Ferrellgas Partners Reports Record Adjusted EBITDA On Increased Sales And Operating Efficiencies; Fiscal 2014 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance Raised
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:FGP), one of the nation's largest distributors of propane, today reported a strong performance for the fiscal 2014 second quarter ended January 31, primarily reflecting increased sales volumes and operational efficiencies.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 17% to a record $136.4 million from $116.1 million in the year-earlier quarter. Distributable cash flow grew 20% to $111.9 million from $93.1 million. Distributable cash flow coverage for the trailing 12-month period ended January 31 was 1.2x, the highest level since fiscal 2003.
Second-quarter sales volumes grew 15% to 342.9 million gallons reflecting nationwide temperatures that were 18% colder than in the unusually mild prior-year quarter. Correspondingly, gross profit increased 15% to a record $269.5 million reflecting these increased sales volumes, as margins matched the prior-year quarter at $0.79 per gallon sold.
"The return of more seasonal temperatures drove performance slightly greater than our expectation for the quarter," commented President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Wambold. Temperatures, as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the more highly concentrated geographic areas the partnership serves, were 6% colder than normal in the quarter. Wambold further commented "Propane supply challenges dominated the headlines during our fiscal second quarter. I'm proud of the way Ferrellgas employees responded to this challenge, whether it was ensuring our locations had product on hand to meet our many commitments, safely navigating snow- and ice-covered roadways, or patiently answering questions from our customers."
Second-quarter operating expense rose to $116.7 million from $105.6 million resulting from higher sales volumes; however on a cent-per-gallon sold basis improved to $0.34 from $0.35. General and administrative expense increased to $12.1 million from $10.2 million; however, excluding performance-based incentives, was relatively unchanged at $8.5 million. Interest expense declined 2% to $22.1 million from $22.6 million in the prior-year quarter.
Net earnings for the quarter were $61.1 million, or $0.72 per unit, including a loss on the early extinguishment of debt associated with the refinancing of the partnership's senior notes in November 2013. Excluding this nonrecurring expense, net earnings per common unit were $0.87 compared to $0.70 in the prior-year quarter.
Wambold added, "The third quarter is off to a strong start, with February results behind us and seasonably cool temperatures forecasted for the remainder of the heating season. Therefore, we are increasing our Adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal 2014 to $275 million to $285 million from $265 million to $275 million." For the trailing 12 months ended January 31, the partnership's Adjusted EBITDA performance was $287.3 million.
Wambold concluded, "Our liquidity for this time of year is very strong, with more than $250 million of borrowing capacity on our credit facility to fund future working capital and growth capital needs. We remain very active in the acquisition market, both inside and outside the retail propane space and are enthusiastic about our growth opportunities in the years to come."
For the first six months of the fiscal year, Adjusted EBITDA rose 10% to $162.8 million on sales volumes that grew 12% to 533.9 million gallons. Gross profit rose 10% to a record $412.4 million on these increased sales volumes, while margins declined slightly to $0.77 per gallon sold as a result of the higher wholesale cost of propane. Consistent with the quarter's results, operating expense rose to $219.7 million on increased sales volumes, but improved on a cent-per-gallon sold basis to $0.41 from $0.42 reflecting operational efficiencies. Distributable cash flow for the six-month period also grew 10% to $115.0 million.
Ferrellgas Partners, L.P., through its operating partnership, Ferrellgas, L.P., serves customers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Ferrellgas employees indirectly own more than 21 million common units of the partnership through an employee stock ownership plan. More information about the partnership can be found online at www.ferrellgas.com.
