Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) and its master limited partnership Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) both expect to beat third-quarter consensus earnings estimates, management said Tuesday.

KMI expects to exceed current consensus Wall Street estimates of 63 cents per share in the third quarter, and hit $2.64 for the year — 34% more than the full year of 2001. KMP also expects to exceed current analyst consensus estimates of 44 cents per share in earnings for the third quarter, and is on track to hit $1.84 per unit earnings for the entire year. If KMI hits its estimates, it will have gained 17% over 2001 earnings.

KMP also expects to increase its quarterly cash distribution per unit from 61 cents ($2.44 annualized) to at least 62.5 cents ($2.50 annualized) for the fourth quarter of 2002. Kinder Morgan executives will host an earnings web cast at 4:30 p.m. EST on Oct. 16 at www.kindermorgan.com.

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