Martin Midstream Partners reports earnings increase in 2012 first quarter

Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (MMLP) on May 2 announced first-quarter earnings per share of $0.40 versus an estimated $0.39 per share, beating estimates by 2.6 percent.

Revenues came in at $338.3M versus an estimated $305.04million, beating by 10.9 percent.

Net income for the first quarter of 2011 was $7.3 million, or $0.31 per limited partner unit. Revenues for the first quarter of 2012 were $338.3 million compared to $283.0 million for the first quarter of 2011.

For the quarter ended March 31,  net income was not impacted by non-cash derivative losses. For the first quarter of 2011, net income was impacted negatively by $0.5 million, or $0.02 per limited partner unit, in non-cash derivatives net losses from certain commodity and interest rate hedges that are subject to mark-to-market accounting.

The Partnership's distributable cash flow for the first quarter of 2012 was $22.8 million.

Ruben Martin, president and chief executive officer of Martin Midstream GP LLC, the general partner of Martin Midstream Partners, said, "We are pleased with the Partnership's first quarter financial performance. For the quarter we earned distributable cash flow of approximately $22.8 million and a strong distribution coverage ratio of 1.17 times. The Partnership benefitted from stronger than expected performance in our Sulfur Services Segment as our fertilizer and molten sulfur divisions continued their positive momentum and strong margin levels we saw in the fourth quarter last year. Operationally, our fertilizer production units are running at very high levels of utilization that coincides with strong customer demand for our product offerings.”

On April 24, Martin Midstream declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.7625 per unit for the quarter ended March 31. This quarterly distribution remains unchanged from the distribution paid in the prior quarter. The distribution is payable on May 15 to common unitholders of record as of the close of business on May 8. The ex-dividend date for the cash distribution is May 4, 2012. 

MarkWest Energy Partners increases quarterly cash distribution to $0.79

MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: MWE) on April 26 declared a cash distribution of $0.79 per common unit for the first quarter of 2012, for an implied annual rate of $3.16 per common unit. The first quarter 2012 distribution represents an increase of $0.12 per common unit, or 17.9 percent, compared to the first quarter 2011 distribution and an increase of $0.03 per common unit, or 4.0 percent, compared to the fourth quarter 2011 distribution.

Kinder Morgan, Martin Midstream announce rail terminal joint venture in Texas

HOUSTON, Texas - Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP)  and Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (Nasdaq: MMLP) on Feb. 27 announced a new joint venture, Pecos Valley Producer Services LLC, to develop a multi-commodity rail terminal in Pecos, Texas.

The new terminal will serve the growing oil and natural gas industries in the Permian Basin. The facility will be constructed and operated by a subsidiary of Watco Companies, Inc., the largest privately held short line railroad company in the United States. KMP holds a preferred equity position in Watco.

The terminal will offer a variety of services to producers in the Permian Basin including crude oil hauling, storage, transloading and marketing. It will also provide producers access to light Louisiana sweet crude oil markets. Kinder Morgan and Martin Midstream Partners will offer immediate NGL storage, takeaway, and fractionation services, and seek to develop natural gas and crude gathering and processing systems within the area. Additionally, the joint venture has held initial discussions to develop a frack sand unit train terminal to serve Reeves County and surrounding counties.

The first stage of the terminal is expected to be completed and operational by May 2012. Crude oil, natural gas liquids, frack sand, pipe, tube, structural steel, rig mats and other commodities can be railed in and out, and transloaded to truck for delivery to the surrounding area.

Once the terminal has been fully developed, it will encompass approximately 85 acres and will be able to support unit trains. Total railcar capacity is anticipated to be 300 to 600 per day based on demand. The terminal is strategically located along the Pecos Valley Southern Railway (PVS) and directly adjacent to the Union Pacific mainline in the city of Pecos, and will offer scalability and convenience for local area producers.

Once fully operational, the terminal will create up to 45 new jobs. Bill Oglesby, executive director of the Pecos Economic Development Corporation, said, "We welcome Kinder Morgan and Martin Midstream's announcement of this rail terminal in Pecos. This is a significant step for Pecos and Reeves County, and the development of our oil and gas resources."