Ferrellgas Partners' Second-Quarter Results Improve Substantially; Adjusted EBITDA Increases 33%; Distributable Cash Flow Up 50%
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (NYSE: FGP), one of the nation's largest distributors of propane, today reported that results for the fiscal 2013 second quarter ended January 31 improved substantially, reflecting improved retail margins.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 33% to $116.1 million, from $87.5 million in the year-earlier quarter. Distributable cash flow to equity investors rose 50% to $93.1 million, from $62.2 million a year ago.
As expected revenues declined to $658.9 million, from $829.3 million, primarily attributable to a 39% decrease in the wholesale cost of propane from the year ago quarter. Benefiting from lower wholesale propane costs, gross profit rose 15% to $235.2 million or $.79 per gallon sold, in-line with both the trailing six and 12-month performance. Net earnings climbed 60% to $58.8 million, or $0.73 per unit, from $36.8 million, or $0.47 per unit.
During the second quarter, retail propane gallons sales were off less than 1% to 221.8 million gallons, while total volume sales declined approximately 2% to 298.5 million. The partnership continues to focus on more efficient and profitable deliveries of propane to its customers helping to offset the impact of unfavorable weather and economic conditions.
Operating expenses rose modestly to $105.6 million from $103.7 million, while general and administrative expense decreased modestly to $10.2 million. Excluding performance based incentive accruals, net operating and general and administrative expenses were down nearly $1.0 million, in-line on a cents-per-gallon sold basis with prior year results. Equipment lease expense rose to $3.8 million from $3.5 million.
Interest expense continued to reflect the partnership's lower cost of borrowing, declining to $22.6 million, from $24.0 million the year before.
President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Wambold commented, "Second-quarter results represented the third consecutive quarter of positive momentum despite unusually warm weather. Temperatures during the quarter were slightly cooler than in the prior year, but still substantially warmer than normal. For the quarter, temperatures were more than 10% warmer than normal and in the key heating month of December temperatures were 1% warmer than the prior year or nearly 15% warmer than normal.
"For the trailing 12 month period, our Adjusted EBITDA performance was $237 million. As we continue to meet and exceed our operational objectives this year, we feel comfortable in increasing our previously forecasted fiscal 2013 Adjusted EBITDA range to $245 million to $260 million." Adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2012 was $193.1 million.
The partnership remains focused on growth both through organic and acquisition efforts, announcing three acquisitions in fiscal 2013 thus far. "The acquisition environment remains attractive, with strong interest from sellers," commented Wambold.
For the first half of fiscal 2013, Adjusted EBITDA rose 42% to $147.7 million from $103.9 million. Net earnings totaled $41.0 million, or $0.51 per unit, versus $3.9 million, or $0.05 per unit. Revenue declined 25% to $1.0 billion primarily on lower wholesale propane costs, with gross profit increasing 13% to $375.2 million on higher retail margins.
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, 2012, 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 BALANCE SHEETS |
||||
| (in thousands, except unit data) |
||||
| (unaudited) |
||||
| ASSETS |
January 31, 2013 |
July 31, 2012 |
||
| Current Assets: |
||||
| Cash and cash equivalents |
$ 12,109 |
$ 8,429 |
||
| Accounts and notes receivable, net (including $224,428 and $121,812 of |
||||
| accounts receivable pledged as collateral at January 31, 2013 |
||||
| and July 31, 2012, respectively) |
238,558 |
124,004 |
||
| Inventories |
130,073 |
127,598 |
||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
30,069 |
29,315 |
||
| Total Current Assets |
410,809 |
289,346 |
||
| Property, plant and equipment, net |
610,984 |
626,551 |
||
| Goodwill |
248,944 |
248,944 |
||
| Intangible assets, net |
183,659 |
189,118 |
||
| Other assets, net |
48,603 |
43,320 |
||
| Total Assets |
$ 1,502,999 |
$ 1,397,279 |
||
| LIABILITIES AND PARTNERS' DEFICIT |
||||
| Current Liabilities: |
||||
| Accounts payable |
$ 103,379 |
$ 47,824 |
||
| Short-term borrowings |
72,678 |
95,730 |
||
