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Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) +1.2% in Tuesday's trading to a new intraday 52-week high of $101.86 after beating expectations for Q1 adjusted earnings and revenues on the back of rising residential and commercial customer demand in its service territory.
Q1 adjusted profit of $1.44/share topped estimates of $1.38/share, with the company citing improved weather and favorable rate case impacts, and full-year adjusted EPS guidance was reaffirmed at $5.85-$6.10, in line with analyst expectations of $5.97/share.
Duke (DUK) said its customer base in the Carolinas and Florida grew 2.4% compared to the year-earlier quarter, while its overall commercial and industrial load increased 1%, driven largely by data center businesses.
"We have a clear path forward that will deliver sustainable value and 5%-7% earnings growth over the next five years," CEO Lynn Good said.
The company said it has set up a new way to bill data centers for electricity to deal with the massive growth in energy demand, pursuing electricity supply contract terms that include take-or-pay and up-front infrastructure buildout payments to guard against volatility, CFO Brian Savoy told Reuters.
Duke (DUK) is requesting "minimum take" clauses that require the centers to pay for a certain amount of power regardless of how much it uses, and is considering agreements that would require up-front contributions to build new power infrastructure for the centers, Savoy said.