Company schedules conference call for May 6, 2008 at 11:00 A.M. Eastern
DALLAS, May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE:ALJ) ("Alon") today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. Net loss for the first quarter of 2008 was ($33.6) million, or ($0.72) per share, compared to net income of $35.6 million, or $0.76 per share, for the same period last year. Excluding special items, Alon recorded a net loss of ($25.2) million, or ($0.54) per share, for the first quarter of 2008, compared to net income of $35.0 million, or $0.75 per share, for the same period last year.
Special items for the first quarter of 2008 included $9.7 million of after-tax losses recognized in connection with the February 18, 2008 explosion and fire at its Big Spring refinery. These after-tax losses represent insurance deductibles and other incremental costs associated with the fire. The applicable insurance policies provide Alon with a combined single limit of $385 million for property damage, with a $2 million deductible, and business interruption coverage with a 45 day waiting period. Alon also has third party liability insurance which provides coverage with a limit of $150 million and a $5 million deductible.
Special items for the first quarters of 2008 and 2007 also included $1.4 million and $0.6 million, respectively, of after-tax gains recognized on disposition of assets in connection with the contribution of certain pipeline and terminal assets to Holly Energy Partners, LP in the first quarter of 2005.
In addition to the losses recognized in association with the fire, net income for the first quarter of 2008 compared to the first quarter of 2007 was reduced as a result of lower refinery throughput at the Big Spring refinery. Net income for the first quarter of 2008 was also adversely affected by lower asphalt and refinery margins at the California refineries due to increasingly higher costs of crude oil. The California refineries throughput for the first quarter of 2008 continued at reduced rates due to lower refinery margins.
The combined refineries throughput for the first quarter of 2008 averaged 66,682 barrels per day ("bpd"), consisting of an average of 29,270 bpd at the Big Spring refinery and an average of 37,412 bpd at the California refineries compared to a combined average of 124,615 bpd in the first quarter of 2007, consisting of an average of 65,451 bpd at the Big Spring refinery and an average of 59,164 bpd at the California refineries. In addition to the shutdown due to the fire, the Big Spring refinery completed a scheduled turnaround in January 2008 to correct operational issues related to the catalytic reformer.
Gulf Coast 3-2-1 crack spreads decreased to an average of $9.42 per barrel for the first quarter of 2008 compared to an average of $12.75 per barrel for the first quarter of 2007. West Coast 3-2-1 crack spreads decreased to an average of $16.53 per barrel for the first quarter of 2008 compared to an average of $32.49 per barrel for the first quarter of 2007. The WTI/WTS crude oil differentials for the first quarter of 2008 increased to an average of $4.67 per barrel compared to an average of $3.98 per barrel for the first quarter of 2007. Asphalt margins in the first quarter of 2008 were $42.31 per ton compared to $50.70 per ton in the first quarter of 2007.
Jeff Morris, Alon's President and CEO, commented, "The first quarter of 2008 has been the most challenging in the Company's history due to the major fire at the Big Spring refinery combined with reduced industry-wide refining margins from higher crude oil costs. The higher crude oil costs have also reduced refinery margins and resulted in limited production at our California refineries. While the first quarter has been difficult, I am confident in our ability as an organization to meet these challenges and position our company for future growth opportunities. We remain very diligent in our efforts to return the Big Spring refinery to its full operating capacity. We achieved the first stage of operation at the Big Spring refinery with the re-start of the crude unit in a 35,000 barrels per day hydroskimmng mode on April 5. We expect to begin production and sale of rubber modified and ground tire rubber grades of asphalt by June 15. We are also making repairs to re-start the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU), and our schedule is to complete the repairs by the end of July, which will allow us to operate at full capacity of 70,000 barrels per day.
