share.
Sempra said earnings were also reduced by a rate decision from the California Public Utilities Commission that resulted in $80 million in refunds to electricity and natural gas customers in Southern California.
The utility’s earnings in the first six months of 2016 were $335 million, or $1.33 per share, compared with $732 million, or $2.91 per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenues were $4.8 billion compared to $5.0 billion a year ago.
“We are pleased to have received the final rate case decision for our California utilities from the CPUC, and to have completed the sale of our stake in the Rockies Express Pipeline during the quarter,” Sempra CEO and Chairwoman Debra Reed said. “With the addition of the Mexican marine pipeline and the acquisition of a new wind farm in Michigan, we continue to add new projects both domestically and internationally that support our long-term growth strategy.”
She said the utility expected to achieve 12 percent compound annual adjusted earnings-per-share growth from 2016 through 2020.
The company also reported that its costs related to the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak now total $717 million, but $679 million is covered by insurance, with $34 million collected to date.
Sempra employs 17,000 people and serves more than 32 million consumers worldwide.
