'Unquantifiable risk': Kinder Morgan Canada profit drops 5.1% as Trans Mountain battle rages

Apr 18, 2018

Share

Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd (KML.TO) said on Wednesday that its Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project was facing "unquantifiable risk" due to the British Columbia government's continued opposition and reported a 5.1 percent drop in first-quarter earnings.

British Columbia said on Wednesday that it would file a legal challenge in the province to determine whether it has the jurisdiction to stop the $7.4 billion expansion, which was approved by the federal government in 2016.

Kinder Morgan Canada, which was spun off from parent Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) in May last year, reported a net income of $44.4 million for the first quarter ended March 31, down from $46.8 million for the same period last year.

The company, which earlier this month suspended work on its expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, moved 289,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of crude and refined products through the pipeline down from 307,000 (bbl/d) a year earlier.

Texas-based Kinder Morgan separately reported net income available to common stockholders of US$485 million, or 22 cents per share, in the quarter to the end of March, compared with US$401 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier.

Shares of Kinder Morgan were up 2 per cent at US$16.60 in after-hours trading.