STAR GROUP, L.P. - Annual Report: 2006 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006

OR

For the transition period from                  to                 

Commission File Number: 001-14129

Commission File Number: 333-103873

STAR GAS PARTNERS, L.P.

STAR GAS FINANCE COMPANY

(Exact name of registrants as specified in its charters)

(203) 328-7310

(Registrants’ telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ¨    No x.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨    No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ¨    No x

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Act (check one).

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨    No x

The aggregate market value of Star Gas Partners, L.P. Common Units held by non-affiliates of Star Gas Partners, L.P. on March 31, 2006 was approximately $89,627,000. As of December 14, 2006, the registrants had units and shares outstanding for each of the issuers’ classes of common stock as follows:

Documents Incorporated by Reference: None

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STAR GAS PARTNERS, L.P.

2006 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT

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PART I

Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Disclosure

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking statements” which represent our expectations or beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties, including those associated with the effect of weather conditions, on our financial performance, the price and supply of home heating oil, the consumption patterns of our customers, our ability to obtain satisfactory gross profit margins, our ability to obtain new accounts and retain existing accounts, our ability to effect strategic acquisitions or redeploy assets, the impact of litigation, the continuing impact of the business process redesign project and our ability to address issues related to that project, our ability to contract for our future supply needs, natural gas conversions, future union relations and outcome of current and future union negotiations, the impact of current and future environmental, health, and safety regulations, customer credit worthiness, and marketing plans. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this Report including, without limitation, the statements under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere herein, are forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct and actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and “Business Initiatives and Strategy.” Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “seek”, “estimate” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations (“Cautionary Statements”) are disclosed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Partnership or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statements. Unless otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this Report.

Structure

Star Gas Partners, L.P. (“Star Gas Partners”, the “Partnership”, “we,” “us” or “our”) is a home heating oil distributor and services provider. Star Gas Partners is a master limited partnership, which at September 30, 2006 had outstanding 75.8 million common units (NYSE: “SGU” representing an 99.6% limited partner interest in Star Gas Partners) and 0.3 million general partner units (representing an 0.4% general partner interest in Star Gas Partners).

The Partnership is organized as follows:

We file annual, quarterly, current and other reports and information with the SEC. These filings can be viewed and downloaded from the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, these SEC filings are available at no cost as soon as reasonably practicable after the filing thereof on our website at www.star-gas.com/Edgar.cfm. These reports are also available to be read and copied at the SEC’s public reference room located at Judiciary Plaza, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. You may also obtain copies of these filings and other information at the offices of the New York Stock Exchange located at 11 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005.

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Recapitalization

Effective as of April 28, 2006, the Partnership completed its recapitalization pursuant to the terms of a unit purchase agreement dated as of December 5, 2005, as amended, by and among, the Partnership, Star Gas LLC (the former general partner), Kestrel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Kestrel Heat (the new general partner) and KM2, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“M2”). (See Note 3 – Recapitalization to the Consolidated Financial Statements)

Business Overview

As of September 30, 2006 we serviced approximately 430,000 home heating oil customers from locations in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. We believe we are the largest retail distributor of home heating oil in the United States. In addition to selling home heating oil, we install, maintain and repair heating and air conditioning equipment. To a limited extent, we also market other petroleum products including diesel fuel and gasoline to approximately 10,000 commercial customers. During fiscal 2006, total sales were comprised of approximately 75% from sales of home heating oil; 15% from the installation and repair of heating equipment; and 10% from the sale of other petroleum products. We provide home heating equipment repair service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. These services are an integral part of our heating oil business, and are intended to maximize customer satisfaction and loyalty.

In fiscal 2006, sales to residential customers represented 85% of the retail heating oil gallons sold and 92% of heating oil gross profits.

We have operations and markets in the following states:

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Industry Characteristics

Home heating oil is primarily used as a source of fuel to heat residences and businesses in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. According to the U.S. Department of Energy—Energy Information Administration, 2001 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (the latest survey published), these regions account for 77% of the households in the United States where heating oil is the main space-heating fuel and 31% of the homes in these regions use home heating oil as their main space-heating fuel. In recent years, as the price of home heating oil increased, customers have tended to increase their conservation efforts, which has decreased their consumption of home heating oil. Weather conditions have a significant impact on demand for home heating oil as we have seen in fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2002 when temperatures were significantly warmer than normal for the areas in which we sell home heating oil.

The retail home heating oil industry is mature, with total market demand expected to decline in the foreseeable future due to conversions to natural gas. We have lost an average of 1.0% of our customers per year over the last five years due to conversions to natural gas. Therefore, our ability to grow within the industry is dependent on the acquisition of other retail distributors as well as the success of our marketing programs designed to attract and retain customers to help offset customer losses. It is common practice in the home heating oil distribution industry to price products to customers based on a per gallon margin over wholesale costs. As a result, we believe distributors such as ourselves generally seek to maintain their margins by passing wholesale price increases through to customers, thus insulating themselves from the volatility in wholesale heating oil prices. However, during periods of significant volatility in wholesale prices, which occurred over the last three fiscal years, distributors may be unable or unwilling to pass the entire product cost increases through to customers. In these cases, significant decreases in per gallon margins may result. The timing of cost pass-throughs can also significantly affect margins. The retail home heating oil industry is highly fragmented, characterized by a large number of relatively small, independently owned and operated local distributors. Some dealers provide full service, like ourselves, and others offer delivery only on a cash on delivery basis. The industry is becoming more complex and costly due to increasing regulations, working capital requirements and the need to hedge. We purchase derivative instruments (futures, options and swaps) in order to hedge a substantial majority of the heating oil volume we expect to sell to protected-price customers that have renewed their price plans, mitigating our exposure to changing commodity prices.

Business Initiatives and Strategy

Prior to the fiscal 2004 winter heating season, we attempted to develop a competitive advantage in customer service through a business process redesign project and, as part of that effort, centralized our heating equipment service and oil dispatch functions and engaged a centralized customer care center to fulfill our telephone requirements for a majority of our home heating oil customers. We experienced difficulties in advancing this initiative, which adversely impacted the customer base in fiscal years 2004, 2005 and 2006.

We believe we have identified the problems associated with the past centralization efforts and continue to address these issues. Our goal is to reestablish a more traditional customer service model in which the majority of the customer service calls will be handled locally in each district with minimal reliance on a centralized call center. We initiated this change with a test in several districts to measure the impact on retention of customers as well as to get a better understanding of what our local needs would be. Based on the results of these tests, we have begun to move forward more aggressively with our return to a more localized customer service model.

Going forward, our strategy is to increase unit-holder value through (i) reduced net customer attrition, (ii) operational efficiencies and productivity improvements, and (iii) increased market share through the acquisition of other heating oil distributors or the possible expansion into other energy or petroleum-related businesses.

Customers and Pricing

Our home heating oil customer base is comprised of residential customers (95%) and commercial customers (5%). Our residential customer receives small deliveries on average of 170 gallons per delivery and our commercial accounts receive larger deliveries on average of 425 gallons. Typically, we make four to six deliveries per customer per year. Deliveries are scheduled based on each customer’s historical consumption pattern and prevailing weather conditions. Currently, 96% of our deliveries are scheduled automatically and 4 % of our home heating oil customer base call from time to time to schedule a delivery. Our practice is to bill customers promptly after delivery. We also offer a budget payment plan in which a customer’s estimated annual oil purchases and service contract fees are paid for in a series of equal monthly payments and 30% of our residential home heating oil customers have elected this option.

We offer several pricing alternatives to our customers. Our variable pricing program allows the price to float with the home heating oil market and generally move up or down in response to market changes and other factors. In addition, we

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offer price protection programs, which establish a fixed or a maximum per gallon price that the customer would pay over the following 12-month period. At September 30, 2006, 41 % of our total home heating oil customer base had a price protection plan as compared to 38 % at September 30. 2005.

Sales to residential customers ordinarily generate higher margins than sales to commercial customers. Due to the greater price sensitivity of residential protected price customers, the per gallon margins realized from these customers generally are less than variable priced residential customers. Per gallon gross profit margins can also vary by geographic region. Accordingly, per gallon gross profit margins could vary significantly from year to year in a period of identical sales volumes.

Customer Attrition

Net customer attrition is the difference between gross customer losses and customers added through marketing efforts. Customers added through acquisitions are not included in the calculation of net customer attrition. Gross customer losses are the result of a number of factors, including price competition, move outs, service issues and credit losses. When a customer moves out of an existing home we count the “move out” as a loss and if we are successful in signing up the new homeowner, the “move in” is treated as a gain.

For fiscal 2006, we lost 29,600 accounts (net) or 6.6% of our home heating oil customer base, as compared to fiscal 2005 in which we lost 35,100 accounts (net) or 7.1% of our home heating oil customer base. In fiscal 2004, we lost 33,100 accounts (net) or 6.4% of our home heating oil customer base. (See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Customer Attrition)

Suppliers and Supply Arrangements

We purchase home heating oil for delivery in either barge, pipeline or truckload quantities, and have contracts with approximately 100 terminals for the right to temporarily store heating oil at facilities we do not own. Purchases are made under supply contracts or on the spot market. We enter into market price based contracts for a majority of our home heating oil requirements. During fiscal 2006, Sunoco Inc., NIC Holding Corp., and Global Companies provided 21.4%, 16.8% and 12.3% respectively, of our product purchases. Aside from these three suppliers, no single supplier provided more than 10% of our product supply during fiscal 2006. Supply contracts typically have terms of 6 to 12 months. All of the supply contracts provide for minimum quantities. In all cases, the supply contracts do not establish in advance the price of fuel oil. This price is based upon a published market index price at the time of delivery plus an agreed upon differential. We believe that our policy of contracting for the majority of our anticipated supply needs with diverse and reliable sources will enable us to obtain sufficient product should unforeseen shortages develop in worldwide supplies.

