BRYN MAWR, Pa. (AP) _ Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings of $183.7 million.

The Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based company said it had profit of 72 cents per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 66 cents per share.

The water utility posted revenue of $583.6 million in the period.

Essential Utilities expects full-year earnings to be $1.64 to $1.69 per share.

Essential Utilities shares have decreased 3% since the beginning of the year. The stock has climbed 9% in the last 12 months.

_____

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