Kinder Morgan Sees Profits Rise in 2021 After Year of High Impairment Charges

By Adriano Marchese

Kinder Morgan Inc. said Wednesday that it expects a significant increase in profits in 2021 following a year with large impairments associated with its natural gas pipelines.

The Houston-based company said that it expects net income to be $2.1 billion in the year, compared with $119 million in 2020, where it was saddled with $1.95 billion of non-cash impairments. In 2019, the company's net profits were $2.19 billion.

The company also expects to declare a 3% higher dividend of $1.08 a share.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization--a metric that excludes exceptional costs--is expected to be $6.8 billion, compared with $6.96 billion in 2020.

In the year, Kinder Morgan anticipates investing in expansion projects and contributing to joint ventures for an expected $800 million.

As at Dec. 31, the company said it had $3.9 billion of borrowing capacity and nearly $1.2 billion in cash.

"We believe this borrowing capacity, current cash on hand, and our cash from operations are more than adequate to allow us to manage our cash requirements, including maturing debt, through 2021," the company said.

At 4:31 p.m. EST in after-hours trading, shares were up 39 cents, or 2.5%, at $15.98.

Write to Adriano Marchese at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 20, 2021 16:59 ET (21:59 GMT)

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