TransCanada Posts Record 2018 Results
Canadian energy infrastructure developer TransCanada said February 14 it had record financial results in 2018, with net income attributable to common shares increasing to C$3.5bn ($2.63bn) from $3bn in 2017. Net income in 4Q 2018 rose to C$1.1bn from C$900mn.
“We are very pleased with the performance of our diversified portfolio of high-quality, long-life energy infrastructure assets which produced record financial results again in 2018,” TransCanada CEO Russ Girling said. “The increases reflect the strong performance of our legacy assets, contributions from approximately C$4bn of growth projects that were placed into service and the positive impact of US tax reform.”
Girling said TransCanada has about C$36bn of secured growth projects currently underway, with C$9bn of that in the commissioning phase or nearing completion, pointing to continued growth in earnings and cash flow.
“We have invested $13bn in these projects to date and are well positioned to fund the remainder of our secured growth program through significant and growing internally generated cash flow, access to capital markets and further portfolio management activities,” he said.
Growth projects in Canada include the C$6.2bn Coastal GasLink pipeline, which will serve the Shell-led LNG Canada export terminal in BC, and the C$1.5bn NGTL System 2022 Expansion Program. As well, the North Bay junction long term fixed price service, which includes 625mn ft3/day of new natural gas transportation contracts from western Canada, is expected to receive regulatory approval in 3Q 2019.
In the US, the WB Xpress project, designed to move 1.3bn ft3/day of Marcellus gas to Gulf Coast and mid-Atlantic markets, was placed into service in the fourth quarter, while portions of the Mountaineer XPress (MXP) and Gulf XPress projects were placed into service in January 2019, with the remainder to be placed in service in February and March.
“Total estimated MXP project costs have been revised upwards to US$3.2bn, reflecting the impact of delays of various regulatory approvals from FERC and other agencies, increased contractor construction costs due to unusually high demand for construction resources in the region, unusually high instances of inclement weather throughout construction, and modifications to contractor work plans to mitigate construction delays associated with these impacts,” TransCanada said.