Business Wire News

USA Compression Partners, LP Reports First Quarter 2021 Results; Confirms 2021 Outlook

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USA Compression Partners, LP (NYSE: USAC) (“USA Compression” or the “Partnership”) announced today its financial and operating results for the first quarter 2021.


First Quarter 2021 Highlights

  • Total revenues were $157.5 million for the first quarter 2021, compared to $179.0 million for the first quarter 2020.
  • Net income was $0.4 million for the first quarter 2021, compared to a net loss of $602.5 million for the first quarter 2020.
  • Net cash provided by operating activities was $39.6 million for the first quarter 2021, compared to $50.1 million for the first quarter 2020.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $99.6 million for the first quarter 2021, compared to $106.2 million for the first quarter 2020.
  • Distributable Cash Flow was $52.6 million for the first quarter 2021, compared to $54.7 million for the first quarter 2020.
  • Announced cash distribution of $0.525 per common unit for the first quarter 2021, consistent with the first quarter 2020.
  • Distributable Cash Flow Coverage was 1.03x for the first quarter 2021, compared to 1.08x for the first quarter 2020.

“The first quarter of 2021 came in fairly consistent with the fourth quarter of 2020, reflecting what we expected would be a period of stability as we started the year,” commented Eric D. Long, USA Compression’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “While the general stability in both crude oil and natural gas prices has allowed customers to better plan their budgets and capital spending programs, lingering uncertainty around the timing of a recovery as well as the impact of potential legislative and regulatory changes on the industry have lent a cautious tone to overall activity.”

He continued, “With overall domestic natural gas production increasing modestly, we are now back at pre-COVID-19 levels, illustrating the importance of clean-burning natural gas to our country’s economy. While we acknowledge that renewable energy will increasingly become a more important contributor to our country’s energy needs, we believe the reliability and abundance of domestic natural gas will remain critical to serving our country’s energy needs.”

“As we previously discussed, our capital spending plans have been meaningfully reduced going into 2021. We continue to expect zero new unit deliveries during the year, instead spending nominal amounts of growth capital, primarily consisting of reconfigurations to prepare units for redeployment and first-time start-up costs. Partly as a result of this capital spending discipline, our debt levels and corresponding leverage were better than we expected for the first quarter.”

“While the recovery takes hold, we continue to focus on things within our control, namely capital spending and expense management. As you’ll note, our operating margins remain strong, reflecting continued focus on the core operations of the business, and helping improve Distributable Cash Flow coverage for the quarter.”

Expansion capital expenditures were $4.2 million, maintenance capital expenditures were $4.5 million and cash interest expense, net was $30.0 million for the first quarter 2021.

On April 14, 2021, the Partnership announced a first quarter cash distribution of $0.525 per common unit, which corresponds to an annualized distribution rate of $2.10 per common unit. The distribution will be paid on May 7, 2021 to common unitholders of record as of the close of business on April 26, 2021.

Operational and Financial Data

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

March 31,
2021

 

December 31,
2020

 

March 31,
2020

Operational data:

 

 

 

 

 

Fleet horsepower (at period end)

3,720,745

 

 

3,726,181

 

 

3,705,550

 

Revenue generating horsepower (at period end)

2,987,627

 

 

2,997,262

 

 

3,316,666

 

Average revenue generating horsepower

2,994,418

 

 

3,004,069

 

 

3,320,724

 

Revenue generating compression units (at period end)

3,942

 

 

3,968

 

 

4,516

 

Horsepower utilization (at period end) (1)

83.1

%

 

82.8

%

 

92.0

%

Average horsepower utilization (for the period) (1)

83.1

%

 

83.0

%

 

92.5

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial data ($ in thousands, except per horsepower data):

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

$

157,513

 

 

$

158,367

 

 

$

178,999

 

Average revenue per revenue generating horsepower per month (2)

$

16.60

 

 

$

16.55

 

 

$

16.89

 

Net income (loss) (3)

$

371

 

 

$

(1,474

)

 

$

(602,461

)

Operating income (loss) (3)

$

32,760

 

 

$

31,193

 

 

$

(569,710

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

$

39,612

 

 

$

97,547

 

 

$

50,077

 

Gross margin

$

47,855

 

 

$

48,480

 

 

$

61,072

 

Adjusted gross margin (4)(5)

$

108,885

 

 

$

108,276

 

 

$

119,834

 

Adjusted gross margin percentage

69.1

%

 

68.4

%

 

66.9

%

Adjusted EBITDA (5)

$

99,553

 

 

$

98,293

 

 

$

106,184

 

Adjusted EBITDA percentage

63.2

%

 

62.1

%

 

59.3

%

Distributable Cash Flow (5)

$

52,580

 

 

$

50,467

 

 

$

54,702

 

________________________

(1)

Horsepower utilization is calculated as (i) the sum of (a) revenue generating horsepower; (b) horsepower in the Partnership’s fleet that is under contract but is not yet generating revenue; and (c) horsepower not yet in the Partnership’s fleet that is under contract but not yet generating revenue and that is subject to a purchase order, divided by (ii) total available horsepower less idle horsepower that is under repair.

