Boardwalk Pipeline 3Q profit tumbles 75 pct

Boardwalk Pipeline 3rd-qtr profit tumbles 75 pct, misses street view, on higher expenses

• On 12:18 pm EDT, Monday October 26, 2009

HOUSTON (AP) -- Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP, which transports and stores natural gas, on Monday said its third-quarter earnings tumbled 74 percent, driven by higher expenses and costs related to pipeline repairs.

Higher taxes, depreciation and interest expenses, along with pipeline shutdown costs, more than offset the 7 percent gain in quarterly revenue.

Net income for the third quarter fell to $18.8 million, or 10 cents per unit, compared with $73.6 million, or 47 cents per unit, during the same period last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters estimated a profit of 19 cents per unit, on average.

Revenue climbed to $205.4 million, up from $191.6 million in the prior-year period. Analysts forecast an average revenue of $227.3 million.