(Reuters) – Pipeline and terminal operator Kinder Morgan reaffirmed its annual profit outlook on Wednesday and said it expects substantial growth in demand for natural gas through 2030.
The Houston, Texas-based company said in January that it continues to have an optimistic outlook for natural gas demand due to demand from LNG export facilities and increased exports from Mexico .
This comes at a time when natural gas prices declined by 20.4% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year.
“While natural gas prices are expected to be significantly below budget for the full year, given that we have slight direct exposure to commodity prices and have seen good execution in our businesses, it does not “There is no change in our budget forecast for the whole year,” the director general said. Officer Kim Dang.
Dang also said the company expects new demand for natural gas for power generation associated with artificial intelligence operations, cryptocurrency mining and data centers.
The company reaffirmed its 2024 earnings forecast at $1.22 per share, which it had raised in January to reflect the acquisition of NextEra Energy Partners’ STX Midstream assets.
Kinder Morgan also hit first-quarter profit estimates, helped by higher volumes in its gas pipeline segment.
The gas pipeline segment benefited from higher margins achieved on the company’s storage assets and higher volumes on its gathering systems, with an added boost from the acquisition of STX Midstream, it said .
Adjusted core profit for the company’s natural gas pipeline segment was $1.52 billion, up from $1.43 billion a year ago.
Its adjusted profit was 34 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, in line with LSEG estimates.
The company also approved a 2% increase in its quarterly dividend.
(Reporting by Saikeerthi and Roshia Sabu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
