By Tess Stynes
Williams Cos.' (WMB) third-quarter earnings fell 7.1% and
affiliate Williams Partners LP's (WPZ) third-quarter earnings
dropped 3.8% on lower olefin margins that resulted from lost
production at Williams Partners' Geismar olefins plant.
Williams gathers and transports natural gas, and owns most of
its namesake master limited partnership, Williams Partners.
The company has been investing to take advantage of production
opportunities in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, including a
project unveiled in March to develop a pipeline in the region with
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners L.P. (BWP). More recently Williams and
Boardwalk Pipeline reached a joint venture agreement to develop a
liquefied petroleum gas export facility in the Lake Charles, La.
area. If completed the terminal would support the export of propane
and butane, which are among the component products of natural-gas
liquids.
Williams reported a profit of $141 million, or 20 cents a share,
down from $155 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were 19 cents.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters recently expected per-share
profit of 16 cents.
Williams Partners reported a profit of $279 million, or 52 cents
a unit, down from $290 million, or 38 cents a unit, a year earlier.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters recently expected per-unit
profit of 28 cents.
Fee based revenue increased 9.3% to $720 million. The company
estimated that downtime at the olefins plans lowered results by
roughly $79 million.
Williams shares were up 25 cents at $37.20 in recent after-hours
trading. Williams Partners' units were up 18 cents at $52.99 after
hours.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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