TransCanada reports $734M in 1st-quarter profit

TransCanada Corp. reported a better-than-expected first quarter as it earned $734 million, up from $643 million a year ago.

The pipeline company says the profit amounted to 83 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31 compared with 74 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue totalled $3.42 billion, up from nearly $3.41 billion.

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Comparable earnings for the quarter, which exclude certain items, amounted to $870 million or 98 cents per share, up from $698 million or 81 cents per share a year ago.

Analysts on average had expected 84 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

TransCanada says the improvement reflected the strong performance of its legacy assets and contributions from projects that were placed into service over the last 12 months.