Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P. - Quarter Report: 2021 September (Form 10-Q)

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. 

BLUEKNIGHT ENERGY PARTNERS, L.P.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P. and subsidiaries (collectively, the “Partnership”) is a publicly traded master limited partnership with operations in 26 states. The Partnership provides integrated terminalling services for companies engaged in the production, distribution, and marketing of liquid asphalt. The Partnership manages its operations through one operating segment, asphalt terminalling services. The Partnership’s common units and preferred units, which represent limited partnership interests in the Partnership, are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols “BKEP” and “BKEPP,” respectively. The Partnership was formed in February 2007 as a Delaware master limited partnership.

The Partnership previously provided integrated terminalling, gathering, and transportation services for companies engaged in the production, distribution, and marketing of crude oil in three different operating segments: (i) crude oil terminalling services, (ii) crude oil pipeline services, and (iii) crude oil trucking services. On December 21, 2020, the Partnership announced it had entered into multiple definitive agreements to sell these segments. These transactions closed in February and March of 2021. These segments are presented as discontinued operations for all periods presented. Unless otherwise noted, information in these notes to the consolidated financial statements relates to continuing operations. As the Partnership is only operating through one operating segment, a segment footnote is no longer required.

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2021, the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, the condensed consolidated statements of changes in partners’ capital (deficit) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, and the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, are unaudited. In the opinion of management, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements and include all adjustments necessary to state fairly the financial position and results of operations for the respective interim periods. All adjustments are of a recurring nature unless otherwise disclosed herein. The 2020 year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Partnership’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 10, 2021 (the “2020 Form 10-K”). Interim financial results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for an annual period. The Partnership’s significant accounting policies are consistent with those disclosed in Note 3 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in its 2020 Form 10-K.

The Partnership recognizes revenue from contracts with customers as well as lease revenue. The following table includes revenue associated with contractual commitments in place related to future performance obligations as of the end of the reporting period, which are expected to be recognized in revenue in the specified periods (in thousands):

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Disaggregation of Revenue

Disaggregation of revenue from contracts with customers and lease revenue by revenue type is presented as follows (in thousands):

Contract Balances

Billed accounts receivable from contracts with customers were $2.1 million and $3.0 million at December 31, 2020, and September 30, 2021, respectively.

The Partnership records unearned revenues when cash payments are received in advance of performance. Unearned revenue related to contracts with customers was $3.2 million and $4.0 million at  December 31, 2020, and September 30, 2021, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Partnership recognized $2.3 million of revenues that were previously included in the unearned revenue balance.

Practical Expedients and Exemptions

The Partnership does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with an original expected length of one year or less.

On December 21, 2020, the Partnership announced that it entered into agreements to sell its crude oil trucking services, crude oil pipeline services, and crude oil terminalling services segments. These segments are reported as discontinued operations in the results of operations and financial position for all periods presented. The crude oil trucking services agreement closed in two phases, one on December 15, 2020, and one on February 2, 2021. The crude oil pipeline services agreement closed on February 1, 2021. Loss recognized on the classification of held for sale and disposal of these assets was recorded in the year ended  December 31, 2020. The transaction related to the crude oil terminalling services segment closed on March 1, 2021. The Partnership has allocated interest to discontinued operations on debt that was required to be repaid as a result of the sales of the crude oil pipeline and terminalling services segment for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021.

As part of the crude oil pipeline sale, $1.4 million of the gross sale proceeds are currently being held in escrow, subject to post-closing settlement terms and conditions. The Partnership expects to receive the majority of this in increments over the two years following the date of sale.

Exit and disposal costs related to these sales, in the form of employee severance payments, totaled $1.9 million. The Partnership provided limited transition services to both of the buyers of the crude oil pipeline and terminalling services segments, with the final transition services being completed during the third quarter of 2021. The contracts were designed to recover the costs of providing services, so there is minimal income statement impact for these services.

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, an impairment of $4.9 million was recognized to write-down the value of the Partnership's crude oil linefill based on the market price of crude oil as of March 31, 2020.  During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the Partnership recognized asset impairment expense of $1.3 million in its crude trucking services segment based on expected future cash flows and market interest compared to carrying value.

