(Citgo, 31.Mar.2022) — Citgo Petroleum Corporation reported its 2021 fourth quarter and year-end financial results. For the fourth quarter of 2021, Citgo generated net income of $21mn, EBITDA (1) of $236mn and adjusted EBITDA of $139mn, representing the strongest quarterly net income and EBITDA performance since the third quarter of 2019, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company’s overall financial and operational performance for the year were negatively affected by Winter Storm Uri, which forced a complete emergency shutdown of the Corpus Christi refinery for approximately two weeks, contributing to a significant first quarter loss of $(180)mn. Given these headwinds, Citgo reported a net loss of approximately $(160)mn and adjusted EBITDA of $557mn for the 2021 full year, both significantly improved over full year 2020 results. The improved results compared to 2020 were achieved despite the financial impacts of the storm and were primarily due to higher throughput volumes, higher margins and improved economics related to the pandemic.
“Winter Storm Uri was a significant obstacle for our Corpus Christi refinery and contributed to a challenging start to 2021,” said Citgo President and CEO Carlos Jordá, “yet we still achieved excellent reliability at our Lake Charles and Lemont refineries and were able to capture available margins as demand improved. We also set many production-related records and, at the same time, achieved our best-ever TRIR (total recordable incident rate) performance and second-best process safety performance since 2012. This is a real testament to the professionalism and commitment of our employees as they continued dealing with the ongoing effects of the pandemic and other operational challenges, such as the Colonial Pipeline interruption.”
4Q and Full Year Highlights:
- Financial
- Increased maximum borrowing capacity under the Citgo accounts receivable securitization facility from $250mn to $500mn, with full availability at end of year.
- Refinanced $650mn of senior secured notes due 2022 with the proceeds of a private offering of $650mn of 6.375% senior secured notes due 2026.
- Received approximately $556mn, including interest, from the Internal Revenue Service during the third quarter, reflecting its share of US income tax refund payments under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
- Refinery Throughput
- Total refinery throughput for 4Q was the highest of the year at 796,000 bpd (barrels-per-day), with crude utilization increasing from 85% in 3Q to 94% in 4Q.
- For full year 2021, total refinery throughput was 730,000 bpd, up 14% compared with the prior year. This resulted in a 15% increase in crude utilization, from 72% in 2020 to 87% in 2021.
- Turnarounds and capital investments – Successfully executed the Lake Charles and Lemont planned turnarounds within budget and planned timeline, spending approximately $184mn in 2021 on turnaround and catalyst costs. Invested $200mn in capital projects: $100mn in Regulatory and HSE projects, $98mn in maintenance projects and $2mn in strategic projects.
- Exports – 4Q exports increased to 167,000 bpd from 136,000 bpd in the prior quarter as Latin America continued to reopen. For full year 2021, exports averaged 134,000 bpd.
- Operational excellence – Both the Lake Charles and Lemont refineries achieved records in safety and environmental performance, production, and plant reliability. The Corpus Christi refinery was negatively affected by Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, yet achieved a light crude processing record and was also recognized for the second year in a row with the EPA’s Energy Star Certification. Additionally, the terminals group was recognized by ILTA (International Liquids Terminal Association) for occupational safety performance.
| 1 EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures. Please see the reconciliation towards the end of this press release for more information. |
| 2 See “General – Refinery EBITDA Estimate” for additional information regarding how we calculate and estimate Refinery EBITDA. |
Governance and Leadership:
Citgo continued its focus on corporate governance and ethics throughout the year, led by the company’s first dedicated Ethics & Compliance Officer. Notable ethics and compliance related enhancements include launching the Citgo Code of Business Conduct and Ethics on the citgo.com website and deploying a new online Code of Business Conduct and Ethics training module.
The company also continued to strengthen its management team. Shane Moser was named Vice President of Health, Safety & Environment; Mark Holstein was named General Counsel; Balvy Bhogal-Mitro was named Vice President Strategic and Corporate Planning; and Steve Scarpino was named Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Gina Coon, Corporate Treasurer, retired after 30 years of service.
“As the first quarter comes to a close, our industry is dealing with the effects of the recent events in Ukraine, which clearly illustrate the need for reliable, secure supply. We believe Citgo is well-positioned to continue being a reliable supplier of fuel products to the North American and Latin American markets,” concluded Jordá.
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