CVR Partners (UAN) 2026年第三季度业绩电话会议：1.79美元派息及第四季度产能利用率展望

核心要点

• CVR Partners LP (NYSE: UAN) 公布2026财年第三季度净销售额为1.46亿美元，净亏损为1100万美元（即每普通单元1.02美元），EBITDA为2000万美元。
• 董事会宣布发放每普通单元1.79美元的派息，将于11月23日支付给截至11月16日收盘登记在册的单元持有人。
• 合成氨工厂产能利用率为80%，反映了8月下旬开始并于10月完成的东迪比克（East Dubuque）计划内检修的影响。
• UAN（硝酸铵尿素溶液）销量总计约为32.7万吨，平均售价为每吨309美元。UAN平均价格同比下降11%。合成氨销量约为3.6万吨，平均售价为每吨637美元，价格同比上涨约20%。
• 管理层预计第四季度合成氨产能利用率为88%至93%，其中包括10月完成东迪比克检修的影响。
• 公司已成功建立2026年剩余时间及2027年的储备订单。管理层指出，当地供应紧张、氮肥价格坚挺以及美国天然气的成本优势是支撑业务的主要因素。

关键财务数据

扣除库存和检修影响后，直接运营费用较2025财年第三季度增加约100万美元。劳动力成本增加被电力和天然气消耗下降所部分抵消。

业务与运营表现

东迪比克工厂的检修减少了本季度的产量和产能利用率。由于设备延误，检修启动时间晚于原计划，但在修订后的日程下于10月完成。管理层表示，下一次计划检修将于2028年在科菲维尔（Coffeyville）进行，这意味着公司未来两年内没有预定的检修活动。

夏季补库重新定价后，UAN价格有所走强，而秋季合成氨需求依然强劲。管理层表示，玉米带地区集散终端可用量有限，推高秋季合成氨价格至本季最高水平。公司继续以管理层所称的“极具吸引力的价格”预订2026年第四季度和2027年第一季度的订单。

在东迪比克检修期间，CVR Partners完成了棕地扩产项目和水质升级工程。公司计划在第四季度测试在较高产能水平下的可持续运营能力。

在科菲维尔，计划中的项目包括水系统升级以及扩大柴油机尾气处理液（DEF）的产能和装载能力。除检修影响外，这些项目有助于支持管理层将工厂运营效率保持在名义产能95%以上的目标。

公司还在完成科菲维尔原料选择灵活性项目的工程设计与成本估算。在获得董事会批准的前提下，管理层预计将于2027年开始施工。该项目将允许工厂根据即期价格优化天然气与第三方石油焦的混合使用比例。

管理层业绩指引

对于2026财年全年，管理层预计总资本支出约为9500万至1.04亿美元，其中包括5500万至6300万美元的维护性资本支出。

管理层预计，利润与增长性资本支出的相当一部分将由过去几年积累的现金储备提供资金。随着项目推进及支出增加，董事会可能会继续保留资本，这可能导致短期内现金余额维持高位，并影响季度可变派息。

风险与核心关注点

• 由于涉及俄罗斯、乌克兰和中东地区的冲突，以及针对航运路线的持续袭击，全球氮肥供应仍存在不确定性。
• 中国出口量维持在较高水平，而中东地区的供应量正逐步恢复，这给全球化肥的可获取性及价格带来了不确定性。
• 欧洲天然气价格已升至每百万英热单位（MMBtu）30美元以上，而美国价格接近每百万英热单位3美元。管理层指出，这使得欧洲合成氨生产成本高于进口价格，并导致了减产情况。
• 氮肥价格已从夏季低点回升，但玉米价格下跌使得化肥的可负担性较夏末有所下降。
• CVR Partners实行可变派息政策。派息金额可随经营业绩、化肥价格、资本支出以及董事会决定的现金储备而波动。
• 科菲维尔原料选择灵活性项目仍需等待最终工程设计、成本估算以及董事会批准。

业绩电话会议完整文字记录

完整财报电话会议逐字稿

管理层陈述

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.