MENTOR, Ohio, March 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Gas Natural Inc. (NYSE MKT: EGAS), a holding company operating local natural gas utility companies serving approximately 73,000 natural gas customers in seven states, reported today that 2013 throughput grew by approximately 9% to 36.3 billion cubic feet and it also expanded its customer count by 5% to approximately 73,000 at year-end. 

Mr. Gregory J. Osborne, Gas Natural's President and Chief Operating Officer, commented, "Our strategy is to grow our utility operations by expanding our customer base, especially in our underpenetrated markets of North Carolina and Maine.  Our 2013 customer growth is a clear demonstration of the successful execution of our strategy.  In North Carolina, we grew our customer base by about 25% over the prior year and drove our throughput up by an impressive 27%.  In Maine, our customer count increased by approximately 22% at year-end and, excluding our major power generation customer, throughput was up 15%.  Adding new customers combined with the benefits of the early start and extreme winter experienced in most of our regions, drove the throughput increases."

Mr. Osborne concluded, "Consistent with our strategy and past results, we expect to keep growing our customer base by approximately 4% to 5% annually.  We believe we can keep taking market share in North Carolina and Maine where propane and oil are the primary fuels for heat.  We look forward to enabling even more businesses and homes in those regions to realize the cost benefits of clean, energy efficient and readily abundant natural gas."

The Company expects to release its 2013 year end financial results on Monday, March 31, 2014 after the market closes, with management holding a conference call to discuss those results and strategy scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. 

About Gas Natural Inc.
Gas Natural Inc., a holding company, distributes and sells natural gas to end-use residential, commercial, and industrial customers.  It distributes approximately 36 billion cubic feet of natural gas to approximately 73,000 customers through regulated utilities operating in Montana, Wyoming, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maine, North Carolina and Kentucky.  The Company's other operations include interstate pipeline, natural gas production, and natural gas marketing.  The Company's Montana public utility was originally incorporated in 1909.  Its strategy for growth is to expand throughput in the Maine and North Carolina markets, while looking for acquisitions that are either adjacent to its existing utilities or in under saturated markets.

The Company's toll-free number is 800-570-5688. Gas Natural Inc. regularly posts information on its website at www.egas.net.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The Company is including the following cautionary statement in this release to make applicable and to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, Gas Natural Inc. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those that are identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes" and similar expressions. Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed. Factors that may affect forward-looking statements and the Company's business generally include but are not limited to the Company's ability to successfully integrate the operations of the companies it has recently acquired and consummate additional acquisitions, the Company's continued ability to make dividend payments, the Company's ability to implement its business plan, fluctuating energy commodity prices, the possibility that regulators may not permit the Company to pass through all of its increased costs to its customers, changes in the utility regulatory environment, wholesale and retail competition, the Company's ability to satisfy its debt obligations, including compliance with financial covenants, weather conditions, litigation risks, and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company's control, the risk factors and cautionary statements made in the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other factors that the Company is currently unable to identify or quantify, but may exist in the future. Gas Natural Inc. expressly undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Gas Natural Inc.'s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

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SOURCE Gas Natural Inc.