Pipeline operator TC Energy beats Q4 profit estimates on high demand
Feb 16 (Reuters) - Pipeline operator TC Energy TRP.TO beat fourth-quarter profit estimates on Friday, helped by high demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The United States was the world's top LNG exporter last year, following European sanctions on Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine.
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Exports from the U.S. rose 14.7% annually, driven largely by the return to full production of the Freeport LNG plant, which suffered a fire in 2022. Other firms also increased their processing efficiency in 2023, LSEG data showed.
Adjusted core profit from TC Energy's U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines segment was up at C$1.23 billion ($912.73 million) in the quarter, compared to C$1.14 billion the previous year.
Earnings were also helped by growth in adjusted core profit in the company's Canadian natural gas pipelines segment, where profit was up about 35%, to C$1.03 billion, in the reported quarter.
The Calgary, Alberta-based company expects 2024 capital expenditure to be between C$8.5 billion and C$9.0 billion.
Adjusted core profit from TC Energy's liquids pipeline segment was up 4% from the previous year, at C$379 million.
The company said last year it would spin off its oil pipeline business and focus on transporting natural gas - a move aimed at raising money to repay its debt.
It said Coastal GasLink, its long delayed pipeline project that achieved mechanical completion in November, would continue post-construction and reclamation activities throughout 2024.
TC Energy reported an adjusted profit of C$1.35 per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of C$1.11 per share, according to LSEG data.
($1 = 1.3476 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)