DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TransMontaigne Partners L.P. (NYSE:TLP) today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2012.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
An overview of the financial performance for the three months ended March 31, 2012, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2011, includes:
- Distributable cash flow generated during the three months ended March 31, 2012 was $16.0 million compared to $15.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011.
-
Operating income for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 was $10.9
million compared to $12.3 million for the quarter ended March 31,
2011, principally due to the following:
- An increase in direct general and administrative expenses of approximately $1.8 million, which is primarily the result of our change in independent auditor and re-audits of prior periods as more fully described below under “Recent Developments”.
- Revenue was $38.8 million compared to $39.1 million due a decrease in revenue at the Brownsville terminals of approximately $2.2 million, offset by increases in revenue at the Gulf Coast, Midwest, River and Southeast terminals of approximately $0.5 million, $0.3 million, $0.5 million and $0.6 million, respectively. The decrease in the Brownsville revenue is attributable to our contribution of product storage capacity to the Frontera joint venture in the second quarter of 2011.
- Direct operating costs and expenses were $14.0 million compared to $14.6 million due to decreases in direct operating costs and expenses at the Midwest, Brownsville and Southeast terminals of approximately $0.1 million, $1.1 million and $0.2 million, respectively, offset by an increase in direct operating costs and expenses at the River terminals of approximately $0.8 million.
- Equity in earnings from the Frontera Brownsville LLC joint venture of approximately $0.1 million.
- Quarterly net earnings decreased to $10.1 million from $11.3 million due principally to the decrease in quarterly operating income discussed above, offset by a decrease in deferred financing expense of approximately $0.3 million.
- Net earnings per limited partner unit—basic decreased to $0.62 per unit from $0.71 per unit.
- The distribution declared per limited partner unit was $0.63 per unit for the three months ended March 31, 2012, as compared to $0.61 per unit for the three months ended March 31, 2011.
Our terminaling services agreements are structured as either throughput agreements or storage agreements. Most of our throughput agreements contain provisions that require our customers to throughput a minimum volume of product at our facilities over a stipulated period of time, which results in a fixed amount of revenue to be recognized by us. Our storage agreements require our customers to make minimum payments based on the volume of storage capacity made available to the customer under the agreement, which results in a fixed amount of revenue to be recognized by us. We refer to the fixed amount of revenue recognized pursuant to our terminaling services agreements as being “firm commitments.” Revenue recognized in excess of firm commitments and revenue recognized based solely on the volume of product distributed or injected are referred to as “variable.” Our revenue was as follows (in thousands):
Three months ended March 31, |
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2012 | 2011 | ||||||
Firm Commitments: | |||||||
Terminaling services fees, net: | |||||||
External customers | $ | 7,805 | $ | 9,354 | |||
Affiliates | 20,762 | 19,793 | |||||
Total firm commitments | 28,567 | 29,147 | |||||
Variable: | |||||||
Terminaling services fees, net: | |||||||
External customers | 728 | 1,094 | |||||
Affiliates | (7 | ) | 17 | ||||
Total | 721 | 1,111 | |||||
Pipeline transportation fees | 1,527 | 960 | |||||
Management fees and reimbursed costs | 1,455 | 471 | |||||
Other | 6,563 | 7,447 | |||||
Total variable | 10,266 | 9,989 | |||||
Total revenue | $ | 38,833 | $ | 39,136 | |||
The amount of revenue recognized as “firm commitments” based on the remaining contractual term of the terminaling services agreements that generated “firm commitments” for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was as follows (in thousands):
At March 31, 2012 |
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Remaining terms on terminaling services agreements that generated “firm commitments”: | |||
Less than 1 year remaining | $ | 1,796 | |
1 year or more, but less than 3 years remaining | 22,543 | ||
3 years or more, but less than 5 years remaining | 2,546 | ||
5 years or more remaining | 1,682 | ||
Total firm commitments for the three months ended March 31, 2012 | $ | 28,567 | |
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
On April 16, 2012, we announced a distribution of $0.63 per unit for the period from January 1, 2012 through March 31, 2012, payable on May 8, 2012 to unitholders of record on April 30, 2012.
