(Western Midstream, 10.May.2021) — Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) announced first-quarter 2021 financial and operating results. Net income (loss) available to limited partners for the first quarter of 2021 totaled $181.8mn, or $0.44 per common unit (diluted), with first-quarter 2021 Adjusted EBITDA(1) totaling $443.1mn, first-quarter 2021 Cash flows provided by operating activities totaling $261.6mn, and first-quarter 2021 Free cash flow(1) totaling $213.8mn.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
- Awarded first place in the division-one category by the GPA Midstream Association for outstanding safety performance in 2020
- Repaid the 5.375% Senior Notes due 2021 at par value, for total consideration of $431mn
- Repurchased 1,115,808 common units for aggregate consideration of approximately $16.2mn during the first quarter as part of the recently announced buyback program of up to $250mn of the Partnership’s common units through 31 December 2021
| ___________________________ | |
| (1) | Please see the definitions of the Partnership’s non-GAAP measures at the end of this release and reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures. |
On 14 May 2021, WES will pay its first-quarter 2021 per-unit distribution of $0.315, which represents a 1.3% increase over the prior quarter’s distribution and is consistent with an annualized distribution growth of 5%. First-quarter 2021 Free cash flow after distributions totaled $82.5mn.
“Although our first-quarter results were impacted from Winter Storm Uri, we remain optimistic about current activity levels in the Delaware and DJ basins and expect total throughput and EBITDA to increase through the remainder of 2021 and into 2022. We remain comfortable with our previously-stated full-year guidance targets,” said Michael Ure, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
“Since becoming a standalone organization, we have been immensely focused on our financial policy. This shift to free-cash-flow generation has led to a trifecta of results, including the authorization of a unit buyback program, retirement of upcoming debt maturities, and an increase in our distribution. Through the unit buyback program and Anadarko note exchange, we have repurchased 31.34 million units to date, which represents over 7% of our outstanding units as of the filing of our second-quarter 2020 10-Q. We believe our ability to generate significant free cash flow will continue to deliver value to our stakeholders for the foreseeable future.”
As a result of depressed upstream investment in 2020 and Winter Storm Uri, our first-quarter 2021 volumes declined relative to fourth-quarter 2020. First-quarter 2021 total natural-gas throughput(1) averaged 4.0 Bcf/d, representing a 2% sequential-quarter increase. Declining natural-gas volumes were offset by an additional third-party connection to Latham II at the DJ Basin complex beginning January 1, 2021. First-quarter 2021 total throughput for crude-oil and NGLs assets(1) averaged 604 MBbls/d, representing a 2% sequential-quarter decrease. First-quarter 2021 total throughput for produced-water assets(1) averaged 595 MBbls/d, representing a 9% sequential-quarter decrease.
First-quarter 2021 capital expenditures(2) totaled $58.3mn.
| _______________________________ | |
| (1) | Represents total throughput attributable to WES, which excludes (i) the 2.0% Occidental subsidiary-owned limited partner interest in WES Operating and (ii) for natural-gas throughput, the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta, which collectively represent WES’s noncontrolling interests. |
| (2) | Accrual-based, includes equity investments, excludes capitalized interest, and excludes capital expenditures associated with the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta. |
____________________
