Southern’s 4th-Quarter Profit Rises 3.5%

Southern Co., the largest U.S. power producer and owner of Atlanta’s electric utility, said fourth-quarter profit rose 3.5% to $143 million, or 22 cents a share, as colder weather and population growth in the Southeast boosted electricity sales. Southern also said it would spin off its 80%-owned Southern Energy Inc. unit, which sells power to utilities rather than directly to consumers. The unregulated unit, which will be renamed Mirant Corp. next week, sells power to California, where PG&E; Corp.’s Pacific Gas & Electric and Edison International’s Southern California Edison are on the brink of bankruptcy amid a power crisis. Southern’s earnings missed the 25-cent-a-share average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial. The company said higher fuel costs and increased nonfuel expenses offset revenue gains. Revenue more than tripled to $10.2 billion from $2.6 billion. Southern Co. shares closed up 56 cents at $28.19 on the NYSE.