Enbridge misses fourth-quarter profit estimates on lower Mainline tolls

(Reuters) -Enbridge missed fourth-quarter profit estimates on Friday, hurt by lower tolls related to its Mainline crude pipeline system and a decrease in earnings from the company’s gas segment.

The pipeline operator reached a toll agreement for Mainline with oil shippers last year, which was lower than the previous one, after scrapping earlier plans for long-term contracts.

Quarterly adjusted core profit from Enbridge (NYSE:)’s Mainline system was C$1.30 billion ($966.40 million), compared with C$1.34 billion a year earlier.

The company reported a quarterly adjusted core profit of C$833 million from its U.S. gas transmission unit, compared with C$844 million a year earlier.

Natural gas demand in the United States has been low due to relatively mild weather conditions in the fourth quarter, impacting earnings for pipeline operators such as Enbridge.

Enbridge moves about 30% of produced in North America and transports nearly 20% of the consumed in the United States.

The company reported a quarterly profit of C$1.73 billion, compared to a loss of C$1.07 billion a year earlier. Enbridge’s U.S.-listed shares were up 1.4% at $34.84 in premarket trade.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned 64 Canadian cents per share, compared with analysts’ estimates of 68 Canadian cents per share, according to LSEG data.

($1 = 1.3452 Canadian dollars)