Power company Dynegy Inc. said Thursday that it posted a second straight big quarterly loss as it continues to write down the value of plants that it is selling as part of a deal to bolster finances.

The Houston company also said it expects its net loss for the full year to be bigger than previously forecast, and hinted that the company may be interested in other transactions with power companies after the deal with former development partner LS Power Associates closes before year end.

Dynegy said it lost $212 million, or 25 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30. A year ago, Dynegy made $605 million, or 72 cents per share, driven by a $542 million after tax gain that reflected an updated estimate of what investments are worth based on current market values.

The company said in August that it plans to sell about a quarter of its generation -- eight plants plus another under development -- to LS Power for about $1 billion in cash and $500 million in stock.

Dynegy has said the sale will help the company reduce its near-term debt maturities and simplify the company's structure.

Holli Nichols, Dynegy's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in an interview that the company might be interested in more transactions once the cash from the LS Power deal is put to work.

"We are firm believers that consolidation makes sense in this industry," she said. "Certainly we will be open to and explore any opportunity out there to create value for our shareholders."

During the quarter, Dynegy recorded a $234 million after-tax charge to write down the value of the eight plants. The company also recorded a $128 million loss on its forward contracts.

Dynegy reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and income taxes, depreciation and amortization of $388 million, up from $269 million last year. Revenue fell by more than half, to $673 million, down from $1.76 billion last year.

The company's shares advanced 18 cents, or 9.6 percent, to close at $2.05.

The company credited the increase in adjusted EDITDA to the sale of a multiyear power-sales contract and higher realized prices for power that was sold before power prices fell in the Midwest.

The company said Midwest production fell 7 percent in the quarter because of the mild summer, the economy and increased off-peak wind generation.

In the Northeast, production was up 20 percent as low prices for natural gas boosted power sales from its natural-gas operations.

Bruce Williamson, Dynegy's chairman, president and CEO, told analysts on a conference that with weak power prices and volatile natural-gas prices, the company is focusing on operating its plants efficiently and cutting costs by $400 million to $450 million over the next four years.

When the deal with LS Power is done, Dynegy will have about 20 plants in seven states that will be more concentrated on its baseload coal and natural-gas plants and less on plants used only at times of peak demand for power.

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Dynegy said it expects a loss of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion this year, larger than the previous forecast of $935 million to $975 million the company issued in August.

The company did raise its profit outlook on adjusted earnings before income taxes, depreciation and amortization for the year to $730 million to $760 million. The old forecast had been $680 million to $740 million.

Dynegy said it expects to report a loss of $175 million to $250 million next year. It reaffirmed its expected adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and income taxes, depreciation and amortization of $425 million to $550 million.