Avista Earnings Fall

Avista Corp. reported record revenues in 1998, but warm weather, low streamflows and other factors reduced earnings compared with 1997.

Operating revenues for the year reached $3.7 billion, with the total for the fourth quarter alone exceeding $1 billion.

But higher expenses, mostly for power, reduced annual income available for common stock to $69.7 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, compared with $109.4 million, or $1.96 per diluted share, in 1997.

For the fourth quarter, income declined to $15.4 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, compared with $22.4 million, or 40 cents per diluted share, for the same period a year ago.

The dilution reflects the issuance in November of 15 million new convertible preferred shares that will maintain for three years the 31-cent quarterly dividend formerly paid on common shares.

The dividend has been cut to 12 cents, which will save the company $30 million per year.

Avista Chairman Tom Matthews said temperatures in 1998 were 13 percent warmer than normal. Streamflows, which produce the company’s inexpensive hydropower, were one-half 1997 levels, he said.

Major changes at one of the companies owned by Pentzer Corp., the holding company for Avista’s non-utility businesses, produced an after-tax loss of $4 million, or seven cents per share, Matthews added.

He said the strike at Kaiser Aluminum, a major customer, also affected company results during the fourth quarter.

Avista added 4,000 electric customers during the year, and 11,000 natural gas customers, bringing the totals to 305,000 and 262,000, respectively.

Matthews said several other developments bode well for the future, including the company’s entry into high-speed telecommunications, purchase of Vitol Gas & Electric, and alliance with Cogentrix Energy.

In other earnings reports:

Two forest products companies, Crown Pacific Partners and Potlatch Corp., both reported income growth over the past year.

Crown Pacific Partners had record revenues for 1998, officials at the Portland-based company said. Revenue rose 32 percent to $667 million, primarily due to increased sales.

The company reported year-end earnings of $28.2 million, or $1.02 per unit, compared with $27.7 million in 1997.

“Crown Pacific had another good year in the face of challenging market conditions,” said President and CEO Peter W. Stott.

The company finished construction on a $17.2 million state-of-the art sawmill in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, last year. This month, it closed a 1940s-era sawmill in Colburn, Idaho.

Crown Pacific recently announced plans to acquire Desert Lumber Inc. of Las Vegas and Reno, Nev., in an effort to increase its presence in those high-growth market areas.

Potlatch Corp.’s earnings improved slightly, though unfavorable market conditions for most of its products adversely affected results, officials said.

The Spokane-based company reported net earnings of $32.2 million, or $1.28 per common share, for 1998, compared with net earnings of $36.1 million the previous year.