By Kristin Jones 
 

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP's (KMP) third-quarter profit jumped 78% as the company saw strength across its business segments, including its natural gas pipelines.

Meanwhile, Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI), which owns Kinder Morgan Energy's general partner, said its profit rose 32%, citing strong contributions from Kinder Morgan Energy and El Paso Pipeline Partners LP (EPB), following the company's recent acquisition of El Paso Corp. Kinder Morgan Inc. also increased its quarterly dividend to 36 cents a share, an increase of a penny from its previous dividend.

El Paso Pipeline Partners' profit rose 22%, as the company cited solid results from its regulated pipeline and storage assets, and increased demand from gas-fired power plants.

Kinder Morgan Inc. in May completed its roughly $21 billion acquisition of El Paso Corp., creating the largest natural gas pipeline operator in North America

Kinder Morgan Energy, which transports natural gas and coal, has been benefiting from a rush into U.S. alternative shale fields, while Asian demand for steelmaking coal has supported performance at its coal export terminals. However, a writedown on discontinued operations pressured its earnings earlier in the year.

Kinder Morgan Energy reported a profit of $383 million, up from $215 million a year earlier. On a per-unit basis, which is affected by the general partner's interest, the company posted a loss of six cents, compared with a year-earlier Kinder Morgan Energy Partners loss of 25 cents. Excluding special items, per-unit earnings rose to 57 cents from 44 cents.

Revenue rose 11% to $2.34 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting per-unit earnings of 58 cents with revenue of $2.25 billion.

The company saw particular strength from its natural gas pipelines, driven by the Tennessee Gas Pipeline and El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline.

Kinder Morgan Inc. reported a profit of $200 million, up from $152 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings per Class A share were 17 cents, down from 19 cents a year earlier, reflecting fewer shares outstanding in the latest period. On continuing operations, earnings were 19 cents a share, up from 18 cents a share.

Revenue jumped 35% to $2.87 billion.

Analysts projected per-share earnings of 26 cents a share on revenue of $2.53 billion.

El Paso Pipeline Partners posted a profit of $151 million, up from $124 million. On a per-unit basis, which takes into account the general partner's interest, the company posted a profit of 55 cents, up from 46 cents.

Revenue edged up 0.5% to 368 million.

Wall Street expected a profit of 51 cents on revenue of $388 million.

El Paso also increased its quarterly cash distribution per unit by 18% to 58 cents.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners units closed Wednesday at $85.99, and El Paso Pipeline units closed at $37.26. Both were largely unchanged after hours.

Kinder Morgan Inc. shares were up fractionally in after-hours trading to $35.80. The stock is up 11% so far this year.

Write to Kristin Jones at kristin.jones@dowjones.com

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