NuStar Energy L.P. (NS) Tops Q4 EPS by 5c, Revenues Miss

NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS) reported Q4 EPS of $0.40, $0.05 better than the analyst estimate of $0.35. Revenue for the quarter came in at $399.69 million versus the consensus estimate of $421.01 million.

• Fourth Quarter Income from Continuing Operations Up 84 Percent Over Fourth Quarter of 2018
• Full-Year 2019 Income from Continuing Operations Up 41 Percent Over Full-Year 2018
• Fourth Quarter 2019 Results Exceed Consensus Estimates on Earnings Per Unit and Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization
• Permian Crude System Volumes Exit 2019 at 460,000 Barrels Per Day; Average 475,000 Barrels Per Day in January; Expected to Exit 2020 at Over 550,000 Barrels Per Day
• Corpus Christi Crude System More Than Doubles Volumes Handled in 2019 and Averages 613,000 Barrels Per Day in December

“Last year was, by all measures, a great year for NuStar,” said NuStar President and CEO Brad Barron. “Our results, across the board, demonstrate how well our employees executed on our 2019 plan."

"And, thanks in large part to our successful divestiture of the Caribbean terminal facility for net proceeds of $230 million in July, we finished 2019 with a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 3.88 times, far better than the 4.05 times at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, which puts NuStar under 4.0 times for the third consecutive quarter," said Barron.

Permian Crude System and Beyond

“We are also off to a great start for 2020 in the Permian," Barron said. "With over 30 percent of the rigs in the Midland Basin residing on our Permian system, our throughput averaged 475,000 BPD in January, and February nominations continue to increase and have come in well ahead of our forecast. But our Permian Crude System is not the only part of our asset footprint that performed well in 2019.

“In the second quarter of 2019, we completed two strategic, low-capital expansions of our Wichita Falls crude pipeline; one to transport Permian barrels to local refiners from the Sunrise Pipeline expansion and another expansion project into Hewitt to deliver barrels to Plains for delivery into the Longview market. In August of 2019, we completed our project to connect our 16-inch South Texas crude pipeline to Cactus II and, in mid-August, we received the first shipment of Permian crude from Cactus II, the first of the three long-haul pipeline projects to transport WTI from the Permian Basin to Corpus Christi.

“September 4 was truly a banner day for NuStar as we brought three of our key 2019 pipeline projects into service in a single day. We completed the second stage of our Corpus Christi WTI export project and a new 8-mile, 30” pipeline from Taft to our Corpus Christi facility, as well as our project to double the capacity of our Valley pipeline to expand supply of refined products from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande Valley and Northern Mexico, and phase one of our project to transport diesel from the Corpus Christi refining complex to our Nuevo Laredo terminal.

“We also had a record-breaking 2019 across our Central East Refined Products System, where we hit record numbers in December for butane blending, propane transportation and refined products movements.

"Additionally, our storage throughput volumes grew an impressive 36 percent in 2019, and we also saw solid contributions from our facility in St. James, where we expected activity at our unit train facility to ramp up from 20,000 barrels per month to 30,000 barrels per month by the end of 2019. But by year-end, our unit train activity exceeded that target, as we saw 43,000 barrels for the month in December, and we expect even higher numbers through 2020. In March, after completing a connection at our St. James facility, we also began receiving Bakken and Permian crude barrels from Bayou Bridge.

"And across our West Coast terminals, our teams executed on projects to develop the renewable fuels logistics network necessary for regional markets to achieve low-carbon fuel targets.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on NuStar Energy L.P. (NS) click here.

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