"While working on our rebuilding efforts at the Big Spring refinery, we continue the initiatives discussed in our latest conference call on March 6, 2008. We are proceeding with an initial public offering related to our retail and branded marketing businesses which we will seek to complete by year end. We are also continuing our evaluations of M&A activities that could potentially strengthen our Company." Alon also announced today that its Board of Directors has approved the regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.04 per share. The dividend is payable on June 13, 2008 to shareholders of record as of May 30, 2008.
The Company has scheduled a conference call for Tuesday, May 6, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, to discuss the first quarter 2008 results. To access the call, please dial 800-218-8862, or 303-262-2140, for international callers, and ask for the Alon USA Energy call at least 10 minutes prior to the start time. Investors may also listen to the conference live on the Alon corporate website, http://www.alonusa.com/, by logging on that site and clicking "Investors". A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through May 22, 2008 and may be accessed by calling 800-405-2236, or 303-590-3000, for international callers, and using the passcode 11112242. A web cast archive will also be available at http://www.alonusa.com/ shortly after the call and will be accessible for approximately 90 days. For more information, please contact Donna Washburn at DRG&E at 713-529-6600 or email .
Alon USA Energy, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products, operating primarily in the South Central, Southwestern and Western regions of the United States. The Company owns and operates four sour and heavy crude oil refineries in Texas, California and Oregon, with an aggregate crude oil throughput capacity of approximately 170,000 barrels per day. Alon markets gasoline and diesel products under the FINA brand name and is a leading producer of asphalt. Alon also operates more than 300 convenience stores in West Texas and New Mexico substantially under the 7-Eleven and FINA brand names and supplies motor fuels to these stores primarily from its Big Spring refinery. In addition, Alon supplies approximately 780 additional FINA branded stations.
Any statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations regarding future events, results or outcomes. These expectations may or may not be realized. Some of these expectations may be based upon assumptions or judgments that prove to be incorrect. In addition, our business and operations involve numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could result in our expectations not being realized or otherwise materially affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Additional information regarding these and other risks is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of offers to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of any security in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
-Tables to follow- ALON USA ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED
EARNINGS RELEASE RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - FINANCIAL DATA
(ALL INFORMATION IN THIS PRESS RELEASE, EXCEPT FOR BALANCE SHEET DATA AS
OF DECEMBER 31, 2007 IS UNAUDITED)
For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
2008 2007
CONSOLIDATED (dollars in thousands,
except per share data) STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA:
Net sales $1,020,763 $965,905
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of sales 968,997 811,261
Direct operating expenses 42,289 49,283
Selling, general and administrative
expenses (1) 28,854 22,538
Net costs associated with fire 16,462 -
Depreciation and amortization (2) 13,745 14,442
