Southern Co. quarterly earnings drop to $297M, largely due to Miss. power plant charge

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FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2012 file photo, workers vehicles fill the parking lots at Mississippi Power\'s Kemper County energy facility near DeKalb, Miss. Southern Co. earnings slumped 52 percent to 97 million in the second quarter due mainly to cost overruns at the coal-fired power plant under construction in Mississippi, the company reported Wednesday, July 31, 2013. The utility, based in Atlanta, reported earnings of 97 million, or 34 cents per share, from 23 million, or 71 cents per share, a year ago. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

ATLANTA – Southern Co. is reporting a 52 per cent slump in second-quarter earnings due to cost overruns at a coal-fired power plant under construction in Mississippi.

Earnings fell to $297 million for the three-month period ending in June, down from $623 million a year ago.

The Atlanta utility company released its quarterly earnings Wednesday after announcing an estimated $278 million after-tax write-off for larger-than-expected building costs at the power plant.

The company reported earnings of 34 cents per share, or 66 cents per share with one-time costs removed. That’s still a couple cents shy of Wall Street projections, and company shares dipped in premarket trading.

Subsidiary Mississippi Power is reviewing its construction costs and has cautioned that those expenses could still rise.

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