Buckeye Partners, L.P. Reports Record Financial Performance for Third Quarter 2014

HOUSTON, Nov. 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Buckeye Partners, L.P. ("Buckeye") (NYSE:BPL) today reported income from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2014 of $107.0 million compared to income from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2013 of $83.6 million.

Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2014 was $200.6 million compared to $156.2 million for the third quarter of 2013.

Income from continuing operations attributable to Buckeye's unitholders was $0.89 per diluted unit for the third quarter of 2014 compared to $0.77 per diluted unit for the third quarter of 2013. The diluted weighted average number of units outstanding in the third quarter of 2014 was 119.4 million compared to 106.8 million in the third quarter of 2013.

"We are extremely pleased with the strong financial performance across all of our segments during the third quarter," said Clark C. Smith, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Contributions from the terminals acquired from Hess Corporation and our recent growth capital projects drove the improvement in our Pipelines & Terminals and Global Marine Terminals segments. The integration of the former Hess terminals is now complete and these terminals continue to deliver strong performance exceeding our expectations. Buckeye's continued diversification into crude oil also contributed to the strong growth, as the 1.1 million barrel crude oil storage project in the Chicago Complex became operational during the quarter.

"Our Merchant Services segment also had a successful quarter. With new leadership, we rationalized the size and scope of our business model and drove improved performance by focusing on optimizing asset utilization across the Buckeye system where the commodity risk can be efficiently and effectively limited. Strong rack margins, improved market conditions and expanded use of deal structures that limit commodity risk all contributed to Merchant Services' performance for the quarter."

In September, Buckeye announced the acquisition of an 80 percent interest in the Buckeye Texas Partners venture, which, when the initial build out is complete, will include a vertically integrated system of midstream assets, including a deep-water, high volume marine terminal located on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, a condensate splitter and LPG storage complex in Corpus Christi and three crude oil and condensate gathering facilities in the Eagle Ford shale. "The Buckeye Texas Partners transaction furthers our geographic and product diversification by establishing for Buckeye a new growth platform and hub in the high-growth U.S. Gulf Coast market," stated Mr. Smith.

Distributable cash flow (as defined below) from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2014 was $140.5 million compared to $98.6 million for the third quarter of 2013. Buckeye also reported improved distribution coverage of 0.99 times for the third quarter of 2014. The timing of the equity issuance to fund the Buckeye Texas Partners transaction adversely impacted coverage for the quarter, as cash distributions were declared for these units in the quarter yet Buckeye realized only a nominal contribution from these assets for 15 days. Excluding the effects from the 6.75 million new units issued in September, Buckeye's distribution coverage for the third quarter would be 1.04 times.

Cash Distribution. Buckeye also announced today that its general partner declared a cash distribution of $1.125 per limited partner unit ("LP Unit") for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. The distribution will be payable on November 25, 2014, to unitholders of record on November 18, 2014. This cash distribution represents an almost five percent increase over the $1.075 per LP Unit distribution declared for the quarter ended September 30, 2013. Buckeye has paid cash distributions in each quarter since its formation in 1986.

Conference Call. Buckeye will host a conference call with members of executive management today, November 7, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To access the live webcast of the call, go to http://www.media-server.com/m/p/jw667w4t ten minutes prior to its start. Interested parties may participate in the call by dialing 877-870-9226. A replay will be archived and available at this link until December 31, 2014, and the replay also may be accessed by dialing 800-585-8367 and entering the access code 22733393.

About Buckeye Partners, L.P.

