New Jersey Resources Q4 Profit Soars, Declares Dividend - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - New Jersey Resources (NJR) posted first-quarter net income of $123.32 million or $2.88 per share, sharply higher than $7.69 million or $0.18 per share in the prior-year quarter. The company noted that growth was driven by strong results at NJR Energy Services and NJR Clean Energy Ventures.

Excluding items, net financial earnings for the quarter was $55.11 million or $1.30 per basic share, compared to $39.86 million or $0.95 per basic share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.00 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Total operating revenues for the quarter declined to $824.12 million from $878.41 million in the same quarter last year.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2015, the company continues to project net financial earnings in a range of $2.90 to $3.10 per basic share. Analysts estimate full-year 2015 earnings of $3.43 per share.

The board of directors also unanimously declared a quarterly dividend on its common stock of $0.45 per share. On a post-split basis, the quarterly dividend will be $0.225 per share, payable on April 1 to shareowners of record on March 13, 2015.