closest the pin at close 28/10/09, page-56

Southern Company /quotes/comstock/13*!so/quotes/nls/so (SO 32.64, +0.06, +0.18%) said third-quarter earnings rose 1.2% to $790 million, or 99 cents a share, from $780.4 million, or $1.01 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue dropped to $4.68 billion from $5.4 billion. Wall Street analysts expected the Atlanta-based utility to earn 99 cents a share, according to a survey by FactSet Research. "While the economy continues to take its toll, we are seeing signs of stabilization and what may be the beginnings of recovery in certain sectors in our region," the company said. "We realized an 11% increase in industrial sales over the second quarter of 2009."