Derivatives

We use derivative instruments in order to mitigate our exposure to market risk associated with the purchase of home heating oil for our protected price customers, physical inventory on hand, inventory in transit and purchase commitments. At September 30, 2006 we had outstanding derivative instruments with the following banks or brokers: Wachovia Bank, NA, Fimat, BP North America Petroleum, Cargill, LaSalle Bank, NA, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, Societe Generale, Citibank, N.A., and Bank of America, N.A.

SFAS No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (“SFAS 133”), established accounting and reporting standards requiring that derivative instruments be recorded at fair value and included in the consolidated balance sheet as assets or liabilities. To the extent derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges are effective and SFAS 133 documentation requirements are met, changes in fair value are recognized in other comprehensive income until the forecasted hedged item is recognized in earnings. Currently, none of our derivative instruments qualify for hedge accounting treatment because we have not met the documentation requirements of SFAS 133. Therefore, we could experience great volatility in earnings as these currently outstanding derivative instruments are marked to market. While we largely expect our realized derivative gains and losses to be offset by increases or decreases in the value of our physical purchases, we will experience volatility in reported earnings due to the recording of unrealized gains and losses on our derivative instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting for the periods in which we hold such derivative instruments prior to their maturity. The Partnership is currently evaluating whether to elect hedge accounting for future periods.

Home Heating Oil Price Volatility

The wholesale price of home heating oil has been extremely volatile over the last three fiscal years and has resulted in increased consumer price sensitivity to heating costs and increased net customer attrition. Like any other market commodity, the price of home heating oil is generally set by various economic and geopolitical forces. Rapid global economic expansion is fueling an ever-increasing demand for oil. The price of home heating oil is closely linked to the price refiners pay for crude oil which is the principal cost component of home heating oil. Crude oil is bought and sold in the international marketplace and as such is significantly affected by the economic forces of worldwide supply and demand. The volatility in home heating oil wholesale cost, as measured by the New York Mercantile Exchange (“Nymex”) for fiscal 2006, 2005 and 2004 by quarter, is illustrated by the following chart:

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In a volatile market even small changes in supply or demand can dramatically affect prices. Heating oil prices are subject to price fluctuations if demand rises sharply because of excessively cold weather and/or disruptions at refineries and instability in key oil producing regions.

Competition

We compete with distributors offering a broad range of services and prices, from full-service distributors, like ourselves, to those offering delivery only. Like many companies in the home heating oil business, we provide home heating equipment repair service on a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week, 52 weeks a year basis. This tends to build customer loyalty. In some instances homeowners have formed buying cooperatives that seek to purchase fuel oil from distributors at a price lower than individual customers are otherwise able to obtain. We also compete for retail customers with suppliers of alternative energy products, principally natural gas, propane, and electricity. The rate of conversion from the use of home heating oil to natural gas is primarily affected by the relative retail prices of the two products and the cost of replacing an oil fired heating system with one that uses natural gas, in addition to environmental concerns. We believe that approximately 1% of the home heating oil customer base annually converts from home heating oil to natural gas. The expansion of natural gas into traditional home heating oil markets in the Northeast has historically been inhibited by the capital costs required to expand distribution and pipeline systems.

Most of our branch locations compete with several distributors, primarily on the basis of reliability of service, price, and response to customer needs. Each branch location operates in its own competitive environment.

Seasonality

Our fiscal year ends on September 30. All references to quarters and years in this document are to fiscal quarters and years unless otherwise noted. The seasonal nature of our business results in the sale of approximately 30% of our volume in the first quarter and 45% of our volume in the second quarter of each fiscal year, the peak heating season. We generally realize net income the first and second fiscal quarters and net losses during the third and fourth fiscal quarter.

Acquisitions

We made no acquisitions in fiscal 2006 and 2005. In fiscal 2004, we completed the purchase of three retail heating oil dealers for an aggregate cost of $3.5 million. Under the terms of our revolving credit facility, there are limitations on the size of individual acquisitions and an annual limitation on total acquisitions. There are also certain financial tests that must be satisfied before an acquisition can be consummated.

Employees

As of September 30, 2006, we had 2,610 employees, of whom 736 were office, clerical and customer service personnel; 935 were heating equipment repairmen; 365 were oil truck drivers and mechanics; 385 were management and 189 were employed in sales. Of these employees 1,100 are represented by 20 different local chapters of labor unions. Some of these unions have union administered pension plans that have significant unfunded liabilities, a portion of which could be assessed to us should we withdraw from these plans. In addition, approximately 400 seasonal employees are rehired annually to support the requirements of the heating season. We are currently involved in one union negotiation. We believe that our relations with both our union and non-union employees are generally satisfactory.

Government Regulations

We are subject to various federal, state and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Generally, these laws impose limitations on the discharge of pollutants and establish standards for the handling of solid and hazardous wastes. These laws include the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), the Clean Air Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, the Clean Water Act and comparable state statutes. CERCLA, also known as the “Superfund” law, imposes joint and several liabilities without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct on certain classes of persons that are considered to have contributed to the release or threatened release of a hazardous substance into the environment. Heating oils and certain automotive waste products generated by the Partnership’s fleet are hazardous substances within the meaning of CERCLA. These laws and regulations could result in civil or criminal penalties in cases of non-compliance or impose liability for remediation costs. The Partnership is currently a named “potentially responsible party” in one CERCLA civil enforcement action. This action is in its early stages of litigation with preliminary discovery activities taking place. We do not believe that this action will have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

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With respect to the transportation of distillates and gasoline by truck, we are subject to regulations promulgated under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act. These regulations cover the transportation of hazardous materials and are administered by the United States Department of Transportation or similar state agencies. We conduct ongoing training programs to help ensure that our operations are in compliance with applicable safety regulations. We maintain various permits that are necessary to operate some of our facilities, some of which may be material to our operations.

Trademarks and Service Marks

We market our products and services under various trademarks, which we own. They include marks such as Petro and Meenan. We believe that the Petro, Meenan and other trademarks and service marks are an important part of our ability to attract new customers and to effectively maintain and service our customer base.

An investment in the Partnership involves a high degree of risk. Security holders and Investors should carefully review the following risk factors.

Unitholders May Have to Report Income for Federal Income Tax Purposes on Their Investment in the Partnership Without Receiving Any Cash Distributions From Us.

Star Gas Partners is a master limited partnership and thus not subject to federal income taxes. Instead, our unitholders are required to report for federal income tax purposes their allocable share of our income, gains, losses, deductions and credits, regardless of whether we make cash distributions. We expect that an investor will be allocated taxable income (mostly dividend and interest income) regardless of whether a cash distribution has been paid. There will be no mandatory distributions of available cash by us to unitholders through the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2008.

Our corporate subsidiary Star/Petro Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Star/Petro”) are subject to federal and state income taxes. See the following risk factor regarding net operating loss availability.

A change in ownership for Star Gas Partners may result in the limitation of the potential utilization of net operating loss carryforwards by our corporate subsidiary and our ability to pay cash distributions.

If Star Gas Partners were to experience an “ownership change” under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, its corporate subsidiary, Star/Petro may be materially restricted in the potential utilization of its net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income. A restriction on Star/Petro’s ability to use its net operating loss carryforwards to reduce its federal taxable income would reduce the amount of cash Star/Petro has available to make distributions to the Partnership, which would consequently reduce the amount of cash the Partnership has available to make distributions to its unitholders. As of September 30, 2006 Star/Petro had a total federal net operating loss carryforward of $162.7 million, of which approximately $47.9 million were limited as a result of prior transactions.

The continuation of high wholesale energy costs may adversely affect our liquidity.

Recent dynamics of the heating oil industry have increased working capital requirements, principally because high selling prices require additional borrowing to finance accounts receivable and inventory. Under our revolving credit facility, as amended, we may borrow up to $260 million, which increases to $310 million during the peak winter months from December through March of each year, (subject to borrowing base limitations and a coverage ratio) for working capital purposes subject to maintaining availability (as defined in the credit agreement) of $25 million or a fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.1 to 1.0.

If our credit requirements should exceed the amounts available under our revolving credit facility or should we fail to maintain the required availability, we would not have sufficient working capital to operate our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our substantial debt and other financial obligations could impair our financial condition and our ability to fulfill our debt obligations.

We had total debt, exclusive of our working capital facility, of approximately $174 million as of September 30, 2006. Our substantial indebtedness and other financial obligations could:

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If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations and other financial obligations, we could be forced to restructure or refinance our indebtedness and other financial transactions, seek additional equity capital or sell our assets. We might then be unable to obtain such financing or capital or sell our assets on satisfactory terms, if at all.

Since weather conditions may adversely affect the demand for home heating oil, our financial condition is vulnerable to warm winters.

Weather conditions have a significant impact on the demand for home heating oil because our customers depend on this product principally for space heating purposes. As a result, weather conditions may materially adversely impact our operating results and financial condition. During the peak-heating season of October through March, sales of home heating oil historically have represented approximately 75% to 80% of our annual home heating oil volume. Actual weather conditions can vary substantially from year to year, significantly affecting our financial performance. Furthermore, warmer than normal temperatures in one or more regions in which we operate can significantly decrease the total volume we sell and the gross profit realized on those sales and, consequently, our results of operations. For example, in fiscal 2002 and fiscal 2006, temperatures were significantly warmer than normal for the areas in which we sell home heating oil, which adversely affected the amount of net income and EBITDA that we generated during these periods. In fiscal 2002, temperatures in our areas of operation were an average of 18.4% warmer than in fiscal 2001 and 18.0% warmer than normal. In fiscal 2006, temperatures in our areas of operation were an average of 11.0% warmer than in fiscal 2005 and 10.4% warmer than normal. For fiscal 2007, we have purchased $12.5 million in weather insurance to help minimize the adverse effect of weather volatility on our cash flows. The policy covers the period from November 1, 2006 to February 28, 2007 taken as a whole. However, there can be no assurance that this insurance will be adequate to protect us from adverse effects of weather conditions.

Our operating results will be adversely affected if we continue to experience significant net attrition in our home heating oil customer base.

