Buckeye Partners, L.P. Reports 2011 Third-Quarter Earnings Results; Increases Quarterly Cash Distribution

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HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire -11/04/11)- Buckeye Partners, L.P. ("Buckeye") (NYSE: BPL - News) today reported a net loss attributable to Buckeye's unitholders for the third quarter of 2011 of $109.7 million, or a $1.18 loss per limited partner unit, compared with net income attributable to Buckeye's unitholders for the third quarter of 2010 of $11.9 million, or $0.60 per unit. In the third quarter of 2011, Buckeye recorded a non-cash charge for the impairment of $169.6 million of goodwill associated with the acquisition of Lodi Gas Storage, L.L.C. ("Lodi"). Continued weakness in the gas storage market and reduced earnings expectations for the Natural Gas Storage operating segment triggered the need to perform a goodwill impairment analysis, which resulted in the impairment of the goodwill associated with Lodi. Excluding the goodwill impairment charge, net income attributable to Buckeye's unitholders would have been $59.9 million, or $0.64 per unit.

The diluted weighted average number of units outstanding in the third quarter of 2011 was 93.0 million compared to 20.0 million in the third quarter of 2010. The increase in the number of units reported for the third quarter of this year versus the third quarter of 2010 was significantly impacted by Buckeye's merger with Buckeye GP Holdings L.P. in the fourth quarter of 2010. The issuance of units in connection with the acquisition of Bahamas Oil Refining Company International ("BORCO") in the first quarter of 2011 and a unit offering in the second quarter of 2011 also contributed to the increase in units.

Buckeye's Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) for the third quarter of 2011 was $126.5 million compared with Adjusted EBITDA of $101.4 million for the third quarter of 2010. The 24.8 percent increase in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily the result of contributions from recent acquisitions. Buckeye's management uses Adjusted EBITDA as the primary measure of performance.

"Our third quarter results reflect the positive impact of recent acquisitions and solid performance from our legacy assets through a challenging overall economic environment, extreme weather conditions, and disruptions in refinery supply," stated Forrest E. Wylie, Chairman and CEO. "The successful execution of our overall long-term growth strategy has allowed us to achieve record Adjusted EBITDA while continuing to perform at a high level during these challenging conditions."

"We believe Buckeye is well-positioned for even better performance in 2012," Wylie added. "We are working to maximize the benefit from our recently acquired assets by implementing our operating model and capitalizing on additional commercial opportunities. We also believe our legacy assets' performance will be stronger in 2012 as we benefit from expected increases in transportation and storage revenue and incremental cash flow from organic growth initiatives."

Buckeye also announced today that its general partner declared a cash distribution of $1.025 per limited partner unit for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. Class B unitholders will not receive a distribution of cash, but instead will be issued additional Class B units pursuant to Buckeye's partnership agreement. The distribution will be payable on November 30, 2011 to unitholders of record on November 14, 2011. This cash distribution is the 30th consecutive increase in the quarterly cash distribution and represents a 5.1 percent increase over the $0.975 per limited partner unit distribution declared for the third quarter of 2010. Buckeye has paid cash distributions in each quarter since its formation in 1986.

Earlier this week, Buckeye announced it completed the purchase of two propane storage caverns in Huntington, Indiana and Tuscola, Illinois from BP North America Inc. and its affiliates ("BP"). These assets mark Buckeye's entry into the wholesale storage and throughput of liquefied petroleum gas, a complementary extension of Buckeye's existing refined products business.

Also earlier this week, Buckeye commenced operations at the newly constructed inland dock at BORCO, Buckeye's marine terminal in the Bahamas. The inland dock is located inside Freeport Harbor in Freeport, Grand Bahama and can handle a range of vessels from small barges up to Panamax size liquid petroleum tankers. This dock is capable of loading and offloading fuel oil and clean petroleum products and is fully connected to the terminal tank farm and to the offshore jetties.

"The inland dock is instrumental in providing customers inclement weather access to our storage facility due to the inland dock's location inside Freeport Harbor," said Clark C. Smith, Buckeye's President and Chief Operating Officer. "The completion of our inland dock represents only the first phase of the expansion project at our BORCO marine terminal facility. In addition, Buckeye is upgrading and expanding our largest offshore jetty, capable of handling VLCC tankers, and has begun construction of significant incremental storage capacity at this facility."

