TRP TC Energy Corporation

By Judy McKinnon 

TransCanada Corp. on Thursday posted a hefty quarterly loss on the back of an expected charge related to its denied Keystone XL pipeline project, though operating results still came in ahead of expectations and the company raised its dividend.

Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada, which is taking legal action against the Obama administration over its refusal to issue a cross-border permit for Keystone XL, booked a 2.9 billion Canadian dollar ($2.1 billion) impairment charge for the canceled project. The amount is the top end of what TransCanada guided for following the U.S. government's permit refusal in November.

"While we were extremely disappointed by the denial of a Presidential Permit for Keystone XL," said Chief Executive Russ Girling, "we are well positioned to continue to grow earnings and cash flow in the years ahead."

TransCanada posted an overall fourth-quarter loss of C$2.44 billion, or C$3.47 a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of C$483 million, or 65 Canadian cents a share.

Adjusted to exclude items, earnings came in at C$453 million, or 64 Canadian cents a share. That is down about 11% from year-earlier results, but ahead of the 61 Canadian cents analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected.

Revenue for the quarter improved to C$2.85 billion from C$2.62 billion.

The company said it is planning C$13 billion of "near-term growth opportunities," which it expects will be in service by 2018. It also said it continues to expects its dividend to increase at an average annual rate of 8% to 10% through 2020.

TransCanada increased its quarterly dividend by 9%, to a new payout level of 56.5 Canadian cents a share. The company consistently raises its dividend on an annual basis.

Write to Judy McKinnon at judy.mckinnon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 11, 2016 09:46 ET (14:46 GMT)

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