Alon USA Energy, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2016 Results

DALLAS, Oct. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE: ALJ) ("Alon") today announced results for the third quarter of 2016. Net loss available to stockholders for the third quarter of 2016 was $(8.8) million, or $(0.12) per share, compared to net income available to stockholders of $41.9 million, or $0.60 per share, for the same period last year. Excluding special items, Alon recorded net loss available to stockholders of $(6.7) million, or $(0.09) per share, for the third quarter of 2016, compared to net income available to stockholders of $42.0 million, or $0.60 per share, for the same period last year.

Net loss available to stockholders for the first nine months of 2016 was $(64.7) million, or $(0.92) per share, compared to net income available to stockholders of $105.3 million, or $1.51 per share, for the same period last year. Excluding special items, Alon recorded net loss available to stockholders of $(50.9) million, or $(0.72) per share, for the first nine months of 2016, compared to net income available to stockholders of $110.1 million, or $1.58 per share, for the same period last year.

Paul Eisman, President and CEO commented, "Our third quarter results reflect a continuation of the difficult refining environment experienced in the first two quarters of 2016. The average Gulf Coast 3-2-1 benchmark crack spread for the third quarter of 2016 was approximately $6.50 per barrel lower than the average for the same period last year. Additionally, high RINs costs continue to weigh on our profitability. We continue to focus on operational excellence and controlling expenditures across the organization in this environment. We were pleased with the contributions in the third quarter from our asphalt marketing business and our renewable fuels project in California.

"The Big Spring refinery achieved total throughput of 70,000 barrels per day and generated refinery operating margin of $9.22 per barrel. As discussed in our previous earnings release, our Big Spring refinery's third quarter results were negatively impacted by a reformer regeneration in August. We estimate that the lost opportunity cost and maintenance expense associated with the reformer regeneration negatively impacted Alon's operating income by $8 million. Our Big Spring refinery's direct operating expense of $3.90 per barrel was negatively impacted by the reformer regeneration, which lowered throughput volumes and increased maintenance expense. We expect total throughput at the Big Spring refinery to average approximately 77,000 barrels per day for the fourth quarter of 2016.

"The Krotz Springs refinery ran well in the third quarter and achieved total throughput of 68,000 barrels per day, as we increased throughput in response to improved market conditions. The Krotz Springs refinery operating margin of $3.42 per barrel was negatively impacted by the high RINs cost of approximately $1.50 per barrel. We expect total throughput at the Krotz Springs refinery to average approximately 69,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2016. However, we will remain responsive to the crack spread environment and adjust throughput volumes as necessary to optimize our profitability.

"Our renewable fuels project generated operating income of $6 million in the third quarter of 2016 with total throughput of 2,582 barrels per day. The project achieved renewable diesel and renewable jet yields of 87 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Profitability improved as sales stabilized and tallow prices moderated. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the project's raw material supply will be reduced due to a third party completing maintenance on its equipment. As a result, we expect total throughput in the fourth quarter of 2016 to average approximately 2,400 barrels per day.

"The robust performance of our asphalt business continued in the third quarter of 2016, resulting in segment operating income of approximately $10 million, which does not include equity earnings of $6 million from our asphalt partnerships. Sales volumes were strong at 184 thousand tons, and our asphalt margin remained favorable at $94 per ton.

"Our retail business continues to be negatively impacted by economic headwinds in the Permian Basin. Despite this, our operating income in the third quarter of 2016 increased modestly relative to the second quarter of 2016."

THIRD QUARTER 2016

Special items increased net loss by $2.1 million for the third quarter of 2016 primarily as a result of employee retention expense of $2.0 million and unrealized losses of $3.9 million associated with commodity swaps, partially offset by gains of $1.7 million related to an asphalt inventory adjustment and $0.5 million associated with gains recognized on disposition of assets, before income tax and non-controlling interest impacts of $1.6 million. Special items reduced net income by $0.1 million for the third quarter of 2015 primarily as a result of employee retention expense of $8.7 million, partially offset by gains of $7.5 million related to an asphalt inventory adjustment and unrealized gains of $1.1 million associated with commodity swaps, before income tax and non-controlling interest impacts.

The combined total refinery average throughput for the third quarter of 2016 was 137,767 barrels per day ("bpd"), consisting of 70,063 bpd at the Big Spring refinery and 67,704 bpd at the Krotz Springs refinery, compared to a combined total refinery average throughput of 146,070 bpd for the third quarter of 2015, consisting of 75,797 bpd at the Big Spring refinery and 70,273 bpd at the Krotz Springs refinery. The reduced throughput at the Big Spring refinery was the result of a reformer regeneration during the third quarter of 2016. The reduced throughput at the Krotz Springs refinery during the third quarter of 2016 was the result of our election to reduce the crude rate in order to optimize the refinery yield.

Refinery operating margin at the Big Spring refinery was $9.22 per barrel for the third quarter of 2016 compared to $16.71 per barrel for the same period in 2015. This decrease in operating margin was primarily due to a lower Gulf Coast 3/2/1 crack spread and increased RINs costs, partially offset by a widening of both the WTI Cushing to WTI Midland and WTI Cushing to WTS spreads and an increased benefit from the contango market environment which reduced the cost of crude.