Our net attrition rate of home heating oil customers for fiscal 2006, 2005 and 2004 was approximately 6.6%, 7.1% and 6.4%, respectively. This rate represents the net of our annual gross customer losses after gross customer gains. For fiscal 2006, 2005 and 2004 we had gross customer losses of 19.6%, 20% and 19.5%, respectively, which were partially offset by gross customer gains during these periods of 13%, 12.9% and 13.1%, respectively. The gain of a new customer does not fully compensate for the loss of an existing customer because of the expenses incurred during the first year to acquire a new customer and the higher attrition rate associated with new customers. Customer losses are the result of various factors, including but not limited to:

The continuing unprecedented rise and volatility in the price of heating oil has intensified price competition and added to our difficulty in reducing net customer attrition. We believe our attrition rate has risen not only because of increased price competition related to the rise in oil prices but also because of operational problems.

High net customer attrition rates may continue through fiscal 2007 and perhaps beyond and even to the extent the rate of attrition can be halted, attrition from prior fiscal years will adversely impact net income in the future.

For additional information about customer attrition, See Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Customer Attrition.”

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Sudden and sharp oil price increases that cannot be passed on to customers may adversely affect our operating results.

The retail home heating oil industry is a “margin-based” business in which gross profit depends on the excess of retail sales prices over supply costs. Consequently, our profitability is sensitive to changes in the wholesale price of home heating oil caused by changes in supply or other market conditions. These factors are beyond our control and thus, when there are sudden and sharp increases in the wholesale cost of home heating oil, we may not be able to pass on these increases to customers through increased retail sales prices. Wholesale price increases could reduce our gross profits and could, if continuing over an extended period of time reduce demand by encouraging conservation or conversion to alternative energy sources. In an effort to retain existing accounts and attract new customers, we may offer discounts, which will impact the net per gallon gross margin realized.

A significant portion of our home heating oil volume is sold to price-protected customers and our gross margins could be adversely affected if we are not able to effectively hedge against fluctuations in the volume and cost of product sold to these customers.

A significant portion of our home heating oil volume is sold to individual customers under an agreement pre-establishing the maximum sales price or a fixed price of home heating oil over a 12-month period. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, approximately 38% and 48%, respectively, of the total home heating oil volume sold was under a price-protected plan. We currently purchase futures contracts, swaps and option contracts for a substantial majority of the heating oil that we expect to sell to these price-protected customers when the customer renews his purchase commitment for the next 12 months. We generally get a signed agreement or a voice recording from these price-protected customers acknowledging the fixed or maximum price per gallon. The amount of home heating oil volume that we hedge per price-protected customer is based upon the estimated fuel consumption per customer, per month. In the event that the actual usage exceeds the amount of the hedged volume on a monthly basis, we could be required to obtain additional volume at unfavorable margins. In addition, should actual usage be less than the hedged volume we may have excess inventory on hand at unfavorable costs. Currently, none of our derivative instruments qualify for hedge accounting treatment. Therefore, to the extent we continue to have derivative instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment, we could experience great volatility in earnings as these currently outstanding derivative contracts are marked to market. The Partnership is currently evaluating whether to elect hedge accounting for future periods.

If we do not make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms, our future growth will be limited.

The home heating oil industry is not a growth industry because new housing generally does not use oil heat and increased competition exists from alternative energy sources. Accordingly, future growth will depend on our ability to make acquisitions at attractive prices. We cannot assure that we will be able to identify attractive acquisition candidates in the home heating oil sector in the future or that we will be able to acquire businesses on economically acceptable terms. Factors that may adversely affect home heating oil operating and financial results may limit our access to capital and adversely affect our ability to make acquisitions. Under the terms of our revolving credit facility, we are restricted from making any individual acquisition in excess of $10.0 million and in any fiscal year may not exceed an aggregate of $25 million, unless waived. In addition, the Partnership is restricted from making any acquisition unless availability (essentially borrowing base availability less borrowings) would be at least $40 million, on a pro forma basis, during the last 12-month period ending on the date of such acquisition. These restrictions may limit our ability to make acquisitions. Any acquisition may involve potential risks to us and ultimately to our unitholders, including:

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In addition, acquisitions may be dilutive to earnings and distributions to unitholders and any additional debt incurred to finance acquisitions may among other things, affect our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.

Because of the highly competitive nature of the retail home heating oil industry, we may not be able to retain existing customers or acquire new customers, which would have an adverse impact on our operating results and financial condition.

If our home heating oil business is unable to compete effectively, we may lose existing customers or fail to acquire new customers, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We can make no assurances that we will be able to compete successfully. If competitors continue to increase market share by reducing their prices, as we believe occurred recently, our operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. We also compete for customers with suppliers of alternative energy products, principally natural gas. We face competition from electricity and natural gas. Over the past five years, customer conversions from heating oil to natural gas have averaged approximately 1% per year.

The continuing unprecedented rise in the price of heating oil has intensified price competition, and added to our difficulty in reducing customer attrition as consumers become more price sensitive.

Energy efficiency and new technology may reduce the demand for our products and adversely affect our operating results.

Increased conservation and technological advances, including installation of improved insulation and the development of more efficient furnaces and other heating devices, have adversely affected the demand for our products by retail customers. Future conservation measures or technological advances in heating, conservation, energy generation or other devices might reduce demand and adversely affect our operating results.

We are subject to operating and litigation risks that could adversely affect our operating results whether or not covered by insurance.

Our operations are subject to all operating hazards and risks normally incidental to handling, storing, transporting and otherwise providing customers with home heating oil. As a result, we may be a defendant in legal proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business.

We maintain insurance policies with insurers in amounts and with coverage and deductibles as we believe are reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that this insurance will be adequate to protect us from all material expenses related to potential future claims for remediation costs and personal and property damage or that these levels of insurance will be available in the future at economical prices.

Our insurance reserves may not be adequate to cover actual losses.

We self-insure a portion of workers’ compensation, automobile and general liability claims. We establish reserves based upon expectations as to what our ultimate liability will be for these claims using our historical developmental factors. We evaluate on an annual basis the potential for changes in loss estimates with the support of qualified actuaries. As of September 30, 2006, we had approximately $38.8 million of insurance reserves and had issued $47.8 million in letters of credit for current and future claims. The ultimate settlement of these claims could differ materially from the assumptions used to calculate the reserves, which could have a material effect on our results of operations.

We are the subject of a number of class action lawsuits alleging violation of the federal securities laws, which if decided adversely, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

On or about October 21, 2004, a purported class action lawsuit on behalf of a purported class of unitholders was filed against the Partnership and various subsidiaries and officers and directors in the United States District Court of the District of Connecticut entitled Carter v. Star Gas Partners, L.P., et.al., No. 3:04-cv-01766-IBA, et.al. Subsequently, 16 additional class action complaints, alleging the same or substantially similar claims, were filed in the same district court. The class actions were consolidated into one consolidated amended complaint.

On September 23, 2005, defendants filed motions to dismiss the consolidated amended complaint for failure to state a claim under the federal securities laws and failure to satisfy the applicable pleading requirements of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”), and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. On August 21, 2006, the court issued its rulings on defendants’ motions to dismiss, granting the motions and dismissing the consolidated amended complaint in its

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entirety. On August 23, 2006, the court entered a judgment of dismissal. On September 7, 2006, the plaintiffs moved for reconsideration and to alter and reopen the court’s August 23, 2006 judgment of dismissal and for leave to file a second consolidated amended complaint. On October 20, 2006, defendants filed their memorandum of law in opposition to the plaintiffs’ motion. Plaintiffs filed their reply brief on or about November 20, 2006. The matter is now under consideration by the court. In the interim, discovery in the matter remains stayed pursuant to the mandatory stay provisions of the PSLRA. While no prediction may be made as to the outcome of litigation, we intend to defend against this class action vigorously.

In the event the above action is decided adversely to us, it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by governmental regulation and associated environmental and regulatory costs.

The home heating oil business is subject to a wide range of federal and state laws and regulations related to environmental and other regulated matters. We have implemented environmental programs and policies designed to avoid potential liability and costs under applicable environmental laws. It is possible, however, that we will experience increased costs due to stricter pollution control requirements or liabilities resulting from noncompliance with operating or other regulatory permits. New environmental regulations might adversely impact operations, including underground storage and transportation of home heating oil. In addition, there are environmental risks inherently associated with home heating oil operations, such as the risks of accidental release or spill. It is possible that material costs and liabilities will be incurred, including those relating to claims for damages to property and persons.

Conflicts of interest have arisen and could arise in the future as a result of relationships between the general partner and its affiliates on the one hand, and the Partnership and its limited partners, on the other hand.

Conflicts of interest have arisen and could arise in the future as a result of relationships between the general partner and its affiliates, on the one hand, and the Partnership or any of the limited partners, on the other hand. As a result of these conflicts the general partner may favor its own interests and those of its affiliates over the interests of the unitholders. The nature of these conflicts is ongoing and includes the following considerations:

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The risk of global terrorism and political unrest may adversely affect the economy and the price and availability of home heating oil and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Terrorist attacks and political unrest may adversely impact the price and availability of home heating oil, our results of operations, our ability to raise capital and our future growth. The impact that the foregoing may have on the heating oil industry in general, and on our business in particular, is not known at this time. An act of terror could result in disruptions of crude oil supplies and markets, the source of home heating oil, and its facilities could be direct or indirect targets. Terrorist activity may also hinder our ability to transport home heating oil if our normal means of transportation become damaged as a result of an attack. Instability in the financial markets as a result of terrorism could also affect our ability to raise capital. Terrorist activity could likely lead to increased volatility in prices for home heating oil. Insurance carriers are routinely excluding coverage for terrorist activities from their normal policies, but are required to offer such coverage as a result of new federal legislation. We have opted to purchase this coverage with respect to our property and casualty insurance programs. This additional coverage has resulted in additional insurance premiums.

The impact of hurricanes and other natural disasters could cause disruptions in supply and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Hurricanes, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, and other natural disasters may cause disruptions in the supply chains for home heating oil and other petroleum products. Disruptions in supply could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, causing an increase in wholesale prices and decrease in supply.

