NRG Energy misses quarterly profit estimates as interest costs rise

Aug. 4 (Reuters) - Power producer NRG Energy missed second-quarter Wall Street profit estimates on Tuesday, weighed down by higher interest expense and costs related to assets acquired from LS Power, partially offset by an increase in core profit.

Higher-for-longer interest rates have put pressure on power companies by raising costs for constructing, maintaining and upgrading infrastructure such as electrical grids.

• The company said its loss from interest expenses widened to $310 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of $148 million a year earlier.
• The Houston, Texas-based company posted adjusted profit of $1.49 per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.70 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

• In May, the power producer said that it will acquire power generation assets from energy infrastructure investment firm LS Power in a deal valued at $12 billion, as the U.S. utility bets on surging electricity demand.
• The company's Texas unit posted an adjusted core profit of $381 million, down 25.6% from $512 million a year earlier, due to higher supply costs and mild winter weather.
• East segment adjusted EBITDA jumped nearly five-fold to $469 million, boosted by new generation assets, CPower and higher capacity prices, partly offset by Winter Storm Fern-related supply costs.
• Total adjusted EBITDA came in at $1.21 billion, compared with $909 million a year ago.
• NRG serves over 7 million retail customers in 24 U.S. states including Texas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, the District of Columbia and eight provinces in Canada.