Boardwalk Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2008 Results.HOUSTON -- Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BWP BWP In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Botswana Pula. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ) announced today its results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008, which included the following items: * Net income of $67.6 million for the quarter and $294.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, a 6% decrease and 29% increase from $72.1 million and $227.7 million in the comparable 2007 periods; * Operating revenues operating revenue Revenue from any regular source. Revenue from sales is adjusted for discounts and returns when calculating operating revenue. Compare other revenue. of $205.6 million for the quarter and $784.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, a 21% and 22% increase from $169.8 million and $643.2 million in the comparable 2007 periods; and * Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP metric that can be used to evaluate a company's profitability.
Fourth Quarter 2008 Results Operating results for the fourth quarter were driven primarily by the following: * higher gas transportation revenues from the East Texas to Mississippi Expansion and Southeast Expansion projects; * higher depreciation and property taxes resulting from an increase in asset base due to expansion; and * income of $10.5 million from the reversal of reserves associated with a change in employee paid time-off benefits and the contractual release of a liability associated with an inactive investment. The 2007 period was favorably impacted by gains of $18.4 million from gas sales associated with the Western Kentucky Storage Expansion project. Year-end 2008 Results Operating results for the year were impacted by the factors mentioned above in addition to lower parking and lending revenues, which were partially offset by higher firm storage revenues and gains of $62.1 million from gas sales associated with the Western Kentucky Storage Expansion project, the disposition of coal reserves and a contract settlement gain. The 2007 period was unfavorably impacted by $14.7 million from an impairment loss related to the Magnolia Magnolia, city, United States Magnolia (măgnō`lyə), city (1990 pop. 11,151), seat of Columbia co., SW Ark.; inc. 1855. Its oil industry has been important since 1938. storage project. Capital Program Expansion and growth capital expenditures were $2.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2008. This includes the following cash investments for the Partnership's remaining pipeline expansion projects (in millions): [TABLE OMITTED] In December 2008, the Partnership placed in service the first sixty-six miles of its Fayetteville Lateral from Conway County, Arkansas Conway County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2000, the population was 20,336. The county seat is Morrilton. Conway County was formed on October 20, 1825 from a portion of Pulaski County and named for Henry Wharton Conway who was the territorial delegate to to an interconnect with Centerpoint Energy CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) is an electric and natural gas utility serving several markets in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. in Cleburne County, Arkansas Cleburne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2000, the population was 24,046. The county seat and largest city in the county is Heber Springs. Cleburne County was formed on February 20, 1883 and named for Confederate General Patrick Cleburne. . Subsequently, in January 2009 the Partnership placed in service the remaining assets associated with its Southeast Expansion, the pipeline assets associated with the Gulf Crossing Expansion from near Sherman, Texas Sherman is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,082 at the 2000 census. The population had increased to an estimated 37,623 in July 2006. It is the county seat of Grayson County. to an interconnect with Texas Gas in Sterlington, Louisiana Sterlington is a town in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,276 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2006 Population Estimates, the population had fallen to 1,245. and a portion of the Greenville Lateral originating at our Texas Gas mainline mainline Drug slang verb To inject a drug to an interconnect with the Tennessee 800 line in Holmes County, Mississippi Holmes County is a county located in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2000, the population was 21,609. It is named in honor of David Holmes, the first governor of the state of Mississippi. Its county seat is Lexington6. . The Partnership also recently placed in service a portion of Phase III Noun 1. phase III - a large clinical trial of a treatment or drug that in phase I and phase II has been shown to be efficacious with tolerable side effects; after successful conclusion of these clinical trials it will receive formal approval from the FDA of the Western Kentucky Storage Expansion project which added 5.4 Bcf of working gas capacity. Based upon its current cost estimates, which remain unchanged, the Partnership expects to incur expansion project capital expenditures of approximately $1.0 billion in 2009 and 2010 to complete its pipeline expansion projects. The majority of those expenditures are expected to occur during the first half of 2009, with the remaining costs associated with the construction of additional compression facilities for the Gulf Crossing project and the Fayetteville and Greenville Laterals to be incurred in the latter half of 2009 and into 2010. The cost and timing estimates for these projects are subject to a variety of other risks and uncertainties, including obtaining regulatory approvals, adverse weather conditions, delays in obtaining key materials, shortages of qualified labor and escalating costs of labor and materials labor and materials (time and materials) n. what some builders or repair people contract to provide and be paid for, rather than a fixed price or a percentage of the costs. . Maintenance capital expenditures were $50.