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NAPERVILLE — Nicor on Friday affirmed its 2009 profit outlook, saying it is starting to see the positive effect of higher rates in its natural gas distribution business.
Nicor said it expects to make $2.54 to $2.74 per share this year. The estimate includes a 9 cent per share gain from the sale of the company's interest in EN Engineering in the first quarter.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is looking for profit of $2.56 per share for the year. Those estimates typically exclude one-time gains.
Nicor said it earned $22.9 million, or 50 cents a share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared with profit of $28.9 million, or 64 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue fell 36 percent to $447.6 million from $699.8 million, primarily because of falling natural gas prices.
Wall Street was looking for profit of 42 cents a share.
Nicor shares fell 76 cents, or 2 percent, to $36.44 in trading Friday. The shares have traded between $27.50 and $51.99 over the past year.
Nicor owns Nicor Gas, which serves more than 2 million customers in an area that makes up most of the northern third of Illinois, except Chicago. It also owns Tropical Shipping, a cargo carrier in the Caribbean and the Bahamas.
