CVR Partners (UAN) Telefonkonferenz zu den Ergebnissen für Q3 2026: 1,79 USD Ausschüttung und Ausblick auf die Q4-Auslastung

Wichtigste Erkenntnisse

• CVR Partners LP (NYSE: UAN) wies für das dritte Quartal 2026 einen Nettoumsatz von 146 Millionen US-Dollar, einen Nettoverlust von 11 Millionen US-Dollar beziehungsweise 1,02 US-Dollar je Stammanteil sowie ein EBITDA von 20 Millionen US-Dollar aus.
• Der Verwaltungsrat beschloss eine Ausschüttung von 1,79 US-Dollar je Stammanteil, die am 23. November an die zum Börsenschluss am 16. November eingetragenen Anteilseigner zahlbar ist.
• Die Auslastung der Ammoniakanlage lag bei 80 %, was die geplante Überholung des Werks East Dubuque widerspiegelt, die Ende August begann und im Oktober abgeschlossen wurde.
• Der UAN-Absatz belief sich auf insgesamt rund 327.000 Tonnen zu einem Durchschnittspreis von 309 US-Dollar pro Tonne. Der durchschnittliche UAN-Preis sank im Jahresvergleich um 11 %. Der Ammoniak-Absatz lag bei etwa 36.000 Tonnen zu 637 US-Dollar pro Tonne, wobei die Preise um rund 20 % stiegen.
• Das Management erwartet für das vierte Quartal eine Ammoniak-Auslastung von 88 % bis 93 %, einschließlich der Effekte der im Oktober abgeschlossenen Überholung in East Dubuque.
• Das Unternehmen hat seinen Auftragsbestand für das verbleibende Jahr 2026 und bis in das Jahr 2027 hinein ausgebaut. Das Management nannte ein knappes lokales Angebot, gefestigte Stickstoffdüngerpreise und den Kostenvorteil von US-Erdgas als unterstützende Faktoren.

Wichtigste Finanzdaten

Ohne Berücksichtigung von Lager- und Überholungseffekten stiegen die direkten Betriebsausgaben im Vergleich zu Q3 2025 um rund 1 Mio. US-Dollar. Höhere Personalkosten wurden teilweise durch einen geringeren Strom- und Erdgasverbrauch ausgeglichen.

Geschäfts- und operative Entwicklung

Die Überholung im Werk East Dubuque verringerte die Produktion und Auslastung im Laufe des Quartals. Sie begann aufgrund von Lieferverzögerungen bei der Ausrüstung später als ursprünglich geplant, wurde jedoch im Oktober gemäß dem überarbeiteten Zeitplan abgeschlossen. Wie das Management mitteilte, ist die nächste geplante Überholung für 2028 im Werk Coffeyville vorgesehen, sodass dem Unternehmen zwei Jahre ohne geplante Überholungsarbeiten bevorstehen.

Die UAN-Preise zogen nach der Sommernachfüllphase an, während die Ammoniak-Nachfrage im Herbst stark war. Laut Management trieb die begrenzte Verfügbarkeit von Terminals im Corn Belt die Herbstpreise für Ammoniak auf die höchsten Stände der Saison. Das Unternehmen buchte weiterhin Volumina für das vierte Quartal 2026 und das erste Quartal 2027 zu Preisen, die das Management als attraktiv bezeichnete.

Während der Überholung in East Dubuque schloss CVR Partners eine Brownfield-Kapazitätserweiterung und eine Modernisierung der Wasserqualität ab. Das Unternehmen plant, den nachhaltigen Betrieb auf dem höheren Kapazitätsniveau im vierten Quartal zu testen.

Im Werk Coffeyville umfassen die geplanten Initiativen eine Modernisierung des Wassersystems sowie eine Erhöhung der Produktions- und Verladekapazität für Diesel-Abgasreiniger (DEF). Diese Projekte unterstützen das Ziel des Managements, die Anlagen ohne Berücksichtigung von Überholungseffekten mit über 95 % der Nennkapazität zu betreiben.

Das Unternehmen schließt derzeit zudem die Ausführungsplanung und Kostenschätzungen für ein Projekt zur Flexibilisierung des Rohstoffeinsatzes in Coffeyville ab. Vorbehaltlich der Zustimmung des Verwaltungsrats rechnet das Management mit dem Baubeginn im Jahr 2027. Das Projekt würde es der Anlage ermöglichen, je nach den herrschenden Preisen einen optimierten Mix aus Erdgas und Erdölkoks von Drittanbietern einzusetzen.

Prognose des Managements

Für das Gesamtjahr 2026 schätzt das Management die gesamten Investitionsausgaben auf rund 95 Mio. bis 104 Mio. US-Dollar, darunter 55 Mio. bis 63 Mio. US-Dollar an Instandhaltungsinvestitionen.

Das Management geht davon aus, dass ein erheblicher Teil der Investitionen in Ertragskraft und Wachstum aus den in den letzten Jahren angesammelten Barreserven finanziert wird. Der Verwaltungsrat könnte weiterhin Kapital einbehalten, da die Projektausführung und die Ausgaben zunehmen. Dies könnte die Barbestände kurzfristig auf einem hohen Niveau halten und sich auf die variablen vierteljährlichen Ausschüttungen auswirken.

