KRON, Ohio, Dec. 3 — The FirstEnergy
Corporation, which owns utilities in Ohio and the
Northeast, cut its 2003 profit forecast mostly because of
higher expenses for employee pensions.
Earnings next year will be $3.35 to $3.55 a share, down
from a previous forecast of $3.70 to $3.90, the company said.
FirstEnergy, which is based here, said the forecast excludes
the costs of a prolonged shutdown at a nuclear plant and
changes in accounting.
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Profit will grow at a slower pace, 4 percent to 5 percent a
year instead of the 7 percent to 8 percent previously
forecast, because of higher pension expenses and lower profit
from competitive businesses, FirstEnergy said.
FirstEnergy expects to take a noncash after-tax charge of
$330 million against common equity next year to support its
pension liability, the company said. Health costs for retirees
have also risen, a spokeswoman, Kristen Baird, said.
The company, which earned $2.81 a share last year, was
expected to generate profit of $2.98 this year and $3.50 next
year, based on the average estimate of analysts polled by
Thomson First Call.
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