Enterprise Products quarterly profit dips on lower margins; boosts buyback to $5 bln

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Enterprise Products Partners EPD.N reported a decline in third-quarter profit on Thursday, as lower processing margins and maintenance downtime offset record pipeline and gas processing volumes.

Shares of the company dropped nearly 2% in premarket trade.

The U.S. pipeline operator also raised its share buyback authorization to $5 billion from $2 billion previously.

The company's CEO A.J. Teague said natural gas and liquids throughput from the Permian Basin helped set nine operational records in the quarter, including for natural gas processing and pipeline volumes.

Enterprise moved record volumes through its network, with natural gas pipeline throughput up 8% at 21.0 trillion British thermal units (Btus) per day and equivalent pipeline volumes up 7% at 13.9 million barrels per day.

Those gains were offset by lower sales margins, reduced LPG loading fees after contract renewals and downtime at several natural gas liquids fractionators and the PDH 2 unit.

Net income attributable to common unitholders fell to $1.36 billion, or 61 cents per unit, for the three months ended September 30, from $1.43 billion, or 65 cents, a year earlier.