Pipeline operator TC Energy's results beat on higher energy demand

(Reuters) -TC Energy beat first-quarter profit estimates on Friday as strong energy demand boosted the pipeline operator's transport volumes of oil and gas.

Crude demand in the U.S., the largest importer of Canada's oil and gas, rose in the first quarter according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, benefiting Canadian energy firms.

Total earnings from TC Energy's pipeline segments came in at C$2.27 billion ($1.66 billion), compared with C$2.17 billion last year, largely on an income jump of 80% in its liquids pipeline.

This was primarily driven by the Keystone pipeline, which achieved 96% "operational reliability", TC Energy said.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company, best known for its Keystone oil pipeline, is undergoing an overhaul and said last year it would spin off its liquids business to focus on transporting natural gas - a move to raise money to repay its debt.

"We'll seek to maximize the value of our assets ... and continue our deleveraging path by advancing our asset divestiture program," CEO Francois Poirier said in a statement on Friday.

TC Energy's U.S. natural gas pipeline system saw daily average flows rise 5% in the quarter, but the segment's earnings fell 3.3%.

"The company's assets continue to perform well...(but) market will continue to instead focus on the execution of the deleveraging plan, construction of major projects and the impact of the South Bow spin-off," RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note.

The company posted an adjusted profit of C$1.24 per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of C$1.14 per share, according to LSEG data.

Additionally, the company said its Mexico Southeast Gateway pipeline, a 1.3 bcfpd offshore natural gas pipeline, has completed more than 70% of its deepwater pipe installation.

($1 = 1.3663 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Seher Dareen and Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)