TC Energy net Q2 profits increase to $1.3B despite lower sales

TC Energy Corp. is reporting higher net profits in the second quarter on asset sales even though revenues decreased.

The Calgary-based company says it earned $1.3 billion or $1.36 per diluted share for the three months ended June 30, up from $1.1 billion or $1.21 per share a year earlier.

The results included an after-tax gain of $408 million related to the sale of a 65 per cent equity interest in the Coastal GasLink pipeline and an incremental after-tax loss of $80 million due to the Ontario natural gas-fired power plant assets sold in April.

Adjusted profits decreased 6.6 per cent to $863 million or 92 cents per share, in line with analyst forecasts, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv. That compared with $924 million or $1 per share in adjusted earnings in the second quarter of 2019.

Revenues dropped 8.4 per cent to $3.09 billion of revenues, from $3.37 billion in the prior year.

TC Energy says its assets have been largely unimpacted by COVID-19 with flows and utilization levels remaining in line with historical and seasonal norms and largely insulated from short-term volatility of commodity prices.