Revenue during the quarter grew 10.46 percent to $367.31 million from $332.54 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 209 basis points over the previous year period to 67.38 percent. Total expenses were 76.82 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 81.38 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 456 basis points in operating margin to 23.18 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $85.14 million, compared with $61.93 million in the previous year period.

"We have continued to experience customer growth greater than 1% in both our gas and electric operations. This reflects the underlying health of our region, and the importance of our planning and investment to meet our region’s needs," said Bob Rowe, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Customer growth plus cold weather at the start of the year contributed to margin. Our region experiences significant swings in weather from year-to-year and season-to-season. Although our costs are largely fixed, those costs are recovered almost entirely through variable charges, which amplifies the impact both on customers’ bills and on company revenues in both directions."

For financial year 2017, the company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $3.30 to $3.50. For financial year 2017, the company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $3.30 to $3.50 on adjusted basis.