Southwest Gas (NYSE: SWX) reported Q1 EPS of $1.77, $0.22 better than the analyst estimate of $1.55.

Commenting on Southwest Gas Holdings\' performance, John P. Hester, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are pleased to report diluted earnings per share of $1.77 for the first quarter of 2019, an improvement from $1.63 per share for the first quarter of 2018. Natural gas segment results improved $13 million between quarters due to the combined effects of rate relief, customer growth and income from the COLI policies. Results for our utility infrastructure services segment improved $3 million between the first quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2018. This improvement reflects the first full quarter of the integration of Linetec\'s operations.

"Our natural gas operations segment serves areas where populations and economies are growing at rates that outpace the national average, particularly in the metropolitan areas of Las Vegas and Phoenix. As a result, we are experiencing some of the highest customer growth among natural gas utilities, and were recently ranked as one of the easiest utilities with which to do business. We are future focused on performance we achieve, partnerships we form, and the possibilities that lie ahead, including improvements we expect to realize from our recently filed $57 million utility operations general rate application in Arizona."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Southwest Gas (SWX) click here.