HOUSTON (AP) _ Spark Energy Inc. (SPKE) on Wednesday reported a first-quarter loss of $7.6 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The Houston-based company said it had a loss of 66 cents per share.

The electricity and natural gas retailer posted revenue of $113 million in the period.

Spark Energy shares have risen 2% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $9.78, a rise of 50% in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SPKE at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SPKE