Spire Inc (LG) saw its loss narrow to $14.20 million, or $0.31 a share for the quarter ended Sep. 30, 2016. In the previous year period, the company reported a loss of $18.70 million, or $0.43 a share. On the other hand, adjusted net loss for the quarter narrowed to $14.10 million, or $0.32 a share from a loss of $16.10 million or $0.37 a share, a year ago. Revenue during the quarter surged 36.78 percent to $279.30 million from $204.20 million in the previous year period. Operating margin for the quarter stood at negative 2.76 percent as compared to a negative 4.16 percent for the previous year period.
Operating loss for the quarter was $7.70 million, compared with an operating loss of $8.50 million in the previous year period.
However, the adjusted operating income for the quarter stood at $149 million compared to $140.90 million in the prior year period.
"2016 was another banner year for the growth of our company. We became Spire in April to better deliver on our promises to our customers, communities and shareholders," said Suzanne Sitherwood, president and chief executive officer of Spire. "We now stand for both the energy we deliver and what that energy makes possible. We're investing in and growing our gas companies, achieving new levels of infrastructure upgrades and safety performance. We're modernizing our gas assets through our work on our Spire STL Pipeline project. We're expanding the reach of our energy in Alabama and Mississippi with the acquisition of Mobile Gas and Willmut Gas, and we welcome these 103,000 customers and the dedicated employees who serve them to the Spire family. Based on the strength of our 2016 performance and expected growth in 2017, Spire's board of directors raised the quarterly dividend by 7.1 percent to $0.525 per share."
Operating cash flow improves marginally
Spire Inc has generated cash of $328.30 million from operating activities during the year, up 1.83 percent or $5.90 million, when compared with the last year. The company has spent $612.70 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $298.70 million in the last year.
Cash flow from financing activities was $275.80 million for the year as against cash outgo of $26 million in the last year period.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $5.20 million as on Sep. 30, 2016, down 62.32 percent or $8.60 million from $13.80 million on Sep. 30, 2015.
Working capital remains negative
Working capital of Spire Inc was negative $591.70 million on Sep. 30, 2016 compared with negative $323.70 million on Sep. 30, 2015. Current ratio was at 0.49 as on Sep. 30, 2016, down from 0.62 on Sep. 30, 2015.
Debt moves up
Spire Inc has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $2,482.40 million as on Sep. 30, 2016, up 13.38 percent or $292.90 million from $2,189.50 million on Sep. 30, 2015. Total debt was 40.85 percent of total assets as on Sep. 30, 2016, compared with 41.39 percent on Sep. 30, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 1.40 as on Sep. 30, 2016, up from 1.39 as on Sep. 30, 2015. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