Refinery operating margin at the Krotz Springs refinery was $3.42 per barrel for the third quarter of 2016 compared to $6.66 per barrel for the same period in 2015. This decrease in operating margin was primarily due to a lower Gulf Coast 2/1/1 high sulfur diesel crack spread, a narrowing of the LLS to WTI Cushing spread and increased RINs costs, partially offset by a widening of the WTI Cushing to WTI Midland spread and an increased benefit from the contango market environment which reduced the cost of crude.

The average Gulf Coast 3/2/1 crack spread was $13.31 per barrel for the third quarter of 2016 compared to $19.77 per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average Gulf Coast 2/1/1 high sulfur diesel crack spread was $8.49 per barrel for the third quarter of 2016 compared to $12.57 per barrel for the same period in 2015.

The average WTI Cushing to WTI Midland spread for the third quarter of 2016 was $0.31 per barrel compared to $(0.72) per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average WTI Cushing to WTS spread for the third quarter of 2016 was $0.92 per barrel compared to $(1.46) per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average LLS to WTI Cushing spread for the third quarter of 2016 was $1.74 per barrel compared to $3.89 per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average Brent to WTI Cushing spread for the third quarter of 2016 was $0.74 per barrel compared to $3.78 per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average Brent to LLS spread for the third quarter of 2016 was $(1.92) per barrel compared to $(0.26) per barrel for the same period in 2015.

The average RINs cost effect on the Big Spring refinery operating margin was $0.58 per barrel for the third quarter of 2016, compared to $0.27 per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average RINs cost effect on the Krotz Springs refinery operating margin was $1.47 per barrel for the third quarter of 2016, compared to $0.74 per barrel for the same period in 2015.

The contango environment in the third quarter of 2016 created an average cost of crude benefit of $0.84 per barrel compared to an average cost of crude benefit of $0.57 per barrel for the same period in 2015.

For the third quarter of 2016, our California renewable fuels project generated operating margin of $55.81 per barrel from 2,582 barrels per day of throughput.

Asphalt margins for the third quarter of 2016 were $93.57 per ton compared to $120.39 per ton for the same period in 2015. On a cash basis (i.e., excluding inventory effects), asphalt margins in the third quarter of 2016 were $91.72 per ton compared to $115.04 per ton in the third quarter of 2015.

Retail fuel margins decreased to 19.9 cents per gallon in the third quarter of 2016 from 21.7 cents per gallon in the third quarter of 2015. Retail fuel sales volume increased to 54.1 million gallons in the third quarter of 2016 from 51.4 million gallons in the third quarter of 2015. Merchandise margins increased to 31.7% in the third quarter of 2016 from 31.4% in the third quarter of 2015. Merchandise sales decreased to $84.0 million in the third quarter of 2016 from $86.6 million in the third quarter of 2015.

YEAR-TO-DATE 2016

Special items increased net loss by $13.8 million for the first nine months of 2016 primarily as a result of employee retention expense of $8.7 million, losses of $0.3 million related to an asphalt inventory adjustment, unrealized losses of $11.0 million associated with commodity swaps and $1.6 million associated with losses recognized on disposition of assets, before income tax and non-controlling interest impacts of $7.8 million. Special items reduced net income by $4.8 million for the first nine months of 2015 primarily as a result of employee retention expense of $10.0 million and losses of $6.5 million related to an asphalt inventory adjustment, partially offset by unrealized gains of $9.0 million associated with commodity swaps and $0.6 million associated with gains recognized on disposition of assets, before income tax and non-controlling interest impacts of $2.0 million.

The combined total refinery average throughput for the first nine months of 2016 was 136,730 bpd, consisting of 69,586 bpd at the Big Spring refinery and 67,144 bpd at the Krotz Springs refinery, compared to a combined total refinery average throughput of 147,800 bpd for the first nine months of 2015, consisting of 74,562 bpd at the Big Spring refinery and 73,238 bpd at the Krotz Springs refinery. The reduced throughput at our Big Spring refinery during the first nine months of 2016 was the result of a reformer regeneration during the first quarter of 2016, which was repeated during the third quarter of 2016. Additionally, throughput was reduced as a result of a catalyst replacement for our diesel hydrotreater unit in the first quarter of 2016 and unplanned downtime during the second quarter of 2016 due to a power outage caused by inclement weather, which affected multiple units. The reduced throughput at the Krotz Springs refinery during the first nine months of 2016 was the result of our election to reduce the crude rate in order to optimize the refinery yield, as well as maintenance that was performed on the fluid catalytic cracking unit during the second quarter of 2016.

Refinery operating margin at the Big Spring refinery was $8.52 per barrel for the first nine months of 2016 compared to $15.95 per barrel for the same period in 2015. This decrease in operating margin was primarily due to a lower Gulf Coast 3/2/1 crack spread and a narrowing of the WTI Cushing to WTI Midland spread, partially offset by a widening of the WTI Cushing to WTS spread and an increased benefit from the contango market environment which reduced the cost of crude.

