WEC Energy Group on Wednesday reported net income of $182.5 million ($0.58/share) for the third quarter, its first reporting period since Wisconsin Energy acquired Integrys to form WEC Energy on June 29. Wisconsin Energy’s stand-alone earnings, excluding acquisition costs, totaled $0.61/share for the period, up from $0.57/share a year ago.

Revenue for the third quarter totaled $1.7 billion, with Wisconsin Energy contributing $1.07 billion and Integrys delivering $630 million.

The expanded company now serves 4.4 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. (See Michigan OKs Wisconsin Energy-Integrys Merger.)

“I’m very pleased with our post-acquisition work, and we remain highly confident that the merger will deliver tangible benefits,” CEO Gale Klappa said in a release.

At the company’s We Energies utility, residential electricity use increased by 11.5% over last year’s third quarter, while electricity use by small commercial and industrial customers rose 1.6%. Large C&I customers’ electricity use — excluding the iron ore mines in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — increased by 0.6%.

– Amanda Durish Cook