February 15, 2016 [OPIS] - Buckeye Partners said Friday that it lifted its fourth-quarter 2015 earnings by 9.3%, thanks to its Global Marine Terminals and Merchant Services segments, which drove substantial incremental contributions compared with last year.
The Merchant Services segment is a wholesale distributor of refined petroleum products in the continental United States and in the Caribbean. The Global Marine Terminals segment covers a network of marine terminals from the Northeast to the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean.
“We were able to capitalize on strong demand in the market to increase utilization of our storage assets at higher contracted rates,” said CEO Clark Smith.
Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $244.5 million, compared to $223.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2014.
Income from continuing operations of $135.1 million, compared to income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2014 of $64.0 million.
Income from continuing operations attributable to Buckeye’s unitholders was $1.03 per diluted unit compared to $0.50 per diluted unit for the fourth quarter of 2014.
The diluted weighted average number of units outstanding was 129.7 million compared to 127.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Buckeye is expected to complete the remaining construction of its South Texas project by the end of the first quarter of 2016. Its 50,000 b/d condensate splitter at Corpus Christi, which is part of the project, was commissioned in December.
The project includes five marine docks, over 6 million bbl of petroleum storage capacity with rail and truck loading/unloading capability and three field gathering facilities with pipeline connectivity to the condensate splitters and docks.
Distributable cash flow from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $176.2 million compared to $160.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2014. Buckeye also reported distribution coverage of 1.14 times for the fourth quarter of 2015 and 1.02 times for 2015.
Smith said Buckeye’s strong financial position gives it the confidence to continue to grow the quarterly distribution at a rate of $0.0125 per LP unit. Buckeye believes continuing this distribution policy through the remainder of 2016 will maximize long-term shareholder value.
For 2015, Buckeye reported income from continuing operations of $438.4 million compared to income from continuing operations for 2014 of $334.5 million. Income from continuing operations attributable to Buckeye’s unitholders was $3.41 per diluted unit for 2015 compared to $2.78 per diluted unit for 2014. The diluted weighted average number of units outstanding for 2015 was 128.6 million compared to 119.9 million for 2014.
For 2015, adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $868.1 million compared to $763.6 million for 2014.
Buckeye said its reportable segments were realigned as a result of changes in its organizational structure. The Development & Logistics segment was merged into the Pipelines & Terminals segment.
