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Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP) Beats Q4 Earnings Estimates

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Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (BIP - Free Report) posted fourth-quarter 2018 earnings of 82 cents per unit, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents by 1.23%.

In 2018, the partnership delivered earnings of $3.11 cents per unit which represents a 5% increase over the prior year.

Better operating performance across segments, contributions from recent acquisitions and benefit from $209 million realized on the sale of investment in an electricity transmission business drove the quarterly figures. However, higher depreciation, one-time charge in the transport segment and the impact of foreign exchange hurt results.

Revenues

Revenues of $1,428 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $937 million by 52.4%. Revenues also improved 45.1% year over year from $984 million.

In 2018, the partnership reported revenues of $4,652 million compared with $3,535 million in 2017.

Highlights

Direct operating costs in the reported quarter were $729 million, up 82.7% from $399 million in the year-ago quarter.

Interest expenses rose 55.7% year over year to $176 million from $113 million in the prior-year quarter.

Fund flow from operations (FFO) in the reported quarter was $326 million, up from $313 million in the prior-year quarter.

Segment Details

Utilities: FFO in the segment was $138 million, down 19.7% year over year.

Transport: The segment generated FFO of $129 million, down from $139 million in the year-ago quarter.

Energy: The segment generated FFO of $90 million, up 600.7% year over year.

Data Infrastructure: The segment generated FFO of $20 million, up from $19 million in the prior-year quarter.

Corporate: This segment incurred a loss of $51 million in the quarter, narrower than a loss of $73 million in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Update

As of Dec 31, 2018, Brookfield Infrastructure’s cash and cash equivalents were $540 million compared with $374 million of Dec 31, 2017.

Cash from operating activities was $376 million at the end of three months ended in Dec 31, 2018, down from $509 million in the year-ago period.

Zacks Rank

Brookfield Infrastructure has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Utility Releases

NextEra Energy, Inc (NEE - Free Report) delivered fourth-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $1.49 per share, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 by 1.3%.

American Electric Power Co., Inc (AEP - Free Report) generated fourth-quarter 2018 operating earnings per share (EPS) of 72 cents, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Xcel Energy Inc (XEL - Free Report) posted fourth-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 42 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

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