Canada’s Enbridge Inc said on Friday quarterly profit rose 44% sequentially as the pipeline operator benefited from a steady recovery in oil prices and energy demand.
Oil prices and fuel consumption have risen in recent months after the coronavirus-driven slump last year, as people get vaccinated and as restrictions are eased, particularly in the United States.
Enbridge said it transported 2.75 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil on its key mainline system across Canada and the United States during the reported quarter, up from 2.65 million bpd in the previous quarter.
Enbridge’s biggest business, liquids pipeline, earned a core profit of C$1.88 billion ($1.54 billion), on an adjusted basis, up from C$1.79 billion in the previous three-month period.
The Calgary-based company’s adjusted earnings rose to C$1.63 billion, or 81 Canadian cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from C$1.13 billion, or 56 Canadian cents per share, in the fourth quarter.