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SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. Announces Solid Second Quarter 2015 Results and Increases Cash Distributions Per Unit

July 21, 2015 7:00 AM

LISLE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: SXCP) today reported net income attributable to SXCP of $17.0 million in second quarter 2015 as compared to $1.2 million in the prior year period. This increase reflects the impact of the January 2015 dropdown of a 75 percent ownership interest in the Granite City cokemaking facility as well as the May 2014 dropdown of an additional 33 percent ownership interest in Haverhill and Middletown. The prior year period also included dropdown related transaction costs.

SXCP also announced today the acquisition of the Convent Marine Terminal in Convent, LA, a 2 percent increase in the quarterly cash distribution payable in August 2015, and authorization of a $50 million unit repurchase program.

In addition, SXCP announced it entered into a contribution agreement with its sponsor, SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SXC), to acquire an additional 23 percent interest in the Granite City cokemaking facility for $67 million. This transaction is expected to close in the third quarter 2015, concurrently with the execution of long-term financing related to the Convent Marine Terminal acquisition.

“SXCP posted another quarter of sustained solid operating performance despite a challenging steel industry environment. The results demonstrate the stability of our business model and cash flows,“ said Fritz Henderson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. “Our existing business has delivered a strong track record of performance and growth. Today we are building on this track record with the expected acquisition of the Convent Marine Terminal and initiation of a unit repurchase program. Both actions are expected to meaningfully create value and be immediately accretive to unitholders.”

In light of these announcements, SXCP issued its second quarter results two days early and moved up its investor conference call to this morning at 8:30am ET. More information can be found below.

SECOND QUARTER RESULTS

Three Months Ended June 30,
Increase/
(in millions) 2015 2014 (Decrease)
Revenues(1) $ 207.6 $ 217.8 $ (10.2 )
Operating income(1) 29.3 34.7 (5.4 )
Adjusted EBITDA (1)(2) 44.7 48.3 (3.6 )
Net income attributable to SXCP(3) 17.0 1.2 15.8
(1) Includes 100 percent of Granite City in second quarter 2015 and 2014.
(2) See definition of Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliation elsewhere in this release.
(3) Net income attributable to SXCP includes the impact of SXCP's 75 percent ownership in Granite City in 2015.

Revenues were $207.6 million in second quarter 2015, a decline of $10.2 million from same prior year period primarily due to the pass-through of lower coal costs in our Domestic Coke segment.

Operating income and Adjusted EBITDA decreased $5.4 million and $3.6 million in second quarter 2015 to $29.3 million and $44.7 million, respectively, primarily driven by approximately $4.0 million of higher costs due to the timing of planned maintenance outages.

SECOND QUARTER SEGMENT INFORMATION

Domestic Coke

Domestic Coke segment consists of our interest in the Haverhill, Middletown and Granite City cokemaking facilities, located in Franklin Furnace and Middletown, Ohio; and Granite City, Illinois, respectively.

Domestic Coke Results Three Months Ended June 30,
Increase/
(in millions) 2015 2014 (Decrease)
Revenues $ 195.7 $ 203.9 $ (8.2 )
Adjusted EBITDA(1) 42.2 46.1 (3.9 )
Sales Volume (thousands of tons) 633 613 20.0
Adjusted EBITDA per ton(1) $ 66.67 $ 75.20 $ (8.53 )
(1) See definitions of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA per ton and reconciliation elsewhere in this release.

Adjusted EBITDA decreased $3.9 million to $42.2 million in second quarter 2015 primarily due to higher operating and maintenance costs described above. Second quarter 2015 was also impacted by lost revenues and higher expenses associated with the previously announced planned shutdown of Haverhill Chemicals LLC, which were in line with management’s expectations.

Coal Logistics

The Coal Logistics segment consists of our coal handling and blending operation at Lake Terminal in East Chicago, IN, and Kanawha River Terminals, LLC, which has terminals along the Ohio, Big Sandy and Kanawha rivers in West Virginia and Kentucky.

Coal Logistics Results Three Months Ended June 30,
Increase/
(in millions) 2015 2014 (Decrease)
Revenues $ 11.9 $ 13.9 $ (2.0 )
Adjusted EBITDA(1) 5.0 5.0 —
Tons handled (thousands of tons) 4,366 5,605 (1,239 )
Adjusted EBITDA per ton(1) $ 1.15 $ 0.89 $ 0.26
(1) See definitions of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA per ton and reconciliation elsewhere in this release.

Adjusted EBITDA remained consistent with the prior year at $5.0 million as a result of favorable pricing and lower costs, offsetting the decrease in volume.