On May 26, 2021, the Partnership entered into an amended and restated credit agreement with a revolving loan facility of $300.0 million. As of  November 4, 2021, approximately $96.0 million of revolver borrowings and $0.7 million of letters of credit were outstanding under the credit agreement, leaving the Partnership with approximately $203.3 million available capacity for additional revolver borrowings and letters of credit under the credit agreement, although the Partnership’s ability to borrow such funds is limited by the financial covenants in the credit agreement. The proceeds of loans made under the credit agreement may be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Partnership.

The credit agreement is guaranteed by all of the Partnership’s existing subsidiaries. Obligations under the credit agreement are secured by first priority liens on substantially all of the Partnership’s assets and those of the guarantors.

The credit agreement includes procedures for additional financial institutions to become revolving lenders, or for any existing lender to increase its revolving commitment thereunder, subject to an aggregate maximum of $450.0 million for all revolving loan commitments under the credit agreement.

Borrowings under the credit agreement bear interest, at the Partnership’s option, at either the reserve-adjusted eurodollar rate (as defined in the credit agreement) (“Eurodollar Rate”) plus an applicable margin that ranges from 2.0% to 3.25% or the alternate base rate (the highest of the agent bank’s prime rate, the federal funds effective rate plus 0.5%, and the 30-day Eurodollar Rate plus 1.0%) plus an applicable margin that ranges from 1.0% to 2.25%. The Partnership pays a per annum fee on all letters of credit issued under the credit agreement, which fee equals the applicable margin for loans accruing interest based on the Eurodollar Rate, and the Partnership pays a commitment fee ranging from 0.375% to 0.5% on the unused commitments under the credit agreement. The applicable margins for the Partnership’s interest rate, the letter of credit fee and the commitment fee vary quarterly based on the Partnership’s consolidated total leverage ratio (as defined in the credit agreement, being generally computed as the ratio of consolidated total debt to consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and certain other non-cash charges).

The credit agreement includes financial covenants that are tested on a quarterly basis, based on the rolling four-quarter period that ends on the last day of each fiscal quarter.

Prior to the date on which the Partnership issues qualified senior notes in an aggregate principal amount (when combined with all other qualified senior notes previously or concurrently issued) that equals or exceeds $200.0 million, the maximum permitted consolidated total leverage ratio is 4.75 to 1.00; provided that the maximum permitted consolidated total leverage ratio may be increased to 5.25 to 1.00 for certain quarters, based on the occurrence of a specified acquisition (as defined in the credit agreement, but generally being an acquisition for which the aggregate consideration is $15.0 million or more).

From and after the date on which the Partnership issues qualified senior notes in an aggregate principal amount (when combined with all other qualified senior notes previously or concurrently issued) that equals or exceeds $200.0 million, the maximum permitted consolidated total leverage ratio is 5.00 to 1.00; provided that from and after the fiscal quarter ending immediately preceding the fiscal quarter in which a specified acquisition occurs to and including the last day of the second full fiscal quarter following the fiscal quarter in which such acquisition occurred, the maximum permitted consolidated total leverage ratio will be 5.50 to 1.00.

The maximum permitted consolidated senior secured leverage ratio (as defined in the credit agreement, but generally computed as the ratio of consolidated total secured debt to consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and certain other non-cash charges) is 3.50 to 1.00, but this covenant is only tested from and after the date on which the Partnership issues qualified senior notes in an aggregate principal amount (when combined with all other qualified senior notes previously or concurrently issued) that equals or exceeds $200.0 million.

The minimum permitted consolidated interest coverage ratio (as defined in the credit agreement, but generally computed as the ratio of consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and certain other non-cash charges to consolidated interest expense) is 2.50 to 1.00.

