Kinder Morgan's top executive says the US company's fleet of tankers has helped fuel growth in earnings in its terminals segment.

The Houston company said today that its terminals business delivered a segment profit of $269m, up 2% from $264m in the same period of 2015. The figures exclude before depreciation, depletion and amortisation (DD&A).

While 77% of that result was from the company's liquid terminals, the segment also includes the results of American Petroleum Tankers (APT), which has become a dominant player in the Jones Act tanker space with a fleet of 16 ships once all newbuildings are delivered.

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