The Cincinnati Enquirer

Shares of Cinergy Corp. closed down 43 cents Wednesday despite the company revealing that it will beat earnings expectations for the just completed year by 10 cents a share.

Cinergy closed at $34.07, off 1 percent, after chairman Jim Rogers told investors in New York that the utility holding company expects earnings of $2.65 a share for the year, excluding one-time charges.

Cinergy was expected to earn about $2.55 a share, according to analysts. Mr. Rogers said the earnings growth was triggered by the warmer summer and colder winter, which has fueled energy demand. He said earnings for this year should range from $2.55 to $2.70 a share.

Mr. Rogers said the two long-term challenges the utility faces are the shape of future environmental regulations and replacing some of the company's older coal-fired generation, probably after 2007.

The company also notified federal regulators that it plans to sell up to $750 million in securities in the future to repay debt and meet other corporate needs.