Dominion tops second-quarter profit estimates as Virginia demand offsets rising expenses

• Utilities are seeing a renewed growth cycle in electricity demand, led by power-hungry data centers supporting artificial intelligence workloads, particularly in Virginia, home to the world's largest data center market.
• Dominion's quarterly revenue rose to $4.48 billion, from $3.81 billion a year ago, beating analysts' average estimate of $4.04 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
• Adjusted operating earnings from its South Carolina segment fell about 3.7% to $105 million in the quarter ended June 30.
• The Richmond, Virginia-based company posted adjusted earnings of 79 cents per share, topping expectations of 68 cents per share.
• Dominion said its Virginia segment had contracted nearly 53.8 gigawatts (GW) of data center capacity as of July, up 5.3 GW from December.
• In May, Dominion and NextEra Energy announced their $66.8 billion merger deal that will form one of the world's largest electric utilities.
• Dominion supplies electricity to 3.6 million customers across Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and natural gas to 500,000 customers in South Carolina.

July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. utility Dominion Energy reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit and revenue on Friday, as stronger power demand in its Virginia business helped offset a 53% increase in operating expenses.

Adjusted operating earnings from Dominion's Virginia segment rose 22% to $670 million during the quarter, while overall operating expenses surged to $4.15 billion from $2.71 billion last year, as utilities continued to spend more on fuel, grid upgrades and maintenance to support growing electricity demand.