Feb 28 (Reuters) -

AES Corp ( AES ) forecast annual adjusted profit above Wall

Street expectations on Friday, banking on contributions from its

new renewable energy projects and rate-base growth in utilities

segment.

Shares of the Virginia-based power company rose 13.7% in

afternoon trade.

Higher base rates provide necessary funding for maintaining

and upgrading grid infrastructure, which is currently facing an

onslaught of power demand from data centers.

"We see strong demand from the growing needs of AI data

centers and new manufacturing plants in the US, and we are

well-placed to meet their demand for the shortest time to

power," CEO Andres Gluski said.

The company's Indiana unit has received approval from the

Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to implement new base

rates, supporting an investment program aimed at improving

customer reliability, AES ( AES ) said.

The company's power purchase agreement backlog, which

consists of projects that have signed contracts but are not yet

operational, stands at 11.9 gigawatts (GW), including 4.9 GW

under construction.

The utility said in an earnings call that it will onshore

its supply chain to the U.S., reducing its risk from new

tariffs.

The company stated that almost all of its solar panels,

trackers and batteries are now located within the U.S. and are

under contract to be domestically produced for upcoming projects

through 2027.

AES ( AES ) posted an adjusted profit of 54 cents per share in the

quarter ended December 31, beating analysts' average estimate of

34 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Quarterly sales in its utilities segment rose about 11% to

$878 million from a year earlier.

AES ( AES ) forecast its 2025 adjusted profit to be in the range of

$2.10 to $2.26 per share. Analysts, on average, were expecting

an annual profit of $2.03 per share.