ALLENTOWN, Pa.---PP&L Resources, Inc. (NYSE: PPL) Wednesday (10/28) reported third quarter net income of $136 million or 81 cents per share. Net income for the third quarter of 1997 was $42 million or 25 cents per share.

John R. Biggar, PP&L Resources senior vice president and chief financial officer, said that much of the large increase in 1998 third quarter net income is attributable to one-time adjustments and impacts of restructuring for a competitive generation market. Excluding those factors, the company's net income was $90 million, or 54 cents per share, 6 cents per share higher than similarly adjusted earnings in the third quarter of 1997, as shown on the following table:

	Three Months Ended
	Sept. 30, 1998	Sept. 30, 1997
Earnings Per Share -- Actual	$0.81	$0.25
Weather Variance	0.00	0.02
EPS -- Weather-Normalized	0.81	0.27
One-Time Adjustments:
Windfall Profits Tax	--	0.24
UK Income Tax Rate Reduction	(0.06)	(0.06)
Penn Fuel Gas Acquisition Costs	(0.03)	0.03
Normalized EPS	0.72	0.48
Restructuring Impacts	(0.18)	--
Adjusted Normalized EPS	0.54	0.48

We have seen a significant increase in retail energy delivered in the third quarter," said Biggar. "These retail sales increased 8 percent over the same period last year. Even when normalized for the effects of weather, these retail sales increased 7 percent compared to the third quarter of 1997. This is a positive indication that the economy is picking up in our region."

Biggar said that sales growth was strong in all categories, with industrial sales up 8.5 percent for the quarter and with commercial and residential sales increasing by 7.3 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. "This strong growth in all sectors is particularly encouraging," said Biggar.

"PP&L Resources has put the regulatory restructuring proceedings of its electric utility operation behind it, recorded the related charges and undertaken other financial initiatives, including a buyback of 10 percent of the company's common stock. The company now is intensifying its already aggressive pursuit of growth opportunities in the rapidly evolving energy business," said Biggar.

PP&L, Inc.'s Energy Marketing Center is actively marketing wholesale energy in 26 states and Canada and PP&L EnergyPlus Co. is successfully marketing retail energy in the new Pennsylvania competitive electricity markets, Biggar said. Another subsidiary, PP&L Global, Inc., has worldwide investments and commitments in electricity distribution and generation facilities that total about $725 million.

For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 1998, the company reported a net loss of $585 million, or $3.51 per share. Earnings for the same period last year were $296 million, or $1.81 per share. The loss results from the $1.6 billion restructuring write-off ($948 million after-tax) that the company recorded in the second quarter.

Excluding the effects of restructuring, weather and one-time adjustments, net income for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 1998, was $333 million, or $2.00 per share, compared with $337 million, or $2.06 per share, for the same period in 1997, as shown in the following table:

	12 Months Ended
	Sept. 30, 1998	Sept. 30, 1997
Earnings Per Share -- Actual	($3.51)	$1.81
Weather Variance	0.10	0.04
EPS -- Weather-Normalized	(3.41)	1.85
One-Time Adjustments:
PUC & FERC Restructuring Charge	5.69	--
Windfall Profits Tax	(0.01)	0.24
UK Income Tax Rate Reduction	(0.06)	(0.06)
Penn Fuel Gas Acquisition Costs	(0.03)	0.03
Normalized EPS	2.18	2.06
Restructuring Impacts	(0.18)	--
Adjusted Normalized EPS	2.00	2.06

Biggar said that adjusted normalized earnings for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 1998, were lower primarily due to start-up costs related to the competitive marketplace in Pennsylvania and an adjustment in inventory levels at PP&L, Inc.