NuStar Energy L.P. Reports Strong First Quarter 2023 Earnings Results
Net Income, EPU, EBITDA and DCF All Up Quarter-Over-Quarter as Operations Continue to Perform Well
Pipeline Segment Operating Income Up 25 Percent
West Coast Region’s Revenues Up 33 Percent Compared to 1Q 2022
Balance Sheet Continues to Strengthen as Planned Redemption of Series D Preferred Units is Two Years Ahead of Schedule
Positive Outlook for Remainder of 2023
Highlights New Ammonia Contract/Outlines Emerging Ammonia Market Opportunities
“I am pleased to report another strong quarter of financial results where net income, earnings per unit (EPU), earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and distributable cash flow (DCF) were all up quarter-over-quarter and once again demonstrated the stability and strength of NuStar’s assets,” said NuStar Chairman and CEO Brad Barron.
NuStar reported net income of
NuStar also reported adjusted EBITDA of
Adjusted DCF was
Operations Continue to Perform Well
NuStar’s Pipeline Segment generated operating income of
“Our refined products systems and our Ammonia System continued to deliver solid, dependable revenue contributions, with throughput up six percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, which reflects the strength of these assets and our position in the markets we serve in the mid-Continent and throughout Texas,” said Barron. “Our Central West Pipeline Systems, particularly our McKee System, also performed well last quarter with higher revenues and throughputs compared to the first quarter of 2022, mainly due to increased demand into the
Barron also noted that NuStar’s Permian Crude System volumes averaged 543,000 barrels per day (BPD), up six percent over first quarter of 2022 volumes, and its Corpus Christi Crude System throughputs averaged 369,000 BPD, which is eight percent higher than volumes in the first quarter of 2022.
“In addition, after a near record-breaking 2022, our Fuels Marketing Segment kicked off 2023 with a strong first quarter by generating operating income and EBITDA of
Balance Sheet Continues to Strengthen
NuStar Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Tom Shoaf gave a positive update on the company’s continued progress in reducing its debt and building its financial strength and flexibility.
“In March, we entered into a structured financing arrangement to monetize a portion of our real estate at our corporate headquarters, which provided approximately
“Thanks to that transaction, along with our strong first quarter EBITDA, we ended the first quarter of 2023 with a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 3.46 times,” said Shoaf. “Our total debt balance was
Positive Outlook for Remainder of 2023
Shoaf also gave an update on full-year guidance for net income and adjusted EBITDA, as well as strategic capital and reliability capital for 2023.
“While high inflation and volatility that distinguished 2022 have persisted so far this year, we expect to generate full-year 2023 net income in the range of
He also noted that NuStar still plans to spend
“Depending on the activity of our Permian producers over the course of the rest of the year, we expect to allocate between
“In addition, we still expect to spend between
Barron stated that NuStar expects to once again self-fund all of its cash requirements, including all of its growth capital spending and its distributions.
“What’s more, even with our planned Series D redemption later this year, we are still on track to finish 2023 with a healthy debt-to-EBITDA ratio of below four times,” said Barron.
Barron closed by highlighting an agreement that was jointly announced by NuStar and OCI Global yesterday that will involve NuStar transporting ammonia on a new segment of its existing 2,000-mile anhydrous ammonia pipeline to OCI’s state-of-the-art ammonia products facility in
“We expect this healthy-return, low-capital project will meaningfully increase utilization of our Ammonia System,” said Barron. “And we expect this project to be just the first of several, as we are actively working with a number of potential customers interested in connections to our system, across our footprint, for a variety of different opportunities.”
Barron continued, “As you may know, about 90 percent of ammonia is used to support agricultural production and more than half of the world’s food production is dependent on this key chemical. Because of its importance, there is increasing focus on de-carbonizing the process used to make ammonia, either by capturing emissions or by utilizing electrolysis fueled by solar or wind to lower emissions, referred to, respectively, as ‘blue’ and ‘green’ ammonia.