As previously disclosed, the audit committee of our general partner dismissed KPMG LLP, from its engagement as the principal accountant to audit the financial statements of TransMontaigne Partners L.P. on December 15, 2011. The dismissal of KPMG LLP resulted from the determination that KPMG LLP was not “independent” of TransMontaigne Partners L.P. within the meaning of the rules of applicable regulatory agencies, and did not qualify as independent at the time of our audits for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, and prior periods. In conjunction with our investigation of this matter, it was determined that our investors would receive meaningful benefit from the reassurance that would be provided by having our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 re-audited (collectively, the "Re-audits"), and by having the quarterly financial information that is contained in the 2011 annual report re-reviewed (collectively, the "Re-reviews"), by Deloitte & Touche LLP, our new independent registered public accounting firm. The Re-audits and Re-reviews were completed by Deloitte & Touche LLP on May 3, 2012, and their opinions are included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A, Amendment No. 1, for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the SEC on May 3, 2012. The Re-audits and Re-reviews did not materially change the information previously reported in our consolidated financial statements for any of the prior periods presented in the 2011 annual report or our previously filed quarterly and annual reports with respect to such periods.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
TransMontaigne Partners also released the following statements regarding its current liquidity and capital resources:
- Our primary liquidity needs are to fund our working capital requirements, distributions to unitholders, approved capital projects and approved future expansion, development and acquisition opportunities. As a result of Morgan Stanley's October 2011 decision not to approve any "significant" acquisition or investment that we may propose for the foreseeable future, we anticipate that Morgan Stanley's decision will significantly constrain our ability to grow our business as we have previously disclosed we were seeking to do. We cannot currently predict how Morgan Stanley's decision and any such regulatory developments will otherwise affect Morgan Stanley's commodities business or the growth or development of our business, our financial condition or results of operations, or how significant any such effects could be. Further discussion of Morgan Stanley’s current position with respect to approval of any proposed acquisitions and investments and the potential impact of such decision is set forth under the captions “Item 1.A. Risk Factors” and “Regulatory Matters” in Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A, Amendment No. 1, filed on May 3, 2012.
- We believe that we will be able to generate sufficient cash from operations in the future to fund our working capital requirements and our distributions to unitholders. We expect to initially fund our approved capital projects and our approved future expansion, development and acquisition opportunities, if any, with additional borrowings under our amended and restated senior secured credit facility. After initially funding expenditures for approved capital projects and approved future expansion, development and acquisition opportunities, if any, with borrowings under our amended and restated senior secured credit facility, we may raise funds through additional equity offerings and debt financing, which may include the issuance of senior unsecured notes. The proceeds of such equity offerings and debt financings may then be used to reduce our outstanding borrowings under our amended and restated senior secured credit facility.
- Our amended and restated senior secured credit facility provides for a maximum borrowing line of credit equal to $250 million. At our request, subject to the approval of the administrative agent and the receipt of additional commitments from one or more lenders, the maximum borrowings under the amended and restated senior secured credit facility can be increased by up to an additional $100 million. The terms of the amended and restated senior secured credit facility also permit us to borrow pursuant to the issuance of senior unsecured notes and to borrow up to approximately $23 million from other lenders, including our general partner and its affiliates. The amended and restated senior secured credit facility became effective March 9, 2011 and expires on March 9, 2016. At March 31, 2012, our outstanding borrowings were $106.5 million.
- Management and the board of directors of our general partner approved capital projects with estimated completion dates that extend through July 31, 2012. At March 31, 2012, the remaining capital expenditures to complete the approved capital projects are estimated to range from $11 million to $14 million. We expect to fund our capital expenditures with additional borrowings under our amended and restated senior secured credit facility.
Attachment A contains additional selected financial information and results of operations and Attachment B contains a computation of our distributable cash flow.
CONFERENCE CALL
TransMontaigne Partners L.P. previously announced that it has scheduled a conference call for Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. (ET) regarding the above information. Analysts, investors and other interested parties are invited to listen to management’s presentation of the Company’s results and supplemental financial information by accessing the call as follows:
(800) 762-4758
Ask for:
TransMontaigne
Partners
A playback of the conference call will be available from 1:00 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 until 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 by calling:
USA: (800) 475-6701
International: (320)
365-3844
Access Code: 247071
ATTACHMENT A |
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The following selected financial information is extracted from the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2012, which was filed on May 8, 2012 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (in thousands, except per unit amounts): |
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Three Months Ended |
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March 31, 2012 |
March 31, 2011 |
|||||||
Income Statement Data |
||||||||
Revenue | $ | 38,833 | $ | 39,136 | ||||
Direct operating costs and expenses | (13,969 | ) | (14,577 | ) | ||||
Direct general and administrative expenses | (3,188 | ) | (1,365 | ) | ||||
Operating income | 10,948 | 12,304 | ||||||
Net earnings | 10,142 | 11,326 | ||||||
