CVR 파트너스(UAN) 2026년 3분기 실적 발표회: 1.79달러 분배금 및 4분기 가동률 전망

핵심 요약

• CVR 파트너스 LP(NYSE: UAN)는 2026년 3분기 순매출 1억 4,600만 달러, 순손실 1,100만 달러(보통주 단위당 1.02달러), EBITDA 2,000만 달러를 기록했다고 발표했다.
• 이사회는 11월 16일 장 마감 기준 주주를 대상으로 11월 23일에 지급될 보통주 단위당 1.79달러의 분배금을 선언했다.
• 암모니아 공장 가동률은 80%를 기록했으며, 이는 8월 말 시작되어 10월에 완료된 계획된 이스트 두뷰크 정기보수 영향을 반영한 결과다.
• UAN 판매량은 톤당 평균 309달러에 총 약 32만 7,000톤을 기록했다. 평균 UAN 가격은 전년 동기 대비 11% 하락했다. 암모니아 판매량은 톤당 637달러에 약 3만 6,000톤이었으며, 가격은 약 20% 상승했다.
• 경영진은 10월 이스트 두뷰크 정기보수 완료 효과를 포함해 4분기 암모니아 가동률이 88%에서 93%에 달할 것으로 전망하고 있다.
• 회사는 2026년 잔여 기간 및 2027년까지의 수주 잔고를 확보했다. 경영진은 타이트한 지역 공급, 질소비료 가격의 견조세, 미국 천연가스의 원가 우위를 긍정적 요인으로 꼽았다.

주요 재무 데이터

재고자산 및 정기보수 효과를 제외한 직접 영업비용은 2025년 3분기 대비 약 100만 달러 증가했다. 인건비 상승은 전력 및 천연가스 소비 감소로 일부 상쇄되었다.

사업 및 영업 실적

이스트 두뷰크 정기보수로 인해 해당 분기 동안 생산량과 가동률이 감소했다. 장비 지연으로 당초 계획보다 늦게 시작되었으나 수정된 일정에 따라 10월에 완료되었다. 경영진은 다음 계획된 정기보수가 2028년 코피빌에서 진행될 예정이며, 이에 따라 향후 2년간 정기보수 일정이 없다고 밝혔다.

여름철 주입 재설정 이후 UAN 가격이 강세를 보였으며, 가을철 암모니아 수요도 견조했다. 경영진은 콘벨트 내 터미널 이용 가능성이 제한되면서 가을철 암모니아 가격이 시즌 최고 수준으로 치솟았다고 전했다. 회사는 경영진이 매력적인 가격이라고 평가한 수준에서 2026년 4분기 및 2027년 1분기 물량 예약을 지속했다.

이스트 두뷰크 정기보수 기간 동안 CVR 파트너스는 브라운필드 생산능력 확장과 수질 개선 작업을 완료했다. 회사는 4분기 중 높아진 생산능력 수준에서 지속 가능한 운전 테스트를 진행할 계획이다.

코피빌의 계획된 추진 과제에는 용수 시스템 업그레이드와 요소수(DEF) 생산 및 출하 능력 확장이 포함된다. 이러한 프로젝트들은 정기보수 효과를 제외하고 명목 생산능력의 95% 이상으로 공장을 가동하려는 경영진의 목표를 뒷받침한다.

회사는 또한 코피빌 원료 유연성 프로젝트를 위한 엔지니어링 및 비용 산정 작업을 마무리하고 있다. 이사회 승인을 전제로, 경영진은 2027년에 공사가 시작될 것으로 예상하고 있다. 이 프로젝트를 통해 해당 시설은 시장 가격에 따라 천연가스와 외부 도입 코크스(petroleum coke)의 최적 혼합 비율을 사용할 수 있게 된다.

경영진 가이던스

2026년 연간 기준 경영진은 5,500만~6,300만 달러의 유지보수 자본을 포함해 총 자본적 지출이 약 9,500만~1억 400만 달러에 달할 것으로 추정하고 있다.

경영진은 수익성 및 성장을 위한 자본적 지출의 상당 부분이 지난 수년간 축적된 현금 유보금에서 충당될 것으로 예상하고 있다. 프로젝트 실행과 지출이 증가함에 따라 이사회는 계속해서 자본을 유보할 수 있으며, 이는 단기적으로 현금 잔액을 높은 수준으로 유지하고 가변적인 분기별 분배금에 영향을 미칠 수 있다.

리스크 및 핵심 주시 사항

• 러시아, 우크라이나, 중동이 개입된 분쟁과 주요 운송 항로에 대한 지속적인 공격으로 인해 글로벌 질소 공급의 불확실성이 지속되고 있다.
• 중국의 수출이 높은 수준을 유지하는 한편 중동의 공급 물량은 점진적으로 회복되고 있어, 글로벌 비료 수급 가능성과 가격 결정에 대한 불확실성을 형성하고 있다.
• 유럽 천연가스 가격은 MMBtu당 30달러 이상으로 치솟았으며, 이는 MMBtu당 3달러 수준인 미국 가격과 대비된다. 경영진은 이로 인해 유럽의 암모니아 생산 원가가 수입 가격을 상회하며 생산 감축 원인이 되고 있다고 설명했다.
• 질소비료 가격은 여름철 저점에서 회복되었으나, 옥수수 가격 하락으로 인해 비료 구매 여건은 늦여름에 비해 다소 약화되었다.
• CVR 파트너스는 가변 분배금 정책을 시행하고 있다. 분배금은 영업 실적, 비료 가격, 자본적 지출 및 이사회가 결정하는 현금 유보금에 따라 변동될 수 있다.
• 코피빌 원료 유연성 프로젝트는 최종 엔지니어링, 비용 산정 및 이사회 승인 절차를 남겨두고 있다.

실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 전문

전체 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 녹취록

경영진 발표

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.