Total operating costs and expenses 1,070,347 897,524
Gain on disposition of assets (3) 2,311 955
Operating income (loss) (47,273) 69,336
Interest expense (10,656) (11,418)
Equity earnings of investees 316 604
Other income, net 745 890
Income (loss) before income tax expense and
minority interest in income (loss) of
subsidiaries (56,868) 59,412
Income tax expense (benefit) (21,093) 21,971
Income (loss) before minority interest in
income (loss) of subsidiaries (35,775) 37,441
Minority interest in income (loss) of
subsidiaries (2,197) 1,876
Net income (loss) $(33,578) $35,565
Earnings (loss) per share $(0.72) $0.76 Weighted average shares outstanding
(in thousands) 46,782 46,757
Cash dividends per share $0.04 $0.04 CASH FLOW DATA:
Net cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities $(49,624) $38,868
Investing activities 16,868 (8,876)
Financing activities (4,724) (5,662) OTHER DATA:
Adjusted net income (loss) (4) $(25,198) $34,977
Earnings (loss) per share, excluding net
costs associated with fire, net of tax and
after-tax gain on disposition of assets (4) $(0.54) $0.75
Adjusted EBITDA (5) (34,778) 84,317
Adjusted EBITDA, excluding $16,462 of net
costs associated with fire (5) (18,316) 84,317
Capital expenditures (6) 9,182 4,592
Capital expenditures for turnaround and
chemical catalysts 1,609 4,674 BALANCE SHEET DATA (end of period): March 31, December 31,
2008 2007
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term
investments $31,135 $95,911
Working capital 269,590 279,580
Total assets 1,468,410 1,581,386
Total debt 533,884 536,615
Total stockholders' equity 343,418 387,767 For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
2008 2007
REFINING AND UNBRANDED MARKETING SEGMENT (A) (dollars in thousands,
except per barrel data and
pricing statistics) STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA:
Net sales (7) $772,039 $721,819
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of sales 755,957 604,303
Direct operating expenses 30,473 38,447
Selling, general and administrative
expenses 4,389 4,978
Net costs associated with fire 16,462 -
Depreciation and amortization 9,630 12,374
Total operating costs and expenses 816,911 660,102
Gain on disposition of assets (3) 2,311 1,024
Operating income (loss) $(42,561) $62,741 KEY OPERATING STATISTICS:
Total sales volume (bpd) 63,707 84,437
Per barrel of throughput:
Refinery operating margin - Big Spring (8) $6.54 $13.99
Refinery operating margin - CA
Refineries (8) (0.39) 6.59
Refinery direct operating expenses - Big
Spring (9) 5.93 3.89
Refinery direct operating expenses - CA
Refineries (9) 4.31 2.91
Capital expenditures 7,702 3,839
Capital expenditures for turnaround and
chemical catalysts 1,609 4,674 PRICING STATISTICS:
WTI crude oil (per barrel) $98.00 $57.95
WTS crude oil (per barrel) 93.33 53.97
MAYA crude oil (per barrel) 81.15 45.42
Crack spreads (3/2/1) (per barrel):
Gulf Coast (10) $9.42 $12.75
Group III (10) 10.10 15.00
West Coast (10) 16.53 32.49
Crack spreads (6/1/2/3) (per barrel):
West Coast (10) $(0.86) $9.35
Crude oil differentials (per barrel):
WTI less WTS (11) $4.67 $3.98
WTI less MAYA (11) 16.85 12.53
Product price (dollars per gallon):
Gulf Coast unleaded gasoline $2.431 $1.627
Gulf Coast low-sulfur diesel 2.811 1.796
Group III unleaded gasoline 2.449 1.672
Group III low-sulfur diesel 2.823 1.866
West Coast LA CARBOB (unleaded gasoline) 2.690 2.260
West Coast LA ultra low-sulfur diesel 2.799 1.939
Natural gas (per MMBTU) $8.74 $7.18
(A) Beginning with the three months ended March 31, 2008, our branded
marketing business has been removed from the refining and marketing
segment and combined with the retail segment. Information for the
three months ended March 31, 2007 has been recast to provide a
comparison to the current year results.