Buckeye Partners, L.P. (NYSE:BPL) is a publicly traded master limited partnership and owns and operates a diversified network of integrated assets providing midstream logistic solutions, primarily consisting of the transportation, storage, and marketing of liquid petroleum products. Buckeye is one of the largest independent liquid petroleum products pipeline operators in the United States in terms of volumes delivered with approximately 6,000 miles of pipeline and more than 120 liquid petroleum products terminals with aggregate storage capacity of over 110 million barrels across our portfolio of pipelines, inland terminals and an integrated network of marine terminals located primarily in the East Coast and Gulf Coast regions of the United States and in the Caribbean. Buckeye has a controlling interest in a company with a vertically integrated system of marine midstream assets in Corpus Christi, Texas and the Eagle Ford Shale. Buckeye's flagship marine terminal, BORCO, is in The Bahamas and is one of the largest marine crude oil and petroleum products storage facilities in the world and provides an array of logistics and blending services for the global flow of petroleum products. Buckeye's network of marine terminals enables it to facilitate global flows of crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other commodities, and to offer its customers connectivity to some of the world's most important bulk storage and blending hubs. Buckeye is also a wholesale distributor of refined petroleum products in areas served by its pipelines and terminals. Finally, Buckeye also operates or maintains third-party pipelines under agreements with major oil and gas, petrochemical and chemical companies, and performs certain engineering and construction management services for third parties. More information concerning Buckeye can be found at www.buckeye.com.

Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow are measures not defined by GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is the primary measure used by our senior management, including our Chief Executive Officer, to (i) evaluate our consolidated operating performance and the operating performance of our business segments, (ii) allocate resources and capital to business segments, (iii) evaluate the viability of proposed projects, and (iv) determine overall rates of return on alternative investment opportunities. Distributable cash flow is another measure used by our senior management to provide a clearer picture of Buckeye's cash available for distribution to its unitholders. Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow eliminate (i) non-cash expenses, including, but not limited to, depreciation and amortization expense resulting from the significant capital investments we make in our businesses and from intangible assets recognized in business combinations, (ii) charges for obligations expected to be settled with the issuance of equity instruments, and (iii) items that are not indicative of our core operating performance results and business outlook.

Buckeye believes that investors benefit from having access to the same financial measures used by senior management and that these measures are useful to investors because they aid in comparing Buckeye's operating performance with that of other companies with similar operations. The Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow data presented by Buckeye may not be comparable to similarly titled measures at other companies because these items may be defined differently by other companies. Please see the attached reconciliations of each of Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow to income from continuing operations.

This press release includes forward-looking statements that we believe to be reasonable as of today's date. Such statements are identified by use of the words "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "should," and similar expressions. Actual results may differ significantly because of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and that may be beyond our control. Among them are (i) changes in federal, state, local, and foreign laws or regulations to which we are subject, including those governing pipeline tariff rates and those that permit the treatment of us as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, (ii) terrorism, adverse weather conditions, including hurricanes, environmental releases, and natural disasters, (iii) changes in the marketplace for our products or services, such as increased competition, better energy efficiency, or general reductions in demand, (iv) adverse regional, national, or international economic conditions, adverse capital market conditions, and adverse political developments, (v) shutdowns or interruptions at our pipeline, terminal, and storage assets or at the source points for the products we transport, store, or sell, (vi) unanticipated capital expenditures in connection with the construction, repair, or replacement of our assets, (vii) volatility in the price of refined petroleum products and the value of natural gas storage services, (viii) nonpayment or nonperformance by our customers, (ix) our ability to integrate acquired assets with our existing assets and to realize anticipated cost savings and other efficiencies and benefits, (x) we may not realize the expected benefits of the Buckeye Texas Partners transaction, (xi) our ability to successfully complete our organic growth projects and to realize the anticipated financial benefits, and (xii) an unfavorable outcome with respect to the proceedings pending before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") regarding Buckeye Pipe Line Company, L.P.'s transportation of jet fuel to the New York City airports. You should read our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and our most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2014 and June 30, 2014, for a more extensive list of factors that could affect results. We undertake no obligation to revise our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after today's date.

This release is intended to be a qualified notice under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b). Brokers and nominees should treat one hundred percent (100.0%) of Buckeye's distributions to non-U.S. investors as being attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business. Accordingly, Buckeye's distributions to non-U.S. investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate.