Quite good, year end, (just a core snippet of the results) PRESIDENT'S COMMENT
"Overall, 2017 was a very successful year for ENF," said Perry Schuldhaus, Company President. "Financial results were in line with our expectations, driven by the solid performance of the Liquids Pipelines' segment where Canadian Mainline volumes reached a record throughput of over 2.7 million barrels per day in December and continued strength from Alliance Pipeline and the green power business. In addition, we had significant contributions from the $3.7 billion of new projects brought into service throughout the year, primarily within the Regional Oil Sands business.
"We also further strengthened the balance sheet in 2017 with a $0.7 billion common equity issuance in December. This sets us up well to achieve our target credit metrics by the end of this coming year and supports a strong, investment grade credit rating for the Fund Group.
"Looking forward to 2018, we anticipate a continuation of our strong business performance, driven by strong volumes on the Canadian Mainline and a full year contribution from the new capital projects that came into service in 2017. We'll also continue work on the Line 3 Replacement Project which we expect to be in service in the second half of 2019. The strength of this financial outlook underpins our annual 10% dividend growth guidance through 2020."
FINANCIAL RESULTS
The Company reported financial results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2017, compared to the same periods in 2016, as summarized in the table below:
Three months ended Year ended December 31, December 31, ------------ ------------ 2017 2016 2017 2016 ---- ---- ---- ---- (millions of Canadian dollars) Earnings 86 67 307 252 Earnings per common share 0.56 0.54 2.16 2.18 ------------------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- EIPLP adjusted EBITDA 748 624 2,665 2,514 Fund Group DCF 565 491 1,976 1,837 Fund Group annual payout ratio 82% 87% ============================== === ===
A schedule reconciling EIPLP adjusted EBITDA is available at www.enbridgeincomefund.com and as an Appendix to this news release.
The Company's fourth quarter and full year earnings increased by $19 million and $55 million, respectively. This was primarily driven by a higher number of Fund Units held by the Company in 2017.
Fourth quarter and full year EIPLP adjusted EBITDA were up by $124 million and $151 million, respectively. Period-over-period growth was driven largely by the Canadian Mainline and by new projects that were brought into service during the year. Contributions from the Canadian Mainline were up year-over-year as a result of higher crude oil throughput and higher tolls. Alliance Pipeline and the Fund Group's portfolio of green power assets also contributed to EBITDA growth.
Fund Group DCF increased as a result of the same factors noted above. As this DCF growth was greater than the 10% dividend increase for the year, the Fund Group payout ratio decreased to 82% in 2017.