THROUGHPUT AND YIELD DATA: BIG SPRING For the Three Months Ended March 31,
2008 2007
Bpd % Bpd %
Refinery throughput:
Sour crude 25,034 85.6 58,617 89.6
Sweet crude 2,378 8.1 2,373 3.6
Blendstocks 1,858 6.3 4,461 6.8
Total refinery throughput (12) 29,270 100.0 65,451 100.0
Refinery production:
Gasoline 13,976 48.0 30,517 47.2
Diesel/jet 7,640 26.2 18,856 29.1
Asphalt 3,098 10.6 6,956 10.7
Petrochemicals 1,402 4.8 4,768 7.4
Other 3,046 10.4 3,653 5.6
Total refinery production (13) 29,162 100.0 64,750 100.0
Refinery Utilization (14) 40.8% 90.8% THROUGHPUT AND YIELD DATA:
CALIFORNIA REFINERIES For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
2008 2007
Bpd % Bpd %
Refinery throughput:
Sour crude 10,702 28.6 21,463 36.3
Heavy crude 25,551 68.3 37,405 63.2
Blendstocks 1,159 3.1 296 0.5
Total refinery throughput (12) 37,412 100.0 59,164 100.0
Refinery production:
Gasoline 5,505 15.3 6,873 11.9
Diesel/jet 8,622 23.9 14,086 24.4
Asphalt 10,398 28.9 18,753 32.5
Light unfinished 0 0.0 2,503 4.3
Heavy unfinished 11,282 31.4 14,566 25.2
Other 197 0.5 997 1.7
Total refinery production (13) 36,004 100.0 57,778 100.0
Refinery Utilization (14) 50.0% 83.9% For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
ASPHALT SEGMENT 2008 2007
(dollars in thousands,
except per ton data)
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA:
Net sales $103,940 $113,946
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of sales (15) 92,135 95,795
Direct operating expenses 11,816 10,836
Selling, general and administrative expenses 1,386 557
Depreciation and amortization 532 497
Total operating costs and expenses 105,869 107,685
Operating income (loss) $(1,929) $6,261 KEY OPERATING STATISTICS:
Total sales volume (tons in thousands) 279 358
Sales price per ton $372.54 $318.28
Asphalt margin per ton (16) $42.31 $50.70
Capital expenditures $213 $136 RETAIL AND BRANDED MARKETING SEGMENT (A) For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
2008 2007
(dollars in thousands,
except per gallon data)
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA:
Net sales $309,254 $258,362
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of sales (15) 285,375 239,385
Selling, general and administrative
expenses 22,928 16,916
Depreciation and amortization 3,360 1,337
Total operating costs and expenses 311,663 257,638
Loss on disposition of assets - (69)
Operating income (loss) $(2,409) $655 KEY OPERATING STATISTICS:
Integrated branded fuel sales (thousands
of gallons) (17) 54,158 66,671
Integrated branded fuel margin (cents per
gallon) (17) 1.8 3.5
Non-integrated branded fuel sales (thousands
of gallons) (17) 38,269 52,449
Non-integrated branded fuel margin (cents
per gallon) (17) (0.2) 0.2 Number of stores (end of period) 307 206
Fuel sales (thousands of gallons) 24,871 18,867
Fuel sales (thousands of gallons per site
per month) 27 31
Fuel margin (cents per gallon) (18) 18.4 19.7
Fuel sales price (dollars per gallon) (19) $3.10 $2.32
Merchandise sales $58,455 $42,040
Merchandise sales (per site per month) 63 67
Merchandise margin (20) 31.4% 30.5%
Capital expenditures $1,127 $495 (A) Beginning with the three months ended March 31, 2008, our branded
marketing business has been removed from the refining and marketing
segment and combined with the retail segment. Information for the
three months ended March 31, 2007 has been recast to provide a
comparison to the current year results. (1) Includes corporate headquarters selling, general and administrative
expenses of $151 and $87 for the three months ended March 31, 2008
and 2007, respectively, which are not allocated to our three
operating segments. (2) Includes corporate depreciation and amortization of $223 and $234 for
the three months ended March 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively, which
are not allocated to our three operating segments. (3) Gain on disposition of assets reported in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and 2007 includes the recognition of deferred gain
recorded primarily in connection with the contribution of certain
product pipelines and terminals to Holly Energy Partners, LP in
March 2005 ("HEP Transaction"). (4) The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (loss)
under United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP")
to adjusted net income (loss) utilized in determining earnings (loss)
per common share, excluding the after-tax loss on net costs
associated with fire and after-tax gain on disposition of assets. Our management believes that the presentation of adjusted net income
(loss) and earnings (loss) per common share, excluding these
after-tax items, is useful to investors because it provides a more
meaningful measurement of operating performance for evaluation of our
Company's results and for comparison to other companies in our
industry.