Buckeye will host a conference call with members of executive management today, November 4, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To access the live Webcast of the call, go to http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=83044 10 minutes prior to its start. Interested parties may participate in the call by dialing 877-240-9772. A replay will be archived and available at this link until December 4, 2011, and the replay also may be accessed by dialing 800-408-3053 and entering passcode 1088054.

Buckeye Partners, L.P. (NYSE: BPL - News) is a publicly traded partnership that owns and operates one of the largest independent liquid petroleum products pipeline systems in the United States in terms of volumes delivered, with over 6,000 miles of pipeline. Buckeye also owns more than 100 liquid petroleum products terminals with aggregate storage capacity of approximately 64 million barrels, operates approximately 3,400 miles of pipeline under agreements with major oil and chemical companies, owns a high-performance natural gas storage facility in Northern California, and markets liquid petroleum products in certain regions served by its pipeline and terminal operations. Buckeye's flagship marine terminal in the Bahamas, BORCO, is one of the largest oil and petroleum products storage facilities in the world, serving the international markets as a premier global logistics hub. Buckeye is celebrating its 125th anniversary as a midstream energy company in 2011. More information concerning Buckeye can be found at www.buckeye.com.

EBITDA, a measure not defined under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), is defined by Buckeye as net income attributable to Buckeye's unitholders before interest and debt expense, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization. The EBITDA measure eliminates the significant level of non-cash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital-intensive nature of Buckeye's businesses and from intangible assets recognized in business combinations. In addition, EBITDA is unaffected by Buckeye's capital structure due to the elimination of interest and debt expense and income taxes. Adjusted EBITDA, which also is a non-GAAP measure, is defined by Buckeye as EBITDA plus: (i) non-cash deferred lease expense, which is the difference between the estimated annual land lease expense for Buckeye's natural gas storage facility in the Natural Gas Storage segment to be recorded under GAAP and the actual cash to be paid for such annual land lease; (ii) non-cash unit-based compensation expense; (iii) income attributable to noncontrolling interests related to Buckeye for periods prior to the merger of Buckeye and Buckeye GP Holdings L.P. (the "Merger"); and (iv) the goodwill impairment expense associated with Lodi; less: (i) amortization of unfavorable storage contracts acquired in the BORCO acquisition; and (ii) gain on the sale of our equity investment in WTLPG. The EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA data presented may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures at other companies because EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA exclude some items that affect net income attributable to Buckeye's unitholders, and these measures may be defined differently by other companies. Management of Buckeye uses Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate the consolidated operating performance and the operating performance of the business segments and to allocate resources and capital to the business segments. In addition, Buckeye's management uses Adjusted EBITDA as a performance measure to evaluate the viability of proposed projects and to determine overall rates of return on alternative investment opportunities.

Distributable cash flow, which is a financial measure included in the schedules to this press release, is another measure not defined under GAAP. Distributable cash flow is defined by Buckeye as net income attributable to Buckeye's unitholders plus: (i) depreciation and amortization expense; (ii) noncontrolling interests related to Buckeye that were eliminated as a result of the Merger; (iii) deferred lease expense for Buckeye's Natural Gas Storage segment; (iv) unit-based compensation expense; (v) the goodwill impairment expense associated with Lodi; (vi) write-off of deferred financing costs; and (vii) amortization of deferred financing costs and debt discounts (all of which are non-cash expense); less: (i) maintenance capital expenditures; (ii) amortization of unfavorable storage contracts acquired in the BORCO acquisition; and (iii) gain on the sale of our equity investment in WTLPG. Buckeye's management believes that distributable cash flow is useful to investors because it removes non-cash items from net income and provides a clearer picture of Buckeye's cash available for distribution to its unitholders.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and distributable cash flow should not be considered alternatives to net income, operating income, cash flow from operations, or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP.

Buckeye believes that investors benefit from having access to the same financial measures used by Buckeye's management. Further, Buckeye believes that these measures are useful to investors because they are one of the bases for comparing Buckeye's operating performance with that of other companies with similar operations, although Buckeye's measures may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Please see the attached reconciliations of each of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and distributable cash flow to net income attributable to Buckeye's unitholders.

