Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest pipeline operator, topped analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Friday, as the company transported more oil on its Mainline system that runs from western Canada to the United States.
The company said it moved 2.58 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil on its Mainline system during the quarter, up from 2.49 million bpd a year earlier.
Canada's oil producers are desperate for new export pipelines, as rising production and tight capacity on existing pipelines has led to Canadian crude trading at a wide discount to the West Texas Intermediate benchmark.
Enbridge has aggressively sold assets this year, exceeding an announced target to reduce its high debt load following its $28-billion acquisition of Spectra Energy Corp.
However, the company reported a net loss attributable to common shareholders of C$90 million, or 5 Canadian cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of C$765 million, or 47 Canadian cents per share, a year ago.
The loss was due to some charges, including a non-cash charge of C$1.02 billion, Enbridge said in a statement.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 55 Canadian Cents per share. Analysts, on average, had expected earnings of 51 Canadian cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
($1 = 1.3054 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Shailesh Kuber)
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