Cash distributions (if any) are not guaranteed and may fluctuate with performance and reserve requirements.

There will be no mandatory distributions of available cash by us through the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2008. Thereafter, distributions on the common units will depend on the amount of cash generated, and distributions may fluctuate based on our performance. The actual amount of cash that is available will depend upon numerous factors, including:

Most of these factors are beyond the control of the general partner.

The partnership agreement gives the general partner discretion in establishing reserves for the proper conduct of our business. These reserves will also affect the amount of cash available for distribution.

The revolving credit facility and the indenture for the senior notes both impose certain restrictions on our ability to pay distributions to unitholders.

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Not applicable.

We provide services to our customers from 19 principle operating locations and 46 depots, 28 of which are owned and 37 of which are leased, in 31 marketing areas in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. As of September 30, 2006, we had a fleet of 918 truck and transport vehicles, the majority of which were owned and 1,177 service vans, the majority of which are leased. We lease our corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Our obligations under our credit facility are secured by liens and mortgages on substantially all of the Partnership’s and subsidiaries real and personal property.

On or about October 21, 2004, a purported class action lawsuit on behalf of a purported class of unitholders was filed against the Partnership and various subsidiaries and officers and directors in the United States District Court of the District of Connecticut entitled Carter v. Star Gas Partners, L.P., et. al., No. 3:04-cv-01766-IBA, et. al. Subsequently, 16 additional class action complaints, alleging the same or substantially similar claims, were filed in the same district court. The class actions were consolidated into one consolidated amended complaint.

On September 23, 2005, defendants filed motions to dismiss the consolidated amended complaint for failure to state a claim under the federal securities laws and failure to satisfy the applicable pleading requirements of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”), and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. On August 21, 2006, the court issued its rulings on defendants’ motions to dismiss, granting the motions and dismissing the consolidated amended complaint in its entirety. On August 23, 2006, the court entered a judgment of dismissal. On September 7, 2006, the plaintiffs moved for reconsideration and to alter and reopen the court’s August 23, 2006 judgment of dismissal and for leave to file a second consolidated amended complaint. On October 20, 2006, defendants filed their memorandum of law in opposition to the plaintiffs’ motion. Plaintiffs filed their reply brief on or about November 20, 2006. The matter is now under consideration by the Court. In the interim, discovery in the matter remains stayed pursuant to the mandatory stay provisions of the PSLRA. (See Note 22)

Our operations are subject to all operating hazards and risks normally incidental to handling, storing and transporting and otherwise providing for use by consumers of combustible liquids such as propane and home heating oil. As a result, at any given time we are a defendant in various legal proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. We maintain insurance policies with insurers in amounts and with coverages and deductibles we believe are reasonable and prudent. However, we cannot assure that this insurance will be adequate to protect us from all material expenses related to potential future claims for personal and property damage or that these levels of insurance will be available in the future at economical prices. In addition, the occurrence of an explosion may have an adverse effect on the public’s desire to use our products. In the opinion of management, except as described above we are not a party to any litigation, which individually or in the aggregate could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position or liquidity. (See Note 22 – Commitments and Contingencies)

None.

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PART II

The common units, representing common limited partner interests in the Partnership, are listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (“NYSE”) under the symbol “SGU”.

The following tables set forth the high and low closing price ranges for the common units for the fiscal 2006 and 2005 quarters indicated. There were no cash distributions declared on the common units during these periods.

As of September 30, 2006, there were approximately 533 holders of record of common units.

There is no established public trading market for the Partnership’s 0.3 million general partner units.

Partnership Distribution Provisions

There will be no mandatory distributions of available cash by us to the holders of our common units and general partner units through the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2008. Beginning October 1, 2008, minimum quarterly distributions on the common units will start accruing at the rate of $0.0675 per quarter ($0.27 on an annual basis). The information concerning restrictions on distributions required by Item 5. of this report is incorporated by reference to Note 6 Quarterly Distribution of Available Cash, of the Partnership’s consolidated financial statements.

The revolving credit facility and the indenture for the new notes both impose certain restrictions on our ability to pay distributions to unitholders.

Tax Matters

Star Gas Partners is a master limited partnership and thus not subject to federal and state income taxes. The corporate subsidiaries wholly owned by Star Gas Partners are subject to federal and state income taxes at the corporate level. Our unitholders are required to report for income tax purposes their allocable share of our income, gains, losses, deductions and credits, regardless of whether we make distributions. We expect that an investor will be allocated taxable income regardless of whether a cash distribution has been paid.

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The selected financial data as of September 30, 2006 and 2005, and for the years ended September 30, 2006, 2005 and 2004 is derived from the financial statements of the Partnership included elsewhere in this Report. The Consolidated Financial Statements for the years ended September 30, 2005 and 2004 have been restated. See Note 2 to Consolidated Financial Statements. The selected financial data as of September 30, 2004, 2003 and 2002 is derived from financial statements of the Partnership not included elsewhere in this Report. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

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The definition of “EBITDA” set forth above may be different from that used by other companies. EBITDA from continuing operations is calculated for the fiscal years ended September 30 as follows:

Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Disclosure

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking statements” which represent our expectations or beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties, including those associated with, the effect of weather conditions on our financial performance, the price and supply of home heating oil, the consumption patterns of our customers, our ability to obtain satisfactory gross profit margins, our ability to obtain new accounts and retain existing accounts, our ability to effect strategic acquisitions or redeploy assets, the impact of litigation, the continuing impact of the business process redesign project and our ability to address issues related to that project, our ability to contract for our current and future supply needs, natural gas conversions, future union relations and outcome of current and future union negotiations, the impact of future environmental, health, and safety regulations, customer credit worthiness, and marketing plans. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this Report including, without limitation, the statements under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere herein, are forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct and actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and “Business Initiatives and Strategy.” Without limiting the foregoing the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “seek,” “estimate” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations (“Cautionary Statements”) are disclosed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Partnership or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statements. Unless otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this Report.

Overview

The following is a discussion of the historical condition and results of operations of the Partnership and its subsidiaries, and should be read in conjunction with the description of our business in Item 1. “Business” and the historical Financial and Operating Data and Notes thereto included elsewhere in this Report. We completed the sale of our propane segment in December 2004 and the following discussion reflects the historical results for the propane segment as discontinued operations.

Restatement

On December 13, 2006, one day before the planned filing of the Partnership’s annual report, the Partnership’s external auditors, KPMG, made the Partnership aware of a speech given by a professional accounting fellow of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on December 11, 2006 relating to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” (“SFAS 133”). After reviewing the speech, the Partnership conducted an extensive review of its accounting for derivative transactions under SFAS 133 to determine whether the Partnership’s documentation for certain derivative transactions met the strict requirements of SFAS 133 to permit hedge accounting and the deferral of unrecognized non-cash gains and losses for such transactions. The documentation was consistent with the documentation previously used by the Partnership and provided to KPMG in support of hedge accounting treatment for similar transactions that had been reflected in prior period financial statements. However, SFAS 133 is a very complex and highly technical standard, which has been the subject of an evolving interpretation by the accounting community. After further review, on December 26, 2006 the Partnership, the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors, determined that the Partnership’s accounting for derivative transactions did not comply with the technical requirements of SFAS 133 to qualify for hedge accounting.

As a result, the Partnership determined that it was necessary to amend and restate its financial statements for each of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005 and 2004 as well as the Partnership’s quarterly reports for the periods ended June 30, 2006, March 31, 2006, December 31, 2005, September 30, 2005, June 30, 2005, March 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004 with respect to the accounting and disclosures for certain derivative transactions under SFAS 133. In addition, prior to June 30, 2006, the Partnership did not include the amortization of an unrecognized gain in the calculation of pension expense resulting in an overstatement of pension expense for fiscal year’s 1999 to 2005 of $1.7 million. The Partnership has restated our results to record the amortization of the unrecognized gain. See Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for further details on the restatement. The Partnership has discussed this matter with KPMG, who served as the Partnership’s external auditors for all affected periods, in reaching the conclusion to restate the financial statements.

The restatement does not impact the economics of the hedge transactions nor does it affect the Partnership’s liquidity, cash flow from operating activities in any historical or future period, or the amount of available cash to pay distributions as defined in the Partnership agreement in any historical or future period. The hedges were primarily entered into in order to mitigate the Partnership’s exposure to market risk associated with the purchase of home heating oil for its price-protected customers.

The Partnership has been contacted informally by the Boston District Office of the SEC requesting the voluntary provision of documents and related information concerning the Partnership’s use of derivatives and hedge accounting. The SEC has advised the Partnership that the inquiry should not be construed as an indication by the SEC or its staff that any violations of the law have occurred, nor should it be considered a reflection upon any person, entity or security. The Partnership is fully cooperating with this inquiry.

Recapitalization

Effective as of April 28, 2006, the Partnership completed its recapitalization pursuant to the terms of a unit purchase agreement dated as of December 5, 2005, as amended, by and among, the Partnership, Star Gas LLC (the former general partner), Kestrel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Kestrel Heat (the new general partner) and KM2, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. (See Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements - Recapitalization)

Seasonality

        In analyzing our financial results, the following matters should be considered. Our fiscal year ends on September 30. All references to quarters and years respectively in this document are to fiscal quarters and years unless otherwise noted. The seasonal nature of our business results in the sale of approximately 30% of our volume of home heating oil in the first fiscal quarter and 45% of our volume in the second fiscal quarter of each fiscal year, the peak heating season. We generally realize net income in the first and

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second fiscal quarters and net losses during the third and fourth fiscal quarters. In addition, sales volume typically fluctuates from year to year in response to variations in weather, wholesale energy prices and other factors. Gross profit is not only affected by weather patterns but also by changes in customer mix. In addition, our gross profit margins vary by geographic region. Accordingly, gross profit margins could vary significantly from year to year in a period of identical sales volumes.