| Collateralized note payable |
134,000 |
74,000 |
||
| Other current liabilities |
122,915 |
122,667 |
||
| Total Current Liabilities |
432,972 |
340,221 |
||
| Long-term debt (a) |
1,081,388 |
1,059,085 |
||
| Other liabilities |
30,960 |
25,499 |
||
| Contingencies and commitments |
- |
- |
||
| Partners' Deficit: |
||||
| Common unitholders (79,015,619 and 79,006,619 units outstanding at |
||||
| January 31, 2013 and July 31, 2012, respectively) |
20,673 |
43,701 |
||
| General partner unitholder (798,138 and 798,047 units outstanding at |
||||
| January 31, 2013 and July 31, 2012, respectively) |
(59,863) |
(59,630) |
||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
(4,547) |
(13,159) |
||
| Total Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. Partners' Deficit |
(43,737) |
(29,088) |
||
| Noncontrolling Interest |
1,416 |
1,562 |
||
| Total Partners' Deficit |
(42,321) |
(27,526) |
||
| Total Liabilities and Partners' Deficit |
$ 1,502,999 |
$ 1,397,279 |
||
| (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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| FERRELLGAS PARTNERS, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
||||||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS |
||||||||||||
| FOR THE THREE, SIX AND TWELVE MONTHS ENDED JANUARY 31, 2013 AND 2012 |
||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per unit data) |
||||||||||||
| (unaudited)
|
||||||||||||
| Three months ended |
Six months ended |
Twelve months ended |
||||||||||
| January 31 |
January 31 |
January 31 |
||||||||||
| 2013 |
2012 |
2013 |
2012 |
2013 |
2012 |
|||||||
| Revenues: |
||||||||||||
| Propane and other gas liquids sales |
$ 583,074 |
$ 779,567 |
$ 918,355 |
$ 1,293,786 |
$ 1,785,514 |
$ 2,363,241 |
||||||
| Other |
75,791 |
49,705 |
103,419 |
73,912 |
207,654 |
186,488 |
||||||
| Total revenues |
658,865 |
829,272 |
1,021,774 |
1,367,698 |
1,993,168 |
2,549,729 |
||||||
| Cost of product sold: |
||||||||||||
| Propane and other gas liquids sales |
376,236 |
600,600 |
589,893 |
1,003,722 |
1,188,057 |
1,797,164 |
||||||
| Other |
47,437 |
24,468 |
56,634 |
31,094 |
120,863 |
104,206 |
||||||
| Gross profit |
235,192 |
204,204 |
375,247 |
332,882 |
684,248 |
648,359 |
||||||
| Operating expense (including $403 of non-recurring severance |
||||||||||||
| charges for the twelve month period ended January 31, 2013) |
105,599 |
103,741 |
202,033 |
203,152 |
397,861 |
407,611 |
||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense |
20,751 |
21,042 |
41,626 |
41,716 |
83,751 |
83,837 |
||||||
| General and administrative expense (including $279 of non-recurring |
||||||||||||
| severance charges for the twelve month period ended January 31, 2013) |
10,190 |
10,344 |
18,964 |
19,708 |
36,372 |
50,476 |
||||||
| Equipment lease expense |
3,827 |
3,528 |
7,750 |
7,057 |
15,341 |
14,300 |
||||||
| Non-cash employee stock ownership plan compensation charge |
7,447 |
1,937 |
9,849 |
4,516 |
14,773 |
9,297 |
||||||
| Non-cash stock and unit-based compensation charge (b) |
3,120 |
1,565 |
6,212 |
4,482 |
10,573 |
5,889 |
||||||
| Loss (gain) on disposal of assets and other |
2,120 |
523 |
2,391 |
832 |
7,594 |
4,094 |
||||||
| Operating income |
82,138 |
61,524 |
86,422 |
51,419 |
117,983 |
72,855 |
||||||
| Interest expense |
(22,619) |
(24,046) |
(45,054) |
(47,433) |
(90,875) |
(96,046) |
||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(10,513) |
||||||
| Other income (expense), net |
241 |
80 |
332 |
47 |
791 |
348 |
||||||
| Earnings (loss) before income taxes |
59,760 |
37,558 |
41,700 |
4,033 |
27,899 |
(33,356) |
||||||
| Income tax expense |
917 |
771 |
653 |
141 |
1,640 |
666 |
||||||
| Net earnings (loss) |
58,843 |
36,787 |
41,047 |
3,892 |
26,259 |
(34,022) |
||||||
| Net earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest (a) |
636 |
413 |
498 |
122 |
432 |
(58) |
||||||
| Net earnings (loss) attributable to Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. |
58,207 |
36,374 |
40,549 |
3,770 |
25,827 |
(33,964) |
||||||
| Less: General partner's interest in net earnings (loss) |
3,138 |
364 |
405 |
38 |
258 |
(339) |
||||||
| Common unitholders' interest in net earnings (loss) |
$ 55,069 |
$ 36,010 |
$ 40,144 |
$ 3,732 |
$ 25,569 |
$ (33,625) |
||||||
| Earnings (loss) Per Unit |
||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net earnings (loss) per common unitholders' interest |
$ 0.70 |
$ 0.47 |
$ 0.51 |
$ 0.05 |
$ 0.32 |
$ (0.45) |
||||||
| Dilutive effect of two-class method (c) |
