KMI Kinder Morgan Inc

By Anne Steele 

Kinder Morgan Inc. swung to a profit in the final quarter of the year as the energy giant booked a smaller write-down, though revenue declined more than expected.

The company early in 2016 cut its spending plans and shed assets in an effort to improve finances and ride out a commodities slump. On Wednesday, the company said it substantially reduced its debt over the year and didn't have to tap capital markets to fund growth projects.

During the fourth quarter, the company's project backlog fell to $12 billion from $13 billion in the previous quarter because of the completion of its Southern Natural Gas pipeline and Elba Express Company expansions, its South System Flexibility project and Cortez Pipeline expansion, as well as the delivery of the American Endurance tanker.

In all for the December quarter, Kinder Morgan posted a profit of $209 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $695 million. On a per-share basis, which includes preferred dividend effects, the company earned 8 cents, compared with a 32-cent loss a year before.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected 18 cents a share.

The latest quarter included a $250 million write-down of the company's equity investment in the Ruby pipeline, driven by a delay in expected West Coast natural-gas demand growth to beyond 2021. But the quarter a year ago included a goodwill impairment of $1.15 billion.

Revenue slipped 6.8% to $3.39 billion, below analyst estimates for $3.54 billion.

Shares declined 1.3% after hours to $22.15.

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2017 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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