“We are seeing growing interest in lower carbon ammonia from many different companies and potential customers. In addition to the ‘greening’ of ammonia expanding the market domestically, international demand is also driving interest in ammonia export, which could drive additional utilization of not only our Ammonia System but also, potentially, our St. James facility, which has dock capacity that could support ammonia export. So as you can see, this growing interest in ammonia – to reduce emissions and supply the globe – is generating opportunities for attractive return, low-spend projects that we are confident will increase our system utilization significantly, across our footprint, over the next several years,” Barron concluded.
Conference Call Details
A conference call with management is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. CT on Thursday, May 4, 2023, to discuss the financial and operational results for the first quarter of 2023. Persons interested in listen-only participation may access the conference call directly at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/fnk2v7x2. Persons interested in Q&A participation may pre-register for the conference call and obtain a dial-in number and passcode at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI3c790e56797c443d95909ed3a22b5f52. A recorded version will be available two hours after the conclusion of the conference call at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/fnk2v7x2.
The conference call may also be accessed through the “Investors” section of NuStar Energy L.P.’s website at https://investor.nustarenergy.com.
NuStar Energy L.P., a publicly traded master limited partnership based in
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes, and the related conference call will include, forward-looking statements regarding future events and expectations, such as NuStar’s future performance, plans and expenditures. All forward-looking statements are based on NuStar’s beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to NuStar. These statements reflect NuStar’s current views with respect to future events and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions are discussed in NuStar Energy L.P.’s 2022 annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, NuStar does not intend, or undertake any obligation, to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
NuStar Energy L.P. and Subsidiaries |
|||||||
Consolidated Financial Information |
|||||||
(Unaudited, Thousands of Dollars, Except Unit, Per Unit and Ratio Data) |
|||||||
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
||||||
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
||||
Statement of Income Data: |
|
|
|
||||
Revenues: |
|
|
|
||||
Service revenues |
$ |
285,266 |
|
|
$ |
265,305 |
|
Product sales |
|
108,601 |
|
|
|
144,558 |
|
Total revenues |
|
393,867 |
|
|
|
409,863 |
|
Costs and expenses: |
|
|
|
||||
Costs associated with service revenues: |
|
|
|
||||
Operating expenses |
|
89,162 |
|
|
|
86,402 |
|
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
62,054 |
|
|
|
63,303 |
|
Total costs associated with service revenues |
|
151,216 |
|
|
|
149,705 |
|
Costs associated with product sales |
|
93,461 |
|
|
|
126,715 |
|
Impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
|
46,122 |
|
General and administrative expenses |
|
28,725 |
|
|
|
27,071 |
|
Other depreciation and amortization expense |
|
1,555 |
|
|
|
1,824 |
|
Total costs and expenses |
|
274,957 |
|
|
|
351,437 |
|
Gain on sale of assets |
|
41,075 |
|
|
|
— |
|
Operating income |
|
159,985 |
|
|
|
58,426 |
|
Interest expense, net |
|
(57,371 |
) |
|
|
(49,818 |
) |
Other income, net |
|
4,509 |
|
|
|
3,671 |
|
Income before income tax expense (benefit) |
|
107,123 |
|
|
|
12,279 |
|
Income tax expense (benefit) |
|
1,187 |
|
|
|
(33 |
) |
Net income |
$ |
105,936 |
|
|
$ |
12,312 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per common unit |
$ |
0.61 |
|
|
$ |
(0.22 |
) |
Basic and diluted weighted-average common units outstanding |
|
110,880,981 |
|
|
|
110,177,045 |
|
|
|
|
|
||
Other Data (Note 1): |
|
|
|
||
Adjusted net income |
$ |
64,861 |
|
$ |
57,290 |
Adjusted net income per common unit |
$ |
0.24 |
|
$ |
0.19 |
EBITDA |
$ |
228,103 |
|
$ |
127,224 |
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
