HOUSTON — Plains All American said its third-quarter profit shot up 40 percent compared to the previous year, as producers sent more crude through the midstream company’s transportation and storage facilities.
The Houston-based midstream company reported a net income of $323 million in the third quarter, compared to $231 million in the same period last year, and a net income per limited partner unit of 52 cents, compared to 38 cents in the third quarter 2013. The company said it would pay a distribution per unit of $0.66 cents for the period, a 10 percent increase over the previous year.
The company will hold a conference call Thursday to discuss the results.
Despite reporting earnings above the company’s own stated goals, CEO Greg Armstrong said Plains All American would maintain its full-year prediction of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or EBITDA, of $2.175 billion because of an uncertain oil price environment.
Plains also set its 2015 preliminary adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2015 in a range of $2.35 billion to $2.5 billion.
“We believe our preliminary 2015 guidance range reflects a cautious and prudent approach that acknowledges uncertainties associated with the recent decreases in oil prices and related differentials as well as the potential drilling reductions by producers in various crude oil resource plays,” Armstrong said in a written statement.
Plains All American is structured as a tax-advantaged master limited partnership, which passes along most of its cash flow to investors in dividend-like payments.
Plain’s transportation business said profit rose 16 percent year-over-year. The increase was mostly due to higher crude oil production in the areas it serves and Plains All American’s own recently completed growth projects, partially offset by the sale of refined products pipelines in 2013.
The company’s supply and logistics business saw a 14 percent increase compared to 2013. That increase was driven by a favorable crude market and growth in crude oil lease gathering volumes, but was offset by a tougher market for natural gas liquids in 2014 compared to 2013, the company said.
Profit growth in the facilities segment of the Plains All American business was flat as natural gas storage suffered, though the company’s natural gas liquids storage and fractionation enterprise reported higher profits.
Share this: