Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd posted lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday and said it was on track to begin construction of a controversial Canadian pipeline expansion in September.
In its first earnings report after being spun off from Houston’s Kinder Morgan Inc , the company said it expects the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to be in service by the end of 2019.
Kinder Morgan Canada reported net income of C$25.1 million ($19.9 million), or 11 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, below analysts’ average estimate of 14 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company reported revenues of C$168.7 million, up from C$165.8 million for the same period last year. It said it expects to generate 2017 earnings before taxes and other deductions of just under C$400 million.
The Trans Mountain expansion almost triples the capacity of the existing pipeline, which is designed to carry crude from Canada’s oil sands to the West Coast.
(Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Jim Finkle and David Gregorio)