Derivatives

SFAS No. 133, established accounting and reporting standards requiring that derivative instruments be recorded at fair value and included in the consolidated balance sheet as assets or liabilities. To the extent derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges are effective, changes in fair value are recognized in other comprehensive income until the forecasted hedged item is recognized in earnings. Currently, none of our derivative instruments have been designated for hedge accounting treatment. Therefore, we could experience great volatility in earnings as these currently outstanding derivative instruments are marked to market. To the extent that the partnership continues to have derivative instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment, the volatility in any given period related to unrealized gains or losses on derivative instruments can be significant to the overall results of the Partnership, however, we ultimately expect those gains and losses to be offset when they become realized. The Partnership is currently evaluating whether to elect hedge accounting in future periods.

Home Heating Oil Price Volatility

The wholesale price of home heating oil has been extremely volatile over the last three fiscal years and has resulted in increased consumer awareness of heating costs and increased net customer attrition. Like any other market commodity, the price of home heating oil is subject to the economic forces of supply and demand. Rapid global economic expansion is fueling an ever-increasing demand for oil. The price of home heating oil is closely linked to the price refiners pay for crude oil which is the principal cost component of home heating oil. Crude oil is bought and sold in the international marketplace and as such is significantly affected by the economic forces of worldwide supply and demand.

We have seen home heating oil price movements ranging from $0.54 to $1.00 per gallon over the last three fiscal years. In a volatile market even small changes in supply or demand can dramatically affect prices. Heating oil prices are subject to price fluctuations if demand rises sharply because of excessively cold weather and/or disruptions at refineries and instability in key oil producing regions.

Customer Attrition

For fiscal 2006, we lost 29,600 accounts (net) or 6.6% of our home heating oil customer base, as compared to fiscal 2005 in which we lost 35,100 accounts (net) or 7.1% of our home heating oil customer base. This decrease in net customers lost of 5,500 was due to fewer gross customer gains (5,600) and less gross customer losses (11,100). In fiscal 2006, 26,200 of the homes we serviced changed ownership compared to 34,200 homes in the prior year. In 2006, we were able to retain 13,600 of those homes versus 15,800 retained in fiscal 2005. Gross gains were negatively impacted by (i) the continuation of our higher minimum profitability standards for new customers, (ii) a reduction in mass-market advertising, which attracted more transient customers in the past, (iii) continued customer price sensitivity due to the increased level and volatility of energy prices and (iv) increased minimum credit standards for customers.

In addition to the reduction in gross losses due to moves in fiscal 2006, we also experienced fewer losses relating to price (2,500), service (1,000) and other factors.

For fiscal 2005, we lost approximately 35,100 accounts (net) or 7.1% of our home heating oil customer base, as compared to fiscal 2004 in which we lost 33,100 accounts (net) or 6.4%. This increased loss of 2,000 accounts was largely due to the factors described above as well as our ability to retain existing homes that changed hands worsened by over 4,000 accounts. Losses of protected price accounts also increased. Certain of these accounts that were renewed at a low fixed price and per gallon margin in the summer and fall of 2004 chose not to renew as we sought higher prices and higher per gallon margins in fiscal 2005.

Gross customer gains and gross customer losses

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Net customer attrition as a percent of the home heating oil customer base

During the three months ended September 30, 2006, we lost 5,500 accounts (net) or 1.2% of our home heating oil customer base, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005 in which we lost 15,800 accounts (net) or 3.2% of its home heating oil customer base. This reduction in net losses of 10,300 accounts was due to an increase in gross customer gains of 1,300 accounts and a reduction in customer losses of 9,000 accounts as losses due to pricing declined by approximately 6,000 accounts and the number of customer homes changing hands declined by 3,600. In the fourth quarter of 2006, we retained 40% of those homes compared to 33% in the same period in 2005.

Net home heating oil customers accounts (lost) by quarter

We have continued to experience net customer attrition during fiscal 2007. For the period from October 1 to December 31, 2006, we lost 4,100 accounts (net), 1.0% of our home heating oil customer base as compared to the period from October 1 to December 31, 2005 in which we lost 7,200 accounts (net) or 1.6% of our customer base.

We believe that the continued price volatility and high cost of home heating oil will continue to adversely impact our ability to attract customers and retain existing customers.

Results of Operations

The following is a discussion of the results of operations of the Partnership and its subsidiaries, and should be read in conjunction with the historical Financial and Operating Data and Notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report. We completed the sale of the propane segment in December 2004. The following discussion reflects the historical results for the propane segment as discontinued operations.

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Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2006

Compared to Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005

Volume

For fiscal 2006, retail volume of home heating oil declined by 97.4 million gallons, or 20.0%, to 389.9 million gallons, as compared to 487.3 million gallons for fiscal 2005. Volume of other petroleum products declined by 11.5 million gallons, or 15.8%, to 62.0 million gallons for fiscal 2006, as compared to 73.5 million gallons for fiscal 2005. An analysis of the change in the retail volume of home heating oil, which is based on management’s estimates, sampling and other mathematical calculations, is found below:

Temperatures in our geographic areas of operations for fiscal 2006 were 11.0% warmer than fiscal 2005 and approximately 10.4% warmer than normal, as reported by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”). Due to the significant increase in the price per gallon of home heating oil, we believe that customers are using less home heating oil given similar temperatures when compared to prior periods. We cannot determine if conservation is a permanent or temporary phenomenon. Home heating oil volume declined by 2.3 million gallons due to the sale of certain of our assets in New England. Excluding the impact of weather, we expect that home heating oil volume for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2006 and fiscal 2007 will be substantially less than the comparable period in fiscal 2006 due to net customer attrition, conservation and other factors. In addition, we expect that home heating oil volume for fiscal 2007 will be adversely affected by warmer than normal temperatures. Temperatures from October 1, 2006 to January 14, 2007 in the New York City area, which approximates our geographic areas of operations, were 20.6% warmer than normal. From October 1, 2005 to January 31, 2006, temperatures in our areas of operations were 8.5% warmer than normal.

Product Sales

For fiscal 2006, product sales increased $38.1 million, or 3.6%, to $1,109.3 million, as compared to $1,071.3 million for fiscal 2005 due to an increase in selling prices, which more than offset a decline in home heating oil volume sold. Selling prices were higher in response to the increase in wholesale home heating oil supply costs noted below of $0.4307 per gallon and our decision to pursue higher per gallon gross profit margins, particularly from our price-protected customers. Average home heating oil prices increased from $1.9405 per gallon for fiscal 2005 to $2.5067 for fiscal 2006.

In an effort to reduce net customer attrition, we delayed increasing our selling price to certain customers whose price plan agreements expired during the July to September 2004 time period. This decision negatively impacted sales by an estimated $2.8 million in fiscal 2005, primarily during the first quarter of fiscal 2005.

Installation and Service Sales

For fiscal 2006, service and installation sales decreased $1.0 million, or 0.5%, to $187.2 million, as compared to $188.2 million for fiscal 2005. Installation sales decreased by $2.1 million; however, despite a decline in the customer base, service revenues increased $1.1 million due to measures taken in the last several years to increase service billing and service contract rates.

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Cost of Product

For fiscal 2006, cost of product increased $39.4 million, or 5.0%, to $825.7 million, as compared to $786.3 million for fiscal 2005, as higher wholesale product cost was reduced by lower home heating oil volume of 20.0%. Average wholesale product cost for home heating oil increased by $0.4307 per gallon, or 30.0%, to an average of $1.8137 per gallon for fiscal 2006, from an average of $1.3831 for fiscal 2005.

We believe that the change in home heating oil margins should be evaluated before the effects of increases or decreases in the fair value of derivative instruments, as we believe that realized per gallon margins should not include the impact of non cash changes in the market value of hedges before the settlement of the underlying transaction. Home heating oil margins for fiscal 2006 increased by $0.1355 per gallon to $ 0.6930 per gallon in fiscal 2006 from $ 0.5575 per gallon in fiscal 2005 due largely to an increase in the margin realized on price-protected customers, an increase in the percentage of volume sold to higher margin residential variable customers, an increase in home heating oil margins realized on new accounts, the loss of some of our less profitable accounts and our decision in the summer of fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2006 to maintain profit margins going forward in spite of competitors’ aggressive pricing tactics. During the renewal period for price-protected customers in fiscal 2004, which was a period of rising heating oil prices, a number of residential variable consumers migrated to price protected plans. This shift resulted in an increase in volume sold to residential price-protected customers for the heating season of fiscal 2005. During the renewal period for price-protected customers in fiscal 2005, a period with even higher average heating oil prices than the renewal period in fiscal 2004, a number of residential price-protected customers elected variable pricing or failed to respond to our price-protected programs, which resulted in a shift back to variable pricing for these customers. The percentage of home heating oil volume sold to residential variable price customers increased to 45.0% of total home heating oil volume sales for fiscal 2006, as compared to 36.0% for fiscal 2005. Accordingly, the percentage of home heating oil volume sold to residential price-protected customers decreased to 38.3% for fiscal 2006, as compared to 48.0% for fiscal 2005. For fiscal 2006, sales to commercial/industrial customers represented 16.7% of total home heating oil volume sales, as compared to 16.0% for fiscal 2005.

Also contributing to the increase in home heating oil per gallon margins were the favorable market conditions experienced during the first quarter of fiscal 2006, as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2005. During the three months ended December 31, 2004, home heating oil prices spiked by over 20 cents a gallon from the beginning of the period and contributed to margin compression experienced during the three months ended December 31, 2004. Conversely, during the three months ended December 31, 2005, home heating oil prices declined by over 30 cents per gallon from the beginning of the period, which contributed to the expansion of home heating oil margins during this period, as we were able to lag the reduction in our variable selling prices as the wholesale cost of heating oil declined.

In addition, the year-over-year comparison was favorably impacted by $3.4 million of expenses that we incurred in fiscal 2005 due to a delay in hedging the price of product for certain residential price-protected customers, as well as an additional $1.6 million of expenses associated with not hedging until December 2004 the price of product for certain residential price-protected customers that were incorrectly coded as variable customers.

For fiscal 2006, total product gross profit decreased by $1.3 million, as compared to fiscal 2005, as the increase in realized home heating oil per gallon margins of $52.8 million was more than offset by the decline of $54.3 million attributable to the decline in home heating oil volume.

