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Macquarie said there had been a significant lift in demand as a result of the extreme conditions in the US.Credit:New York Times

The business,which physically moves gas across most major pipelines in the United States,has recently experienced a jump in revenue as a result of severe energy shortages in Texas. Macquarie did not specify how much revenue had gone up,but one analyst estimated the increase was more than half a billion dollars.

Macquarie said the commodities and global markets business had built up capacity to deliver power and physical commodities to help clients meet “unexpected needs”.

“Extreme winter weather conditions in North America have significantly increased short-term client demand for Macquarie’s capabilities in maintaining critical physical supply across the commodity complex and particularly in relation to gas and power,” Macquarie said in an ASX statement.

Shares in the investment banking group jumped 3.4 per cent on Monday to $147.15,as analysts upgraded their profit forecasts after the sudden upgrade.

Velocity Trade analyst Brett Le Mesurier said the extent of the profit upgrade was a surprise,and it reflected Macquarie’s diversity and its strategic positioning.

“It’s substantial,but it relates to a specific event which hopefully for the people of Texas won’t be repeated in a hurry,” Mr Le Mesurier said.

“They[Macquarie] put themselves in the situation to get lucky – but they often do that,which is really the nature of Macquarie. They see areas of opportunity and position themselves better than most.”

Citi analyst Brendan Sproules said the profit upgrade suggested the Macquarie business had earned $600 million in two weeks,as he raised his revenue forecast for the division from $4.2 billion to $4.8 billion.

Mr Sproules,who has a “sell” rating on the stock,said the announcement from Macquarie implied a company-wide profit upgrade of about 15 per cent. He is forecasting the investment bank’s profits will now be more than $2.9 billion for the year to March.

Extreme weather conditions in Texas have had a devastating impact on the state,causingsome deaths by hypothermia,widespread blackouts andsky-rocketing energy prices.

Millions of people were left without electricity last week,as electricity generators were knocked offline and spot prices surged.

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