Kinder Morgan forecast higher earnings for 2025 as the US pipeline operator bets on growth in its natural gas pipelines and energy transition ventures amid rising demand for the fuel, reports Reuters.
Shares of the Houston, Texas-based company were up 1.7% after the market close.
Pipeline operators such as Kinder Morgan are also banking on electric generation associated with artificial intelligence operations, cryptocurrency mining and data centres.
Net income attributable to the company is expected to be US$1.27 per share in 2025, in line with analysts' average estimate, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Kinder Morgan had forecast a profit of US$1.17 per share for end-2024.
The company's third-quarter profit fell short of Wall Street estimates earlier this year. It had also lowered its annual profit forecast as the US pipeline operator contended with lower crude volumes.
However, the company now expects to generate US$8.3 billion of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in 2025, up nearly 4% from the 2024 forecast of US$8 billion.
Kinder Morgan, one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America, operates about 79 000 miles of pipelines.
A lower net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio would provide the company with good capacity for "additional opportunistic investment," said CEO Kim Dang in the statement.
Kinder Morgan added it expects to invest US$2.3 billion in discretionary capital expenditures, including expansion projects and contributions to joint ventures.
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