Enbridge Profit Misses Estimates, Revenue Beats; Reaffirms FY Guidance

(RTTNews) - Enbridge Inc (ENB, ENB.TO), the Canadian oil and gas pipelines operator, on Thursday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of C$88 million or C$0.10 per share compared with a loss of C$267 million or C$0.33 per share last year.

Excluding derivative losses and other one-time items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were C$0.49 per share compared with earnings of C$0.44 per share a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter rose to C$8.8 billion from C$8.3 billion last year, driven by gas distribution sales as well as transportation and other services.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of C$0.53 per share on revenues of C$7.96 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For the full year 2015, the company continues to expect earnings of $2.05 to $2.35 per share, while analysts expect $2.25 per share.

"With the strength of our business model and this large inventory of growth projects, we remain confident in our ability to deliver an anticipated average annual adjusted earnings per share growth rate of 10-12% through 2018," said CEO Al Monaco.

Monaco noted that while the majority of Enbridge's businesses have limited direct commodity price exposure, the recent drop in oil prices is hurting its customers. He said the company is striving to support the competitiveness of its customers through stable and predictable tolls, operating and capital efficiency, and opening new markets that help to alleviate price discounts.

In December, Enbridge said it plans to transfer the majority of its Canadian Liquids Pipelines business and certain renewable energy assets to Enbridge Income Fund with a combined carrying value of $17 billion.

The company is also reviewing a potential transfer of its interest in United States liquids pipelines assets to Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. (EEP).