Net earnings allocable to limited partners | 8,947 | 10,314 | ||||||
Net earnings per limited partner unit - basic | $ | 0.62 | $ | 0.71 | ||||
March 31, |
December 31, |
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Balance Sheet Data |
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Property, plant and equipment, net |
$ |
430,382 |
$ |
431,782 |
||||
Investment in joint venture |
25,612 |
25,875 |
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Goodwill |
8,741 |
8,716 |
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Total assets |
491,420 |
514,104 |
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Long-term debt |
106,500 |
120,000 |
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Partners’ equity |
351,987 |
351,876 |
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Selected results of operations data for each of the quarters in the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 are summarized below (in thousands):
Three months ended |
Year ending December 31, 2012 |
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March 31, 2012 |
June 30, 2012 |
September 30, 2012 |
December 31, 2012 |
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Revenue | $ | 38,833 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 38,833 | |||||||
Direct operating costs and expenses | (13,969 | ) | — | — | — | (13,969 | ) | ||||||||||
Direct general and administrative expenses | (3,188 | ) | — | — | — | (3,188 | ) | ||||||||||
Allocated general and administrative expenses | (2,695 | ) | — | — | — | (2,695 | ) | ||||||||||
Allocated insurance expense | (897 | ) | — | — | — | (897 | ) | ||||||||||
Reimbursement of bonus awards | (313 | ) | — | — | — | (313 | ) | ||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | (6,930 | ) | — | — | — | (6,930 | ) | ||||||||||
Gain on disposition of assets | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
Equity in earnings (loss) of joint venture | 107 | — | — | — | 107 | ||||||||||||
Operating income | 10,948 | — | — | — | 10,948 | ||||||||||||
Other expenses, net | (806 | ) | — | — | — | (806 | ) | ||||||||||
Net earnings | $ | 10,142 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 10,142 | |||||||
Three months ended |
Year ending December 31, 2011 |
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March 31, 2011 |
June 30, 2011 |
September 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2011 |
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Revenue | $39,136 | $36,832 | $37,085 | $39,239 | $152,292 | |||||
Direct operating costs and expenses | (14,577) | (17,636) | (16,490) | (15,795) | (64,498) | |||||
Direct general and administrative expenses | (1,365) | (815) | (1,060) | (1,463) | (4,703) | |||||
Allocated general and administrative expenses | (2,616) | (2,617) | (2,616) | (2,617) | (10,466) | |||||
Allocated insurance expense | (823) | (822) | (823) | (822) | (3,290) | |||||
Reimbursement of bonus awards | (313) | (312) | (313) | (312) | (1,250) | |||||
Depreciation and amortization | (7,138) | (6,722) | (6,873) | (6,921) | (27,654) | |||||
Gain on disposition of assets | — | 9,576 | — | — | 9,576 | |||||
Equity in earnings (loss) of joint venture | — | 233 | (285) | 165 | 113 | |||||
Operating income | 12,304 | 17,717 | 8,625 | 11,474 | 50,120 | |||||
Other expenses, net | (978) | (689) | (959) | (974) | (3,600) | |||||
Net earnings | $11,326 | $17,028 | $7,666 | $10,500 | $46,520 | |||||
ATTACHMENT B |
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The following summarizes our distributable cash flow for the period indicated (in thousands): |
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January 1, 2012 |
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Net earnings | $ | 10,142 | ||
Depreciation and amortization | 6,930 | |||
Amounts due under long-term terminaling services agreements, net | 128 | |||
Amortization of deferred revenue—projects | (1,144 | ) | ||
Payments received upon completion of projects, (reserve)/reversal | 525 | |||
Deferred equity-based compensation | 107 | |||
Distributions paid to holders of restricted phantom units | (24 | ) | ||
Cash paid for purchase of common units | (57 | ) | ||
Equity in earnings of joint venture | (107 | ) | ||
Distributions received from joint venture | 370 | |||
Maintenance capital expenditures | (901 | ) | ||
“Distributable cash flow” generated during the period | $ | 15,969 | ||
Actual distribution for the period on all common units and the general partner interest, including incentive distribution rights | $ | 10,306 | ||
Distributable cash flow is not a computation based upon generally accepted accounting principles. The amounts included in the computation of our distributable cash flow are derived from amounts separately presented in our consolidated financial statements, notes thereto and “Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2012, which was filed with the SEC on May 8, 2012. Distributable cash flow should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net earnings or operating income, as an indication of our operating performance, or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. Distributable cash flow is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Distributable cash flow is presented here because it is a widely accepted financial indicator used to compare partnership performance. We believe that this measure provides investors an enhanced perspective of the operating performance of our assets, the cash we are generating and our ability to make distributions to our unitholders and our general partner.
About TransMontaigne Partners L.P.
TransMontaigne Partners L.P. is a terminaling and transportation company based in Denver, Colorado with operations primarily in the United States along the Gulf Coast, in the Midwest, in Brownsville, Texas, along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and in the Southeast. We provide integrated terminaling, storage, transportation and related services for customers engaged in the distribution and marketing of light refined petroleum products, heavy refined petroleum products, crude oil, chemicals, fertilizers and other liquid products. Light refined products include gasolines, diesel fuels, heating oil and jet fuels; heavy refined products include residual fuel oils and asphalt. We do not purchase or market products that we handle or transport. News and additional information about TransMontaigne Partners L.P. is available on our website: www.transmontaignepartners.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company’s expectations and may adversely affect its business and results of operations are disclosed in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K/A, Amendment No. 1, for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 3, 2012.