HOUSTON (AP) -- Power company Calpine Corp. said Friday that its second-quarter loss widened as revenue dropped 46 percent and it recorded a hefty non-cash charge on derivative losses.
Calpine said the $329 million loss equaled 69 cents per share for the April-through-June quarter. That compared with a loss of $70 million, or 14 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
The Houston company said the $343 million charge on derivative losses also affected revenue, which fell to $879 million from $1.6 billion.
Excluding the one-time item, Calpine's net income was $14 million.
Analysts polled by FactSet, on average, predicted revenue of $1.15 billion.
Calpine said it is capitalizing on a shift to natural gas from coal as fuel to generate electricity. Many utilities are switching to natural gas after prices fell to a decade low this year due to growing supplies as producers pulled gas from the nation's shale deposits. A mild winter also cut into demand which contributed to falling prices.
Shares of Calpine rose 24 cents to $17.86 in afternoon trading. The stock has ranged between $12.70 and $19.03 per share in the past 52 weeks.