In addition, the credit agreement contains various covenants that, among other restrictions, limit the Partnership’s ability to:

The credit agreement permits the Partnership to make quarterly distributions of available cash (as defined in the Partnership’s partnership agreement) to unitholders so long as, on a pro forma basis after giving effect to such distributions, the Partnership is in compliance with its financial covenants under the credit agreement and no default or event of default exists under the credit agreement. Additionally, the credit agreement permits the Partnership to repurchase up to an aggregate of $40.0 million of its units (including preferred units), up to $10.0 million for each calendar year, so long as, on a pro forma basis after giving effect to such repurchases, the Partnership’s total leverage ratio is less than 4.00 to 1.00, no default or event of default exists under the credit agreement, and availability under the revolving credit facility is at least 20% of the total commitments thereunder.

In addition to other customary events of default, the credit agreement includes an event of default if:

If an event of default relating to bankruptcy or other insolvency events occurs with respect to the general partner or the Partnership, all indebtedness under the credit agreement will immediately become due and payable.  If any other event of default exists under the credit agreement, the lenders may accelerate the maturity of the obligations outstanding under the credit agreement and exercise other rights and remedies. In addition, if any event of default exists under the credit agreement, the lenders may commence foreclosure or other actions against the collateral.

If any default occurs under the credit agreement, or if the Partnership is unable to make any of the representations and warranties in the credit agreement, the Partnership will be unable to borrow funds or to have letters of credit issued under the credit agreement. 

On May 26, 2021, as part of the credit agreement refinancing, there was a non-cash increase in credit borrowings of $2.9 million and a non-cash increase in debt issuance costs of $2.5 million. 

The following table sets forth financial information pertaining to the credit agreement (in thousands, except for interest rate):

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For purposes of calculating earnings per unit, preferred units, general partner units, and common units are first allocated net income to the extent they receive a distribution. Next, the excess of distributions over earnings or excess of earnings over distributions for each period are allocated to the Partnership’s general partner based on the general partner’s ownership interest at the time. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the preferred units were also allocated income for the excess consideration paid over carrying value for the repurchase of preferred units. The remainder is allocated to common units. The following sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net income per common unit (in thousands, except per unit data): 

During the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Partnership repurchased a total of 30,102 outstanding preferred units at a weighted average cost of $8.11 per unit or total cash consideration of $0.2 million.  During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Partnership repurchased a total of 718,519 outstanding preferred units at a weighted average cost of $7.53 per unit or total cash consideration of $5.4 million. The consideration paid was based on the fair market value of the units at the time of purchase. The carrying value of the units was $7.23 per unit. The preferred units were allocated additional net income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, of less than $0.1 million and $0.2 million, respectively, for the consideration paid in excess of carrying value. All repurchased units were subsequently retired.

On October 26, 2021, the Board approved a cash distribution of $0.17875 per outstanding preferred unit for the three months ended September 30, 2021. The Partnership will pay this distribution on November 12, 2021, to unitholders of record as of November 5, 2021. The total distribution will be approximately $6.2 million, with approximately $6.2 million and $0.1 million paid to the Partnership’s preferred unitholders and general partner, respectively.

In addition, the Board approved a cash distribution of $0.04 per outstanding common unit for the three months ended September 30, 2021. The Partnership will pay this distribution on November 12, 2021, to unitholders of record on November 5, 2021. The total distribution will be approximately $1.8 million, with approximately $1.7 million to be paid to the Partnership’s common unitholders, less than $0.1 million to be paid to the general partner, and approximately $0.1 million to be paid to holders of phantom and restricted units pursuant to awards granted under the Partnership’s Long-Term Incentive Plan.

The Partnership leases asphalt facilities and provides asphalt terminalling services to Ergon. For the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, the Partnership recognized related-party revenues of $12.4 million and $13.2 million, respectively, for services provided to Ergon. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, the Partnership recognized related-party revenues of $32.3 million and $37.1 million, respectively, for services provided to Ergon. As of December 31, 2020, and September 30, 2021, the Partnership had receivables from Ergon of $0.5 million and $1.2 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, and September 30, 2021, the Partnership had unearned revenues from Ergon of $8.8 million and $9.5 million, respectively.

Ergon also provides certain operations and maintenance services to certain asphalt facilities that it leases under an agreement dated  August 1, 2020.  For the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, the Partnership recognized operating expense of $3.1 million and $4.6 million, respectively, for these services.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, the Partnership recognized operating expense of $3.1 million and $13.9 million, respectively.