Change in the Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

Home heating oil prices increased in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 in response to the numerous hurricanes in the Gulf Coast and we recorded a significant mark to market gain. In September 2006, the home heating prices collapsed and we recorded a mark to market loss. As a result of these events, the impact on the change in the fair value of derivative instruments is $45.7 million for fiscal 2006. In the summers of fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2004, home heating oil prices increased which resulted in the recording of unrealized gains at the close of both fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2004. The net gain for fiscal 2005 exceeded the gain for fiscal 2004 by $6.1 million.

Cost of Installations and Service

For fiscal 2006, cost of installations, service and appliances decreased $8.2 million, or 4.2%, to $189.2 million, as compared to $197.4 million for fiscal 2005. The 4.2% decrease in cost of installation and service was less than the 6.6% decrease in customers for fiscal 2006 due to the fixed nature of these expenses. The net loss realized from service (including installations) improved by $7.2 million, from a $9.2 million loss for fiscal 2005 to a $2.0 million loss for fiscal 2006.

Delivery and Branch Expenses

For fiscal 2006, delivery and branch expenses decreased $26.5 million, or 11.5%, to $205.0 million, as compared to $231.6 million for fiscal 2005. This decrease was due to a reduction in marketing expenses of $6.0 million, an estimated

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$15.2 million decrease in certain variable operating expenses directly associated with the 20.0% decline in home heating oil volume, $4.4 million received under our weather insurance policy, lower bad debt expense and collection costs of $4.7 million due in part to more stringent credit terms and other expense reductions of $0.7 million, offset by wage and benefit increases of approximately $4.4 million. On a cents per gallon basis (excluding the proceeds received from weather insurance), delivery and branch expenses increased 6.2 cents per gallon, or 13%, from 47.5 cents per gallon for fiscal 2005 to 53.7 cents per gallon for fiscal 2006 due to the fixed nature of certain delivery and branch expenses.

Depreciation and Amortization

For fiscal 2006, depreciation and amortization expenses declined by $3.1 million, or 8.7%, to $32.4 million, as compared to $35.5 million for fiscal 2005 as certain assets, which were not replaced, became fully depreciated.

General and Administrative Expenses

For fiscal 2006, general and administrative expenses decreased by $21.5 million, or 49.8%, to $21.7 million, as compared to $43.2 million for fiscal 2005 due to the absence of bridge financing expenses of $7.5 million, which were incurred in fiscal 2005, lower fees and expenses totaling $3.4 million associated with certain amendments and waivers on our previous bank credit facility obtained during the first fiscal quarter of 2005, lower compensation expense of $0.9 million attributable to staff reductions, a $5.6 million decline in legal expenses related to defending several purported class action lawsuits and exploring financing options in fiscal 2005, $3.3 million less in first year Sarbanes-Oxley compliance cost, a $3.8 million reduction in compensation expense related to separation agreements recorded in the prior period with certain former executives, other expense reductions of $0.6 million, and a gain on the sale of certain assets of $0.9 million. Partially offsetting these reductions was an increase in directors and officers liability insurance expense of $0.7 million and $1.4 million of legal and professional expenses incurred in fiscal 2006 relating to the exploration of our financial options. In addition, the fiscal 2005 results were positively impacted by a reversal of previously recorded compensation expenses of $2.2 million due to the decline in the price of senior subordinated units.

Goodwill Impairment Charge

During the fiscal second quarter of 2005, a number of events occurred that indicated a possible impairment of goodwill might exist. These events included our determination in February 2005 of significantly lower than expected operating results for the year and a significant decline in the Partnership’s unit price. As a result of these triggering events and circumstances, the Partnership completed an additional SFAS 142 impairment review with the assistance of a third party valuation firm at February 28, 2005. This review resulted in a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of approximately $67.0 million, which reduced the carrying amount of goodwill. There was no goodwill impairment charge recorded during fiscal 2006.

Operating Income (Loss)

For fiscal 2006 operating income increased $72.2 million to a $23.2 million loss, as compared to an operating loss of $95.4 million fiscal 2005. This increase was due to the non-recurrence during fiscal 2006 of a $67.0 million goodwill impairment charge recorded in fiscal 2005, a $52.8 million increase in heating oil gross profit due to higher home heating oil margins, a $48.1 million decline in branch and general and administrative expenses, reduction in the net service and installation loss of $7.2 million, lower depreciation and amortization expense of $3.1 million, reduced by a decrease in heating oil gross profit of $54.3 million due to lower volume and the impact of comparative change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $51.8 million.

Loss on Redemption of Debt

For fiscal 2006, we recorded a $6.6 million loss on the early redemption and conversion of our 10.25% senior notes (See Notes 3 and 15 of the Consolidated Financial Statements). The loss consists of the $5.4 million attributable to the difference between the value of the Partnership’s common units ($32.2 million) exchanged for debt ($26.9 million), and the write-off of previously capitalized net deferred financing costs of $2.0 million, reduced in part by a $0.8 million basis adjustment to the carrying value of long-term debt.

For fiscal 2005, we recorded a $42.1 million loss on the early redemption of certain notes in connection with the sale of the propane segment. The loss consisted of cash premiums paid of $37 million for early redemption, the write-off of previously capitalized net deferred financing costs of $6.1 million and legal expenses of $0.7 million, reduced in part by a $1.7 million basis adjustment to the carrying value of long-term debt.

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Interest expense

For fiscal 2006, interest expense decreased $9.9 million, or 27.3%, to $26.3 million, as compared to $36.2 million for fiscal 2005. This decrease resulted from a lower principal amount in total debt outstanding of approximately $142.5 million, which was offset in part by an increase in the Partnership’s weighted average interest rate of 1.2% from 8.9% during fiscal 2005 to 10.1% for fiscal 2006.

Total debt outstanding declined by $142.5 million due to the recapitalization (see Notes 3 and 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements) and lower working capital borrowings as a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the propane segment was used to fund working capital.

Interest Income

For fiscal 2006, interest income increased by $0.8 million, or 17.9%, to $5.1 million, as compared to $4.3 million for fiscal 2005.

Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs

For fiscal 2006, amortization of debt issuance costs was $2.4 million, $0.1 million less than fiscal 2005.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense for fiscal 2006 was $0.5 million and represents certain state income tax, alternative minimum federal tax and capital tax. Income tax expense for fiscal 2005 was $0.7 million. The decrease in state taxes for 2006 as compared to 2005 was largely attributable to an election made at the state level during the fourth quarter of 2006.

Loss From Continuing Operations

For fiscal 2006, the loss from continuing operations decreased $118.7 million to $53.9 million, as compared to a loss of $172.6 million for fiscal 2005. This change was due to the $72.2 million increase in operating income, a $9.9 million decline in interest expense and a $0.8 million increase in interest income. The year over year comparison was favorably impacted by a $35.5 million reduction in the loss on redemption of debt.

Loss From Discontinued Operations

The discontinued propane segment was sold on December 17, 2004 and it generated a $6.2 million loss in fiscal 2005.

Gains On Sale of Segments

During fiscal 2005, the Partnership recorded a gain on the sale of the propane segment of $156.8 million. Additionally, the purchase price for the TG&E segment was finalized and a positive adjustment of $0.8 million was recorded in fiscal 2005. There were no similar transactions in fiscal 2006

Cumulative Effect of Change in Accounting Principle

Effective October 1, 2005, we changed our method of accounting from the first-in, first-out method to the weighted average cost method for heating oil and other fuels. This change resulted in the recording of a charge of $0.3 million.

Net Loss

For fiscal 2006, net loss increased by $33.1 million to $54.3 million as a $118.7 million increase in income from continuing operations and a $6.2 million decline in the loss from discontinued operations in the 2005 fiscal first quarter was offset by the gains on the sale of discontinued operations recorded in the year ago period of $157.6 million and the $0.3 million charge for the change in accounting principle.

Earnings From Continuing Operations Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)

For fiscal 2006, EBITDA increased $104.6 million, to $2.6 million, as compared to an EBITDA loss of $102.0 million for fiscal 2005. For fiscal 2006, EBITDA was reduced by $ 6.6 million due to the non-cash loss for the early redemption of debt and the non-cash change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $45.7 million in fiscal 2006. For fiscal 2005, EBITDA was reduced by $ 67.0 due to a goodwill impairment charge and $ 42.1 million due to the non-cash loss for the early redemption of debt. In fiscal, 2005, EBITDA was favorably impacted by $6.1 million due to the change in the fair value of derivative instruments.

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EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net income (as an indicator of operating performance) or as an alternative to cash flow (as a measure of liquidity or ability to service debt obligations), but provides additional information for evaluating our ability to make the Minimum Quarterly Distribution. EBITDA is calculated as follows:

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Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005

Compared to Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2004

Volume

For fiscal 2005, retail volume of home heating oil decreased 64.3 million gallons, or 11.7%, to 487.3 million gallons, as compared to 551.6 million gallons for fiscal 2004. Volume of other petroleum products declined by 7.6 million gallons, or 9.3%, to 73.5 million gallons for fiscal 2005, as compared to 81.1 million gallons for fiscal 2004. An analysis of the change in retail volume of home heating oil, which is based on management’s estimates, sampling, and other mathematical calculations (as actual customer consumption patters cannot be precisely determined) is found below:

Total degree-days in our geographic areas of operations were approximately 0.9% greater in fiscal 2005 than in fiscal 2004 and approximately 0.5% greater than normal, as reported by NOAA. Due to the significant increase in the price per gallon of home heating oil during the year, we believe that customers are using less home heating oil given similar temperatures. Indications based on internal studies suggest that our customers have reduced their consumption by approximately 4.4%. In addition, we estimate that during fiscal 2005, home heating oil volume was reduced by 6.0 million gallons due to a delivery scheduling variance.

