Power company Constellation Energy Group Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly results helped by strong margins in its wholesale and retail businesses, and increased its earnings forecast for the full year 2009.

Net income applicable to common stock holders for the second quarter was $8.1 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with $171.5 million, or 95 cents a share, in the year ago quarter.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter was $1.08 a share, compared with $1.82 a share in the same quarter last year.

Total revenue fell about 19 percent to $3.86 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 76 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $3.57 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. For the full year 2009, the company now expects earnings to be in the range of $3.10 to $3.30 per share. The company had earlier forecast earnings for the year to be between $2.90 to $3.20 a share.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $3.03 a share.

Constellation shares closed at $29.03 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. They have traded in a range of $15.12 to $85.53 in the last one year.

(Reporting by Hezron Selvi in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)

Energy