Refinery operating margin at the Krotz Springs refinery was $2.94 per barrel for the first nine months of 2016 compared to $8.05 per barrel for the same period in 2015. This decrease in operating margin was primarily due to a lower Gulf Coast 2/1/1 high sulfur diesel crack spread, a narrowing of both the WTI Cushing to WTI Midland and the LLS to WTI Cushing spreads and increased RINs costs, partially offset by an increased benefit from the contango market environment which reduced the cost of crude.

The average Gulf Coast 3/2/1 crack spread for the first nine months of 2016 was $12.57 per barrel compared to $19.08 per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average Gulf Coast 2/1/1 high sulfur diesel crack spread for the first nine months of 2016 was $7.73 per barrel compared to $12.05 per barrel for the same period in 2015.

The average WTI Cushing to WTI Midland spread for the first nine months of 2016 was $0.12 per barrel compared to $0.60 per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average WTI Cushing to WTS spread for the first nine months of 2016 was $0.53 per barrel compared to $0.02 per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average LLS to WTI Cushing spread for the first nine months of 2016 was $1.79 per barrel compared to $4.27 per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average Brent to WTI Cushing spread for the first nine months of 2016 was $0.35 per barrel compared to $4.28 per barrel for the same period in 2015. The average Brent to LLS spread for the first nine months of 2016 was $(1.48) per barrel compared to $0.30 per barrel for the same period in 2015.

The average RINs cost effect on the Krotz Springs refinery operating margin was $1.45 per barrel for the first nine months of 2016, compared to $1.06 per barrel for the same period in 2015.

The contango environment in the first nine months of 2016 created an average cost of crude benefit of $1.39 per barrel compared to an average cost of crude benefit of $1.04 per barrel for the same period in 2015.

For the first nine months of 2016, our California renewable fuels project generated operating margin of $55.46 per barrel from 2,000 barrels per day of throughput.

Asphalt margins for the first nine months of 2016 were $96.25 per ton compared to $106.60 per ton for the same period in 2015. On a cash basis (i.e., excluding inventory effects), asphalt margins for the first nine months of 2016 were $96.70 per ton compared to $110.12 per ton for the same period in 2015.

Retail fuel margins decreased to 20.2 cents per gallon in the first nine months of 2016 from 21.8 cents per gallon in the first nine months of 2015. Retail fuel sales volume increased to 155.0 million gallons in the first nine months of 2016 from 147.0 million gallons in the first nine months of 2015. Merchandise margins decreased to 31.4% in the first nine months of 2016 from 32.1% in the first nine months of 2015. Merchandise sales decreased to $245.5 million in the first nine months of 2016 from $247.5 million in the first nine months of 2015.

Alon also announced today that its Board of Directors has declared the regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share. The dividend is payable on December 23, 2016 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 7, 2016.

CONFERENCE CALL

Alon has scheduled a conference call, which will be broadcast live over the Internet on Friday, October 28, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time (9:30 a.m. Central Time), to discuss the third quarter 2016 financial results. To access the call, please dial 877-407-0672, or 412-902-0003 for international callers, and ask for the Alon USA Energy call at least 10 minutes prior to the start time. Investors may also listen to the conference live by logging on to the Alon investor relations website, http://ir.alonusa.com. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through November 4, 2016 and may be accessed by calling 877-660-6853, or 201-612-7415 for international callers, and using the passcode 13646162#. A webcast archive will also be available at http://ir.alonusa.com shortly after the call and will be accessible for approximately 90 days. For more information, please contact Donna Washburn at Dennard § Lascar Associates at 713-529-6600 or email [email protected].

Alon USA Energy, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products, operating primarily in the South Central, Southwestern and Western regions of the United States. Alon owns 100% of the general partner and 81.6% of the limited partner interests in Alon USA Partners, LP (NYSE: ALDW), which owns a crude oil refinery in Big Spring, Texas, with a crude oil throughput capacity of 73,000 barrels per day and an integrated wholesale marketing business. In addition, Alon directly owns a crude oil refinery in Krotz Springs, Louisiana, with a crude oil throughput capacity of 74,000 barrels per day. Alon also owns crude oil refineries in California, which have not processed crude oil since 2012. Alon owns a majority interest in a renewable fuels project in California, with a throughput capacity of 2,500 barrels per day. Alon is a leading marketer of asphalt, which it distributes primarily through asphalt terminals located predominately in the Southwestern and Western United States. Alon is the largest 7-Eleven licensee in the United States and operates approximately 300 convenience stores which also market motor fuels in Central and West Texas and New Mexico.

Any statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations regarding future events, results or outcomes. These expectations may or may not be realized. Some of these expectations may be based upon assumptions or judgments that prove to be incorrect. In addition, our business and operations involve numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could result in our expectations not being realized or otherwise materially affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Additional information regarding these and other risks is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of offers to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of any security in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

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