Avista Corp., of Spokane, reported today fourth-quarter net income of $31.7 million, or 53 cents a diluted share, up from $15.9 million, or 26 cents, in the year-earlier quarter.

For the full year, the company posted income of $111.1 million, or $1.85 a share, up from $78.2 million, or $1.32 a share, in 2012.

The company attributed its improved results to utility earnings beating expectations and improvement in performance at Ecova Inc., its expense-management subsidiary.

The improved utility earnings were due primarily to colder-than-normal temperatures during the fourth quarter, which increased both electric and natural-gas heating loads, the company said.

Scott Morris, Avista’s chairman, president, and CEO, said in a press release, “We are well positioned for 2014, and we are making progress toward completing the acquisition of Alaska Energy & Resources Co. That transaction is expected to close by July 1, 2014.”

Earlier this month, Avista filed a general rate-increase request with the Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission to increase an average residence’s bill by $4.89 a month for electricity and by $5.23 for natural gas.

The company is asking that the rate increases go into effect at the beginning of 2015.

The proposed rate hikes would put a typical residential electricity customer’s total bill at just under $85, or 6.1 percent higher than the current average bill. For a typical residential natural-gas customer, the monthly bill would increase 8.5 percent, to $66.42.