(Reuters) -Canada’s largest pipeline companies Enbridge Inc and TC Energy Corp reported a rise in third quarter profits on Friday, helped by rising demand for oil and gas that boosted pipeline volumes.
Pipeline operators are benefiting from a recovery in shipping volumes as energy prices touch multi-year highs on the back of strengthening global fuel demand.
“Operationally all of our systems ran near capacity, that drove solid numbers,” Enbridge Chief Executive Al Monaco told an earnings call.
Enbridge said it transported 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) on its Mainline system in the third quarter, 4.6% higher than a year ago, and said it expects average throughput to be around about 2.95 million bpd for the current quarter.
Rival TC said its increased earnings for the quarter were partly due to higher transportation rates on its Columbia gas pipeline network.
Enbridge’s adjusted earnings rose 23.2% to C$1.2 billion ($961.92 million), or 59 Canadian cents per share, in the third quarter. Analysts, on average, were expecting 57 Canadian cents, according to Refinitiv IBES.
TC Energy’s comparable earnings rose 8.8% to C$972 million, or 99 Canadian cents per share, in line with analyst estimates.
Enbridge shares were last up 2% on the Toronto Stock Exchange at C$53.34, while TC Energy shares fell 1.8% to C$65.50.
($1 = 1.2475 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Marguerita Choy)