As of December 31, 2019, the Partnership had a contingent liability to Ergon of $12.2 million related to the Cimarron Express project, a previously disclosed joint venture between Kingfisher Midstream and Ergon’s development company (“DEVCO”) that was cancelled in December 2018. The contingent liability reflected Ergon's investment in the joint venture and accrued interest, for which the Partnership, in accordance with the membership interest purchase agreement with Ergon, was meant to bear the risk of loss related to DEVCO’s portion of the project. The Partnership paid this liability in full on January 3, 2020, and it is reflected as an acquisition of the DEVCO on the consolidated statement of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2020.

In July 2007, the general partner adopted the Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “LTIP”), which is administered by the compensation committee of the Board. The Partnership’s unitholders have approved 8.1 million common units to be reserved for issuance under the incentive plan, subject to adjustments for certain events. Although other types of awards are contemplated under the LTIP, currently outstanding awards include “phantom” units, which convey the right to receive common units upon vesting, and “restricted” units, which are grants of common units restricted until the time of vesting. The phantom unit awards also include distribution equivalent rights (“DERs”).

Subject to applicable earning criteria, a DER entitles the grantee to a cash payment equal to the cash distribution paid on an outstanding common unit prior to the vesting date of the underlying award. Recipients of restricted and phantom units are entitled to receive cash distributions paid on common units during the vesting period which are reflected initially as a reduction of partners’ capital. Distributions paid on units which ultimately do not vest are reclassified as compensation expense. Awards granted to date are equity awards and, accordingly, the fair value of the awards as of the grant date is expensed over the vesting period.

Restricted common units are granted to the independent directors on each anniversary of joining the Board. The units vest in one-third increments over three years. The following table includes information on outstanding grants made to the directors under the LTIP:

The Partnership also grants phantom units to employees. These grants are equity awards under ASC 718 – Stock Compensation and, accordingly, the fair value of the awards as of the grant date is expensed over the three-year vesting period. The following table includes information on the outstanding grants:

The unrecognized estimated compensation cost of outstanding phantom and restricted units at September 30, 2021, was $1.2 million, which will be expensed over the remaining vesting period.

The Partnership’s equity-based incentive compensation expense for each of the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, was $0.2 million. The Partnership’s equity-based incentive compensation expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, was $0.6 million and $0.5 million, respectively. 

Activity pertaining to phantom and restricted common unit awards granted under the LTIP was as follows:

The Partnership uses valuation techniques, such as the market approach (comparable market prices), the income approach (present value of future income or cash flow), and the cost approach (cost to replace the service capacity of an asset or replacement cost) to value assets and liabilities required to be measured at fair value, as appropriate. The Partnership uses an exit price when determining the fair value. The exit price represents amounts that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants.

The Partnership utilizes a three-tier fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. The following is a brief description of those three levels:

This hierarchy requires the use of observable market data, when available, to minimize the use of unobservable inputs when determining fair value.

As of December 31, 2020, and  September 30, 2021, the Partnership had no recurring financial assets or liabilities subject to fair value measurement.

Fair Value of Other Financial Instruments

The following disclosure of the estimated fair value of financial instruments is made in accordance with accounting guidance for financial instruments. The Partnership has determined the estimated fair values by using available market information and valuation methodologies. Considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. The use of different market assumptions or valuation methodologies may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts.

At September 30, 2021, the carrying values on the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets for cash and cash equivalents (classified as Level 1), accounts receivable, and accounts payable approximate their fair value because of their short-term nature.

Based on the borrowing rates currently available to the Partnership for credit agreement debt with similar terms and maturities and consideration of the Partnership’s non-performance risk, long-term debt associated with the Partnership’s credit agreement at September 30, 2021, approximates its fair value. The fair value of the Partnership’s long-term debt was calculated using observable inputs (Eurodollar Rate for the risk-free component) and unobservable company-specific credit spread information. As such, the Partnership considers this debt to be Level 3.

The Partnership is from time to time subject to various legal actions and claims incidental to its business. Management believes that these legal proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Partnership. Once management determines that information pertaining to a legal proceeding indicates that it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of such liability can be reasonably estimated, an accrual is established equal to its estimate of the likely exposure.