Statements in this release concerning expectations for the future are forward-looking statements. A variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause results, performance and expectations to differ materially from anticipated results, performance and expectations. These risks, uncertainties and other factors are discussed in the Form 10-K of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P., Ferrellgas Partners Finance Corp., Ferrellgas, L.P., and Ferrellgas Finance Corp. for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2013, and other documents filed from time to time by these entities with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Tom Colvin, Investor Relations, (913) 661-1530
Scott Brockelmeyer, Media Relations, (913) 661-1830
| FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
||||||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS |
||||||||||||
| FOR THE THREE, SIX AND TWELVE MONTHS ENDED JANUARY 31, 2014 AND 2013 |
||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per unit data) |
||||||||||||
| (unaudited) |
||||||||||||
| Three months ended |
Six months ended |
Twelve months ended |
||||||||||
| January 31 |
January 31 |
January 31 |
||||||||||
| 2014 |
2013 |
2014 |
2013 |
2014 |
2013 |
|||||||
| Revenues: |
||||||||||||
| Propane and other gas liquids sales |
$ 789,446 |
$ 583,074 |
$ 1,171,669 |
$ 918,355 |
$ 1,992,581 |
$ 1,785,514 |
||||||
| Other |
80,237 |
75,791 |
113,044 |
103,419 |
245,825 |
207,654 |
||||||
| Total revenues |
869,683 |
658,865 |
1,284,713 |
1,021,774 |
2,238,406 |
1,993,168 |
||||||
| Cost of product sold: |
||||||||||||
| Propane and other gas liquids sales |
551,506 |
376,236 |
810,260 |
589,893 |
1,312,628 |
1,188,057 |
||||||
| Other |
48,709 |
47,437 |
62,055 |
56,634 |
149,877 |
120,863 |
||||||
| Gross profit |
269,468 |
235,192 |
412,398 |
375,247 |
775,901 |
684,248 |
||||||
| Operating expense (including $626 of non-recurring severance |
||||||||||||
| charges for the twelve month period ended January 31, 2013) |
116,743 |
105,599 |
219,709 |
202,033 |
427,735 |
397,861 |
||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense |
20,643 |
20,751 |
40,858 |
41,626 |
82,576 |
83,751 |
||||||
| General and administrative expense (including $429 of non-recurring |
||||||||||||
| severance charges for the twelve month period ended January 31, 2013) |
12,095 |
10,190 |
22,876 |
18,964 |
45,939 |
36,372 |
||||||
| Equipment lease expense |
4,274 |
3,827 |
8,340 |
7,750 |
16,573 |
15,341 |
||||||
| Non-cash employee stock ownership plan compensation charge |
3,636 |
7,447 |
6,679 |
9,849 |
12,599 |
14,773 |
||||||
| Non-cash stock and unit-based compensation charge (a) |
5,919 |
3,120 |
10,350 |
6,212 |
17,683 |
10,573 |
||||||
| Loss on disposal of assets and other |
1,337 |
2,120 |
1,694 |
2,391 |
9,724 |
7,594 |
||||||
| Operating income |
104,821 |
82,138 |
101,892 |
86,422 |
163,072 |
117,983 |
||||||
| Interest expense |
(22,090) |
(22,619) |
(44,183) |
(45,054) |
(88,274) |
(90,875) |
||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt |
(20,901) |
- |
(21,202) |
- |
(21,202) |
- |
||||||
| Other income, net |
57 |
241 |
273 |
332 |
506 |
791 |
||||||
| Earnings before income taxes |
61,887 |
59,760 |
36,780 |
41,700 |
54,102 |
27,899 |
||||||
| Income tax expense |
764 |
917 |
714 |
653 |
1,916 |
1,640 |
||||||
| Net earnings |
61,123 |
58,843 |
36,066 |
41,047 |
52,186 |
26,259 |
||||||
| Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest (b) |
659 |
636 |
445 |
498 |
688 |
432 |
||||||
| Net earnings attributable to Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. |
60,464 |
58,207 |
35,621 |
40,549 |
51,498 |
25,827 |
||||||
| Less: General partner's interest in net earnings |
3,663 |
3,138 |
356 |
405 |
515 |
258 |
||||||
| Common unitholders' interest in net earnings |
$ 56,801 |
$ 55,069 |
$ 35,265 |
$ 40,144 |
$ 50,983 |
$ 25,569 |
||||||
| Earnings Per Unit |
||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net earnings per common unitholders' interest |
$ 0.72 |
$ 0.70 |
$ 0.45 |
$ 0.51 |
$ 0.64 |
$ 0.32 |
||||||
| Adjustment for effect of two-class method (c) |
0.04 |
0.03 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
||||||
| Adjusted net earnings per unit available to common unitholders |
$ 0.76 |
$ 0.73 |
$ 0.45 |
$ 0.51 |
$ 0.64 |
$ 0.32 |
||||||
| Weighted average common units outstanding |
79,129.4 |
