Edison Int'l profit soars, beats views on margins

ROSEMEAD, Calif. - Power producer Edison International said Friday its second-quarter earnings more than doubled, helped by better margins, lower taxes and comparison to a year-ago period weighed down by debt payoffs. The company earned $261 million, or 79 cents per share, compared with $93 million, or 28 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. The 2007 second quarter was hurt by charges from early debt extiguishment. Edison said its core earnings, which exclude some one-time items, were 73 cents in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 11 percent to $3.38 billion, from $3.05 billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting a profit of 75 cents per share on revenue of $3.25 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial. The company said the 2008 quarter was helped by higher gross margins at some Midwest power plants and... [read full story]