Integrys Energy Services Narrows Adjusted Loss

Integrys Energy Services narrowed its adjusted loss for the quarter at $500,000, versus an adjusted loss of $4.7 million for the third quarter of 2009. Parent Integrys Energy Group will hold an earnings call today; a full report will follow tomorrow.

Improved results at Integrys Energy Services were driven by a $6.4 million decrease in operating and maintenance expense, primarily related to the reduction in the size of Integrys Energy Services as a result of its previously reported strategy change. Another $4 million benefit was associated with a change in the effective tax rate.

Partially offsetting the gains was a $400,000 decrease versus the year-ago quarter in realized retail electric and natural gas margins, mostly on the absence of margin from operations divested or exited. Integrys Energy Group said that realized margins from the retail electric and natural gas businesses which Integrys Energy Services will retain as part of its revised strategy increased $3.9 million quarter-over-quarter, as Integrys Energy Services continues to increase its marketing efforts in these remaining territories and also implemented a change in pricing strategy to reflect its higher cost of capital.

Also offsetting improved results was a $6.2 million decrease in realized wholesale natural gas and wholesale electric margins quarter-over-quarter, due to the prior sale of the businesses.