This press release includes forward-looking statements that we believe to be reasonable as of today's date. Such statements are identified by use of the words "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "should," and similar expressions. Actual results may differ significantly because of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and that may be beyond our control. Among them are (1) changes in federal, state, local, and foreign laws or regulations to which we are subject, including those that permit the treatment of us as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, (2) terrorism, adverse weather conditions, including hurricanes, environmental releases, and natural disasters, (3) changes in the marketplace for our products or services, such as increased competition, better energy efficiency, or general reductions in demand, (4) adverse regional, national, or international economic conditions, adverse capital market conditions, and adverse political developments, (5) shutdowns or interruptions at the source points for the products we transport, store, or sell, (6) unanticipated capital expenditures in connection with the construction, repair, or replacement of our assets, (7) volatility in the price of refined petroleum products and the value of natural gas storage services, (8) nonpayment or nonperformance by our customers, and (9) our ability to integrate acquired assets with our existing assets and to realize anticipated cost savings and other efficiencies. You should read our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2010 and our most recently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, for a more extensive list of factors that could affect results. We undertake no obligation to revise our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after today's date.

This release is intended to be a qualified notice under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b). Brokers and nominees should treat one hundred percent (100.0%) of Buckeye's distributions to non-U.S. investors as being attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business. Accordingly, Buckeye's distributions to non-U.S. investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate.

 



                           BUCKEYE PARTNERS, L.P.
              CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                  (In thousands, except per unit amounts)
                                (Unaudited)

                               Three Months Ended       Nine Months Ended
                                  September 30,           September 30,
                             ----------------------  ----------------------
                                2011        2010        2011        2010
                             ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
Revenue:
Product sales                $  884,436  $  564,044  $2,775,698  $1,633,958
Transportation and other
 services                       232,475     170,813     670,841     499,349
                             ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
  Total revenue               1,116,911     734,857   3,446,539   2,133,307
                             ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------

Costs and expenses:
Cost of product sales and
 natural gas storage
 services                       881,596     560,248   2,773,899   1,628,630
Operating expenses               96,776      68,685     266,909     204,037
Depreciation and
 amortization                    31,230      15,062      87,227      44,259
General and administrative       15,054      11,349      47,751      35,438
Goodwill impairment expense     169,560           -     169,560           -
                             ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
  Total costs and expenses    1,194,216     655,344   3,345,346   1,912,364
                             ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------

Operating income (loss)         (77,305)     79,513     101,193     220,943
                             ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------

Other income (expense):
Earnings from equity
 investments                      2,379       3,391       7,760       8,807
Gain on sale of equity
 investment                           -           -      34,112           -
Interest and debt expense       (33,199)    (22,082)    (90,292)    (65,088)
Other income (expense)              (75)        140         432         380
                             ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
  Total other income
   (expense)                    (30,895)    (18,551)    (47,988)    (55,901)
                             ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------

Net income (loss)              (108,200)     60,962      53,205     165,042
  Less: net income
   attributable to
   noncontrolling interests      (1,500)    (49,021)     (4,391)   (130,324)
                             ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------

Net income (loss)
 attributable to Buckeye
 Partners, L.P.              $ (109,700) $   11,941  $   48,814  $   34,718
                             ==========  ==========  ==========  ==========

Earnings per unit:

  Basic                      $    (1.18) $     0.60  $     0.55  $     1.74
                             ==========  ==========  ==========  ==========
  Diluted                    $    (1.18) $     0.60  $     0.54  $     1.74
                             ==========  ==========  ==========  ==========

Weighted average number of
 units outstanding:

  Basic                          92,982      19,952      89,499      19,952
                             ==========  ==========  ==========  ==========
  Diluted                        92,982      19,952      89,831      19,952
                             ==========  ==========  ==========  ==========



                           BUCKEYE PARTNERS, L.P.
                   SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA
                               (In thousands)
                                (Unaudited)

                        Three Months Ended          Nine Months Ended
                           September 30,              September 30,
                      ----------------------  -----------------------------
                         2011        2010          2011            2010
                      ----------  ----------  --------------  -------------
Revenue:
  Pipelines &
   Terminals          $  162,740  $  145,521  $      456,056  $     424,536
  International
   Operations             47,986           -         146,051              -
  Natural Gas Storage     15,742      21,663          49,431         68,318
  Energy Services        894,618     566,804       2,810,055      1,636,955
  Development &
   Logistics              10,766       9,082          30,937         27,382
  Intersegment
   eliminations          (14,941)     (8,213)        (45,991)       (23,884)
                      ----------  ----------  --------------  -------------
    Total revenue     $1,116,911  $  734,857  $    3,446,539  $   2,133,307
                      ==========  ==========  ==============  =============

