Reported net income for the current quarter included special items of $5 million in costs and $4 million for an extraordinary loss, as well as earnings from discontinued operations of $3 million; the prior year period included special items of $11 million in income as well as earnings of $254 million from discontinued operations related to operations transferred back to Duke Energy prior to the spin-off of Spectra Energy.
Excluding these items in both periods, the net income for third quarter was $240 million, compared to $182 million in Q3 2006. Higher earnings reflected strong operational results in the US transmission and storage operations and the Canadian businesses, and a lower effective tax rate, partially offset by lower earnings in the field services and other divisions.
Fred Fowler, president and chief executive officer of Spectra Energy, said: We had an exceptionally strong third quarter. Ten months into Spectra Energy’s first year as a public company, we’re continuing to execute against our short-term objectives and have made excellent progress investing in longer-term development projects to fuel future growth. We remain confident that we will meet our 2007 financial goals and are on track to deliver on our 2007-2009 $3 billion capital investment program.
