Buckeye Partners, L.P. (BPL)

[eastunder]

Buckeye Partners, L.P. Reports Financial Results for 2014 First Quarter

Increases Cash Distribution

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/buckeye-partners-l-p-reports-120000968.html

HOUSTON, May 2, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Buckeye Partners, L.P. ("Buckeye") (BPL) today reported income from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2014 of $101.5 million compared to income from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2013 of $94.8 million.

Income from continuing operations attributable to Buckeye's unitholders was $0.87 per diluted unit for the first quarter of 2014 compared to $0.90 per diluted unit for the first quarter of 2013. The diluted weighted average of units outstanding in the first quarter of 2014 was 115.8 million compared to 103.6 million in the first quarter of 2013. The increase in units is primarily the result of our unit offering in October 2013.

Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2014 was $188.6 million compared to $160.2 million for the first quarter of 2013.

"The contribution from the terminals recently acquired from Hess Corporation as well as returns on growth capital investments drove strong financial results from our Pipelines & Terminals and Global Marine Terminals segments," said Clark C. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This was the first full quarter contribution from the Hess terminals as the acquisition closed in December 2013. Work remains to be done on our Hess integration and commercialization efforts to realize the full benefit from this acquisition, but we are pleased with our results to date," continued Mr. Smith. "Growth capital investments across our legacy assets were also a key driver of improved performance over the year-ago quarter. Investments in crude rail operations at our Chicago Complex and the expansion of crude oil storage at our BORCO terminal contributed to the uplift."

"We remain focused on our expansion opportunities by continuing to make progress on our growth capital projects at our Perth Amboy terminal and Chicago Complex," said Mr. Smith. "I am pleased to report that our Perth Amboy pipeline connection is now operational, effective May 1. Product is moving to our Linden hub and from there our terminal customers have a variety of options, including access to end markets across our Eastern products system. This provides our Perth Amboy terminal with connectivity and capacity that we believe is a competitive advantage in the New York Harbor. Construction on our crude rail facility at Perth Amboy continues and is expected to be operational in the third quarter," commented Mr. Smith. "We also reached a key milestone in our project to add 1.1 million barrels of crude oil storage at our Chicago Complex, as the first of three tanks was placed in service this week. We expect the remaining tanks to be operational in the third quarter. We also have an additional project underway to further expand the Chicago Complex by completing a bi-directional connection to an underutilized Buckeye terminal to make its 600,000 barrels of storage accessible to the complex's customers. In total, we expect to make growth capital investments of approximately $300 million during 2014 that we believe will generate attractive financial returns for our unitholders in the future," concluded Mr. Smith.

Distributable cash flow (as defined below) from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2014 was $131.8 million compared to $125.6 million for the first quarter of 2013. Buckeye also reported distribution coverage of 1.03 times for the first quarter of 2014.



Cash Distribution. Buckeye also announced today that its general partner declared a cash distribution of $1.10 per limited partner unit ("LP Unit") for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. The distribution will be payable on May 19, 2014, to unitholders of record on May 12, 2014. This cash distribution represents an almost five percent increase over the $1.05 per LP Unit distribution declared for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. Buckeye has paid cash distributions in each quarter since its formation in 1986.