Utility PPL beats quarterly profit estimates on lower operating costs

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Electricity and natural gas company PPL Corp beat third-quarter profit estimates on Thursday, as lower operating costs helped offset a hit from higher interest rates and adverse weather conditions.

Allentown, Pennsylvania-based PPL said, adjusting for special items, its earnings from ongoing operations stood at 43 cents per share for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of 42 cents, according to LSEG data.

Several utility companies posted profits above estimates on lower costs in their latest reported quarter.

The company's regulated units benefited from lower operation expenses, which fell 10% from last year's third quarter.

However, its electricity sales volumes fell 2.8% in the quarter.

PPL narrowed its 2023 ongoing earnings forecast to the range of $1.55 to $1.60 per share from its prior forecast of $1.50 to $1.65 per share.

The company said it was on pace to invest nearly $2.5 billion this year and $12 billion through 2026 to modernize the grid and strengthen grid reliability.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)