LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. (AP) — LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. (AP) — Itron Inc. (ITRI) on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings of $53.5 million. The Liberty Lake, Washington-based company said it had profit of $1.18 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.49 per share. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.26 per share. Th…