Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: CLMT) (the "Partnership," "Calumet," "we," "our" or "us"), today reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, as follows:

"We saw exceptionally strong demand during the second quarter. Supply chains are disrupted across the world and these disruptions also affected Calumet, particularly in our Performance Brands segment. Across the board, our teams continue to focus on executing to reduce the order backlog and satisfy the strong demand for our brands and products," said CEO Steve Mawer. "In June, we shared an update on Montana Renewables conversion, at which point we added feedstock pre-treat as an additional module and significantly raised EBITDA guidance. Since then, our estimates of the project cost and timing have not changed. We still plan to be producing Renewable Diesel after the plant wide turnaround next April. We have passed another Front End Loading gate as well as an external readiness review of our project. The relative simplicity of our project and the top tier metallurgy in the existing oversized hydrocracker continue to reinforce why this is a leading conversion project. Our near-term product marketing focus on the Pacific Northwest continues to advance, and we eagerly await all of Canada's transition to low carbon fuels beginning in 2023. Our location, a hundred miles from the US-Canada border, would make us a preferred supplier. Similarly, startup feedstock supply contracting is underway, and we continue to gain confidence that millions of acres of temperate oilseed farmland in our backyard will shortly receive regulatory approval to enter the renewable diesel feedstock supply picture. Finally, feedback from potential partners during diligence is that we have an incredibly compelling value proposition, and that the opportunity is as unique as we have believed. We look forward to sharing more information as we finalize negotiations."

Specialty Products & Solutions (SPS):  The SPS segment reported Adjusted EBITDA of $31.8 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $33.4 million for the same quarter a year ago. Specialty product margins and demand continued to be exceptionally strong during the quarter, although margins for transportation fuels remain challenged. Margin performance, despite dramatic increases in feedstock costs, was helped by a strong team focus on pricing. The inventory rebuild post-Shreveport turnaround was completed in the quarter, despite an unplanned outage which limited production volumes. Our other production facilities delivered solid operational performance during the quarter, setting several production records.

Performance Brands (PB):  The PB segment reported Adjusted EBITDA of $7.3 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $17.6 million for the same quarter a year ago. Shipped volumes increased versus last year's second quarter as a result of continued strong demand across our brands. However, production volumes were strained due to supply chain disruptions, creating a record order backlog at the end of the second quarter. These disruptions created manufacturing process inefficiencies and drove unit operating costs higher as we absorbed excess switching costs to meet customer needs. Multiple price increases have been implemented, and a material time lag is inherent to pricing in these markets. Recently, grease markets have been particularly disrupted by a fire at the largest grease manufacturing facility in the US. This facility was one of several of our diversified supplier base and contingency planning has allowed us to identify alternative production sources, though not without cost and disruption. Our talented and diligent team is focused on working through the order backlog and delivering products to fulfill our customer needs quickly and efficiently.

Montana / Renewables (MR):  The MR segment reported $12.8 million of Adjusted EBITDA, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $23.0 million for the second quarter of 2020. Initial preparatory work commenced that further de-risks our Renewable Diesel project. The facility set a throughput record within the quarter, reflective of very strong operational performance. PADD IV product inventory levels are low and clean product margins continue to perform well. Asphalt markets have lagged the rapid increase in crude pricing.

Corporate:  Total corporate costs are represented as a loss of $19.6 million of Adjusted EBITDA, compared to a loss of $17.0 million of Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2020.

Operations Summary

The following table sets forth information about the Partnership's continuing operations. Facility production volume differs from sales volume due to changes in inventories and the sale of purchased blendstocks such as ethanol and specialty blendstocks, as well as the resale of crude oil.

Webcast Information

A conference call is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. ET on August 6, 2021 to discuss the financial and operational results for the second quarter of 2021. Investors, analysts and members of the media interested in listening to the live presentation are encouraged to join a webcast of the call with accompanying presentation slides, available on the Partnership's website at https://www.calumetspecialty.com. Interested parties may also participate in the call by dialing (866) 584-9671 and entering the conference ID 5286856. A replay of the conference call will be available a few hours after the event on the investor relations section of the Partnership's website, under the events and presentations section and will remain available for at least 90 days.

