Dow Jones Newswires | Naperville-based Nicor Inc. reported a
surprise 15 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit as the company
benefited from higher rates and lower operating costs, but revenue slid
amid lower natural gas deliveries because of warmer weather.

Nicor, a gas distribution company whose operations are centered in
northern Illinois, was approved last year by state regulators to boost
rates some $80 million.

The company reported a profit of $55.2 million, or $1.21 a share, up from $47.9 million, or $1.05 a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $1.03.

Revenue decreased 26 percent to $768.1 million as gas-distribution revenue–where Nicor makes most of its money — dropped 30 percent. Shipping revenue fell 17 percent.

The company’s shipping business has faced volume shortfalls due to the economic slowdown. In November, the company announced that its subsidiary, Birdsall Inc. — a carrier of containerized frieght in the Bahamas and Caribbean — agreed to acquire Miami-based Deluxe Freight Inc., a nonvessel operating common carrier in the Cayman Islands.

Shares of Nicor closed Tuesday at $40.14 and were inactive premarket. The stock has risen 36 percent in the past year.