For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
2008 2007
(dollars in thousands,
except per share data)
Net income (loss) $(33,578) $35,565
Plus: Net costs associated with fire,
net of tax 9,749 -
Less: Gain on disposition of assets, net
of tax (1,369) (588)
Adjusted net income (loss) $(25,198) $34,977 Weighted average shares outstanding (in
thousands) 46,782 46,757
Earnings (loss) per share, excluding net
costs associated with fire, net of tax and
after-tax gain on disposition of assets $(0.54) $0.75
(5) Adjusted EBITDA represents earnings before minority interest in
income (loss) of subsidiaries, income tax expense, interest expense,
depreciation, amortization and gain on disposition of assets. Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized measurement under GAAP; however,
the amounts included in Adjusted EBITDA are derived from amounts
included in our consolidated financial statements. Our management
believes that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA is useful to
investors because it is frequently used by securities analysts,
investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies
in our industry. In addition, our management believes that Adjusted
EBITDA is useful in evaluating our operating performance compared to
that of other companies in our industry because the calculation of
Adjusted EBITDA generally eliminates the effects of minority interest
in income of subsidiaries, income tax expense, interest expense, gain
on disposition of assets and the accounting effects of capital
expenditures and acquisitions, items which may vary for different
companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should
not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our
results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are: -- Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our cash expenditures or future
requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
-- Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the interest expense or the cash
requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments
on our debt;
-- Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the prior claim that minority
stockholders have on the income generated by non-wholly-owned
subsidiaries;
-- Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in or cash requirements
for our working capital needs; and
-- Our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the Adjusted
EBITDA calculations of other companies in our industry, limiting
its usefulness as a comparative measure. Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be
considered a measure of discretionary cash available to us to invest
in the growth of our business. We compensate for these limitations
by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using Adjusted EBITDA
only supplementally.
The following table reconciles net income (loss) to Adjusted
EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2008 and 2007,
respectively: For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
2008 2007
(dollars in thousands)
Net income (loss) $(33,578) $35,565
Minority interest in income (loss) of
subsidiaries (2,197) 1,876
Income tax expense (benefit) (21,093) 21,971
Interest expense 10,656 11,418
Depreciation and amortization 13,745 14,442
Gain on disposition of assets (2,311) (955)
Adjusted EBITDA
$(34,778) $84,317 Adjusted EBITDA, excluding $16,462 of net costs associated with fire,
is presented to provide investors with a measure of Adjusted EBITDA
that is comparable to adjusted net income (loss) which also excludes
net costs associated with the fire at our Big Spring refinery.
(6) Includes corporate capital expenditures of $140 and $122 for the
three months ended March 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively, which are
not allocated to our three operating segments. (7) Net sales include intersegment sales to our asphalt and retail and
branded marketing segments at prices which approximate wholesale
market price. These intersegment sales are eliminated through
consolidation of our financial statements. (8) Refinery operating margin is a per barrel measurement calculated by
dividing the margin between net sales and cost of sales attributable
to each refinery by the refinery's throughput volumes. Industry-wide
refining results are driven and measured by the margins between
refined product prices and the prices for crude oil, which are
referred to as crack spreads. We compare our refinery operating
margins to these crack spreads to assess our operating performance
relative to other participants in our industry. (9) Refinery direct operating expense is a per barrel measurement
calculated by dividing direct operating expenses at our Big Spring
and California refineries, exclusive of depreciation and amortization,