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2008. Financing To complete the expansion projects, the Partnership anticipates it will need to raise up to an additional $500 million. The Partnership's largest unitholder, Loews Corporation (Loews), has advised the Partnership that it is willing to finance the entire amount needed to the extent the public markets remain unavailable on acceptable terms. The Partnership has not committed to any transaction at this time, however any additional investment by Loews would be subject to review and approval, as to fairness, by the Partnership's independent Conflicts Committee. Earnings Per Unit Earnings per limited partner unit for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2008, have been adjusted by an assumed allocation to the general partner's incentive distribution rights (IDRs) in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles The standard accounting rules, regulations, and procedures used by companies in maintaining their financial records. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) provide companies and accountants with a consistent set of guidelines that cover both broad accounting applicable to companies having two classes of securities (EITF EITF Emerging Issues Task Force EITF Edinburgh International Television Festival EITF Europe International Taekwon-Do Federation No. 03-6). Under EITF No. 03-6, earnings are allocated to participating securities in accordance with contractual participation rights assuming that all earnings for the period were distributed. Payments made on account of the IDRs are determined in relation to actual declared distributions and are not based on the assumed allocation required by EITF No. 03-6. In June 2008, the Partnership issued and sold approximately 22.9 million class B units representing limited partner interests (class B units) to a subsidiary of Loews. The class B units were not eligible to participate in income allocations until the third quarter 2008. As a result, no income allocations were made to the class B unit equity accounts and no assumed allocations to the class B units were made pursuant to EITF No. 03-6 for the purpose of computing earnings per unit prior to July 1, 2008. In November 2008, the Partnership's subordinated units, all of which were held by a subsidiary of Loews, converted to common units on a one-for-one basis. A reconciliation of the limited partners' interest in net income and net income available to limited partners used in computing net income per limited partner unit is as follows (in millions, except per unit data): [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] Conference Call The Partnership has scheduled a conference call for February 9, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. EDT EDT abbr. Eastern Daylight Time EDT Eastern Daylight Time EDT n abbr (US) (= Eastern Daylight Time) → hora de verano de Nueva York EDT , to review the fourth quarter and annual results. The earnings call may be accessed via the Boardwalk website at www.bwpmlp.com. Please go to the website at least 10 minutes before the event begins to register and download and install any necessary audio software. Those interested in participating in the question and answer session of the conference call should dial 866-543-6408 for callers in the U.S. or 617-213-8899 for callers outside the U.S. The PIN number to access the call is 33357279. Replay An audio replay will also be available on the Boardwalk website www.bwpmlp.com immediately following the call. Non-GAAP Financial Measure - EBITDA EBITDA is used as a supplemental financial measure by management and by external users of the Partnership's financial statements, such as investors, commercial banks, research analysts, and rating agencies, to assess the Partnership's operating and financial performance, ability to generate cash and return on invested capital as compared to those of other companies in the natural gas transportation, gathering, and storage business. EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to net income, operating income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. , cash flow from operating activities, or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP GAAP See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). ). EBITDA is not necessarily comparable to a similarly titled measure of another company. The following table presents a reconciliation of the Partnership's EBITDA to its net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, for each of the periods presented below (in millions): [TABLE OMITTED] About Boardwalk Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP is a limited partnership engaged, through its subsidiaries, Gulf Crossing Pipeline Company LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , Gulf South Pipeline Company, LP and Texas Gas Transmission Texas Gas Transmission is a natural gas pipeline which brings gas from the Louisiana Gulf coast up through Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky, to supply gas to Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. It is owned by Loews Corporation. Its FERC code is 18. , LLC, in the interstate transportation and storage of natural gas. Boardwalk's interstate natural gas pipeline systems have approximately 14,000 miles of pipeline and underground storage fields having aggregate working gas capacity of approximately 160 Bcf. Forward-Looking Statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected by management. A discussion of the important risk factors and other considerations that could materially impact these matters, as well as the Partnership's overall business and financial performance, can be found in the reports and other documents filed by the Partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these risk factors, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Partnership expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to its forward-looking statements to reflect any change in the Partnership's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based. 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