79,015.6 |
79,102.6 |
79,014.4 |
79,083.1 |
78,995.4 |
||||||
| Supplemental Data and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Items: |
||||||||||||
| Three months ended |
Six months ended |
Twelve months ended |
||||||||||
| January 31 |
January 31 |
January 31 |
||||||||||
| 2014 |
2013 |
2014 |
2013 |
2014 |
2013 |
|||||||
| Net earnings attributable to Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. |
$ 60,464 |
$ 58,207 |
$ 35,621 |
$ 40,549 |
$ 51,498 |
$ 25,827 |
||||||
| Income tax expense |
764 |
917 |
714 |
653 |
1,916 |
1,640 |
||||||
| Interest expense |
22,090 |
22,619 |
44,183 |
45,054 |
88,274 |
90,875 |
||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense |
20,643 |
20,751 |
40,858 |
41,626 |
82,576 |
83,751 |
||||||
| EBITDA |
103,961 |
102,494 |
121,376 |
127,882 |
224,264 |
202,093 |
||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt |
20,901 |
- |
21,202 |
- |
21,202 |
- |
||||||
| Non-cash employee stock ownership plan compensation charge |
3,636 |
7,447 |
6,679 |
9,849 |
12,599 |
14,773 |
||||||
| Non-cash stock and unit-based compensation charge (a) |
5,919 |
3,120 |
10,350 |
6,212 |
17,683 |
10,573 |
||||||
| Loss on disposal of assets and other |
1,337 |
2,120 |
1,694 |
2,391 |
9,724 |
7,594 |
||||||
| Other income, net |
(57) |
(241) |
(273) |
(332) |
(506) |
(791) |
||||||
| Nonrecurring severance costs |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1,055 |
||||||
| Nonrecurring litigation reserve and related legal fees |
- |
537 |
1,325 |
1,225 |
1,668 |
1,225 |
||||||
| Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest (b) |
659 |
636 |
445 |
498 |
688 |
432 |
||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (d) |
136,356 |
116,113 |
162,798 |
147,725 |
287,322 |
236,954 |
||||||
| Net cash interest expense (e) |
(20,980) |
(21,123) |
(41,566) |
(42,198) |
(82,863) |
(85,043) |
||||||
| Maintenance capital expenditures (f) |
(4,446) |
(3,255) |
(8,583) |
(7,530) |
(16,123) |
(14,736) |
||||||
| Cash paid for taxes |
(178) |
(27) |
(178) |
(45) |
(683) |
(719) |
||||||
| Proceeds from asset sales |
1,165 |
1,392 |
2,482 |
6,163 |
6,299 |
9,531 |
||||||
| Distributable cash flow to equity investors (g) |
$ 111,917 |
$ 93,100 |
$ 114,953 |
$ 104,115 |
$ 193,952 |
$ 145,987 |
||||||
| Propane gallons sales |
||||||||||||
| Retail - Sales to End Users |
246,929 |
221,796 |
372,181 |
346,679 |
663,425 |
609,172 |
||||||
| Wholesale - Sales to Resellers |
95,922 |
76,728 |
161,701 |
131,283 |
293,865 |
245,545 |
||||||
| Total propane gallons sales |
342,851 |
298,524 |
533,882 |
477,962 |
957,290 |
854,717 |
||||||
| (a) Non-cash stock and unit-based compensation charges consist of the following: |
||||||||||||
| Three months ended |
Six months ended |
Twelve months ended |
||||||||||
| January 31 |
January 31 |
January 31 |
||||||||||
| 2014 |
2013 |
2014 |
2013 |
2014 |
2013 |
|||||||
| Operating expense |
$ 1,539 |
$ 593 |
$ 2,337 |
$ 1,304 |
$ 3,424 |
$ 2,211 |
||||||
| General and administrative expense |
4,380 |
2,527 |
8,013 |
4,908 |
14,259 |
8,362 |
||||||
| Total |
$ 5,919 |
$ 3,120 |
$ 10,350 |
$ 6,212 |
$ 17,683 |
$ 10,573 |
||||||
| (b) Amounts allocated to the general partner for its 1.0101% interest in the operating partnership, Ferrellgas, L.P. |
||||||||||||
| (c) FASB guidance regarding participating securities and the two-class method requires the calculation of net earnings per common unitholders' interest for each period presented according to distributions declared and participation rights in undistributed earnings, as if all of the earnings or loss for the period had been distributed. In periods with undistributed earnings above certain levels, the calculation according to the two-class method results in an increased allocation of undistributed earnings to the general partner and a dilution of the earnings to the limited partners. Due to the seasonality of the propane business, the dilution effect of the guidance on the two-class method typically impacts only the three months ending January 31. This guidance did not result in a dilutive effect for the six and twelve months ended January 31, 2014 and 2013. Adjusted net earnings per unit available to common unitholders may not be consistent with that of other companies and should be viewed in conjunction with measurements that are computed inaccordance with GAAP. |
||||||||||||
| (d) Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as earnings before income tax expense, interest expense, depreciation and amortization expense, loss on extinguishment of debt, non-cash employee stock ownership plan compensation charge, non-cash stock and unit-based compensation charge, loss on disposal of assets and other, other income, net, nonrecuring serverance costs, nonrecurring litigation reserve and related legal fees and net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest. |
||||||||||||
| Management believes the presentation of this measure is relevant and useful because it allows investors to view the partnership's performance in a manner similar to the method management uses, adjusted for items management believes makes it easier to compare its results with other companies that have different financing and capital structures. This method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA may not be consistent with that of other companies and should be viewed in conjunction with measurements that are computed inaccordance with GAAP. |
||||||||||||
| (e) Net cash interest expense is the sum of interest expense less non-cash interest expense and other income, net. This amount includes interest expense related to the accounts receivable securitization facility. |
||||||||||||
| (f) Maintenance capital expenditures include capitalized expenditures for betterment and replacement of property, plant and equipment. |
||||||||||||
| (g) Management considers Distributable cash flow to equity investors a meaningful non-GAAP measure of the partnership's ability to declare and pay quarterly distributions to common unitholders. Distributable cash flow to equity investors, as management defines it, may not be comparable to distributable cash flow or similarly titled measures used by other corporations and partnerships. |
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| FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
||||
| CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS |
||||
| (in thousands, except unit data) |
||||
| (unaudited) |
||||
| ASSETS |
January 31, 2014 |
July 31, 2013 |
||
| Current Assets: |
||||
| Cash and cash equivalents |
$ 18,292 |
$ 6,464 |
||
| Accounts and notes receivable, net (including $314,475 and $130,025 of |
||||
| accounts receivable pledged as collateral at January 31, 2014 |
||||
| and July 31, 2013, respectively) |
356,359 |
131,791 |
||
| Inventories |
135,830 |
117,116 |
||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
44,891 |
25,608 |
||
| Total Current Assets |
555,372 |
280,979 |
||
| Property, plant and equipment, net |
582,484 |
589,727 |
||
| Goodwill |
253,331 |
253,362 |
||
| Intangible assets, net |
182,977 |
189,516 |
||
| Other assets, net |
46,630 |
42,444 |
||
| Total Assets |
$ 1,620,794 |
$ 1,356,028 |
||
| LIABILITIES AND PARTNERS' DEFICIT |
||||
| Current Liabilities: |
||||
| Accounts payable |
$ 137,073 |
$ 49,128 |
||
| Short-term borrowings |
67,045 |
50,054 |
||
| Collateralized note payable |
219,000 |
82,000 |
||
| Other current liabilities |
112,241 |
121,102 |
||
| Total Current Liabilities |
535,359 |
302,284 |
||
| Long-term debt (a) |
1,150,911 |
1,106,940 |
||
| Other liabilities |
35,724 |
33,431 |
||
| Contingencies and commitments |
- |
- |
||
| Partners' Deficit: |
||||
| Common unitholders (79,144,419 and 79,072,819 units outstanding at |
||||
| January 31, 2014 and July 31, 2013, respectively) |
(54,480) |
(28,931) |
||
| General partner unitholder (799,439 and 798,715 units outstanding at |
||||
| January 31, 2014 and July 31, 2013, respectively) |
(60,621) |
(60,362) |
||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income |
13,078 |
1,697 |
||
| Total Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. Partners' Deficit |
(102,023) |
(87,596) |
||
| Noncontrolling Interest |
823 |
969 |
||
| Total Partners' Deficit |
(101,200) |
(86,627) |
||
| Total Liabilities and Partners' Deficit |
$ 1,620,794 |
$ 1,356,028 |
||
| (a) The principal difference between the Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. balance sheet and that of Ferrellgas, L.P., is $182 million of 8.625% notes which are liabilities of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. and not of Ferrellgas, L.P. |
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SOURCE Ferrellgas Partners, L.P.
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