Risiken und wesentliche Beobachtungspunkte

• Das globale Stickstoffangebot bleibt aufgrund der Konflikte unter Beteiligung von Russland, der Ukraine und dem Nahen Osten sowie anhaltender Angriffe auf Schifffahrtsrouten unsicher.
• Die chinesischen Ausfuhren fielen hoch aus, während sich die Liefermengen aus dem Nahen Osten allmählich erholen, was zu Unsicherheit hinsichtlich der weltweiten Düngemittelverfügbarkeit und -preisgestaltung führt.
• Die europäischen Erdgaspreise sind auf über 30 US-Dollar pro MMBtu gestiegen, verglichen mit US-Preisen von nahe 3 US-Dollar pro MMBtu. Laut Management hält dies die europäischen Ammoniak-Produktionskosten über den Importpreisen und hat zu Drosselungen der Produktion beigetragen.
• Die Preise für Stickstoffdünger haben sich von ihren Sommertiefs erholt, aber niedrigere Maispreise haben die Erschwinglichkeit von Düngemitteln im Vergleich zum Spätsommer etwas verschlechtert.
• CVR Partners verfolgt eine variable Ausschüttungspolitik. Die Ausschüttungen können je nach Betriebsergebnis, Düngemittelpreisen, Investitionsausgaben und den vom Verwaltungsrat festgelegten Barreserven schwanken.
• Das Projekt zur Flexibilisierung des Rohstoffeinsatzes in Coffeyville steht weiterhin unter dem Vorbehalt der finalen Ausführungsplanung, der Kostenschätzungen und der Genehmigung durch den Verwaltungsrat.

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Ausführungen des Managements

Operator

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the CVR Partners LP Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I will now hand the conference over to Richard Roberts, Interim CFO and VP of [ FP&A ] and Investor Relations. Richard, please go ahead.

Richard Roberts

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. We appreciate your participation in today's call. With me today are Dane Neumann, our Chief Executive Officer; Mike Wright, our Chief Operating Officer; and other members of management. Prior to discussing our 2026 Third Quarter Results, let me remind you that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements as that term is defined under federal securities laws. For this purpose, any statements made during this call that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. .

You are cautioned that these statements may be affected by important factors set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in our latest earnings release. As a result, actual operations or results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. This call also includes various non-GAAP financial measures. The disclosures related to such non-GAAP measures, including reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, are included in our 2026 3rd quarter earnings release that we filed with the SEC for the period.

Let me also remind you that we are a variable distribution in -- we will review our previous sales reserves, current cash usage, evaluate future anticipated cash needs and may reserve amounts for other future cash needs as determined by our general partner's Board. As a result, our distributions, if any, will vary from quarter-to-quarter due to several factors, including, but not limited to, operating performance, fluctuations in the prices received for finished products, capital expenditures and cash reserves being necessary or operated by the Board of Directors of our general Department. With that said, I'll turn the call over to Dane Neumann, our Chief Executive Officer. Dave? .

Dane Neumann

Thank you, Richard. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for today's call. The summarized financial highlights for the third quarter of 2026 include net sales of $146 million, net loss of $11 million, EBITDA of $20 million, and the Board of Directors of CVR Partners' general partner declared a third quarter distribution of $1.79 per common unit which will be paid on November 23 to unitholders of record at the close of the market on November 16.

For the third quarter of 2026, our ammonia plant utilization was 80%, which was impacted by the planned turnaround at East Dubuque that began in late August and was completed in October. Apart from the turnaround, our facilities ran well during the quarter, and we continued to see steady demand across the system after the summer price reset. Since the summer, prices have steadily increased for both ammonia and UAN, and we have a good order book for the remainder of 2026 and into 2027, which I will discuss further in my closing remarks. I will now turn the call over to Richard to discuss our financial results.

Richard Roberts

Thank you, Dane. Turning to our results. For the third quarter of 2026, we reported net sales of $146 million and an operating loss of $4 million. Net losses for the quarter were $11 million or $1.02 per common unit and EBITDA was $20 million. Relative to the third quarter of 2025, the decrease in EBITDA was primarily due to turn and expenses incurred in the quarter, along with lower UAN sales prices and a slight decline in sales volumes. .

Total volume production for the third quarter was 175,000 gross tons, of which 46,000 net tons were available for sale and UAN production was 294,000 tons. During the quarter, we sold approximately 327,000 tons of UAN at an average price of $309 per ton and approximately 36,000 tons of ammonia at an average price of $637 per ton. Relative to the third quarter of 2025, total sales volumes were down slightly, primarily due to reduced production volumes as a result of the CD turnaround. The reported prices for UAN decreased by 11% and ammonia prices increased approximately 20% relative to the prior year period. Direct operating expenses for the third quarter of 2026 were $90 million, including turn on expenses of approximately $27 million. Excluding inventory and turnaround impacts direct operating expenses increased by approximately $1 million relative to the third quarter of 2025, primarily due to higher labor costs, partially offset by lower electricity and natural gas consumption.

