Southern Co. fourth-quarter earnings up, helped by cold

ATLANTA - Southern Co. Monday said its fourth-quarter profit surged 44 percent, thanks in part to cold weather in the Southeast and rate increases in Alabama and Florida. <br> <br> The Atlanta electric utility said it earned $167 million, or 23 cents a share, on revenue of $2.46 billion. A year earlier, it earned $116 million, or 16 cents a share, on revenue of $2.16 billion. <br> <br> Analysts expected earnings at 15 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call. <br> <br> A Southern Co. spokesman said the weather in its four-state service area Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi during November and December was 8 degrees colder than the year before. <br> <br> The company received approval for a 2 percent rate increase in Alabama in October 2001 and a similar hike in April 2002. The company said Southern&#39;s fourth-quarter revenue in Alabama rose 12 percent from last year. <br> <br> In June, the company received approval for an 8.9 percent rate increase in Florida. <br> <br> For 2002, Southern earned $1.32 billion, or $1.86 a share, on revenue of $10.55 billion, which included a weather-associated benefit of 5 cents a share and a tax benefit of 6 cents a share. <br> <br> In 2001, Southern earned $1.12 billion, or a $1.62 a share, on revenue of $10.16 billion. <br> <br> New York Stock Exchange-listed Southern shares closed Monday at $27.81, down 42 cents, or 1.5 percent.