TransCanada results rise

Higher volumes from its growing stable of oil and gas pipelines in the United States and Canada drove improvements in fourth-quarter earnings, TransCanada Corp. reported Thursday.

Oil and gas production growth in the U.S. and full oil pipelines in Alberta — where the provincial government has enacted production cuts to free up pipeline capacity and draw down overflowing storage — helped drive net income to $1.09 billion, the Calgary-based company said.

That translated to $1.19 per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $861 million or 98 cents per diluted share for the same quarter a year earlier.

“We are very pleased with the performance of our diversified portfolio of high-quality, longlife energy infrastructure assets which produced record financial results again in 2018,” said CEO Russ Girling in a news release.

Revenue totalled $3.91 billion in the quarter, up from $3.62 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017.

TransCanada also announced it would raise its quarterly dividend to 75 cents from 69 cents per share, representing its 19th consecutive annual increase.

Comparable earnings for the quarter amounted to $1.03 per share, up from 82 cents per share a year earlier, beating analyst consensus expectations of 96 cents, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

“With a $36-billion backlog of projects to drive cash flow growth over the next few years, we see the company as well-positioned to continue to grow cash flow and increase its dividend,” Edward Jones analyst Jennifer Rowland said in a report.