Conferencia de resultados del T3 de 2026 de CVR Partners (UAN): Distribución de $1.79 y perspectivas de utilización para el T4

Puntos clave

• CVR Partners LP (NYSE: UAN) presentó en el tercer trimestre de 2026 unas ventas netas de 146 millones de dólares, una pérdida neta de 11 millones de dólares (o 1,02 dólares por unidad común) y un EBITDA de 20 millones de dólares.
• El Consejo de Administración declaró un reparto de 1,79 dólares por unidad común, pagadero el 23 de noviembre a los tenedores de unidades registrados al cierre del mercado el 16 de noviembre.
• La utilización de la planta de amoníaco fue del 80%, lo que refleja la parada técnica planificada en East Dubuque que comenzó a finales de agosto y concluyó en octubre.
• Las ventas de UAN sumaron aproximadamente 327.000 toneladas a un precio medio de 309 dólares por tonelada. El precio medio del UAN cayó un 11% interanual. Las ventas de amoníaco se situaron en unas 36.000 toneladas a 637 dólares por tonelada, con un aumento del precio de aproximadamente el 20%.
• La dirección prevé una utilización de amoníaco en el cuarto trimestre del 88% al 93%, incluyendo el efecto de haber completado la parada técnica de East Dubuque en octubre.
• La empresa ha reforzado su cartera de pedidos para el resto de 2026 y de cara a 2027. La dirección señaló como factores de apoyo la ajustada oferta local, el fortalecimiento de los precios de los fertilizantes nitrogenados y la ventaja de costes del gas natural de Estados Unidos.

Datos financieros clave

Excluyendo los efectos del inventario y las paradas técnicas, los gastos operativos directos aumentaron aproximadamente 1 millón de dólares con respecto al 3T de 2025. El aumento de los costes laborales se vio compensado en parte por un menor consumo de electricidad y gas natural.

Rendimiento comercial y operativo

La parada técnica en East Dubuque redujo la producción y la utilización durante el trimestre. Comenzó más tarde de lo previsto inicialmente debido a retrasos en los equipos, pero se completó en octubre según el calendario revisado. La dirección señaló que la próxima parada técnica planificada será en Coffeyville en 2028, lo que deja a la empresa con dos años sin actividades de parada programadas.

Los precios del UAN se fortalecieron tras el reajuste estival de llenado, mientras que la demanda de amoníaco en otoño fue sólida. La dirección indicó que la disponibilidad limitada de terminales en el Corn Belt elevó los precios del amoníaco en otoño a los niveles más altos de la temporada. La empresa continuó cerrando volúmenes para el cuarto trimestre de 2026 y el primer trimestre de 2027 a lo que la dirección calificó de precios atractivos.

Durante la parada técnica de East Dubuque, CVR Partners completó una ampliación de capacidad en instalaciones existentes (brownfield) y una mejora de la calidad del agua. La empresa prevé probar operaciones sostenibles con el mayor nivel de capacidad durante el cuarto trimestre.

En Coffeyville, las iniciativas planificadas incluyen la mejora del sistema de agua y la ampliación de la capacidad de producción y carga de fluido de escape diésel (DEF). Estos proyectos respaldan el objetivo de la dirección de operar las plantas por encima del 95% de la capacidad nominal, excluyendo los efectos de las paradas técnicas.

La empresa también está finalizando la ingeniería y la estimación de costes para un proyecto de opcionalidad de materia prima en Coffeyville. A reserva de la aprobación del Consejo de Administración, la dirección prevé que la construcción comience en 2027. El proyecto permitiría a las instalaciones utilizar una combinación optimizada de gas natural y coque de petróleo de terceros según los precios vigentes.

Previsiones de la dirección

Para la totalidad del año 2026, la dirección estima un gasto total en capital de aproximadamente entre 95 y 104 millones de dólares, lo que incluye entre 55 y 63 millones de dólares en capital de mantenimiento.

La dirección prevé que una parte significativa del gasto en capital destinado a rentabilidad y crecimiento se financie con las reservas de efectivo acumuladas durante los últimos años. El Consejo de Administración podría continuar reteniendo capital a medida que aumenten la ejecución de proyectos y el gasto, lo que podría mantener elevados los saldos de efectivo a corto plazo y afectar a los repartos trimestrales variables.

Riesgos y puntos clave a vigilar

• El suministro global de nitrógeno sigue siendo incierto debido a los conflictos que involucran a Rusia, Ucrania y Oriente Medio, así como a los continuos ataques a las rutas de navegación.
• Las exportaciones chinas se han mantenido elevadas, mientras que los volúmenes de oferta de Oriente Medio se están recuperando gradualmente, lo que genera incertidumbre sobre la disponibilidad y los precios globales de los fertilizantes.
• Los precios del gas natural en Europa han subido por encima de los 30 dólares por MMBtu, en comparación con los precios en Estados Unidos, cercanos a los 3 dólares por MMBtu. La dirección afirmó que esto mantiene los costes de producción de amoníaco en Europa por encima de los precios de importación y ha contribuido a recortes en la producción.
• Los precios de los fertilizantes nitrogenados se han recuperado de los mínimos estivales, pero los precios más bajos del maíz han hecho que la asequibilidad de los fertilizantes sea algo menos favorable que a finales del verano.
• CVR Partners cuenta con una política de retribución variable. Los repartos pueden fluctuar según los resultados operativos, los precios de los fertilizantes, los gastos en capital y las reservas de efectivo que determine el Consejo de Administración.
• El proyecto de opcionalidad de materia prima de Coffeyville sigue sujeto a la ingeniería final, las estimaciones de costes y la aprobación del Consejo de Administración.

Transcripción completa de la conferencia de resultados

Transcripción completa de la conferencia de resultados

Comentarios de la dirección

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.