Spectra Energy Misses Q1 Views

reported weaker-than-expected results for the first quarter on Wednesday. The Houston, Texas-based company reported a quarterly profit of $267 million, or $0.40 per share, down from $419 million, or $0.62 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, the company earned $0.41 per share Its operating revenue dropped 12 percent year-over-year to $1.6 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.43 per share on revenue of $1.79 billion. The average estimate among 5 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.43 per share and revenue of $1.74 billion. Its ongoing EBITDA shrank to $788 million from $1 billion. Distributable cash flow declined to $578 million in the first quarter, from $631 million in the year-ago quarter. EBITDA for the company's Western Canada Transmission business dropped 32 percent to $161 million, while EBITDA in its distribution business slipped 15 percent to $192 million. The company's field services segment posted a loss of $14 million in the latest quarter, versus a year-ago profit of $130 million. EBITDA for Spectra Energy Partners gained 6 percent to $455 million. At March 31, 2015, total debt outstanding at Spectra Energy was $14.3 billion. "Spectra Energy's first quarter results underscore the resilience of our business model," said Greg Ebel, chief executive officer, Spectra Energy. "Our business units performed well this quarter as our teams are focused on executing their strategies in this challenging macro environment. Our diversified portfolio of largely fee-based assets allowed us to exceed our EBITDA and cash generation expectations for the quarter despite lower than anticipated commodity prices and the weaker Canadian dollar." Spectra Energy shares fell 1.05 percent to close at $36.88 yesterday.