JACKSON, MI – CMS Energy had its best year of the decade in 2019, with a net income of $680 million.
CMS, based in Jackson, is the parent company of Consumers Energy and reported its annual earnings Jan. 30. The numbers equate to a $2.39 increase per share, higher than 2018′s increase per share of $2.32 and net income of $657 million.
Consumers delivers natural gas and/or electricity to 6.7 million of Michigan's 10 million residents.
“Our earnings this year reflect the consistent growth we’ve delivered over the past 17 years,” Consumers spokesman Brian Wheeler said in an email.
The profits are driven by investors, not energy customers, Wheeler said. These profits help fund infrastructure improvements throughout the state, he said.
"Keep in mind, profits are not what drive a customer bills – what drives bills are fuel, power and operating costs, which we don’t earn a profit on," Wheeler said.
While the 2019 earnings grew as the company projected, they did take a small hit from storms early in the year, Wheeler said, which increased costs. Another 2019 obstacle was the fire at a natural gas compressor station, which spurred the company to ask customers to reduce usage to avoid heat interruptions from a natural gas shortage while the state was experiencing record cold temperatures.
CMS opened this week at $68.62 per share on the stock market. Utilities are generally considered a safe and steady investment to stockholders, Wheeler said, but have lower returns and profits than technology, healthcare and industrial stocks.
Here's a look at CMS annual earnings, since 2010.
- 2010: $324 million
- 2011: $415 million
- 2012: $382 million
- 2013: $452 million
- 2014: $477 million
- 2015: $523 million
- 2016: $551 million
- 2017: $460 million ($610 million before including charge from federal tax reform)
- 2018: $657 million
- 2019: $680 million
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