Southern Co. quarterly earnings drop to $297M
ATLANTA — Southern Co. earnings slumped 52 percent to $297 million in the second quarter due mainly to cost overruns at a coal-fired power plant under construction in Mississippi, the company reported Wednesday.
The utility, based in Atlanta, reported earnings of $297 million, or 34 cents per share, from $623 million, or 71 cents per share, a year ago. Earnings would have risen to 66 cents with one-time costs removed. That was two cents shy of Wall Street projections.
Company officials announced Tuesday that its shareholders would absorb an estimated $278 million in after-tax losses incurred while building a goal gasification plant in Mississippi’s Kemper County.
Excluding one-time costs, Southern Co. would have earned $575 million in the second quarter compared to the $602 million last year.
Boys & Girls Clubs annual fundraiser
“A Night of Future Stars” fundraising event will be sponsored by the board of directors of the Frank Callen Boys & Girls Clubs on Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Savannah Station Banquet Hall.
Dinner will be prepared by, among others, Long Horn Steak House and Virginia College Culinary Arts. Tickets are $ 65 each, and the levels of sponsorship range from $ 1,000 to $ 10,000.
If you would like to be a sponsor or buy tickets, call 912-233-2939, ext. 2, or visit www.bgcsavannah.org and click “Donate.”
Ga. Chamber to honor U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss
MACON — The Georgia Chamber plans to honor U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss at its annual Congressional Luncheon in Macon.
Organizers say the Aug. 19 event is being hosted at the Macon Marriott Centreplex and Chambliss is being honored for his contributions to the state and for his career in public service.
Chambliss, a Republican from Moultrie, last year announced plans to retire from the U.S. Senate after his current term.
New director of Penn Center selected
ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. — The St. Helena Island landmark for African-American history and culture has a new executive director.
The Penn Center’s board of directors has named Michael Campi, 53, of Conway to the post.
Campi tells The Beaufort Gazette he’s the center’s first white director in about 50 years. He replaces Walter Mack, who retired last year after 26 years with the center.
The center was founded in 1862 as a school for freed slaves and later was a Jim Crow-era industrial school and retreat center for leaders of the civil rights movement. In 1974, the 50-acre campus was designated a National Historic Landmark.
