El Paso Corp.'s (EP) fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled
as revenue jumped by a quarter, while the natural-gas and oil
producer's El Paso Pipeline Partners LP (EPB) saw its earnings rise
24%.
El Paso, which operates a network of interstate natural-gas
pipelines in North America, last year agreed to sell itself to
Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) for $21 billion, a deal which is expected
to close by the second quarter of this year.
For the latest period, El Paso posted a profit of $185 million,
or 24 cents a share, up from $71 million, or 9 cents a share, a
year earlier.
Revenue rose 25% to $1.23 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson
Reuters expected earnings of 29 cents a share on $1.35 billion in
revenue.
Meanwhile, El Paso Pipeline reported earnings of $126 million,
or 51 cents a unit, up from $102 million, or 53 cents a unit a year
earlier. Operating revenue rose 2.8% to $362 million. Analysts
expected earnings of 60 cents a unit on revenue of $385
million.
El Paso Pipeline is a so-called master limited partnership, a
tax-advantaged structure in which most of the company's earnings
are paid out to shareholders in the form of dividend-like
distributions. A separate "general partner," which is owned by El
Paso, oversees day-to-day operations.
Shares and units of El Paso and El Paso Pipeline Partners were
inactive in premarket trading, after closing Friday at $27.16 and
$38.01, respectively.
-By Mia Lamar, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3207;
mia.lamar@dowjones.com