TransCanada (NYSE: TRP) reported Q2 EPS of $0.86, $0.19 better than the analyst estimate of $0.67. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.2 billion versus the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion.

Highlights(All financial figures are unaudited and in Canadian dollars unless noted otherwise)

• Second quarter 2018 financial results
  • Net income attributable to common shares of $785 million or $0.88 per common share
  • Comparable earnings of $768 million or $0.86 per common share
  • Comparable earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2.0 billion
  • Net cash provided by operations of $1.8 billion
  • Comparable funds generated from operations of $1.5 billion
  • Comparable distributable cash flow of $1.3 billion or $1.46 per common share reflecting only non-recoverable maintenance capital expenditures
• Declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per common share for the quarter ending September 30, 2018
• Received National Energy Board (NEB) approval for the NGTL System's 2018-2019 Settlement with customers
• Received approval from the Federal government for the $1.6 billion North Montney project
• Raised US$2.5 billion in 10, 20 and 30-year fixed-rate senior debt in May 2018
• Issued $1 billion of 10 and 30-year fixed-rate medium-term notes in July 2018
• Replenished the capacity available under the Corporate ATM program by $1 billion
• Announced the sale of our interests in Cartier Wind for approximately $630 million in August 2018.

"During the second quarter of 2018 our diversified portfolio of critical energy infrastructure assets continued to perform very well," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and chief executive officer. "Comparable earnings of 86 cents per share increased 13 per cent compared to the same period last year reflecting the strong performance of our legacy assets, contributions from approximately $7 billion of growth projects that entered service over the last twelve months and the positive impact of U.S. Tax Reform. For the six months ended June 30, 2018, comparable earnings were $1.83 per share, an increase of 17 per cent over the same period last year despite the sale of our U.S. Northeast power generation and Ontario solar assets in 2017."

"With our existing asset portfolio benefiting from strong underlying market fundamentals and $28 billion of near-term growth projects including maintenance capital expenditures advancing as planned, earnings and cash flow are forecast to continue to rise. This is expected to support annual dividend growth at the upper end of an eight to ten per cent range through 2020 and an additional eight to ten per cent in 2021,” added Girling. "We have invested approximately $10 billion in these projects to date and are well positioned to fund the remainder through our strong and growing internally generated cash flow along with a broad spectrum of financing levers including access to capital markets and further portfolio management activities. In second quarter we placed approximately $4.3 billion of long-term debt on compelling terms and year-to-date have raised approximately $1.2 billion of common equity through our dividend reinvestment plan and at-the-market program. Earlier today we also announced the sale of our interests in the Cartier Wind power facilities for approximately $630 million. Collectively through these initiatives, we have raised $6.1 billion which represents a sizable component of our 2018 funding requirements."

"In addition, we continue to methodically advance more than $20 billion of medium to longer-term projects including Keystone XL, Coastal GasLink and the Bruce Power life extension agreement. Success in advancing these and/or other growth initiatives associated with our vast North American footprint could extend our growth outlook beyond 2021," concluded Girling.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on TransCanada (TRP) click here.