Product Sales

For fiscal 2005, product sales increased $149.8 million, or 16.3%, to $1,071 million, as compared to $921.4 million for fiscal 2004, as increases in selling prices more than offset a decline in product sales due to lower volume sold. Selling prices during fiscal 2005 were higher due to the increase in wholesale supply costs. Average wholesale supply costs were $1.40 per total gallon for fiscal 2005, as compared to $0.94 per total gallon for fiscal 2004. The weighted average selling price per total gallon was $1.91 per total gallon in fiscal 2005 compared to $1.46 per total gallon in fiscal 2004. Average home heating oil prices increased from $1.49 per gallon in fiscal 2004 to $1.94 per gallon in fiscal 2005.

Installation, Service and Other Sales

For fiscal 2005, installation, service and other sales increased $4.6 million, or 2.5%, to $188.2 million compared to $183.6 million in fiscal 2004, as a decline in installation and other sales of $2.8 million was offset by an increase in service revenues of $7.4 million. Over the last several years, we have modified service plans and billing strategies, in order to maximize service revenue.

Cost of Product

For fiscal 2005, cost of product increased $193.9 million, or 32.7%, to $786.3 million, compared to $592.4 million for fiscal 2004. This is the result of an increase in the average wholesale product cost of $0.46 per total gallon, or 49%, to an average of $1.40 per total gallon for fiscal 2005, from an average of $0.94 per total gallon for fiscal 2004. Average wholesale home heating oil product cost increased by $0.46 per gallon to an average of $1.38 per gallon for fiscal 2005, from an average of $0.92 for fiscal 2004.

We believe that the changes in home heating oil margins should be evaluated before the effects of increases or decreases in the fair value of derivative instruments, as we believe that realized per gallon margins should not include the impact of changes in the market value of hedges before the settlement of the underlying transaction. Home heating oil margins decreased by $0.0159 per gallon

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to $ 0.5575 per gallon in fiscal 2005 from $ 0.5734 per gallon in fiscal 2004. In an effort to reduce net customer attrition, we delayed increasing our selling price to certain customers whose price plan agreements expired during the July to September 2004 time period. This decision negatively impacted gross profit by an estimated $2.8 million in fiscal 2005, primarily during the first quarter of fiscal 2005.

During fiscal 2005, product cost was adversely impacted by $3.4 million due to a delay in hedging the price of product for certain residential protected price customers due to cash constraints under our previous credit agreement. Cost of product was also adversely impacted by $1.6 million associated with not hedging the price of product for certain residential price protected customers that were incorrectly coded as variable customers. This coding error was corrected in December 2004. Home heating oil per gallon margins for the year ended September 30, 2005 declined by 5.0 cents per gallon, compared to fiscal 2004 due to an increase in the percentage of volume sold to lower margin residential price protected customers, the delay in increasing the selling price to customers whose price plans expired during the July to September 2004 time period and the aforementioned hedging issues concerning price protected customers. Gross profit from product sales decreased by $44.0 million in fiscal 2005 when compared to fiscal 2004 due to lower sales volume of $37.4 million and lower per gallon margins of $6.7 million (which includes $2.8 million delay in price increases previously described)

The percentage of home heating oil volume sold to residential protected price customers increased to approximately 48% of total home heating oil volume sales during fiscal 2005, as compared to 43% for fiscal 2004. Accordingly, the percentage of home heating oil volume sold to residential variable customers decreased to approximately 36% for fiscal 2005, as compared to 40% for fiscal 2004. During fiscal 2005, sales to commercial/industrial customers represented approximately 16% of total home heating oil volume sales, unchanged from fiscal 2004. Rising energy costs have increased consumer interest in price protection.

Change in the Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

In the summers of fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2004, home heating oil prices increased which resulted in the recording of unrealized gains at the close of both fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2004. The net gain for fiscal 2005 exceeded the gain for fiscal 2004 by $6.1 million. Home heating oil prices were relatively stable in the summer of 2003 and we recorded a small change in the value of derivative instruments. The increase in home heating oil prices in the summer of 2004 is the main driver of the change in the fair value of derivative instruments in fiscal 2004 of $25.8 million.

Cost of Installations and Service

For fiscal 2005, cost of installations and service decreased $7.5 million, or 3.6%, to $197.4 million, as compared to $204.9 million for fiscal 2004. This reduction was due to a lower level of variable installation costs of $2.0 million attributable to the lower level of installation sales and a $5.5 million decline in service expenses. Service expenses decreased due to a contraction in costs resulting from servicing a smaller customer base, warmer temperatures during the peak heating season, which reduced the frequency of service calls, and an improvement in the scheduling of preventative maintenance service calls which lowered overtime hours. The loss realized from service (including installations) improved by $12.1 million from a $21.3 million loss for fiscal 2004 to a $9.2 million loss for fiscal 2005.

Delivery and Branch Expenses

For fiscal 2005, delivery and branch expenses decreased $1.4 million or 0.6% to $231.6 million compared to $233.0 million of expenses incurred in fiscal 2004. Bad debt expense, credit card processing fees and collection expenses all increased, primarily due to the increase in product sales dollars. Delivery costs were also higher due to the rise in vehicle fuel costs. In total, delivery and branch expenses increased by $4.9 million due to the increase in bad debt expense, credit card processing fees, collection expenses, and fuel costs. Delivery and branch expenses also increased by approximately $5.9 million due to wage and benefit increases. These delivery and branch expense increases were offset by a reduction in operating costs due to the variable nature of certain delivery and operating expenses such as direct delivery expense, which decreased with lower volume. On a cents per gallon basis, operating costs increased 5.3 cents per gallon, or 12.6%, from 42.2 cents per gallon for fiscal 2004 to 47.5 cents per gallon for fiscal 2005. The 5.3 cents per gallon increase was due to higher bad debt and collection expenses, wage and benefit increases, and the inability to reduce certain fixed expenses commensurate with a reduction in home heating oil volume of 11.7%.

Depreciation and Amortization

For fiscal 2005, depreciation and amortization expenses declined by $1.8 million, or 4.9%, to $35.5 million, as compared to $37.3 million for fiscal 2004 as certain assets, which were not replaced, became fully depreciated.

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General and Administrative Expenses

During fiscal 2005, general and administrative expenses increased by $23.7 million, or 121.1%, to $43.2 million, compared to $19.5 million for fiscal 2004 due to $7.5 million in bridge financing fees, $4.4 million of legal expenses incurred relating to defending several purported class action lawsuits, legal and professional fees associated with exploring several refinancing alternatives, legal expense attributable to inquiries from regulatory agencies, $3.4 million of expenses and fees associated with certain bank amendments and waivers on our previous credit facility obtained during the first fiscal quarter of 2005, an increase in officers and directors insurance of $1.1 million, $4.1 million in expenses for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, $3.8 million in expense relating to separation agreements entered into with certain former executives and $1.7 million higher compensation expense associated with unit appreciation rights. (In fiscal 2004 and fiscal 2005, the decline in the unit price for senior subordinated units resulted in the reversal of previously recorded expenses of $3.9 million and $2.2 million, respectively.) Partially offsetting these increases were lower business process improvement expenses of $1.4 million and a reduction in compensation and benefit expense of $1.2 million.

Goodwill Impairment Charge

During the second quarter of fiscal 2005, a number of events occurred that indicated a possible impairment of goodwill might exist. These events included our determination in February 2005 of significantly lower than expected operating results for fiscal 2005 and a significant decline in the Partnership’s unit price. As a result of these triggering events and circumstances, we completed an interim SFAS No. 142 impairment review with the assistance of a third party valuation firm as of February 28, 2005. This review resulted in a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of approximately $67.0 million, which reduced the carrying amount of goodwill.

Operating Income (Loss)

For fiscal 2005, operating income decreased $139.2 million to a loss of $95.4 million, compared to $43.7 million in operating income for fiscal 2004. The decrease in our operating income in fiscal 2005 is the result of a $67.0 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge, as described above, lower gross profit from the sale of petroleum products of $44.0 million, increases in general and administrative expense totaling $23.7 million and the impact of comparative change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $19.7 million offset in part by an increase in service profitability of $12.1 million, decreases in branch and delivery expenses of $1.4 million and depreciation and amortization of $1.8 million.

Interest Expense

During fiscal 2005, interest expense decreased $3.9 million, or 9.8%, to $36.2 million, compared to $40.1 million for fiscal 2004. This change was due to the impact of lower average debt outstanding offset by an increase in our weighted average interest rate during fiscal 2005. Total debt outstanding declined because a portion of the proceeds from the propane sale, were used in part to repay debt. Average working capital borrowings were higher in fiscal 2005 due principally to the increase in wholesale product cost.

Interest Income

During fiscal 2005, interest income increased by $0.9 million, or 27.3%, to $4.3 million, compared to $3.4 million for fiscal 2004 due principally to higher average invested cash balances.

Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs

For fiscal 2005, amortization of debt issuance costs decreased $0.9 million, or 27.0%, to $2.5 million, compared to $3.5 million for fiscal 2004.

Loss on Redemption of Debt

During the first quarter of fiscal 2005, we recorded a loss of $42.1 million on the early redemption of certain notes at the heating oil and propane segments. The loss consisted of cash premiums paid of $37.0 million for early redemption, the write-off of previously capitalized net deferred financing costs of $6.1 million and legal expenses of $0.7 million, reduced in part by the realization of the unamortized portion of a $1.7 million basis adjustment to the carrying value of long-term debt.

Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

Income tax expense for fiscal 2005 was approximately $0.7 million compared to $1.2 million in fiscal 2004. The decrease of approximately $0.5 million is the result of increases in state capital taxes of $0.5 million in fiscal 2005, which is more than offset by $1.0 million in tax benefits that were fully utilized against taxes associated with the gain on the sale of the propane segment.

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Income (Loss) From Continuing Operations

For fiscal 2005 the loss from continuing operations increased $174.9 million to a loss of $172.6 million, compared to income of $2.3 million for fiscal 2004, as the decline in operating income of $139.2 million and the loss on the redemption of debt of $42.1 million were reduced by lower interest expense of $3.9 million, higher interest income of $0.9 million, lower amortization of debt issuance costs of $0.9 million and a decrease in income tax expense of $0.5 million.