187,028 |
|
$ |
173,346 |
DCF |
$ |
141,810 |
|
$ |
91,058 |
Adjusted DCF |
$ |
100,735 |
|
$ |
91,058 |
Distribution coverage ratio |
3.19x |
|
2.06x |
||
Adjusted distribution coverage ratio |
2.27x |
|
2.06x |
||
|
For the Four Quarters Ended March 31, |
||
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
Consolidated Debt Coverage Ratio |
3.46x |
|
3.92x |
NuStar Energy L.P. and Subsidiaries |
||||||
Consolidated Financial Information - Continued |
||||||
(Unaudited, Thousands of Dollars, Except Barrel Data) |
||||||
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|||||
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
|||
Pipeline: |
|
|
|
|||
Crude oil pipelines throughput (barrels/day) |
|
1,325,282 |
|
|
1,309,085 |
|
Refined products and ammonia pipelines throughput (barrels/day) |
|
595,622 |
|
|
563,248 |
|
Total throughput (barrels/day) |
|
1,920,904 |
|
|
1,872,333 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Throughput and other revenues |
$ |
213,183 |
|
$ |
188,683 |
|
Operating expenses |
|
49,775 |
|
|
48,103 |
|
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
43,550 |
|
|
44,828 |
|
Segment operating income |
$ |
119,858 |
|
$ |
95,752 |
|
Storage: |
|
|
|
|||
Throughput (barrels/day) (a) |
|
502,717 |
|
|
482,526 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Throughput terminal revenues |
$ |
27,315 |
|
$ |
26,441 |
|
Storage terminal revenues |
|
53,342 |
|
|
61,480 |
|
Total revenues |
|
80,657 |
|
|
87,921 |
|
Operating expenses |
|
39,387 |
|
|
38,299 |
|
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
18,504 |
|
|
18,475 |
|
Impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
46,122 |
|
Segment operating income (loss) |
$ |
22,766 |
|
$ |
(14,975 |
) |
Fuels Marketing: |
|
|
|
|||
Product sales |
$ |
100,027 |
|
$ |
133,260 |
|
Cost of goods |
|
93,186 |
|
|
126,123 |
|
Gross margin |
|
6,841 |
|
|
7,137 |
|
Operating expenses |
|
275 |
|
|
593 |
|
Segment operating income |
$ |
6,566 |
|
$ |
6,544 |
|
Consolidation and Intersegment Eliminations: |
|
|
|
|||
Revenues |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
(1 |
) |
Cost of goods |
|
— |
|
|
(1 |
) |
Total |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
Consolidated Information: |
|
|
|
|||
Revenues |
$ |
393,867 |
|
$ |
409,863 |
|
Costs associated with service revenues: |
|
|
|
|||
Operating expenses |
|
89,162 |
|
|
86,402 |
|
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
62,054 |
|
|
63,303 |
|
Total costs associated with service revenues |
|
151,216 |
|
|
149,705 |
|
Costs associated with product sales |
|
93,461 |
|
|
126,715 |
|
Impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
46,122 |
|
Segment operating income |
|
149,190 |
|
|
87,321 |
|
Gain on sale of assets |
|
41,075 |
|
|
— |
|
General and administrative expenses |
|
28,725 |
|
|
27,071 |
|
Other depreciation and amortization expense |
|
1,555 |
|
|
1,824 |
|
Consolidated operating income |
$ |
159,985 |
|
$ |
58,426 |
|
(a) |
Prior period throughputs for our Corpus Christi North Beach terminal in the storage segment were restated consistent with current period presentation. |
NuStar Energy L.P. and Subsidiaries |
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information |
(Unaudited, Thousands of Dollars, Except Ratio Data) |
Note 1: NuStar Energy L.P. utilizes financial measures, such as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), distributable cash flow (DCF) and distribution coverage ratio, which are not defined in
Our board of directors and management use EBITDA and/or DCF when assessing the following: (i) the performance of our assets, (ii) the viability of potential projects, (iii) our ability to fund distributions, (iv) our ability to fund capital expenditures and (v) our ability to service debt. In addition, our board of directors uses EBITDA, DCF and a distribution coverage ratio, which is calculated based on DCF, as some of the factors in its compensation determinations. DCF is a financial indicator used by the master limited partnership (MLP) investment community to compare partnership performance. DCF is used by the MLP investment community, in part, because the value of a partnership unit is partially based on its yield, and its yield is based on the cash distributions a partnership can pay its unitholders.
