TransCanada profit, revenue, disappoint

Calgary-based pipeline giant TransCanada Corp. is reporting a lower fourth-quarter profit that also fell short of analyst estimates.

Its net income fell to $306 million or 43 cents per share, while its "comparable" earnings, which exclude most unusual items, declined to $318 million or 45 cents per share.

Analysts had been expecting 51 cents per share of net earnings and 49 cents per share of adjusted earnings, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters.

TransCanada revenue was also short of expectations at $2.09 billion, about $65 million below the consensus estimate but up from $2.02 billion a year earlier.

Its 2011 fourth-quarter profit was $376 million of net income and $365 million of comparable earnings, or 53 cents and 52 cents per share respectively.

TransCanada says its quarterly dividend will rise by two cents per share to 46 cents for the quarter ending March 31, an increase of five per cent.