Income (Loss) From Discontinued Operations

For fiscal 2005, income from discontinued operations decreased $28.4 million. Income from the discontinued propane segment, which was sold on December 17, 2004, generated $21.3 million in net income for fiscal 2004 and a net loss of $6.2 million for fiscal 2005. The discontinued TG&E segment was sold on March 31, 2004 and generated net income of $0.9 million for fiscal 2004.

Gain on Sales of Discontinued Operations

During fiscal 2005, we recorded a gain on the sale of the propane segment totaling approximately $156.8 million, which is net of income taxes of $1.3 million. The purchase price for the TG&E segment was also finalized in fiscal 2005 and a positive adjustment of $0.8 million was recorded.

Net loss

For fiscal 2005, the net loss increased $45.2 million to a net loss of $21.2 million, compared to a net income of $24.0 million incurred in fiscal 2004, as the decline in operating income (loss) from continuing operations of $174.9 million, and the reduction in income from discontinued operations of $28.4 million were partially offset by the gain on the sale of the propane segment and TG&E segment of $157.6 million.

Earnings From Continuing Operations Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)

For fiscal 2005, EBITDA decreased $183.1 million to an EBIDTA loss of $102.0 million, as compared to $81.1 million in EBITDA for fiscal 2004. For fiscal 2005, EBITDA was reduced by $67.0 due to a goodwill impairment charge and $42.1 million due to the non cash loss for the early redemption of debt for fiscal 2005, EBITDA was favorably impacted by $6.1 million due to the change in the fair value of derivative instruments. For fiscal 2004, EBITDA was favorably impacted by $25.8 million due to the change in the fair value of derivative instruments.

EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net income (as an indicator of operating performance) or as an alternative to cash flow (as a measure of liquidity or ability to service debt obligations), but provides additional information for evaluating our ability to make the minimum quarterly distribution. EBITDA is calculated for the fiscal years ended September 30 as follows:

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LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Our ability to satisfy our obligations depends on our future performance, which will be subject to prevailing economic, financial, business and weather conditions, the ability to pass on the full impact of high wholesale heating oil prices to customers, the effects of high net customer attrition, conservation and other factors, most of which are beyond our control. See Item 1A—“Risk Factors.” Capital requirements, at least in the near term, are expected to be provided by cash flows from operating activities, cash on hand at September 30, 2006 or a combination thereof. To the extent future capital requirements exceed cash on hand plus cash flows from operating activities, we anticipate that working capital will be financed by our revolving credit facility as discussed below and repaid from subsequent seasonal reductions in inventory and accounts receivable.

DISCUSSION OF CASH FLOWS

Operating Activities

For fiscal 2006, cash provided by operating activities was $18.4 million, as compared to cash used in operating activities of $54.9 million for fiscal 2005. The change of $73.3 million was largely due to an increase in operating income of $5.2 million (before the non cash goodwill impairment charge of $67.0 million recorded in June 2005) and lower cash requirements to finance accounts receivable of $10.0 million. During fiscal 2006, the increase in accounts receivable was $3.8 million or $10.0 million less than the comparable increase in accounts receivable at September 30, 2005 of $13.8 million, as the increase in sales of $37.0 million in fiscal 2006 over fiscal 2005 was $117.4 million less than the increase experienced in fiscal 2005 of $154.4 million compared to fiscal 2004. Generally, accounts receivable collections in fiscal 2006 were favorably impacted by warmer temperatures, which resulted in lower sales of $104.1 million. Net cash used in operating activities on a comparable basis was negatively impacted by $5.6 million primarily due to an increase in the quantity of home heating oil on hand at September 30, 2006 versus September 30, 2005. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, we increased our quantity of home heating oil inventory on hand to take advantage of favorable prices in the spot delivery and futures markets. As a result, at September 30, 2006 inventory increased by 11.2 million gallons to 32.5 million gallons as compared to September 30, 2005.

Investing Activities

During fiscal 2006, we spent $5.4 million for fixed assets and received $2.2 million from the sale of certain fixed assets. Cash flow provided by investing activities was $467.3 million for fiscal 2005, primarily due to the sale of the propane segment in December 2004.

Financing Activities

For fiscal 2006, cash flows used in financing activities were $23.1 million, as the $50.2 million (net of expenses) raised in our recapitalization along with $46.3 million borrowed under our revolving credit facility, was used to repay $52.9 million previously borrowed under the revolving credit facility, repay long-term debt of $66.1 million, and pay $0.6 million to amend our bank facility. Cash flows used in financing activities were $306.7 million for fiscal 2005. During fiscal 2005, $292.2 million of cash was provided from borrowings under our new revolving credit facility ($181.2 million) and previous credit facility ($111.0 million), which was used to repay $119.0 million borrowed under our previous credit agreement and $174.6 million borrowed under the new agreement. Also, during fiscal 2005, we repaid $259.5 million in long-term debt, paid $37.7 million in debt prepayment premiums and expenses and paid $8.0 million in fees and expenses related to refinancing our bank credit facilities.

As a result of the above activity, cash decreased by $8.0 million, to $91.1 million as of September 30, 2006.

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FINANCING AND SOURCES OF LIQUIDITY

We have an asset based revolving credit facility with a group of lenders, which provides us with the ability to borrow up to $260 million for working capital purposes (subject to certain borrowing base limitations and coverage ratios) including the issuance of up to $95 million in letters of credit. From December through March of each year, we can borrow up to $310.0 million. Obligations under the revolving credit facility are secured by liens on substantially all of our assets including accounts receivable, inventory, general intangibles, real property, fixtures and equipment. On December 28, 2006, the Partnership obtained a waiver from the lender group which extended the date for the delivery of financial statements for fiscal 2006 to February 15, 2007.

Under the terms of the revolving credit facility, we must maintain at all times either availability (borrowing base less amounts borrowed and letters of credit issued) of $25.0 million or a fixed charge coverage ratio (as defined in the credit agreement) of not less than 1.1 to 1.0. As of September 30, 2006, availability was $140.2 million and the fixed charge coverage ratio was 2.65 to 1.0. As of September 30, 2006, $52.3 million in letters of credit were outstanding, primarily for current and future insurance reserves. For fiscal 2007, we expect to free-up $7 million in cash by issuing an additional $4.0 million in letters of credit in connection with our insurance program and by issuing very short-term duration (2-5 days) letters of credit from time to time to finance our inventory purchases.

During the first half of fiscal 2006, we purchased futures contracts to manage the majority of our exposure to market risk related to changes in the current and future market price of home heating oil purchased for resale to our fixed price customers. To a certain extent, availability must be set aside to respond to the volatile home heating oil markets. Futures contracts are marked to market on a daily basis and require an initial cash margin deposit and potentially require a daily adjustment to such cash deposit (maintenance margin). For example, assuming 100 million gallons, a 30-cent per gallon decline in the market value of these hedged instruments (as we experienced from time-to-time) would create an additional cash margin requirement of approximately $30.0 million. In this example, availability in the short-term is reduced, as we fund the margin call. This availability reduction should be temporary, as we should be able to purchase product at a later date for 30 cents a gallon less than the anticipated strike price when the agreement with the price-protected customer was entered into. A spike in wholesale heating oil prices could also reduce availability, as we must finance a portion of our inventory and accounts receivable with internally generated cash as the net advance for eligible accounts receivable is 85% and 40% to 80% of eligible inventory.

Since the beginning of the second half of fiscal 2006, we have entered into forward swaps with members of our bank group to manage our exposure to market risk for our protected-price customers rather than purchase futures contracts. These institutions have not required an initial cash margin deposit or any mark to market maintenance margin for these swaps. Any mark to market exposure is reserved against our borrowing base. As a result of this strategy, the cost to finance our protected-price program will be reduced.

Included in our accounts receivable is $20.6 million related to the sale of heating and air-conditioning equipment that is payable on a short-term installment basis. In July 2006, we entered into a preferred arrangement with a financial institution that finances installations for our customers. Over time, we anticipate that these short-term installation receivables will be reduced and both liquidity and availability will be increased.

Prior to October 18, 2004, we were generally able to obtain trade credit from home heating oil suppliers. Since then we have been required to prepay for most of our heating oil supply. However, as a result of the recapitalization, we have received some form of trade credit from several of our suppliers and we plan to issue letters of credit rather than prepay with cash for inventory purchases.

For the majority of our fiscal year, the amount of cash received from customers with a budget payment plan is greater than actual billings. This amount is reflected on the balance sheet under the caption “customer credit balances.” At September 30, 2006, customer credit balances aggregated $73.9 million. Generally, customer credit balances are at their low point after the end of the heating season and peak prior to the beginning of the heating season. At September 30, 2005, customer credit balances were $65.3 million. During the non-heating season, cash is provided from customer credit balances to fund operating activities.

Before October 2007, we must implement certain changes to ensure compliance with amended Environmental Protection Agency regulations. We currently estimate that the capital required to effectuate these requirements will range from $1.0 to $1.5 million. Annual maintenance capital expenditures are estimated to be approximately $4 to $6 million, excluding the capital requirements for environmental compliance. We have $174.2 million of long-term debt outstanding as of September 30, 2006, which includes $174.1 million of 10 ¹/4% senior notes due 2013.

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As mentioned in Item 1. - Business Initiatives and Strategy, we plan to seek to acquire other heating oil distributors. Currently we are reviewing several acquisition candidates.

Partnership Distribution Provisions

There will be no mandatory distributions of available cash by us to the holders of our common units and general partner units through the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2008. (See Part II - Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Units and Related Matters - Partnership Distribution Provisions and Note 6. Quarterly Distribution of Available Cash)

Contractual Obligations and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no special purpose entities or off balance sheet debt, other than operating leases entered into in the ordinary course of business.

Long-term contractual obligations, except for our long-term debt obligations, are not recorded in our consolidated balance sheet. Non-cancelable purchase obligations are obligations we incur during the normal course of business, based on projected needs.

The table below summarizes the payment schedule of our contractual obligations at September 30, 2006 (in thousands):