None of these financial measures are presented as an alternative to net income. They should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for a measure of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.
The following is a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA, DCF and distribution coverage ratio.
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
||||||
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
||||
Net income |
$ |
105,936 |
|
|
$ |
12,312 |
|
Interest expense, net |
|
57,371 |
|
|
|
49,818 |
|
Income tax expense (benefit) |
|
1,187 |
|
|
|
(33 |
) |
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
63,609 |
|
|
|
65,127 |
|
EBITDA |
|
228,103 |
|
|
|
127,224 |
|
Interest expense, net |
|
(57,371 |
) |
|
|
(49,818 |
) |
Reliability capital expenditures |
|
(3,356 |
) |
|
|
(6,709 |
) |
Income tax (expense) benefit |
|
(1,187 |
) |
|
|
33 |
|
Long-term incentive equity awards (a) |
|
2,968 |
|
|
|
2,829 |
|
Preferred unit distributions |
|
(32,733 |
) |
|
|
(31,092 |
) |
Impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
|
46,122 |
|
Income tax benefit related to impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
|
(1,144 |
) |
Other items |
|
5,386 |
|
|
|
3,613 |
|
DCF |
$ |
141,810 |
|
|
$ |
91,058 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Distributions applicable to common limited partners |
$ |
44,396 |
|
|
$ |
44,165 |
|
Distribution coverage ratio (b) |
3.19x |
|
2.06x |
||||
(a) |
We intend to satisfy the vestings of these equity-based awards with the issuance of our common units. As such, the expenses related to these awards are considered non-cash and added back to DCF. Certain awards include distribution equivalent rights (DERs). Payments made in connection with DERs are deducted from DCF. |
|
(b) |
Distribution coverage ratio is calculated by dividing DCF by distributions applicable to common limited partners. |
NuStar Energy L.P. and Subsidiaries |
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information - Continued |
(Unaudited, Thousands of Dollars, Except per Unit and Ratio Data) |
The following is the reconciliation for the calculation of our Consolidated Debt Coverage Ratio, as defined in our revolving credit agreement (the Revolving Credit Agreement).
|
For the Four Quarters Ended March 31, |
||||||
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
||||
Operating income |
$ |
510,372 |
|
|
$ |
196,591 |
|
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
257,718 |
|
|
|
269,042 |
|
Goodwill impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
|
34,060 |
|
Other impairment losses |
|
— |
|
|
|
201,030 |
|
Amortization expense of equity-based awards |
|
13,997 |
|
|
|
13,750 |
|
Pro forma effect of disposition (a) |
|
— |
|
|
|
(14,688 |
) |
Other |
|
(3,230 |
) |
|
|
2,081 |
|
Consolidated EBITDA, as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement |
$ |
778,857 |
|
|
$ |
701,866 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Long-term debt, less current portion of finance leases |
$ |
3,113,074 |
|
|
$ |
3,168,425 |
|
Finance leases (long-term) |
|
(50,712 |
) |
|
|
(52,510 |
) |
Unamortized debt issuance costs |
|
31,878 |
|
|
|
37,225 |
|
NuStar Logistics' floating rate subordinated notes |
|
(402,500 |
) |
|
|
(402,500 |
) |
Consolidated Debt, as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement |
$ |
2,691,740 |
|
|
$ |
2,750,640 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Consolidated Debt Coverage Ratio (Consolidated Debt to Consolidated EBITDA) |
3.46x |
|
3.92x |
||||
| (a) |
This adjustment represents the pro forma effect of the disposition of the |
The following is a reconciliation of net income / net income (loss) per common unit to adjusted net income / adjusted net income per common unit.
