Southern Company reported fourth-quarter 2019 earnings of $440 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with $278 million, or 27 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2018.  Southern Company also reported full-year 2019 earnings of $4.74 billion, or $4.53 per share, compared with earnings of $2.23 billion, or $2.18 per share, in 2018.

Excluding the items described in the "Net Income – Excluding Items" table below, Southern Company earned $283 million, or 27 cents per share, during the fourth quarter of 2019, compared with $256 million, or 25 cents per share, during the fourth quarter of 2018. For the full year 2019, excluding these items, Southern Company earned $3.25 billion, or $3.11 per share, compared with earnings of $3.13 billion, or $3.07 per share, in 2018.

NOTE: For more information regarding these non-GAAP adjustments, see the footnotes accompanying the Financial Highlights page of the earnings package.

Earnings drivers for the full year 2019 were positively influenced by higher earnings at our state-regulated utilities, more than offsetting the impact of divested entities on earnings. The increases reflect the continued impacts of tax reform, including related changes in capital structure, as well as continued investment at our state-regulated utilities, along with customer growth, offset by declines in customer usage.

"By all accounts, 2019 was an outstanding year for Southern Company, as we performed well across a broad range of metrics," said Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning. "Operational performance at our state-regulated utilities was superb, with record generation and transmission reliability. Nicor Gas reliably delivered natural gas to customers in Illinois during unprecedented cold temperatures. We continued to decarbonize our generation fleet and we saw constructive outcomes in several key regulatory proceedings."

"At Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle, we accomplished all major 2019 milestones associated with the construction of new nuclear units 3 and 4," added Fanning. "We have refined our aggressive site work plan for the project, which will serve as a tool to drive improved productivity to achieve the regulatory-approved in-service dates of November 2021 for Unit 3 and November 2022 for Unit 4."

Fourth quarter 2019 operating revenues were $4.91 billion, compared with $5.34 billion for the fourth quarter of 2018, a decrease of 7.9 percent. Operating revenues for the full year 2019 were $21.42 billion, compared with $23.50 billion in 2018, a decrease of 8.8 percent. These decreases reflect the dispositions of Gulf Power and other assets.