Southern Company today reported third-quarter earnings of $1.5 billion, or $1.36 per share, in 2022 compared with $1.1 billion, or $1.04 per share, in 2021. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, Southern Company reported earnings of $3.6 billion, or $3.38 per share, compared with $2.6 billion, or $2.46 per share, for the same period in 2021.

Excluding the items described under "Net Income – Excluding Items" in the table below, Southern Company earned $1.4 billion, or $1.31 per share, during the third quarter of 2022, compared with $1.3 billion, or $1.23 per share, during the third quarter 2021. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, excluding these items, Southern Company earned $3.6 billion, or $3.35 per share, compared with $3.2 billion, or $3.05 per share, for the same period in 2021.

Adjusted earnings drivers for the third quarter 2022, as compared with the same period in 2021, were higher revenues associated with increased usage, rates and pricing at the company's regulated utilities, partially offset by higher non-fuel operations and maintenance costs, reflecting a rising cost environment and the company's long-term commitment to reliability and resilience, along with higher interest expense.

Third-quarter 2022 operating revenues were $8.4 billion, compared with $6.2 billion for the third quarter of 2021, an increase of 34.3 percent. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, operating revenues were $22.2 billion, compared with $17.3 billion for the corresponding period in 2021, an increase of 28.2 percent. These increases were primarily due to higher fuel costs.

"Our premier, state-regulated electric and gas utilities continued to perform well during the third quarter," commented Chairman, President and CEO, Thomas A. Fanning. "The economies within our service territories remain strong, and customer growth outpaced our expectations."

Added Fanning, "At Plant Vogtle Unit 3, we successfully completed initial fuel load with the safe transfer of all 157 fuel assemblies from the spent fuel pool to the reactor core. This historic milestone marks the completion of another critical step toward start-up and commercial operation of Unit 3."

Southern Company's third-quarter earnings slides with supplemental financial information, including earnings guidance, are available at http://investor.southerncompany.com.

Southern Company's financial analyst call will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern Time today, during which Fanning and Chief Financial Officer Daniel S. Tucker will discuss earnings and provide a general business update. Investors, media and the public may listen to a live webcast of the call and view associated slides at http://investor.southerncompany.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the site for 12 months.