(Reuters) -Kinder Morgan posted a 24% rise in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by higher volumes of natural gas transported through its pipelines.
Pipeline operators such as Kinder Morgan are banking on a rise in demand for natural gas from LNG export facilities as well as for electricity associated with AI operations, cryptocurrency mining and data centers.
The United States was the largest exporter of LNG in 2024, and exports of the superchilled gas are expected to increase even further,
as new terminals come online after President Donald Trump lifted a pause on new permits in January.
"With historic growing natural gas demand forecasts, a positive federal regulatory environment, and highly supportive federal permitting agencies, the future for our company is very bright," said Executive Chairman Richard Kinder.
The results come as the energy industry braces for the impact of Trump's tariffs on most imports, which Kinder Morgan said poses "some challenges".
However, it does not expect any significant impact on project economics, adding that the impact of tariffs is expected to be only 1% of existing project costs.
The company transported about 44,585 billion British thermal units per day of natgas in the reported quarter, compared with 43,123 BBtu/d last year.
Its total delivery volumes, which includes refined products such as jet fuel and diesel fuel, also rose to 2.21 million barrels per day during the quarter ended June 30, from 2.17 million bpd last year.
The company, which moves roughly 40% of the country's total natural gas output, said total project backlog increased 6% to $9.3 billion from the preceding quarter.
The Houston, Texas-based company's net income came in at $715 million, or 32 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with $575 million, or 26 cents per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
