TC Energy exceeds profit expectations as natural gas and power demand increases
Canadian 'pipeline operator TC Energy' beat analysts' expectations for the fourth quarter?profit % on Friday. This was helped by record natural-gas flows across its North American networks as soaring demand for power from data centers boosted volume.
Major pipeline operators are doubling down on expectations of rising natural gas demand as LNG export facilities expand, and cryptocurrency miners and artificial-intelligence ?systems ramp up electricity use.
On a call after earnings, executives said that they expected the demand for natural gas in North America to grow by 45 billion cubic ft per day (bcfpd), from 2025-2035.
They said that the?company is expecting an additional C$12 Billion in projects to be originating, focusing on brownfield and in-corridor extensions, which leverages its footprint to support investment-grade utility clients. In'morning trading, its shares grew 1.8%.
Calgary-based TC energy?plans to put nearly C$4 Billion into service by the end of this year. It expects capital expenditures to range between C$6.0 and C$6.5billion for the full year.
Analysts at Jefferies said that the pace of final investments decisions will be crucial. While FIDs were low in the quarter, the backlog, and the new open seasons, could help accelerate the pace in 2026.
In January, the company closed an open, non-binding?season to bid on its Columbia Gas Transmission System near Columbus, Ohio. The system attracted 1.5?bcfpd in total bids, which is three times more than the project's proposed capacity.
Canadian natural gas deliveries increased by 5% to 27.2 bcfpd in the first quarter of this year. U.S. flows rose 9.5% to 29,6 bcfpd while LNG deliveries jumped 21%, to 3.9 billion cubic feet per day.
The company increased its quarterly dividend by a whopping 3.2% to C$0.8775 a share. According to LSEG, it posted a profit per share of 98 Canadian dollars, which was higher than the average analyst expectation of 92 Canadian dollars. ($1 = 1.3619 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
(source: Reuters)