by the applicable refinery's total throughput volumes. (10) A 3/2/1 crack spread in a given region is calculated assuming that
three barrels of crude oil are converted, or cracked, into two
barrels of gasoline and one barrel of diesel. We calculate the Gulf
Coast 3/2/1 crack spread using the market values of Gulf Coast
conventional gasoline and low-sulfur diesel and the market value of
WTI crude oil. We calculate the Group III 3/2/1 crack spread using
the market values of Group III conventional gasoline and low-sulfur
diesel and the market value of WTI crude oil. We calculate the West
Coast 3/2/1 crack spread using the market values of West Coast LA
CARB pipeline gasoline and ultra-low sulfur pipeline diesel and the
market value of WTI crude oil. A 6/1/2/3 crack spread is calculated
assuming that six barrels of a benchmark crude oil are converted, or
cracked, into one barrel of gasoline, two barrels of diesel and three
barrels of fuel oil. We calculate the West Coast 6/1/2/3 crack spread
using the market values of West Coast LA CARB pipeline gasoline, LA
ultra low-sulfur pipeline diesel, LA 380 pipeline CST (fuel oil) and
the market value of WTI crude oil. (11) The WTI/WTS, or sweet/sour, spread represents the differential
between the average value per barrel of WTI crude oil and the average
value per barrel of WTS crude oil. The WTI/Maya, or light/heavy,
spread represents the differential between the average value per
barrel of WTI crude oil and the average value per barrel of Maya
crude oil. (12) Total refinery throughput represents the total barrels per day of
crude oil and blendstock inputs in the refinery production process. (13) Total refinery production represents the barrels per day of various
finished products produced from processing crude and other refinery
feedstocks through the crude units and other conversion units at the
refinery. (14) Refinery utilization represents average daily crude oil throughput
divided by crude oil capacity, excluding planned periods of downtime
for maintenance and turnarounds. The decrease in refinery utilization
at our Big Spring refinery is due to the fire on February 18, 2008
which ceased production at the refinery until limited operations were
resumed on April 5, 2008. The decrease in refinery utilization at our
California refineries is due to reduced throughput related to low
refining margins. (15) Cost of sales includes intersegment purchases of asphalt blends and
motor fuels from our refining and unbranded marketing segment at
prices which approximate wholesale market prices. These intersegment
purchases are eliminated through consolidation of our financial
statements. (16) Asphalt margin is a per ton measurement calculated by dividing the
margin between net sales and cost of sales by the total sales volume. Asphalt margins are used in the asphalt industry to measure operating
results related to asphalt sales. (17) Marketing sales volume represents branded fuel sales to our wholesale
marketing customers located in both our integrated and non-integrated
regions. The branded fuels we sell in our integrated region are
primarily supplied by the Big Spring refinery. The branded fuels we
sell in the non-integrated region are obtained from third-party
suppliers. The marketing margin represents the margin between the
net sales and cost of sales attributable to our branded fuel sales
volume, expressed on a cents per gallon basis. (18) Fuel margin represents the difference between motor fuel sales
revenue and the net cost of purchased motor fuel, including
transportation costs and associated motor fuel taxes, expressed on a
cents per gallon basis. Motor fuel margins are frequently used in the
retail industry to measure operating results related to motor fuel
sales. (19) Fuel sales price per gallon represents the average sales price for
motor fuels sold through our retail convenience stores. (20) Merchandise margin represents the difference between merchandise
sales revenues and the delivered cost of merchandise purchases, net
of rebates and commissions, expressed as a percentage of merchandise
sales revenues. Merchandise margins, also referred to as in-store
margins, are commonly used in the retail convenience store industry
to measure in-store, or non-fuel, operating results. Contacts: Claire A. Hart, Senior Vice President
Alon USA Energy, Inc. 972-367-3649 Investors: Jack Lascar/Sheila Stuewe
DRG&E / 713-529-6600
Media: Blake Lewis
Lewis Public Relations
214-269-2093
Ruth Sheetrit
SMG Public Relations
011-972-547-555551
DATASOURCE: Alon USA Energy, Inc.
CONTACT: Claire A. Hart, Senior Vice President of Alon USA Energy, Inc., +1-972-367-3649; or investors, Jack Lascar or Sheila Stuewe, both of DRG&E, +1-713-529-6600, or Media, Blake Lewis of Lewis Public Relations, +1-214-269-2093, or Ruth Sheetrit of SMG Public Relations, 011-972-547-555551, all for Alon USA Energy, Inc.
Web site: http://www.alonusa.com/
|