Kevin Kremke
Analyst · J.P. Morgan
Thanks, Keith. We had a great quarter, with record results and solid cash flow generation from our operations. As you can see on Slide 3, for the third quarter 2018, Delek US reported net income of $179.8 million or $2.03 per diluted share, compared to net income of $104.4 million or $1.29 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2017. On an adjusted basis for the third quarter of this year, Delek US reported net income of $174.8 million or $2.02 per diluted share compared to an adjusted net income of $60.9 million or $0.77 per diluted share in the prior-year period. Our adjusted EBITDA increased by 66% to $310.6 million in the third quarter of this year, compared to $186.7 million in the prior-year period. Our consolidated contribution margin improved to $360.7 million in the third quarter of 2018, compared to $200.2 million in the third quarter of last year. This was led by refining, as it benefited from a wider Midland to Cushing crude oil differential that drove a contribution margin of $319.5 million, compared to a contribution margin of $180.1 million in the third quarter of last year. Both logistics and retail also improved on a year-over-year basis. Turning now to capital spending, our capital expenditures during the period were $86 million, compared to $69 million in the third quarter of last year. Our 2018 CapEx forecast is $305 million. This amount includes $192 million in our refining segment, $12 million in our logistics segment, $12 million at retail, and $89 million at the corporate level. Included in the corporate level spending for 2018 is approximately $78 million related to the Big Spring Gathering System in the Permian Basin. We have spent approximately $211 million year-to-date through the end of the third quarter on consolidated basis. Slide 4 bridges our cash position from June 30 to September 30. We ended the third quarter with approximately $1.1 billion of cash on a consolidated basis and $753 million of net debt. Excluding net debt at Delek Logistics of $758 million, we had a net cash position of $5 million at September 30. We had great financial performance during the third quarter of 2018, and generated approximately $368 million of cash from continuing operations. Taking into consideration our cash capital expenditures of $85.5 million, our free cash flow during the quarter was $282 million. This supported our ability to return $113 million of cash to our shareholders, while also reducing debt, which included paying off the $150 million convertible notes with cash. With a large cash balance and a strong balance sheet, we get plenty of questions on how we think about capital allocation. On Slide 5, I wanted to spend a couple of minutes discussing our disciplined approach that looks to balance returning cash to shareholders and prudently investing in the business to support safe and reliable operations, while also exploring opportunities for additional growth. Our goal is to balance the different aspects of this program based on valuations of each opportunity and how it matches our strategic goals for the company, while factoring in market conditions and expected cash generation. From a return standpoint, we generally target 25% IRR in refining, and 15% for retail and the more stable logistics investments. As we think about different investment opportunities and the nature of the industry in which we operate, our goal is to maintain a strong balance sheet in an effort to provide flexibility through the cycles of the business as we focus on creating long-term value for our shareholders. Our investment in our gathering system, combined with our strategy to participate in a long-haul crude oil pipeline, should support our midstream growth. I want to point out that we have the ability to use our balance sheet to support these investments. While we do have a large cash balance, we expect to fund these investments during the construction period with 60% to 70% debt, depending on our cash generation and alternate investment opportunities. This should give us the ability to support our strategic investments, while allocating capital to other uses, including returning cash to shareholders. Next, I would like to give some operational updates, beginning on Slide 6. Our alkylation project at the Krotz Springs refinery is proceeding as scheduled, and we expect it to be operational in late first quarter of 2019. Through September 2018, we spent approximately $82 million on this project. We expect to spend approximately $21 million in the fourth quarter of this year and the remaining $10 million in the first quarter of next year. The expected total cost is approximately $113 million, and we expect annual EBITDA from this project to be $45 million to $50 million. As a reminder, this project should provide additional production flexibility at Krotz Springs, as it improves the ability to convert low-value isobutanes into higher-value gasoline products, such as low RVP summer grade and premium gasoline. This project further reduces the portfolio's dependence on crack spreads to generate future EBITDA. Next, I would like to provide greater detail around our Big Spring gathering system. This system, as shown on Slide 7 is expected to cost around $205 million, of which between $125 million and $130 million is expected to be spent in 2019. The system will have capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, and we currently have more than 200,000 dedicated acres and expect this to grow further. It has an expected annualized EBITDA in the range of $40 million to $50 million, including a crude quality benefit in refining, which should be achieved by 2022. On Slide 8, I wanted to provide some guidance for modeling in the fourth quarter of 2018. During the third quarter, our total refining system crude oil throughput was approximately 283,000 barrels per day. For the fourth quarter of 2018, we expect crude oil throughput in the refining system to average between 275,000 and 285,000 barrels per day. In addition, based on the forward curve on November 5, we expect to purchase our Midland crude oil at approximately $8 to $9 discount to Cushing in the fourth quarter. Taking into consideration the inventory timing effect, we estimate based on the forward curve that our realized Midland discount in our gross margin will be in the range of $10 to $10.15 per barrel. This should continue to drive cash flow generation from our operations. We have also included additional guidance for select income statement items in CapEx for modeling purposes. Next, I will turn the call over to Uzi for closing comments.