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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

NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS) today announced strong results for the first quarter of 2023 fueled by strong volumes in its refined products and crude oil pipelines.

“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 $106 million for the first quarter of 2023, or $0.61 per unit, compared to net income of $12 million, or a $0.22 net loss per unit, for the first quarter of 2022. Results for the first quarter of 2023 include a $41 million gain related to a structured financing arrangement to monetize a portion of the real estate at NuStar’s corporate headquarters. In addition, results for the first quarter of 2022 included a non-cash charge related to the divestiture of the Point Tupper terminal facility in Canada last year. Excluding the effects of these items, adjusted net income was $65 million for the first quarter of 2023, or $0.24 per unit, compared to adjusted net income of $57 million, or $0.19 per unit, for the first quarter of 2022.

NuStar also reported adjusted EBITDA of $187 million for the first quarter of 2023, which is up eight percent compared to first quarter of 2022 adjusted EBITDA of $173 million.

Adjusted DCF was $101 million for the first quarter of 2023, up 11 percent compared to first quarter of 2022 DCF of $91 million, and the adjusted distribution coverage ratio was a strong 2.27 times.

Operations Continue to Perform Well

NuStar’s Pipeline Segment generated operating income of $120 million and EBITDA of $163 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to operating income of $96 million and EBITDA of $141 million in the first quarter of 2022.

“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 Denver market.”

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 $7 million, which is comparable to the segment’s strong first quarter of 2022 results. And, we are also pleased that our West Coast region delivered another strong quarter, with revenues up about 33 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022, driven in large part by our West Coast renewable fuels strategy,” said Barron.

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 $100 million of lower-priced financing,” said Shoaf. “By doing so, we were able to deploy the proceeds to reduce debt, which facilitates our redemption of another portion of the Series D preferred units later this year. As we have mentioned on prior calls, we are planning to redeem all of the remaining Series D units by the end of 2024, or about two years ahead of our original schedule.

“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 $3.1 billion, and our revolver facility availability was $940 million of the facility’s $1 billion capacity.”

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 $257 to $295 million and full-year 2023 adjusted EBITDA in the range of $700 to $760 million,” said Shoaf.

He also noted that NuStar still plans to spend $130 to $150 million in strategic capital in 2023.

“Depending on the activity of our Permian producers over the course of the rest of the year, we expect to allocate between $45 and $60 million to growing our Permian system,” said Shoaf. “We continue to expect to spend around $25 million to expand our West Coast Renewable Fuels Network.

“In addition, we still expect to spend between $25 and $35 million on reliability this year.”

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 Iowa.

“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 San Antonio, Texas, is one of the largest independent liquids terminal and pipeline operators in the nation. NuStar currently has approximately 9,500 miles of pipeline and 63 terminal and storage facilities that store and distribute crude oil, refined products, renewable fuels, ammonia and specialty liquids. The partnership’s combined system has approximately 49 million barrels of storage capacity, and NuStar has operations in the United States and Mexico. For more information, visit NuStar Energy L.P.’s website at www.nustarenergy.com and its Sustainability page at https://sustainability.nustarenergy.com/.

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 U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Management believes these financial measures provide useful information to investors and other external users of our financial information because (i) they provide additional information about the operating performance of the partnership’s assets and the cash the business is generating, (ii) investors and other external users of our financial statements benefit from having access to the same financial measures being utilized by management and our board of directors when making financial, operational, compensation and planning decisions and (iii) they highlight the impact of significant transactions. We may also adjust these measures to enhance the comparability of our performance across periods.

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 Eastern U.S. terminals, which were sold in October 2021.

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

December 31, 2023

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

 

Contacts

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

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