Total costs and
 expenses: (1)
  Pipelines &
   Terminals          $   93,482  $   72,874  $      247,679  $     214,950
  International
   Operations             30,329           -          89,693              -
  Natural Gas Storage    187,820      18,868         227,527         58,770
  Energy Services        889,203     564,223       2,801,115      1,638,242
  Development &
   Logistics               8,323       7,592          25,323         24,286
  Intersegment
   eliminations          (14,941)     (8,213)        (45,991)       (23,884)
                      ----------  ----------  --------------  -------------
    Total costs and
     expenses         $1,194,216  $  655,344  $    3,345,346  $   1,912,364
                      ==========  ==========  ==============  =============

Depreciation and
 amortization:
  Pipelines &
   Terminals          $   14,727  $   11,649  $       40,502  $      34,346
  International
   Operations             12,868           -          36,299              -
  Natural Gas Storage      1,807       1,643           5,326          4,924
  Energy Services          1,379       1,331           3,894          3,702
  Development &
   Logistics                 449         439           1,206          1,287
                      ----------  ----------  --------------  -------------
    Total
     depreciation and
     amortization     $   31,230  $   15,062  $       87,227  $      44,259
                      ==========  ==========  ==============  =============

Operating income
 (loss):
  Pipelines &
   Terminals          $   69,258  $   72,647  $      208,377  $     209,586
  International
   Operations             17,657           -          56,358              -
  Natural Gas Storage   (172,078)      2,795        (178,096)         9,548
  Energy Services          5,415       2,581           8,940         (1,287)
  Development &
   Logistics               2,443       1,490           5,614          3,096
                      ----------  ----------  --------------  -------------
    Total operating
     income (loss)    $  (77,305) $   79,513  $      101,193  $     220,943
                      ==========  ==========  ==============  =============

Adjusted EBITDA:
  Pipelines &
   Terminals          $   86,510  $   89,051  $      260,743  $     256,458
  International
   Operations             30,095           -          86,248              -
  Natural Gas Storage        426       5,753             266         18,311
  Energy Services          6,978       4,586          13,578          4,340
  Development &
   Logistics               2,519       2,013           5,563          3,500
                      ----------  ----------  --------------  -------------
    Adjusted EBITDA   $  126,528  $  101,403  $      366,398  $     282,609
                      ==========  ==========  ==============  =============

Capital additions:
 (2)
  Pipelines &
   Terminals          $   26,644  $   16,256  $       61,156  $      38,129
  International
   Operations             62,442           -         122,837              -
  Natural Gas Storage        852       4,174           5,673          7,466
  Energy Services            538         771           1,228          2,835
  Development &
   Logistics                 431         502             474            845
                      ----------  ----------  --------------  -------------
    Total capital
     additions        $   90,907  $   21,703  $      191,368  $      49,275
                      ==========  ==========  ==============  =============

Summary of capital
 additions: (2)
  Maintenance capital
   expenditures       $   16,803  $    9,318  $       36,569  $      18,513
  Expansion and cost
   reduction              74,104      12,385         154,799         30,762
                      ----------  ----------  --------------  -------------
    Total capital
     additions        $   90,907  $   21,703  $      191,368  $      49,275
                      ==========  ==========  ==============  =============
__________________
(1) Includes depreciation and amortization.
(2) Amounts exclude accruals for capital expenditures.

Key Balance Sheet                              September 30,   December 31,
 information:                                       2011           2010
                                              --------------  -------------
Cash and cash
 equivalents                                  $       16,196  $      13,626
Long-term debt, total
 (includes BPL Credit
 Facility)                                         2,315,106      1,519,393
BPL Credit Facility                                  245,700         98,000



                           BUCKEYE PARTNERS, L.P.
              SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA - Continued
                                 (Unaudited)

                                      Three Months Ended  Nine Months Ended
                                        September 30,       September 30,
                                     ------------------- -------------------
                                        2011      2010      2011      2010
                                     --------- --------- --------- ---------
Operating data:
Pipelines & Terminals throughput
 (b/d - 000s):
  Pipelines:
    Gasoline                             682.6     663.9     649.1     647.4
    Jet fuel                             344.8     350.7     339.8     337.5
    Diesel fuel                          267.3     237.0     250.8     229.2
    Heating oil                           29.6      35.0      56.8      61.4
    LPGs                                  15.1      16.7      17.5      19.5
    Other products                         4.5       3.3       7.2       2.6
                                     --------- --------- --------- ---------
      Total pipelines throughput       1,343.9   1,306.6   1,321.2   1,297.6
                                     ========= ========= ========= =========
  Terminals throughput (b/d - 000s):
    Products throughput                  900.1     566.2     688.6     564.2
                                     ========= ========= ========= =========