Corporate and Other

Corporate and other costs remained reasonably consistent with the prior year at $2.5 million. The current year period reflects a higher allocation of costs from our sponsor in conjunction with the dropdown of an additional 33 percent ownership interest in Haverhill and Middletown, as compared to prior year, which included transaction costs associated with the dropdown.

CASH DISTRIBUTIONS

On July 20, 2015, the Board of Directors of SXCP's general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.5825 per unit, an increase of 2 percent versus the previous quarterly rate. This distribution will be paid on August 31, 2015 to unitholders of record on August 14, 2015.

UNIT REPURCHASE AUTHORIZATION

On July 20, 2015, the Board of Directors of SXCP’s general partner authorized a program for the Partnership to repurchase up to $50 million of its common units from time to time in open market transactions, including block trades, or in privately negotiated transactions.

RELATED COMMUNICATIONS

We will host an investor conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (7:30 a.m. Central Time) today. This conference call will be webcast live and archived for replay in the Investor Relations section of www.sxcpartners.com. Investors may participate on this call by dialing 1-800-446-2782 in the U.S. or 1-847-413-3235 if outside the U.S., confirmation code 40130616.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Additionally, we plan to participate in the following investor conferences:

NOTICE

This statement is intended to serve as qualified notice to nominees as provided for under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b)(4) and (d) given by a publicly traded partnership for the nominee to be treated as a withholding agent. Please note that SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.'s quarterly cash distributions are treated as partnership distributions for federal income tax purposes and that 100 percent of these distributions to foreign investors are attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business. Accordingly, all of SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.'s distributions to a nominee on behalf of foreign investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at the highest marginal tax rate for individuals or corporations, as applicable. Nominees, and not SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P., are treated as the withholding agents responsible for withholding on the distributions received by them on behalf of foreign investors.

SUNCOKE ENERGY PARTNERS, L.P.

SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: SXCP) is a publicly traded master limited partnership that manufactures high-quality coke used in the blast furnace production of steel and provides coal handling services to the coke, steel and power industries. In our cokemaking business, we utilize an innovative heat-recovery technology that captures excess heat for steam or electrical power generation and have long-term take-or-pay coke contracts that pass through commodity and certain operating costs. Our coal handling terminals have the collective capacity to blend and transload more than 30 million tons of coal each year and are strategically located to reach key U.S. ports in the Gulf Coast, East Coast and Great Lakes. SXCP’s General Partner is a wholly owned subsidiary of SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SXC), which has more than 50 years of cokemaking experience serving the integrated steel industry. To learn more about SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P., visit our website at www.sxcpartners.com.

DEFINITIONS

We believe that Distributable Cash Flow provides useful information to investors in assessing SXCP's financial condition and results of operations. Distributable Cash Flow should not be considered an alternative to net income, operating income, cash flows from operating activities, or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP. Distributable Cash Flow has important limitations as an analytical tool because it excludes some, but not all, items that affect net income and net cash provided by operating activities and used in investing activities. Additionally, because Distributable Cash Flow may be defined differently by other companies in the industry, our definition of Distributable Cash Flow may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies, thereby diminishing its utility.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some of the statements included in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by the use of such words as “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “may,” “will,” “should” or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and involve significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties (many of which are beyond the control of SXCP) that could cause actual results to differ materially.

Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic, political, business, operational, competitive, regulatory, and/or market factors affecting SXCP, as well as uncertainties related to: pending or future litigation, legislation or regulatory actions; liability for remedial actions or assessments under existing or future environmental regulations; gains and losses related to acquisition, disposition or impairment of assets; recapitalizations; access to, and costs of, capital; the effects of changes in accounting rules applicable to SXCP; and changes in tax, environmental and other laws and regulations applicable to SXCP’s businesses.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, but are based upon the current knowledge, beliefs and expectations of SXCP management, and upon assumptions by SXCP concerning future conditions, any or all of which ultimately may prove to be inaccurate. The reader should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. SXCP does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update or alter its forward-looking statements (or associated cautionary language), whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this press release except as required by applicable law.

SXCP has included in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission cautionary language identifying important factors (but not necessarily all the important factors) that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by SXCP. For information concerning these factors, see SXCP’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings such as its annual and quarterly reports and current reports on Form 8-K, copies of which are available free of charge on SXCP’s website at www.sxcpartners.com. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by such cautionary statements. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed in this release also could have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements.

FACTORS AFFECTING COMPARABILITY

On January 13, 2015, we acquired a 75 percent interest in the Granite City cokemaking operation from SXC. Because this was a transfer between entities under common control, all historical financial results of Granite City prior to the dropdown have been included in our financial results. Net income attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P./Predecessor includes 100% of Granite City net income prior to dropdown and 75% after the dropdown. Net income attributable to Predecessor includes 100% of Granite City net income prior to the dropdown on January 13, 2015.

SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Combined and Consolidated Statements of Income
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2015 2014 2015 2014
(Dollars and units in millions, except per unit amounts)
Revenues
Sales and other operating revenue $ 207.6 $ 217.8 $ 410.9 $ 432.3
Costs and operating expenses
Cost of products sold and operating expenses 155.6 161.7 303.0 327.7
Selling, general and administrative expenses 7.3 7.8 14.9 14.1
Depreciation and amortization expense 15.4 13.6 30.0 26.6
Total costs and operating expenses 178.3 183.1 347.9 368.4
Operating income 29.3 34.7 63.0 63.9
Interest expense, net 10.8 20.4 31.4 23.3
Income before income tax expense 18.5 14.3 31.6 40.6
Income tax expense (benefit) 0.4 3.5 (2.9 ) 4.1
Net income 18.1 10.8 34.5 36.5
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 1.1 4.6 4.3 14.5
Net income attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P./Predecessor $ 17.0 $ 6.2 $ 30.2 $ 22.0
Less: Net income attributable to Predecessor — 5.0 0.6 7.6
Net income attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. $ 17.0 $ 1.2 $ 29.6 $ 14.4
General partner's interest in net income $ 1.4 $ 5.3 $ 3.2 $ 8.3
Limited partners' interest in net income $ 15.6 $ 0.9 $ 27.0 $ 13.7
Net income per common unit (basic and diluted) $ 0.40 $ 0.03 $ 0.69 $ 0.45
Net income per subordinated unit (basic and diluted) $ 0.40 $ 0.02 $ 0.69 $ 0.37
Weighted average common units outstanding (basic and diluted) 23.6 19.4 23.4 17.6
Weighted average subordinated units outstanding (basic and diluted) 15.7 15.7 15.7 15.7
SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Combined and Consolidated Balance Sheets
June 30, 2015 December 31, 2014
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in millions)
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 98.9 $ 33.3
Receivables 37.0 36.3
Receivables from affiliates, net 0.7 3.1
Inventories 70.3 90.4
Other current assets 3.7 1.5
Total current assets 210.6 164.6
Properties, plants and equipment, net 1,192.8 1,213.4
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net 14.7 15.1
Deferred income taxes — 21.6
Deferred charges and other assets 0.6 2.3
Total assets $ 1,418.7 $ 1,417.0
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable $ 48.5 $ 61.1
Accrued liabilities 12.9 11.2
Interest payable 18.4 12.3
Total current liabilities 79.8 84.6
Long-term debt 597.1 399.0
Deferred income taxes 37.7 —
Asset retirement obligations 5.4 5.3
Other deferred credits and liabilities 1.3 1.4
Total liabilities 721.3 490.3
Equity
Held by public:
Common units (issued 16,791,344 and 16,789,164 units at June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively) 238.2 239.1
Held by parent:
Common units (issued 6,782,449 and 4,904,752 units at June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively) 164.0 113.8
Subordinated units (issued 15,709,697 units at June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively) 202.8 203.7
General partner interest 10.6 9.2
Parent net equity — 349.8
Partners' capital attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. 615.6 915.6
Noncontrolling interest 81.8 11.1
Total equity 697.4 926.7
Total liabilities and partners' net equity $ 1,418.7 $ 1,417.0
SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Combined and Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
Six Months Ended June 30,
2015 2014
(Dollars in millions)
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net income $ 34.5 $ 36.5
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization expense 30.0 26.6
Deferred income tax (benefit) expense (3.5 ) 4.2
Loss on debt extinguishment 9.4 15.4
Changes in working capital pertaining to operating activities:
Receivables (11.4 ) (9.7 )
Receivables from affiliate, net 4.0 6.4
Inventories 20.1 (1.7 )
Accounts payable (12.6 ) (15.2 )
Accrued liabilities 1.7 (12.1 )
Interest payable 1.5 2.8
Other (1.2 ) (1.1 )
Net cash provided by operating activities 72.5 52.1
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures (16.2 ) (36.4 )
Net cash used in investing activities (16.2 ) (36.4 )
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of common units of SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P., net of offering costs — 88.7
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 210.8 268.1
Repayment of long-term debt, including market premium (149.5 ) (271.3 )
Debt issuance costs (4.5 ) (5.8 )
Proceeds from revolving credit facility — 40.0
Repayment of revolving facility — (72.0 )
Distributions to unitholders (public and parent) (46.0 ) (34.4 )
Distributions to noncontrolling interest (SunCoke Energy, Inc.) (1.5 ) (20.2 )
Net transfers to parent — 3.4
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 9.3 (3.5 )
