Scott Burrows
Analyst · RBC Capital Markets
Thanks, Mick. Pembina reported adjusted EBITDA of $778 million for the second quarter, 1% lower than the same period last year. Within our core business segments, we saw a strong performance from existing assets along with Prince Rupert Terminal, Empress infrastructure, and Duvernay III being placed into Service and Facilities, and higher interruptible volumes on the Peace Pipeline system. In the marketing business, Pembina benefited from higher margins on NGL and crude oil sales and the positive impact of the higher marketed NGL volumes. However, a portion of this improvement in marketing fundamentals was offset by an increase in the realized loss on commodity-related derivatives as part of our systematic hedging program compared to a gain in the same quarter last year. In addition, second-quarter marketing results were negatively impacted by approximately $8 million of rail transportation cost to reposition propane to Corona for sale in the fourth quarter of 2021 and first quarter of 2022, rather than for a sale in the second quarter. Further, a portion of the period-over-period differences are due to the timing of storage-related margins as the majority of 2020 storage margins were earned in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 2021, where storage margins are being realized evenly throughout the year. Improved overall results in the marketing business were offset by a lower U.S. dollar exchange rate, higher power costs, a portion of which were not recoverable in revenue, and higher general and administrative expenses due to higher long-term incentive costs, driven by Pembina's increasing share price. It is worth noting that in 2021, specifically, each $1 move in Pembina's share price impacts compensation-related expense by about $2 million. As well, comparatively, the current quarter was impacted by lower revenue at the Edmonton South Rail Terminal due to a one-time $11 million leasing adjustment made in the second quarter of last year that resulted in that quarter being better than it would've otherwise been. In contextualizing our second quarter and year-to-date results, as well as our outlook for the full-year 2021 adjusted EBITDA, it is worth pausing on the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates. Approximately 25% of Pembina's business is exposed to foreign currency, primarily the U.S. dollar. This exposure primarily resides in our transmission assets in the Pipeline division, as well as our marketing business with a primary pricing benchmark for the purchase and sale of commodity products that occur in U.S. dollars. As part of Pembina's frac spread hedging program, we hedged the currency exposure embedded in those hedges. Over the last 12 months, the Canada - U.S. dollar exchange rate has exhibited significant volatility. During the second quarter of 2020, the Canadian dollar averaged nearly $1.39, while in the Second Quarter of 2021, it averaged nearly $1.23. For the balance of 2021, for each $0.01 change in the Canadian U.S. exchange rate, it equates to roughly $6 million of adjusted EBITDA, with 2 million being attributed to the transmission assets and $4 million attributable to the marketing business. Furthermore, given the seasonal profiles of our marketing business, these sensitivities will vary when applied to quarterly results. Second-quarter earnings of $254 million were 2% lower than the same period in the prior year. In addition to the factors impacting EBITDA, earnings were positively impacted by a lower unrealized loss on commodity-related derivatives and lower current tax expense, as well as various other factors outlined in our second-quarter report. Total volumes of 3.5 million barrels per day for the second quarter represent approximately a 2% increase over the same period in the prior year. In pipelines, higher interruptible volumes on Peace and Cochin pipelines as well as higher seasonal volumes on Alliance were offset by lower interruptible volumes on Vantage, as market conditions exist for end-users to source their supply from the Redwater complex and lower volumes on Ruby Pipeline due to contract expiries. In Facilities, increased revenue volumes associated with Duvernay III being placed into service in the fourth quarter of 2020, was largely offset by lower supply volumes on the East NGL system, as these assets are now being processed at the Empress NGL extraction facility. Overall, however, as Mick highlighted, we have seen strong year-to-date results, and our outlook for the remainder of the year and into 2022 remains very positive, reflecting a stronger economic backdrop, robust energy prices, an improved outlook for producer activity levels. I'll now turn things over to Mick for closing comments.