Brookfield Infrastructure reported net income for the year of $410 million ($0.59 per unit) compared to $125 million (a loss of $0.04 per unit) in the prior year, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018. Net income for the year reflects better operating performance across the majority of its operations, contributions from recent acquisitions and a gain of $209 million (net of tax) realized on the sale of its investment in an electricity transmission business. The positive impacts were partially offset by higher depreciation, a one-time charge in Brookfield’s transport segment and the impact of foreign exchange which lowered U.S. dollar earnings in the current period.
The firm’s business generated FFO of $1.23 billion during 2018, or $3.11 per unit, which represents a 5 percent increase over the prior year. While FFO benefited from solid organic growth of 8 percent compared to 2017, results were impacted by the loss of income associated with asset sales and the time required to redeploy the proceeds. In addition, a stronger U.S. dollar reduced results by approximately $100 million compared to the prior year.
“2018 was an extremely active and successful year. We executed on our asset rotation strategy, an integral component of our full-cycle investment plan, and as a result, are able to fund our secured transactions, without need for equity issuance. The business also generated solid results and we deployed over $2.5 billion into organic growth projects and new investments,” said Sam Pollock, CEO of Brookfield Infrastructure. “Heading into 2019, the outlook for our business continues to be positive, and we should experience meaningful growth in our results as we close three already committed transactions and realize on organic growth in our existing businesses.”
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