About the Partnership

Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: CLMT) manufactures, formulates, and markets a diversified slate of specialty branded products to customers in various consumer-facing and industrial markets. Calumet is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and operates twelve facilities throughout North America.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements and information in this press release, may constitute "forward-looking statements." The words "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "plan," "intend," "foresee," "should," "would," "could" or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. The statements discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the statements regarding (i) the effect, impact, potential duration or other implications of the ongoing novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic and global crude oil production levels on our business and operations, (ii) the demand for refined petroleum products in markets we serve, (iii) our expectation regarding our business outlook and cash flows, (iv) our expectation regarding anticipated capital expenditures and strategic initiatives, and (v) our ability to meet our financial commitments, debt service obligations, debt instrument covenants, contingencies and anticipated capital expenditures. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effect on us. While management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we anticipate. All comments concerning our expectations for future sales and operating results are based on our forecasts for our existing operations and do not include the potential impact of any future acquisition or disposition transactions. Our forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the overall demand for specialty hydrocarbon products, fuels and other refined products; the level of foreign and domestic production of crude oil and refined products; our ability to produce specialty, branded and fuel products that meet our customers' unique and precise specifications; the impact of fluctuations and rapid increases or decreases in crude oil and crack spread prices, including the resulting impact on our liquidity; the results of our hedging and other risk management activities; our ability to comply with financial covenants contained in our debt instruments; the availability of, and our ability to consummate, acquisition or combination opportunities and the impact of any completed acquisitions; labor relations; our access to capital to fund expansions, acquisitions and our working capital needs and our ability to obtain debt or equity financing on satisfactory terms; successful integration and future performance of acquired assets, businesses or third-party product supply and processing relationships; our ability to timely and effectively integrate the operations of acquired businesses or assets, particularly those in new geographic areas or in new lines of business; environmental liabilities or events that are not covered by an indemnity, insurance or existing reserves; maintenance of our credit ratings and ability to receive open credit lines from our suppliers; demand for various grades of crude oil and resulting changes in pricing conditions; fluctuations in refinery capacity; our ability to access sufficient crude oil supply through long-term or month-to-month evergreen contracts and on the spot market; the effects of competition; continued creditworthiness of, and performance by, counterparties; the impact of current and future laws, rulings and governmental regulations, including guidance related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; the costs of complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard, including the prices paid for RINs; shortages or cost increases of power supplies, natural gas, materials or labor; hurricane or other weather interference with business operations; our ability to access the debt and equity markets; accidents or other unscheduled shutdowns; and general economic, market or business conditions.

For additional information regarding factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our projected results, please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the risk factors and other cautionary statements in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the SEC.

We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and you should not rely unduly on them, as they involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that we cannot predict. In addition, we have based many of these forward-looking statements on assumptions about future events that may prove to be inaccurate. While our management considers these assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, our actual results may differ materially from the future performance that we have expressed or forecast in our forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Our management uses certain non-GAAP performance measures to analyze operating segment performance and non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate past performance and prospects for the future to supplement our financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. These financial and operational non-GAAP measures are important factors in assessing our operating results and profitability and include performance and liquidity measures along with certain key operating metrics.

During the first quarter of 2021, we changed how we calculate Adjusted EBITDA and segment Adjusted gross profit (loss), which are used by management for evaluating performance, allocating resources and managing our business. The revised calculations for each of Adjusted EBITDA and segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) now exclude RINs mark-to-market adjustments, which were previously included. Additionally, the calculation for segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) now excludes depreciation and amortization expenses. These revised calculations better reflect the performance of our business segments including cash flows. Adjusted EBITDA and segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) have been revised for all periods presented to consistently reflect these changes.

We use the following financial performance measures:

EBITDA: We define EBITDA for any period as net income (loss) plus interest expense (including amortization of debt issuance costs), income taxes and depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted EBITDA: We define Adjusted EBITDA for any period as: EBITDA adjusted for (a) impairment; (b) unrealized gains and losses from mark to market accounting for hedging activities; (c) realized gains and losses under derivative instruments excluded from the determination of net income (loss); (d) non-cash equity-based compensation expense and other non-cash items (excluding items such as accruals of cash expenses in a future period or amortization of a prepaid cash expense) that were deducted in computing net income (loss); (e) debt refinancing fees, extinguishment costs, premiums and penalties; (f) any net gain or loss realized in connection with an asset sale that was deducted in computing net income (loss); (g) amortization of turnaround costs; (h) LCM inventory adjustments; (i) the impact of liquidation of inventory layers calculated using the LIFO method; (j) RINs mark-to-market adjustments; and (k) all extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring items of gain or loss, or revenue or expense.

Distributable Cash Flow: We define Distributable Cash Flow for any period as Adjusted EBITDA less replacement and environmental capital expenditures, turnaround costs, cash interest expense (consolidated interest expense less non-cash interest expense), gain (loss) from unconsolidated affiliates, net of cash distributions and income tax expense (benefit).

