PG&E Profits Drop Dramatically; Prospects Rise

Exiting bankruptcy did not do any good for the profits of Northern California Investor Owned Utility Pacific Gas and Electric, but the company's prospect still are looking up:

PG&E Corp. reported a dramatic 92 percent drop in first-quarter earnings Wednesday but attributed most of the decrease to a $2.95 billion, non- cash boost that the company recorded last year.

Without that boost, which was tied to the company's emerging from bankruptcy, the San Francisco company's operating earnings actually grew 29 percent, easily topping Wall Street's expectations.

PG&E, whose Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility supplies power to most of Northern California, made a $226 million profit from ongoing operations in this year's first quarter. That profit, which translates to 56 cents per share, beat last year's net income of $175 million (41 cents per share) in the same quarter.