AmeriGas Partners Reports Record Second Quarter Results, Updates 2007 Guidance.VALLEY FORGE Valley Forge, on the Schuylkill River, SE Pa., NW of Philadelphia. There, during the American Revolution, the main camp of the Continental Army was established (Dec., 1777–June, 1778) under the command of Gen. George Washington. , Pa. -- AmeriGas Propane, Inc., general partner of AmeriGas Partners, L.P. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : APU APU Azusa Pacific University APU Auxiliary Power Unit APU Alaska Pacific University APU Asia Pacific University (Japan) APU American Public University APU Anglia Polytechnic University (Chelmsford) ), reported net income for the second fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2007 of $119.9 million, compared to net income of $78.8 million for the same period last year. Last year's results included a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $17.1 million related to a refinancing of long-term debt Long-Term Debt Loans and financial obligations lasting over one year. Notes: For example debts obligations such as bonds and notes which have maturities greater than one year would be considered long-term debt. . Excluding the loss on the early extinguishment of debt, second quarter 2006 net income was $95.9 million. The Partnership's earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become ) were $156.4 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2007 compared to EBITDA of $116.2 million a year ago. EBITDA for the prior-year quarter, excluding the loss on the early extinguishment of debt, was $133.2 million. For the three months ended March 31, 2007, retail volumes sold increased to 370.1 million gallons from 341.4 million gallons sold in the prior-year period. Weather was 3.7% warmer than normal during the recent quarter compared to weather that was 12.1% warmer than normal in the prior-year period, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Noun 1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; provides weather reports and forecasts floods and hurricanes and (NOAA NOAA abbr. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Noun 1. NOAA - an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; ). Eugene V. N. Bissell, chief executive officer of AmeriGas, said, "I am happy to report record earnings for AmeriGas. During the second quarter, we exceeded our own expectations and earned the highest quarterly EBITDA in the history of the partnership. Based on these strong second quarter results, we now are forecasting EBITDA for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007 to reach a new record range of $280 million to $290 million, excluding the previously-announced gain on the pending sale of our Arizona storage terminal. Today, AmeriGas announced a distribution increase of 5%. The increase, which is larger than our stated annual objective of 3%, allows us to share the record results directly with our unitholders." Revenues for the quarter were $809.8 million versus $718.1 million a year ago due to higher sales volumes and higher retail selling prices. Operating and administrative expenses increased $14.1 million during the quarter reflecting higher employee compensation and benefits expenses, higher vehicle expenses and repair and maintenance expenses. AmeriGas Partners is the nation's largest retail propane marketer, serving nearly 1.3 million customers from over 600 locations in 46 states. UGI Corporation
Under the UGI Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:UGI UGI abbr. upper gastrointestinal (as in series) ), through subsidiaries, owns 44% of the Partnership and individual unitholders own the remaining 56%. AmeriGas Partners, L. P. will host its second quarter FY 2007 earnings conference call on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, at 4:00 PM ET. Interested parties may listen to a live audio broadcast of the conference call at http://www.shareholder.com/ugi/medialist.cfm. A telephonic replay of the call can be accessed approximately one hour after the completion of the call at 1-888-203-1112, passcode 1491571 (International replay 719-457-0820, passcode 1491571) through midnight Friday, April 27, 2007. The financial table appended to this news release can be viewed directly at http://www.shareholder.com/ugi/APU/2Q07FinancialTable.pdf. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements which management believes to be reasonable as of today's date only. Actual results may differ significantly because of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond management's control. You should read the Partnership's Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for a more extensive list of factors that could affect results. Among them are adverse weather conditions, price volatility and availability of propane, increased customer conservation measures, the capacity to transport propane to our market areas and political, economic and regulatory conditions in the U. S. and abroad. The Partnership undertakes no obligation to release revisions to its forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after today. Comprehensive information about AmeriGas is available on the Internet at www.amerigas.com. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion