El Paso Corp.'s (EP) first-quarter earnings rose 39%, while the
natural gas and oil producer's El Paso Pipeline Partners L.P. (EPB)
reported 17% higher income.
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 late this month.
For the latest period, El Paso posted a profit of $86 million,
or 11 cents a share, from $62 million, or 8 cents a share, a year
earlier. Excluding derivatives impacts, merger-related costs and
other items, earnings were 20 cents a share, down from 30
cents.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 29
cents a share.
Meanwhile, El Paso Pipeline reported earnings of $135 million,
up from $115 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings dropped to
54 cents from 57 cents due to more shares outstanding in the latest
period. Operating revenue dropped 0.8% to $363 million. Analysts
expected earnings of 61 cents a unit on revenue of $392
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 Wednesday at $30.29 and
$33.77, respectively.
-By Ben Fox Rubin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3108;
ben.rubin@dowjones.com