Adjusted EBITDA Margin: We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin for any period as Adjusted EBITDA divided by sales.

Specialty Products and Solutions segment Adjusted gross profit (loss): We define Specialty Products and Solutions segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) for any period as Specialty Products and Solutions segment gross profit (loss) excluding the impact of (a) LCM inventory adjustments; (b) the impact of liquidation of inventory layers calculated using the LIFO method; (c) RINs mark-to-market adjustments; and (d) depreciation and amortization.

Performance Brands segment Adjusted gross profit (loss): We define Performance Brands segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) for any period as Performance Brands segment gross profit (loss) excluding the impact of (a) LCM inventory adjustments; (b) the impact of liquidation of inventory layers calculated using the LIFO method; (c) RINs mark-to-market adjustments; and (d) depreciation and amortization.

Montana/Renewables Adjusted gross profit (loss): We define Montana/Renewables segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) for any period as Montana/Renewables segment gross profit (loss) excluding the impact of (a) LCM inventory adjustments; (b) the impact of liquidation of inventory layers calculated using the LIFO method; (c) RINs mark-to-market adjustments; and (d) depreciation and amortization.

Further, management and various investors use the ratio of Net debt (defined as total debt less cash) to last twelve months Adjusted EBITDA, or "net debt leverage," as a measure of our financial strength and ability to incur incremental indebtedness when making key investment decisions and evaluating us against peers. The metric "total debt less cash" includes borrowed long-term debt, borrowings on revolving credit facility, outstanding debt for asset financing arrangements, finance lease obligations, and other debt obligations, less cash.

The definition of Adjusted EBITDA that is presented in this press release is similar to the calculation of (i) "Consolidated Cash Flow" contained in the indentures governing our 7.625% senior notes due January 15, 2022, that were issued in November 2013 (the "2022 Notes"), our 7.75% senior notes due April 15, 2023, that were issued in March 2015 (the "2023 Notes"), our 9.25% senior secured first lien notes due July 15, 2024, that were issued in August 2020 (the "2024 Secured Notes"), and our 11.00% senior notes due April 15, 2025, that were issued in October 2019 (the "2025 Notes") and (ii) "Consolidated EBITDA" contained in the credit agreement governing our revolving credit facility. We are required to report Consolidated Cash Flow to the holders of our 2022 Notes, 2023 Notes, 2024 Secured Notes, and 2025 Notes and Consolidated EBITDA to the lenders under our revolving credit facility, and these measures are used by them to determine our compliance with certain covenants governing those debt instruments. Please see our filings with the SEC, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Current Reports on Form 8-K, for additional details regarding the covenants governing our debt instruments.

These non-GAAP measures are used as supplemental financial measures by our management and by external users of our financial statements such as investors, commercial banks, research analysts and others, to assess:

• the financial performance of our assets without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis;
• the ability of our assets to generate cash sufficient to pay interest costs and support our indebtedness;
• our operating performance and return on capital as compared to those of other companies in our industry, without regard to financing or capital structure;
• the viability of acquisitions and capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return on alternative investment opportunities; and
• our operating performance excluding the non-cash impact of LCM and LIFO inventory adjustments, RINs mark-to-market adjustments, and depreciation and amortization.

We believe that these non-GAAP measures are useful to analysts and investors, as they exclude transactions not related to our core cash operating activities and provide metrics to analyze our ability to pay interest to our noteholders. We believe that excluding these transactions allows investors to meaningfully analyze trends and performance of our core cash operations.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Distributable Cash Flow, and segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) should not be considered alternatives to Net income (loss), Operating income (loss), Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, gross profit (loss) or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. In evaluating our performance as measured by EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Distributable Cash Flow, and segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) management recognizes and considers the limitations of these measurements. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect our liabilities for the payment of income taxes, interest expense or other obligations such as capital expenditures. Accordingly, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Distributable Cash Flow, and segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) are only a few of several measurements that management utilizes. Moreover, our EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Distributable Cash Flow, and segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of another company because all companies may not calculate EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Distributable Cash Flow, and segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) in the same manner. Please see the section of this release entitled "Non-GAAP Reconciliations" for tables that present reconciliations of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Distributable Cash Flow to Net income (loss), our most directly comparable GAAP financial performance measure; and segment Adjusted gross profit (loss) to segment gross profit (loss), our most directly comparable GAAP financial performance measure.

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SOURCE Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P.