The natural gas distributor's quarterly earnings fell to $70.7 million from $72 million in the prior-year period. Per-share profit was flat at 94 cents, as the number of outstanding shares declined over the year-earlier period.
Wall Street, on average, expected quarterly earnings of 98 cents per share, according to an analyst poll by Thomson Financial.
Operating revenue dropped to $677.2 million from $921.3 million, as this year's first quarter was 15 percent warmer than normal and 6 percent warmer than the prior year. The reduced demand offset Piedmont Natural Gas' growing customer rolls and reduced operations and maintenance expenses.
Piedmont Natural Gas shares fell 21 cents to $24.93 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
