Avista reports lower third-quarter earnings

Avista Corp. reported Wednesday third-quarter earnings of $10.5 million, or 16 cents per share, slightly lower than $11.4 million, or 19 cents per share, for the third quarter of 2013.

For the nine-month period ending Sept. 30, Avista’s net income was $159.8 million, or $2.59 per share, compared to $79.4 million, or $1.32 per share, for the nine-month period ending on Sept. 30, 2013.

Scott Morris, chairman and chief executive officer for the Spokane-based utility, listed Avista’s sale of its Ecova subsidiary and the purchase of Alaska Electric Light and Power Co. as milestones for the year. Morris also confirmed the company’s 2014 earnings guidance in the range of $3 to $3.20 per share, indicating that he expected earnings in the higher end of the range.

Tesla makes more cars, loses more money

DETROIT – Electric car maker Tesla Motors beat Wall Street’s expectations and set a record for deliveries of its Model S sedan in the third quarter, delighting investors even as its losses doubled from a year ago.

Tesla said Wednesday it delivered 7,785 cars from July through September. That was slightly below its guidance of 7,800 but up 41.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

The company’s net loss widened to $74.7 million for the quarter, or 60 cents per share, which was almost double its loss from a year ago. The company, based in Palo Alto, California, blamed increased research and development costs for both the Model X SUV, which is due to go on sale next year, as well as its new all-wheel-drive system. Tesla also cited the expense of adding stores in Asia and building more charging stations.

Accounting for leasing, stock-based compensation and other factors, Tesla beat analysts’ expectations with earnings of 2 cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of a penny. On that basis, Tesla also beat analysts’ forecast with revenue of $932 million, up 55 percent from a year ago. Analysts were expecting revenue of $892.1 million.