May 29, 2016 [OPIS] - NGL Energy Partners saw a sharp operating income increase for its refined products and renewables segment in the January-March quarter, but the strong products performance could only partially offset heavy operating losses in its water solutions and crude logistics segments.
Operating income for refined products and renewables was at $167.473 million versus $18.042 million a year ago.
However, NGL suffered lower operating income in all other business segments including crude oil logistics, liquids, retail propane and water solutions. Crude oil logistics deepened its operating loss to $53.434 million from $10.519 million, and retail propane fell to $32.111 million from $47.246 million. Liquids was down to $23.353 million from $49.104 million.
“Our fourth quarter results were impacted by the continued decline in commodity prices compounded by a continuing unseasonably warm winter. We were able to offset those impacts by increasing volumes in our Refined Products business, optimizing our operations and taking advantage of a contango commodities market,” said NGL CEO Mike Krimbill in a news release.
NGL reported a net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, of $207.0 million including gains related to the sale of TransMontaigne Partners GP (TLP GP) and the early extinguishment of debt totaling $158.9 million offset by a noncash impairment charge of $380.2 million related to the water solutions segment.
NGL reported a net income of $111.251 million for the corresponding period in 2015.
Adjusted EBITDA was $154.0 million for the quarter compared to adjusted EBITDA of $185.0 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2015. This represents a decrease of 17% year over year, driven by the decline in commodity prices and warmer weather.
Distributable cash flow was $128.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, compared to $153.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. Net loss for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016 was $187.1 million with adjusted EBITDA for the year of $424.1 million, compared to net income and adjusted EBITDA of $50.2 million and $443.3 million, respectively, for the year ended March 31, 2015.
The current year was impacted by the significant decline in commodity prices and the goodwill impairment offset by a portion of the gain on the sale of TLP GP and early extinguishment of debt compared to the prior year.
The partnership’s refined products and renewables segment generated adjusted EBITDA of $52.3 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2016. During the quarter ended March 31, 2015, the partnership generated adjusted EBITDA of $25.3 million.
The number of refined product barrels sold during the quarter ended March 31, 2016 increased by approximately 8.8 million barrels compared to the same period in the prior year driven by increased demand for motor fuels in the current low gasoline price environment.
Renewable barrels sold during the quarter ended March 31 were approximately 1.7 million compared to approximately 1.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.
The sale of the TLP GP and TLP common units is not expected to have any negative impact on its normal, recurring refined products and renewables operations going forward and the company expects this segment to meet or exceed its fiscal year 2016 performance in the upcoming year.
The partnership’s retail propane segment generated adjusted EBITDA of $40.8 million for the quarter ended March 31 compared to adjusted EBITDA of $56.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. Propane sold during the quarter ended March 31, 2016, decreased by 11.5 million gal compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2015. Distillates sold during the quarter ended March 31, 2016, decreased by approximately 3.8 million gallons compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2015.
The partnership’s retail propane segment was also negatively impacted by warmer winter weather with an overall volume decrease of 16.9% compared to the same period in the prior year. The margin per gallon was $0.91 for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, compared to $0.96 for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, which resulted from a higher percentage of volumes in prepaid, fixed price programs being delivered compared to spot volumes.