 

Horsepower utilization based on revenue generating horsepower and fleet horsepower was 80.3%, 80.4% and 89.5% at March 31, 2021, December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2020, respectively.

 

 

Average horsepower utilization based on revenue generating horsepower and fleet horsepower was 80.4%, 80.6% and 89.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2021, December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2020, respectively.

 

(2)

Calculated as the average of the result of dividing the contractual monthly rate, excluding standby or other temporary rates, for all units at the end of each month in the period by the sum of the revenue generating horsepower at the end of each month in the period.

 

(3)

The Partnership’s net loss and operating loss for the three months ended March 31, 2020 included a $619.4 million impairment charge due to the asset carrying amount exceeding fair value as of March 31, 2020. The impairment charge did not impact the Partnership’s cash flows, liquidity position or compliance with debt covenants.

 

(4)

Adjusted gross margin was previously presented as gross operating margin. The definition of Adjusted gross margin is identical to the definition of gross operating margin previously presented. For the definition of Adjusted gross margin, see the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section below.

 

(5)

Adjusted gross margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow are all non-U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“Non-GAAP”) financial measures. For the definition of each measure, as well as reconciliations of each measure to its most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.

Liquidity and Long-Term Debt

As of March 31, 2021, the Partnership was in compliance with all covenants under its $1.6 billion revolving credit facility. As of March 31, 2021, the Partnership had outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility of $502.7 million, $1.1 billion of borrowing base availability and, subject to compliance with the applicable financial covenants, available borrowing capacity of $203.9 million. As of March 31, 2021, the outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Partnership’s 6.875% senior notes due 2026 and 6.875% senior notes due 2027 was $725.0 million and $750.0 million, respectively.

Full-Year 2021 Outlook

USA Compression is confirming its full-year 2021 guidance as follows:

  • Net income range of $0.0 million to $20.0 million;
  • A forward-looking estimate of net cash provided by operating activities is not provided because the items necessary to estimate net cash provided by operating activities, in particular the change in operating assets and liabilities, are not accessible or estimable at this time. The Partnership does not anticipate the changes in operating assets and liabilities to be material, but changes in accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities and deferred revenue could be significant, such that the amount of net cash provided by operating activities would vary substantially from the amount of projected Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow;
  • Adjusted EBITDA range of $385.0 million to $405.0 million; and
  • Distributable Cash Flow range of $193.0 million to $213.0 million.

Conference Call

The Partnership will host a conference call today beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Central Time) to discuss first quarter 2021 performance. The call will be broadcast live over the Internet. Investors may participate either by phone or audio webcast.

By Phone:

 

Dial 800-367-2403 inside the U.S. and Canada at least 10 minutes before the call and ask for the USA Compression Partners Earnings Call. Investors outside the U.S. and Canada should dial 334-777-6978. The conference ID for both is 2579026.

 

 

 

 

 

A replay of the call will be available through May 14, 2021. Callers inside the U.S. and Canada may access the replay by dialing 888-203-1112. Investors outside the U.S. and Canada should dial 719-457-0820. The conference ID for both is 2579026.

 

 

 

By Webcast:

 

Connect to the webcast via the “Events” page of USA Compression’s Investor Relations website at http://investors.usacompression.com. Please log in at least 10 minutes in advance to register and download any necessary software. A replay will be available shortly after the call.

About USA Compression Partners, LP

USA Compression Partners, LP is a growth-oriented Delaware limited partnership that is one of the nation’s largest independent providers of natural gas compression services in terms of total compression fleet horsepower. USA Compression partners with a broad customer base composed of producers, processors, gatherers and transporters of natural gas and crude oil. USA Compression focuses on providing natural gas compression services to infrastructure applications primarily in high-volume gathering systems, processing facilities and transportation applications. More information is available at usacompression.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release includes the Non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted gross margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Distributable Cash Flow and Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio.

