San Antonio-based NuStar Energy announced last week its earnings for the first quarter of 2022, reporting a 36% increase in its adjusted net income year over year.
The company recently closed the sale of its Point Topper terminal facility in Canada for $60 million, which resulted in a one-time non-cash charge and a reported net income of $12 million.
But excluding the non-cash charge and omitting one-time items, the adjusted net income reported was $57 million in 2022's first quarter — 36%, or $15 million, higher than the $42 million net income reported in the first quarter of 2021.
NuStar also reported adjusted earnings before interest of $173 million for the first quarter of 2022, a 2% increase from the $169 million the company saw in the first quarter of 2021. Distributable cash flow was $91 million for Q1, a 13% increase from the same figure in 2021.
It's an uptick after NuStar took an $11 million dive during winter storm Uri in February 2021, though its 2021 first quarter remained profitable. The company previously experienced a $200 million net loss in 2020 after Covid-related upheaval in the oil and gas sector.
But NuStar's Permian Crude Systems are averaging 510,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2022, a 27% increase year over year. The company predicts it will end 2022 with between 560,000 and 570,000 barrels per day, about a 10% increase from the end of 2021, according to NuStar's director of communications, Chris Cho.
NuStar also saw improvement in its refined products pipeline throughput, up 11% year over year. And its Northern Mexico-refined products supply pipelines are performing at a 27% volume increase year over year.
The company expects to generate a full-year 2022 net income of $200 to $230 million and predicts at least 7% growth over 2021, with all its spending self-funded this year from internally generated cash flow.
