ONE Gas posts improved quarterly results
TULSA — Lower natural gas costs helped drive ONE Gas Inc .' st hi rd quarter earnings higher in a year-over-year comparison.
The company announced Monday it earned a third quarter 2019 net income of about $17.5 million, or 33 cents per share, on total revenues of about $ 248.6 million.
In the third quarter of 2018, the company earned a net income of about $16.3 million, or 31 cents per share, on total revenues of about $238.3 million.
The company also reported Monday it remains ahead of last year's financial results for the first nine months of its fiscal year.
It stated its net income for the first nine months of 2019 was about $135.6 million, or $2.56 per share, compared to about $127.5 million, or $2.42 per share, for the same period in 2018.
The company reported it spent about $49.6 mill i on to acquire natural gas it sold to customers during the third quarter of 2019, down nearly $2 million, compared to the same quarter in 2018.
The company also attributed its gains to other factors.
"New rates and residential customer growth supported our quarterly results," Pierce H. Norton II, ONE Gas's CEO, said in the announcement.
"Our focus continues tobe on reinvesting in our systems to enhance our ability to provide the safe and reliable natural gas delivery service our 2.2 million customers expect."
From an operational standpoint, the company reported third- quarter growth, year-over-year, in the volumes of natural gas it sold and transported.
Officials stated it sold 7.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of the fuel to residential customers during the third quarter of 2019, up 4% compared with the same time a year ago.
During the third quarter of 2019, its total natural gas sales volumes were 12 Bcf , its natural gas transportation volumes
were 47.9 B cf and its total natural gas volumes delivered were 59.9 Bcf, all also up 4% compared to the same time the previous year.
ONE Gas reported operating income of about $38.8 million in the third quarter 2019, compared with about $36.2 million the same time in 2018.
Its net margin, total revenues less the cost of natural gas, increased by about $11.9 million compared to the same quarter the year before.
Third-quarter 2019 operating costs were about $114.6 million, compared with about $110.5 million in the third quarter 2018.
ONE Gas provides natural gas distribution services to more than 2 million customers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Its di visi ons include Kansas Gas Service, the largest natural gas distributor in Kansas; Oklahoma Natural Gas, the largest in Oklahoma; and Texas Gas Service, the third largest in Texas, in terms of customers.
On a regulatory front, a joint stipulation approved by elected members of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in August returned about $27 million to Oklahoma Natural Gas customers over the next year as part
of a performance based review of its operations.
Also in August, Kansas Gas Service submitted an application to the Kansas Corporation Commission that seeks an increase of about $4.2 million related to its gas system reliability program.
The company expects to get an affirmative nod from that agency later this year, with new rates taking effect in January.
Along with its earnings results, ONE Gas also announced Monday its board of directors declared the company will pay a quarterly dividend on December 2 of 50 cents per share to holders as of November 12.