Adjusted gross margin is defined as revenue less cost of operations, exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense. Management believes that Adjusted gross margin is useful as a supplemental measure to investors of the Partnership’s operating profitability. Adjusted gross margin is impacted primarily by the pricing trends for service operations and cost of operations, including labor rates for service technicians, volume and per unit costs for lubricant oils, quantity and pricing of routine preventative maintenance on compression units and property tax rates on compression units. Adjusted gross margin should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, gross margin, its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, Adjusted gross margin as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Because the Partnership capitalizes assets, depreciation and amortization of equipment is a necessary element of its costs. To compensate for the limitations of Adjusted gross margin as a measure of the Partnership’s performance, management believes that it is important to consider gross margin determined under GAAP, as well as Adjusted gross margin, to evaluate the Partnership’s operating profitability.

Management views Adjusted EBITDA as one of its primary tools for evaluating the Partnership’s results of operations, and the Partnership tracks this item on a monthly basis both as an absolute amount and as a percentage of revenue compared to the prior month, year-to-date, prior year and budget. The Partnership defines EBITDA as net income (loss) before net interest expense, depreciation and amortization expense, and income tax expense. The Partnership defines Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA plus impairment of compression equipment, impairment of goodwill, interest income on capital lease, unit-based compensation expense (benefit), severance charges, certain transaction expenses, loss (gain) on disposition of assets and other. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a supplemental financial measure by management and external users of its financial statements, such as investors and commercial banks, to assess:

  • the financial performance of the Partnership’s assets without regard to the impact of financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis of the Partnership’s assets;
  • the viability of capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return on alternative investment opportunities;
  • the ability of the Partnership’s assets to generate cash sufficient to make debt payments and pay distributions; and
  • the Partnership’s operating performance as compared to those of other companies in its industry without regard to the impact of financing methods and capital structure.

Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors because, when viewed with GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations, it provides a more complete understanding of the Partnership’s performance than GAAP results alone. Management also believes that external users of its financial statements benefit from having access to the same financial measures that management uses in evaluating the results of the Partnership’s business.

Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), operating income (loss), cash flows from operating activities or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP as measures of operating performance and liquidity. Moreover, Adjusted EBITDA as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Distributable Cash Flow is defined as net income (loss) plus non-cash interest expense, non-cash income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization expense, unit-based compensation expense (benefit), impairment of compression equipment, impairment of goodwill, certain transaction expenses, severance charges, loss (gain) on disposition of assets, proceeds from insurance recovery and other, less distributions on the Partnership’s Series A Preferred Units (“Preferred Units”) and maintenance capital expenditures.

Distributable Cash Flow should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), operating income (loss), cash flows from operating activities or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP as measures of operating performance and liquidity. Moreover, the Partnership’s Distributable Cash Flow as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Management believes Distributable Cash Flow is an important measure of operating performance because it allows management, investors and others to compare basic cash flows the Partnership generates (after distributions on the Partnership’s Preferred Units but prior to any retained cash reserves established by the Partnership’s general partner and the effect of the Distribution Reinvestment Plan) to the cash distributions the Partnership expects to pay its common unitholders.

Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio is defined as Distributable Cash Flow divided by distributions declared to common unitholders in respect of such period. Management believes Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio is an important measure of operating performance because it allows management, investors and others to gauge the Partnership’s ability to pay distributions to common unitholders using the cash flows the Partnership generates. The Partnership’s Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio as presented may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

This news release also contains a forward-looking estimate of Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow projected to be generated by the Partnership in its 2021 fiscal year. A forward-looking estimate of net cash provided by operating activities and reconciliations of the forward-looking estimates of Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow to net cash provided by operating activities are not provided because the items necessary to estimate net cash provided by operating activities, in particular the change in operating assets and liabilities, are not accessible or estimable at this time. The Partnership does not anticipate the changes in operating assets and liabilities to be material, but changes in accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities and deferred revenue could be significant, such that the amount of net cash provided by operating activities would vary substantially from the amount of projected Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow.

See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for Adjusted gross margin reconciled to gross margin, Adjusted EBITDA reconciled to net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities, and net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities reconciled to Distributable Cash Flow and Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the information in this news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “may,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “if,” “project,” “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “should,” or other similar words or the negatives thereof, and include the Partnership’s expectation of future performance contained herein, including as described under “Full-Year 2021 Outlook.” These statements discuss future expectations, contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition, or state other “forward-looking” information. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which can be affected by assumptions used or by known risks or uncertainties. Consequently, no forward-looking statements can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors noted below and other cautionary statements in this news release. The risk factors and other factors noted throughout this news release could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Known material factors that could cause the Partnership’s actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by such forward-looking statements include:

  • changes in the long-term supply of and demand for crude oil and natural gas, including as a result of uncertainty regarding the length of time it will take for the U.S. and the rest of the world to slow the spread of COVID-19 to the point where applicable authorities are comfortable continuing to ease, or declining to reinstate certain restrictions on various commercial and economic activities; such restrictions are designed to protect public health but also have the effect of reducing demand for crude oil and natural gas;
  • the severity and duration of world health events, including the COVID-19 outbreak, related economic repercussions, actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic and the resulting disruption in the oil and gas industry and negative impact on demand for oil and gas, which continues to negatively impact our business;
  • changes in general economic conditions and changes in economic conditions of the crude oil and natural gas industries specifically, including the ability of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) and Russia (together with OPEC and other allied producing countries, “OPEC+”) to agree on and comply with supply limitations;
  • uncertainty regarding the timing, pace and extent of an economic recovery in the U.S. and elsewhere, which in turn will likely affect demand for crude oil and natural gas and therefore the demand for the compression and treating services we provide and the commercial opportunities available to us;
  • the deterioration of the financial condition of our customers, which may result in the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings with respect to customers;
  • renegotiation of material terms of customer contracts;
  • competitive conditions in our industry;
  • our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions;
  • actions taken by our customers, competitors and third-party operators;
  • changes in the availability and cost of capital;
  • operating hazards, natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics (such as COVID-19), weather-related delays, casualty losses and other matters beyond our control;
  • operational challenges relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus, including logistical challenges, protecting the health and well-being of our employees, remote work arrangements, performance of contracts and supply chain disruptions;
  • the restrictions on our business that are imposed under our long-term debt agreements;
  • information technology risks including the risk from cyberattack;
  • the effects of existing and future laws and governmental regulations;
  • the effects of future litigation;
  • factors described in Part I, Item 1A (“Risk Factors”) of the Partnership’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 16, 2021, and subsequently filed reports; and
  • other factors discussed in the Partnership’s filings with the SEC.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. Unless legally required, the Partnership undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed herein also could have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements.

 

USA COMPRESSION PARTNERS, LP

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except for per unit amounts Unaudited)

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

March 31,
2021

 

December 31,
2020

 

March 31,
2020

Revenues:

 

 

 

 

 

Contract operations

$

152,525

 

 

$

151,775

 

 

$

172,794

 

Parts and service

2,038

 

 

3,347

 

 

3,048

 

Related party

2,950

 

 

3,245

 

 

3,157

 

Total revenues

157,513

 

 

158,367

 

 

178,999

 

Costs and expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of operations, exclusive of depreciation and amortization

48,628

 

 

50,091

 

 

59,165

 

Depreciation and amortization

61,030

 

 

59,796

 

 

58,762

 

Selling, general and administrative

13,800

 

 

14,565

 

 

12,385

 

Loss (gain) on disposition of assets

(1,255

)

 

261

 

 

(1,014

)

Impairment of compression equipment

2,550

 

 

2,461

 

 

 

Impairment of goodwill

 

 

 

 

619,411

 

Total costs and expenses

124,753

 

 

127,174

 

 

748,709

 

Operating income (loss)

32,760

 

 

31,193

 

 

(569,710

)

Other income (expense):

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense, net

(32,288

)

 

(32,336

)

 

(32,478

)

Other

25

 

 

19

 

 

23

 

Total other expense

(32,263

)

 

(32,317

)

 

(32,455

)

Net income (loss) before income tax expense

497

 

 

(1,124

)

 

(602,165

)

Income tax expense

126

 

 

350

 

 

296

 

Net income (loss)

371

 

 

(1,474

)

 

(602,461

)

Less: distributions on Preferred Units

(12,187

)

 

(12,187

)

 

(12,187

)

Net loss attributable to common unitholders’ interests

$

(11,816

)

 

$

(13,661

)

 

$

(614,648

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average common units outstanding – basic and diluted

96,989

 

 

96,936

 

 

96,707

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net loss per common unit

$

(0.12

)

 

$

(0.14

)

 

$

(6.36

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions declared per common unit

$

0.525

 

 

$

0.525

 

 

$

0.525

 


Contacts

USA Compression Partners, LP
Matthew C. Liuzzi
Chief Financial Officer
512-369-1624
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


Read full story here

Read Article On Business Wire


Author:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Offshore Source Logo

Offshore Source keeps you updated with relevant information concerning the Offshore Energy Sector.

Any views or opinions represented on this website belong solely to the author and do not represent those of the people, institutions or organizations that Offshore Source or collaborators may or may not have been associated with in a professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated.

Corporate Offices

Technology Systems Corporation
8502 SW Kansas Ave
Stuart, FL 34997

info@tscpublishing.com