0.03 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
||||||
| Adjusted net earnings (loss) per unit available to common unitholders |
$ 0.73 |
$ 0.47 |
$ 0.51 |
$ 0.05 |
$ (0.04) |
$ 1.05 |
||||||
| Weighted average common units outstanding |
79,015.6 |
76,401.6 |
79,014.4 |
76,184.0 |
78,995.4 |
75,373.4 |
||||||
| Supplemental Data and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Items: |
||||||||||||
| Three months ended |
Six months ended |
Twelve months ended |
||||||||||
| January 31 |
January 31 |
January 31 |
||||||||||
| 2012 |
2011 |
2012 |
2011 |
2013 |
2012 |
|||||||
| Net earnings (loss) attributable to Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. |
$ 58,207 |
$ 36,374 |
$ 40,549 |
$ 3,770 |
$ 25,827 |
$ (33,964) |
||||||
| Income tax expense |
917 |
771 |
653 |
141 |
1,640 |
666 |
||||||
| Interest expense |
22,619 |
24,046 |
45,054 |
47,433 |
90,875 |
96,046 |
||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense |
20,751 |
21,042 |
41,626 |
41,716 |
83,751 |
83,837 |
||||||
| EBITDA |
102,494 |
82,233 |
127,882 |
93,060 |
202,093 |
146,585 |
||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
10,513 |
||||||
| Non-cash employee stock ownership plan compensation charge |
7,447 |
1,937 |
9,849 |
4,516 |
14,773 |
9,297 |
||||||
| Non-cash stock and unit-based compensation charge (b) |
3,120 |
1,565 |
6,212 |
4,482 |
10,573 |
5,889 |
||||||
| Loss (gain) on disposal of assets and other |
2,12 0 |
523 |
2,391 |
832 |
7,594 |
4,094 |
||||||
| Other (income) expense, net |
(241) |
(80) |
(332) |
(47) |
(791) |
(348) |
||||||
| Nonrecurring severance costs |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1,055 |
- |
||||||
| Nonrecurring litigation reserve and related legal fees |
537 |
892 |
1,225 |
892 |
1,225 |
12,345 |
||||||
| Net earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest |
636 |
413 |
498 |
122 |
432 |
(58) |
||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (d) |
116,113 |
87,483 |
147,725 |
103,857 |
236,954 |
188,317 |
||||||
| Net cash interest expense (e) |
(21,123) |
(22,724) |
(42,198) |
(44,755) |
(85,043) |
(89,726) |
||||||
| Maintenance capital expenditures (f) |
(3,255) |
(3,511) |
(7,530) |
(8,838) |
(14,736) |
(16,427) |
||||||
| Cash paid for taxes |
(27) |
(87) |
(45) |
(90) |
(719) |
(766) |
||||||
| Proceeds from asset sales |
1,392 |
1,011 |
6,163 |
2,374 |
9,531 |
5,168 |
||||||
| Distributable cash flow to equity investors (g) |
$ 93,100 |
$ 62,172 |
$ 104,115 |
$ 52,548 |
$ 145,987 |
$ 86,566 |
||||||
| Propane gallons sales |
||||||||||||
| Retail - Sales to End Users |
221,796 |
223,977 |
346,679 |
356,825 |
609,172 |
642,445 |
||||||
| Wholesale - Sales to Resellers |
76,728 |
81,129 |
131,283 |
144,550 |
245,545 |
261,893 |
||||||
| Total propane gallons sales |
298,524 |
305,106 |
477,962 |
501,375 |
854,717 |
904,338 |
||||||
| (a) Amounts allocated to the general partner for its 1.0101% interest in the operating partnership, Ferrellgas, L.P. |
||||||||||||
| (b) 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 |
||||||||||
| 2013 |
2012 |
2013 |
2012 |
2013 |
2012 |
|||||||
| Operating expense |
$ 593 |
$ 673 |
$ 1,304 |
$ 1,840 |
$ 2,211 |
$ 2,335 |
||||||
| General and administrative expense |
2,527 |
892 |
4,908 |
2,642 |
8,362 |
3,554 |
||||||
| Total |
$ 3,120 |
$ 1,565 |
$ 6,212 |
$ 4,482 |
$ 10,573 |
$ 5,889 |
||||||
| (c) |
FASB guidance regarding participating securities and the two-class method requires the calculation of net earnings (loss) 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 three months ended January 31, 2012 or for the six and twelve months ended January 31, 2013 and 2012. |
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| (d) |
Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as earnings (loss) 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 (gain) on disposal of assets and other, other income (expense), net, nonrecuring serverance costs, nonrecurring litigation reserve and related legal fees and net earnings (loss) 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. |
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| (e) |
Net cash interest expense is the sum of interest expense less non-cash interest expense and other income (expense), 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. |
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| (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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SOURCE Ferrellgas Partners, L.P.
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