On the heels of its $275 million construction company sale that boosted profits, Bellevue, WA-based Puget Energy Thursday reported net income of $92.6 million, or 79 cents/diluted share, for the first quarter, compared with $71.1 million, or 71 cents/diluted share, for the same period last year. The first quarter profits included $18.9 million, or 16 cents/diluted share, from the company’s former construction services unit, InfrastruX Group.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced last Tuesday that Puget’s sale of InfrastruX will not affect its corporate ratings (BBB-/Stable/A-3), or its regulated utility, Puget Sound Energy (PSE).

PSE showed net income in the first quarter of $73.8 million, or 64 cents/diluted share, compared to $72.2 million, or 72 cents/diluted share, in the same 2005 period. The latest results reflect the utility’s higher energy margins that are an offshoot of increased sales volumes and a March 4 rate increase, according to Puget Energy CEO Steve Reynolds.

“These results were partially offset by electric service restoration costs related to storm damage of $8.2 million (pre-tax), or 5 cents/share, compared to $1.1 million, or 1 cent/share, for the same period in 2005,” said Reynolds, adding that the first-quarter results also benefited from the partial recovery of a prior regulatory disallowance of $6 million (pre-tax), or 4 cents/share.

Reynolds called the first three months of this year “an important quarter,” citing the InfrastruX sale as the conclusion of “an initiative aimed at improving the financial position of our core business — PSE,” along with the filing of a general rate case with Washington state’s regulatory commission. He expects the rate decision by Jan. 1, 2007.

Praising the utility’s operating performance, Reynolds said that in the first quarter for the first time in several years, “our region was repeatedly hit by severe storms — nine in all, with gale-force winds knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of our utility customers. Our employees and crews worked around the clock to restore power.”

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