The Partnership has contractual obligations to perform dismantlement and removal activities in the event that some of its asphalt product and residual fuel oil terminalling and storage assets are abandoned. These obligations include varying levels of activity including completely removing the assets and returning the land to its original state. The Partnership has determined that the settlement dates related to the retirement obligations are indeterminate. The assets with indeterminate settlement dates have been in existence for many years and with regular maintenance will continue to be in service for many years to come. Also, it is not possible to predict when demands for the Partnership’s terminalling and storage services will cease, and the Partnership does not believe that such demand will cease for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the Partnership believes the date when these assets will be abandoned is indeterminate. With no reasonably determinable abandonment date, the Partnership cannot reasonably estimate the fair value of the associated asset retirement obligations.  Management believes that if the Partnership’s asset retirement obligations were settled in the foreseeable future the present value of potential cash flows that would be required to settle the obligations based on current costs are not material.  The Partnership will record asset retirement obligations for these assets in the period in which sufficient information becomes available for it to reasonably determine the settlement dates.

Except as discussed in the 2020 Form 10-K, there have been no new accounting pronouncements that have become effective or have been issued during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, that are of significance or potential significance to the Partnership.

On October 8, 2021, Ergon publicly announced that it submitted to the Board a non-binding proposal, pursuant to which Ergon would acquire all common units and preferred units of the Partnership that Ergon and its affiliates do not already own in exchange for $3.32 per common unit and $8.46 per preferred unit. The transaction, as proposed, is subject to a number of contingencies, including the approval of the conflicts committee of the Board, the approval by the Partnership’s unitholders and the satisfaction of any conditions to the consummation of a transaction set forth in any definitive agreement concerning the transaction. There can be no assurance that a definitive agreement will be executed or that any transaction will materialize.

Item 2.    Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

As used in this quarterly report, unless we indicate otherwise: (1) “Blueknight,” “our,” “we,” “us” and similar terms refer to Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P., together with its subsidiaries, (2) our “General Partner” refers to Blueknight Energy Partners G.P., L.L.C., and (3) “Ergon” refers to Ergon, Inc., its affiliates and subsidiaries (other than our General Partner and us).  The following discussion analyzes the historical financial condition and results of operations of the Partnership and should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and notes thereto, and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations presented in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 10, 2021 (the “2020 Form 10-K”). 

Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws.  Statements included in this quarterly report that are not historical facts (including any statements regarding plans and objectives of management for future operations or economic performance, or assumptions or forecasts related thereto), including, without limitation, the information set forth in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “may,” “will,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or other similar words. These statements discuss future expectations, contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition, or state other “forward-looking” information. We and our representatives may from time to time make other oral or written statements that are also forward-looking statements.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated as of the date of the filing of this report. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements include, among other things, those set forth in “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the 2020 Form 10-K.

All forward-looking statements included in this report are based on information available to us on the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained throughout this report.

Overview

We are a publicly traded master limited partnership with operations in 26 states. We have the largest independent asphalt facility footprint in the nation, and through that we provide integrated terminalling services for companies engaged in the production, distribution, and marketing of liquid asphalt for infrastructure or other end markets. We manage our operations through a single operating segment, asphalt terminalling services.

We previously provided integrated terminalling, gathering, and transportation services for companies engaged in the production, distribution, and marketing of crude oil in three different operating segments: (i) crude oil terminalling services, (ii) crude oil pipeline services, and (iii) crude oil trucking services. On December 21, 2020, we announced that we had entered into multiple definitive agreements to sell these segments. The transactions closed in February and March of 2021, and these segments are presented as discontinued operations for all periods.

Our 53 asphalt facilities are well-positioned to provide asphalt terminalling services in the market areas they serve throughout the continental United States. With our approximately 8.7 million barrels of total liquid asphalt storage capacity, we provide our customers the ability to effectively manage their liquid asphalt inventories in their processing and marketing activities. Our asphalt terminalling business delivers a stable cash flow profile through long-term take-or-pay contracts that generally have original terms of 5 to 7 years with options to extend the term. The stability comes from the contract structure that is comprised primarily of take-or-pay fixed fees, which make up approximately 95% of our revenues on an annual basis after excluding cost reimbursements primarily for utilities. The remaining revenue is variable, primarily consisting of volume-based throughput fees.