Capital spending for the third quarter were $75 million of which $21 million was maintenance capital. We estimate total capital spending for 2026 to be approximately $95 million to $104 million, of which $55 million to $63 million is expected to be maintenance capital. We anticipate a significant portion of the profit and growth capital spending for 2026 will be funded through cash reserves taken over the past few years. We ended the quarter with total liquidity of $203 million, which consisted of $158 million in cash and availability under the ABL facility of $45 million.

Within our cash balance of $158 million, we had approximately $43 million related to customer prepayments for the future delivery of product. In assessing our cash available for distribution, we generated EBITDA of approximately $20 million and had net cash gains of approximately $1 million for interest costs, maintenance CapEx and other reserves, which includes the release of approximately $42 million of previous reverses. As a result, we are $19 million of cash available for distribution and the Board of Directors of our general partner to start distribution of $1.79 per common unit.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter 2026, we estimate our loan utilization rate to be between 88% and 93%which will be impacted by the completion of the ECB turnaround in October. We have some direct operating expenses, excluding inventory current impacts to be between $58 million and $63 million. Turn on expenses to be between $4 million and $6 million and total capital spending to be between $26 million and $34 million. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Dane.

Dane Neumann

Thanks, Richard. In summary, the third quarter was another strong 1 for our operations, apart from the planned turnaround at East Dubique. The turnaround started a few weeks later than originally planned due to some equipment delays and was completed in October, in line with the revised schedule. The next turnaround is currently planned for 2028 at Coffeyville, and we look forward to 2 years ahead with no turnaround activity. Fall ammonia application is getting underway in the Corn Belt region as the harvest progresses, and activity is expected to pick up in the Southern Plains over the next few weeks.

Demand for ammonia has been strong and limited terminal availability in the Corn Belt has pushed fall pricing to the highest levels of the season. Offshore prices are firming ahead of the November Tampa settlement, although the gap between inland and seaborne ammonia prices remains wide. For UAN, the market firmed through the third quarter after the summer fill reset. Local supply remains tight the first spring 2027 prices were posted in early October.

We have continued to build our book of business for the fourth quarter and into the first quarter of 2027 at attractive pricing. The ongoing conflicts in Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East continue to affect global nitrogen supply, including shipping through this rate or moves. Global supply remains a key variable. Chinese exports have been elevated and Middle East volumes are recovering gradually.

However, continued attacks on shipping highlight the persistent geopolitical risks impacting fertilizer availability and pricing. Our focus remains on safely and reliably running our plants at high utilization rates to meet our customers' needs. Natural gas prices in Europe have risen further since our last call to over $30 per MMBtu. That keeps ammonia production costs in Europe well above the current import prices and has led to some production curtailments. Meanwhile, U.S. nat gas prices remained near $3 per MMBtu.

We continue to believe the structural gap favors U.S. producers with access to low-cost secure feedstock. Nitrogen fertilizer prices have recovered from their summer lows, while corn prices have eased from their recent highs, although affordability is currently somewhat less favorable than it was in late summer. We believe the combination of tight local supply and constructive global balance and a solid forward book positions us well heading into the spring.

During the turnaround, we completed the brownfield capacity expansion, and we intend to test the ability to sustainably operate at the increased capacity level during the fourth quarter. We also completed the work on the water quality upgrade project. At the Coffeyville facility, we have a similar water system upgrade plan, along with the expansion of our DEF production and load-out capacity. The goal of these projects is to improve reliability and production rates, supporting our target of operating the plants at utilization rates above 95% of named capacity, excluding the impact of turnarounds.

We are in the final phases of completing detailed engineering and cost estimates for the feedstock optionality project at Coffeyville. And with approval by the Board of Directors of our general partner, we expect to proceed with construction in 2027. If completed, this initiative would make the Coffeyville facility the only nitrogen fertilizer facility in the United States with dual feedstock flexibility, providing us the ability to choose the optimal mix of natural gas and third-party pet coke depending on prevailing prices. The funds needed for these projects and other initiatives are coming from the reserves taken over the last few years and the Board elected to continue reserving capital in the third quarter.

While the Board looks at reserves every quarter, I would expect them to continue to elect to reserve some capital and we anticipate holding higher levels of cash related to these investments in the near term as we ramp up execution and spending. We believe unitholders will see the befits of these investments in the coming years as these projects are completed and brought online.

In closing, I would like to thank our employees for all their hard work during the turnaround and continuing to deliver on our marketing and logistics plans, resulting in a distribution of $1.79 per common unit for the third quarter. With that, we are ready to answer any questions. Operator?

Operator

[Operator Instructions] We have no questions at this time. I will now call back to Dane Neumann for closing remarks.

Dane Neumann

All right. Again, I would like to thank you all for your interest in CVR Partners and our employees for their hard work and commitment towards safe, reliable and environmentally responsible operations. We look forward to reviewing our fourth quarter 2026 results during our next earnings call. Have a safe day.

Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.