TC Energy Corp. (NYSE: TRP) reported Q3 EPS of $1.04, $0.37 better than the analyst estimate of $0.67.

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

Third quarter 2019 financial results

• Net income attributable to common shares of $739 million or $0.79 per common share
  • Comparable earnings of $970 million or $1.04 per common share
  • Comparable earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2.3 billion
  • Net cash provided by operations of $1.6 billion
  • Comparable funds generated from operations of $1.8 billion
  • Comparable distributable cash flow of $1.7 billion or $1.78 per common share
• Declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per common share for the quarter ending December 31, 2019
• Discontinued practice of issuing common shares from treasury at a discount to satisfy purchases under DRP commencing with the dividends declared October 31
• Announced $1.2 billion West Path Delivery Program, an expansion of the NGTL and Foothills pipeline systems
• Initiated the US$0.3 billion Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) XPress project
• Commenced commercial operations on the Sur de Texas pipeline in September
• Continued construction activities on the $6.6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline project and advanced funding plans for the project
• Received Nebraska Supreme Court decision in August affirming the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline route through Nebraska
• Received Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for the Keystone XL project in October
• Closed the sale of certain Columbia Midstream assets for approximately US$1.3 billion
• Completed the partial monetization of Northern Courier for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $1.15 billion
• Entered into an agreement to sell our interests in three Ontario natural gas-fired power plants for approximately $2.87 billion
• Issued $1.0 billion of long-term fixed-rate Medium Term Notes in September 2019
• Issued US$1.1 billion of Junior Subordinated Notes in September 2019.

"During the third quarter of 2019, our diversified portfolio of regulated and long-term contracted assets continued to perform very well," said Russ Girling, TC Energy’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "Despite significant asset sales that have accelerated the strengthening of our balance sheet, comparable earnings per share increased four per cent compared to the same period last year while comparable funds generated from operations of $1.8 billion were 15 per cent higher. The increases reflect the robust performance of our legacy assets and contributions from the approximately $8.2 billion of growth projects that have entered service to date in 2019. Those increases were partially offset by lower contributions from approximately $3.4 billion of assets that were monetized during the first nine months of the year."

The asset sales included the Coolidge gas-fired power plant in Arizona, certain Columbia Midstream assets and an 85 per cent equity interest in Northern Courier. In addition, the Company has entered into an agreement to sell its Ontario gas-fired power plants including Napanee, Halton Hills and a 50 per cent interest in Portlands Energy Centre for approximately $2.87 billion. Including this transaction, which is anticipated to close in first quarter 2020, proceeds from asset sales are expected to total approximately $6.3 billion.

"Each of these transactions allowed us to surface significant value and redeploy the proceeds into our $30 billion secured capital program, thereby reducing our need for external funding including common equity," added Girling. "When combined with our significant internally generated cash flow and access to debt capital markets, we are well positioned to prudently fund our capital program in a manner that maximizes earnings and cash flow per share and is consistent with achieving targeted run-rate credit metrics including debt-to-EBITDA in the high four times area. As a result, we do not expect to issue any additional common shares from treasury under our Dividend Reinvestment Plan commencing with fourth quarter 2019 dividends."

Looking forward, TC Energy also continues to progress more than $20 billion of projects under development including Keystone XL and the Bruce Power life extension program. Success in advancing these and other growth initiatives that are expected to emanate from our five operating businesses across North America could extend our current dividend growth outlook of eight to 10 per cent through 2021.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on TC Energy Corp. (TRP) click here.