Pipeline Average Tariff (Cents/bbl.)      77.3      75.7      76.1      73.7
                                     ========= ========= ========= =========

International Operations (b/d -
 000s):
    Products throughput                  391.8         -     477.9         -
                                     ========= ========= ========= =========

Energy Services (in millions of
 gallons):
    Sales volumes                        297.4     278.0     960.8     780.0
                                     ========= ========= ========= =========



                           BUCKEYE PARTNERS, L.P.
                   SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA
                          Non-GAAP Reconciliations
         (In thousands, except per unit amounts and coverage ratio)
                                (Unaudited)

                                  Three Months Ended     Nine Months Ended
                                     September 30,         September 30,
                                 --------------------  --------------------
                                    2011       2010       2011       2010
                                 ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Adjusted EBITDA:
  Net income (loss) attributable
   to Buckeye Partners, L.P.     $(109,700) $  11,941  $  48,814  $  34,718
  Interest and debt expense         33,199     22,082     90,292     65,088
  Income tax benefit                     -        229       (193)      (435)
  Depreciation and amortization     31,230     15,062     87,227     44,259
                                 ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    EBITDA                         (45,271)    49,314    226,140    143,630
Net income attributable to
 noncontrolling interests
 affected by Merger (for periods
 prior to Merger) (1)                    -     49,150          -    130,205
Gain on sale of equity
 investment                              -          -    (34,112)         -
Amortization of unfavorable
 storage contracts                    (485)         -     (4,813)         -
Non-cash deferred lease expense      1,030      1,059      3,091      3,176
Non-cash unit-based compensation
 expense                             1,694      1,880      6,532      5,598
Goodwill impairment expense        169,560          -    169,560          -
                                 ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    Adjusted EBITDA              $ 126,528  $ 101,403  $ 366,398  $ 282,609
                                 =========  =========  =========  =========

Distributable cash flow:
  Net income (loss) attributable
   to Buckeye Partners, L.P.     $(109,700) $  11,941  $  48,814  $  34,718
  Depreciation and amortization     31,230     15,062     87,227     44,259
  Net income attributable to
   noncontrolling interests
   affected by Merger (for
   periods prior to Merger) (1)          -     49,150          -    130,205
  Gain on sale of equity
   investment                            -          -    (34,112)         -
  Non-cash deferred lease
   expense                           1,030      1,059      3,091      3,176
  Non-cash unit-based
   compensation expense              1,694      1,880      6,532      5,598
  Amortization of unfavorable
   storage contracts                  (485)         -     (4,813)         -
  Write-off of deferred
   financing costs                   3,331          -      3,331          -
  Amortization of deferred
   financing costs and debt
   discounts                         1,159        968      3,420      3,445
  Goodwill impairment expense      169,560          -    169,560          -
  Maintenance capital
   expenditures                    (16,803)    (9,318)   (36,569)   (18,513)
                                 ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
  Distributable cash flow        $  81,016  $  70,742  $ 246,481  $ 202,888
                                 =========  =========  =========  =========

  Cash Distributions for
   Coverage Ratio (2)            $  88,357  $  63,836  $ 261,742  $ 188,616
                                 =========  =========  =========  =========

  Cash Distribution Coverage
   Ratio                              0.92       1.11       0.94       1.08
                                 =========  =========  =========  =========

----------------
(1)  Represents merger between Buckeye Partners, L.P. and Buckeye GP
     Holdings L.P. in November 2010.
(2)  Represents cash distributions declared for limited partner units (LP
     units) outstanding as of each respective period. 2011 amounts reflect
     actual cash distributions paid on LP units for the quarters ended March
     31, 2011 and June 30, 2011 and estimated cash distributions for the
     quarter ended September 30, 2011. Distributions with respect to the
     6,915,725 and 7,042,771 Class B units outstanding on the record date
     for the quarter ending March 31, 2011 and June 30, 2011, respectively,
     and the 7,175,839 Class B units expected to be outstanding for the
     quarter ending September 30, 2011 are paid in additional Class B units
     rather than in cash.
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