November 10, 2014 [OPIS] - Buckeye Partners said on Friday that it has increased its third-quarter income by 28%, benefiting from its recent acquisition spree.
CEO Clark Smith said that contributions from the terminals acquired from Hess Corp. and its recent growth capital projects drove the improvement in Buckeye’s Pipelines & Terminals and Global Marine Terminals segments.
The integration of the former Hess terminals is now complete and these terminals continue to deliver strong performance exceeding Buckeye’s expectations, he said.
Buckeye’s continued diversification into crude oil also contributed to the strong growth, as the 1.1 million barrel crude oil storage project in the Chicago Complex became operational during the third quarter.
Buckeye reported income from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2014 of $107.0 million compared to income from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2013 of $83.6 million.
Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2014 was $200.6 million compared to $156.2 million for the third quarter of 2013.
Income from continuing operations attributable to Buckeye’s unitholders was $0.89 per diluted unit for the third quarter of 2014 compared to $0.77 per diluted unit for the third quarter of 2013.
Buckeye increased operating income for all business segments, including pipelines and terminals, global marine terminals, merchant services and development logistics.
The most significant turnaround was in merchant services, which reported income of $8 million, turning around a loss of $2.4 million a year ago.
“Our Merchant Services segment also had a successful quarter. With new leadership, we rationalized the size and scope of our business model and drove improved performance by focusing on optimizing asset utilization across the
Buckeye system where the commodity risk can be efficiently and effectively limited,” Smith said.
“Strong rack margins, improved market conditions and expanded use of deal structures that limit commodity risk all contributed to Merchant Services’ performance for the quarter,” he said.