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
||||||||||||||
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
||||||||||||
Net income / net income (loss) per common unit |
$ |
105,936 |
|
|
$ |
0.61 |
|
|
$ |
12,312 |
|
|
$ |
(0.22 |
) |
Gain on sale of assets |
|
(41,075 |
) |
|
|
(0.37 |
) |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
46,122 |
|
|
|
0.42 |
|
Income tax benefit related to impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
(1,144 |
) |
|
|
(0.01 |
) |
Adjusted net income / adjusted net income per common unit |
$ |
64,861 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
57,290 |
|
|
$ |
0.19 |
|
The following is a reconciliation of EBITDA to adjusted EBITDA.
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|||||
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
|||
EBITDA |
$ |
228,103 |
|
|
$ |
127,224 |
Gain on sale of assets |
|
(41,075 |
) |
|
|
— |
Impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
|
46,122 |
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
187,028 |
|
|
$ |
173,346 |
NuStar Energy L.P. and Subsidiaries |
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information - Continued |
(Unaudited, Thousands of Dollars, Except Ratio Data) |
The following is a reconciliation of DCF to adjusted DCF and adjusted distribution coverage ratio.
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|||||
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
|||
DCF |
$ |
141,810 |
|
|
$ |
91,058 |
Gain on sale of assets |
|
(41,075 |
) |
|
|
— |
Adjusted DCF |
$ |
100,735 |
|
|
$ |
91,058 |
|
|
|
|
|||
Distributions applicable to common limited partners |
$ |
44,396 |
|
|
$ |
44,165 |
Adjusted distribution coverage ratio (a) |
2.27x |
|
2.06x |
|||
| (a) | Adjusted distribution coverage ratio is calculated by dividing adjusted DCF by distributions applicable to common limited partners. |
The following is a reconciliation of projected net income to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA.
|
Projected for the Year Ended
|
|
Net income |
$ |
257,000 - 295,000 |
Interest expense, net |
230,000 - 240,000 |
|
Income tax expense |
4,000 - 6,000 |
|
Depreciation and amortization expense |
250,000 - 260,000 |
|
EBITDA |
741,000 - 801,000 |
|
Gain on sale of assets |
(41,000) |
|
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
700,000 - 760,000 |
The following are reconciliations for our reported segments of operating income (loss) to segment EBITDA and adjusted segment EBITDA.
|
Three Months Ended March 31, 2023 |
||||||||
|
Pipeline |
|
Storage |
|
Fuels Marketing |
||||
Operating income |
$ |
119,858 |
|
$ |
22,766 |
|
|
$ |
6,566 |
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
43,550 |
|
|
18,504 |
|
|
|
— |
Segment EBITDA |
$ |
163,408 |
|
$ |
41,270 |
|
|
$ |
6,566 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Three Months Ended March 31, 2022 |
||||||||
|
Pipeline |
|
Storage |
|
Fuels Marketing |
||||
Operating income (loss) |
$ |
95,752 |
|
$ |
(14,975 |
) |
|
$ |
6,544 |
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
44,828 |
|
|
18,475 |
|
|
|
— |
Segment EBITDA |
|
140,580 |
|
|
3,500 |
|
|
|
6,544 |
Impairment loss |
|
— |
|
|
46,122 |
|
|
|
— |
Adjusted segment EBITDA |
$ |
140,580 |
|
$ |
49,622 |
|
|
$ |
6,544 |
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230503006094/en/
Investors, Pam Schmidt, Vice President, Investor Relations
Investor Relations: 210-918-INVR (4687)
or
Media, Mary Rose Brown, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer,
Corporate Communications: 210-918-2314
Source: NuStar Energy L.P.
