Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) stock fell 2.16% (As on April 20, 11:45:15 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company beat profit expectations for the first quarter as the U.S. pipeline operator transported higher volumes of natural gas primarily from Haynesville and Eagle Ford systems. The company recorded a rise in demand as volumes increased on El Paso natural gas pipeline due to its return to service, while the retirement of coal-fired power plants and cooler weather supported a surge in gas consumption. The company said earnings from its natural gas pipelines rose about 26% to $1.5 billion from last year, as it exported higher volumes of the super-cooled fuel. Total delivery volumes, which include refined products and crude, stood at about 2 million barrels of oil per day, about 1.5% lower than last year. Kinder Morgan, which is the largest operator of carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines in North America, said its earnings from the transportation of CO2 fell about 17% to $173 million from last year, due to lower realized prices and volumes.

KMI in the first quarter of FY 23 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 30 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 29 cents, according to data from Refinitiv. The company had reported the adjusted revenue of $3.9 billion in the first quarter of FY 23, missing the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $4.8 billion. The company has reported first quarter net income attributable to KMI of $679 million, compared to $667 million in the first quarter of 2022; and distributable cash flow (DCF) of $1,374 million, compared to $1,455 million in the first quarter of 2022.

For 2023, the company reiterated its forecast to generate net income of $2.5 billion or $1.12 per share. The pipeline operator also said that expansion of its Permian Highway Pipeline is facing supply chain constraints, causing a delay and pushing expected in-service to December from November 2023.

In addition, the company is continuing to execute on capital-efficient expansions of our existing natural gas pipeline systems. This quarter the company has made good progress on two such expansions. One will add approximately 550 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of capacity to the Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP) system through additional compression with minimal new pipeline build. The other will increase capacity and reliability of services to Con Edison, a key business partner, by upgrading and adding compression facilities on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) system in a critical region of the country.