American Water Q2 Profit Rises, But Revenue Misses Street View

American Water Works Company, Inc (AWK) Monday reported an increase in profit for the second quarter. Earnings for the quarter trumped Street estimates, while revenue failed to meet expectations.

Profit for the quarter was $207 million or $1.14 per share, up from $176 million or $0.97 per share in the same quarter last year. Nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.09 for the quarter.

Operating revenue increased to $999 million from $931 million in 2020, but still missed Street view of $1.01 billion. Revenue growth was driven by weather that drove up the demand for water, the company said.

Looking forward, the company affirms its earnings guidance of $4.18 to $4.28 per share for the full year 2021. Analysts currently expect earnings of $4.24 per share.

Commenting on the results, CEO Walter Lynch said, “In the first six months in 2021, we invested $782 million with the majority dedicated to needed infrastructure improvements to better serve our customers. We continued to minimize the customer bill impacts of these investments through operating and capital efficiencies and by leveraging the size and scale of our business. We added approximately 11,200 customer connections to date through closed acquisitions and organic growth We also look forward to welcoming an additional 86,900 customer connections through pending acquisitions.”

AWK closed Monday’s trading at $172.25, up $2.14 or 1.26%, on the NYSE. The stock, however, slipped $1.25 or 0.73% in the after-hours trade.

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