PSEG 2Q profit falls 21.5 percent

NEWARK, N.J.

Electrical utility Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. said on Friday that its second-quarter profit fell 21.5 percent due to the weak economy and low energy prices.

The company said it earned $224 million, or 44 cents per share, for the quarter that ended June 30. That was down from a profit of $311 million, or 61 cents per share, during the same period last year.

The company said it would have earned $331 million, or 65 cents per share, if not for one-time items.

Revenue fell 4.1 percent to $2.46 billion, from $2.56 billion a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a profit of 64 cents per share on revenue of $2.86 billion.

The company said the eastern portion of its Susquehanna-Roseland transmission line has been delayed two years until 2014 because it hasn't gotten the environmental permits it needs. The western portion has been delayed until 2015.

The line begins in Pennsylvania and will follow the right of way of an existing power line through 16 municipalities, adding 500 kilovolt wires on taller towers. The company's Public Service Electric & Gas unit is responsible for construction of the 45 miles in New Jersey. Some environmentalists and municipalities have opposed the project.

The company's shares fell 74 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $33.08 Friday.