We have contractual agreements in place for all of our asphalt terminalling facilities. We lease certain facilities for operation by our customers and at the remaining facilities our employees operate the facility to meet our customers’ specifications. The agreements have, based on a weighted average by remaining fixed revenue, approximately 5.2 years remaining under their terms as of November 4, 2021. Approximately 5% of our tank capacity will expire at the end of 2021 if not renewed with the current customer or a new customer, and the remaining capacity expires at varying times thereafter, through 2028. Our varying contract expiration dates provide for staggered renewals, which provides additional stability to the cash flow. 

Potential Impact of Certain Factors on Future Revenues

Due to the high percentage of fixed and reimbursement revenue from our long-term contracts, our focus and our primary risk is renewing contracts at favorable terms. Our ability to renew agreements on favorable terms, or at all, could be impacted if our customers experience negative market conditions. These factors include infrastructure spending, the strength of state and local economies, and the level of allocations of tax funding to transportation spending from state or federal funds. Public transportation infrastructure projects historically have been a relatively stable portion of state and federal budgets and represent a significant share of the United States construction market. Federal funds are allocated on a state-by-state basis, and each state is required to match a portion of the federal funds that it receives. Currently, from a macroeconomic view, there are positive indicators for the infrastructure and construction sector, such as continued discussion and support for infrastructure spending from all sides of the federal government, low interest rates, and a recovering economy since mid-2020. However, due to the novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”), as discussed below, some uncertainty exists.

Due to the global pandemic related to COVID-19, the economy experienced a significant downturn during part of 2020. Despite this economic volatility, our cash flows remained stable and are expected to remain stable moving forward. While our customers may be impacted by the economic volatility, they are primarily high-quality counterparties, with over 50% of our revenues earned from those that are investment grade quality, which minimizes our counterparty credit risk. We do not expect any supply chain disruptions from COVID-19 to affect our customers. While we are unaware of any potential negative impact of COVID-19 on our business at this time, we are continuing to monitor the situation and have prepared our employees to take precautions and planning for unexpected events, which may include disruptions to our workforce, customers, vendors, facilities and communities in which we operate.

Infrastructure spending is currently a focus at the federal, state, and local levels. The current federal administration has targeted infrastructure as a top priority. Based on recent history, infrastructure investment has been renewed at increased levels, and, based on recent federal proposals, we expect the funding to continue to increase. Increased funding potentially impacts us through favorable customer contract renewals as well as increased customer volumes through our terminals. Any new federal infrastructure spending will likely not have a significant impact on customers’ 2021 throughput volumes, but it could for future years. This asphalt season, customer throughput volumes are trending in line with prior years, and as such we expect the financial impact of variable throughput revenues to trend in line with prior years as well.

Another factor impacting us and our customers, from a short-term perspective, is weather patterns. Our customers’ volumes could be significantly impacted by prolonged rain or snow seasons or any severe weather that occurs. Damage to our terminal facilities from severe weather, such as flooding or hurricanes, could impact our operating results through additional costs and/or loss of revenue.

Results of Operations

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our financial information presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or “GAAP”, management uses additional measures that are known as “non-GAAP financial measures” in its evaluation of past performance and prospects for the future. The primary measure used by management is operating margin, excluding depreciation and amortization.

Management believes that the presentation of such additional financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding our performance and results of operations because these measures, when used in conjunction with related GAAP financial measures, (i) provide additional information about our core operating performance and ability to generate and distribute cash flow; (ii) provide investors with the financial analytical framework upon which management bases financial, operational, compensation and planning decisions and (iii) present measurements that investors, rating agencies and debt holders have indicated are useful in assessing us and our results of operations. These additional financial measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable measures as reported in accordance with GAAP, and should be viewed in addition to, and not in lieu of, our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and footnotes. 

The table below summarizes our financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP measure: