Ameren Corp., recently posted its third-quarter report which revealed a profit of 11% for the period of three month up-to September for the current year. The profit has managed to beat estimates made by analysts by a considerable margin.

The company is crediting tight cost cuts and lower expenses made for operation and maintenance for the success.

Despite posting a good profit, the company has pulled down the higher end of its 2009 per share earning forecast. Earlier expected earning per share was stated as between $2.70 to $3.05, the same has now been pegged at $2.70 and $2.90. Ameren has said that the fact that sales and economy continue to be weak has forced the company to trim the top end of its forecast.

For the reported quarter, Ameren posted earnings of $227 Million, or $1.04 per share, which was substantially up from last year's figures of $204 million, or 97 cents a share posted for the same period. Analysts has estimated the company's earnings to be around $2.71 a share.

Ameren is, despite cutting down on its forecast, optimistic about the coming times and hopes to post better profits for the coming year. For Thursday, the firm's shares closed at $25.33 on the NY Stock Exchange.