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 65.6 12.2
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 33.3 46.3
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 98.9 $ 58.5
SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Segment Operating Data
The following tables set forth financial and operating data for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014:
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2015 2014 2015 2014
(Dollars in millions)
Sales and other operating revenues:
Domestic Coke $ 195.7 $ 203.9 $ 388.7 $ 406.9
Coal Logistics 11.9 13.9 22.2 25.4
Coal Logistics intersegment sales 1.6 1.3 3.3 2.7
Elimination of intersegment sales (1.6 ) (1.3 ) (3.3 ) (2.7 )
Total $ 207.6 $ 217.8 $ 410.9 $ 432.3
Adjusted EBITDA(1):
Domestic Coke $ 42.2 $ 46.1 $ 90.7 $ 87.1
Coal Logistics 5.0 5.0 7.6 7.1
Corporate and Other (2.5 ) (2.8 ) (5.3 ) (4.2 )
Total $ 44.7 $ 48.3 $ 93.0 $ 90.0
Coke Operating Data:
Domestic Coke capacity utilization (%) 106 107 106 103
Domestic Coke production volumes (thousands of tons) 605 611 1,209 1,178
Domestic Coke sales volumes (thousands of tons) 633 613 1,211 1,179
Domestic Coke Adjusted EBITDA per ton(2) $ 66.67 $ 75.20 $ 74.90 $ 73.88
Coal Logistics Operating Data:
Tons handled (thousands of tons) 4,366 5,605 8,160 9,964
Coal Logistics Adjusted EBITDA per ton handled(3) $ 1.15 $ 0.89 $ 0.93 $ 0.71
(1) See definition of Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliation elsewhere in this release.
(2) Reflects Domestic Coke Adjusted EBITDA divided by Domestic Coke sales volumes.
(3) Reflects Coal Logistics Adjusted EBITDA divided by Coal Logistics tons handled.
SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Information
Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income and
Net cash provided by Operations
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2015 2014 2015 2014
(Dollars in millions)
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. $ 42.1 $ 30.8 $ 85.9 $ 54.4
Add: Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Predecessor(1) — 11.7 1.5 17.4
Add: Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interest(2) 2.6 5.8 5.6 18.2
Adjusted EBITDA $ 44.7 $ 48.3 $ 93.0 $ 90.0
Subtract:
Depreciation and amortization expense 15.4 13.6 30.0 26.6
Interest expense, net 10.8 20.4 31.4 23.3
Income tax expense (benefit) 0.4 3.5 (2.9 ) 4.1
Sales discounts provided to customers due to sharing of nonconventional fuel tax credits(3) — — — (0.5 )
Net income $ 18.1 $ 10.8 $ 34.5 $ 36.5
Add:
Depreciation and amortization expense 15.4 13.6 30.0 26.6
Loss on extinguishment of debt — 15.4 9.4 15.4
Changes in working capital and other 9.3 5.3 (1.4 ) (26.4 )
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 42.8 $ 45.1 $ 72.5 $ 52.1
(1) Reflects Granite City Adjusted EBITDA prior to the January 13, 2015 dropdown transaction.
(2) Reflects net income attributable to noncontrolling interest adjusted for noncontrolling interest share of interest, taxes, income and depreciation.
(3) Sales discounts are related to nonconventional fuel tax credits, which expired in 2013. At December 31, 2013, we had $13.6 million accrued related to sales discounts to be paid to our Granite City customer. During first quarter of 2014, we settled this obligation for $13.1 million which resulted in a gain of $0.5 million. This gain is recorded in sales and other operating revenue on our Combined and Consolidated Statement of Operations.
SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Information
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and
Distributable Cash Flow to Net Income
Three Months Ended
(Dollars in millions) June 30, 2015
(As Reported)
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 42.8
Depreciation and amortization expense (15.4 )
Changes in working capital and other (9.3 )
Net income $ 18.1
Add:
Depreciation and amortization expense 15.4
Interest expense, net 10.8
Income tax expense 0.4
Adjusted EBITDA $ 44.7
Less:
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interest 2.6
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SXCP $ 42.1
Less:
Ongoing capex (5.8 )
Replacement capex accrual (1.8 )
Cash interest accrual (10.6 )
Cash tax accrual (0.1 )
Distributable cash flow $ 23.8
Quarterly Cash Distribution $ 24.4
Distribution Coverage Ratio(1) 0.98x
(1) Distribution coverage ratio is distributable cash flow divided by cash distributions to the limited and general partners.

SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.

Investors & Media:

Lisa Ciota: 630-824-1987

or

Media:

Steve Carlson: 630-824-1783

Source: SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.

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