HollyFrontier Corporation (NYSE:HFC) today reported third quarter net income attributable to HollyFrontier stockholders of $74.5 million or $0.42 per diluted share for the quarter ended September 30, 2016, compared to $196.3 million or $1.04 per diluted share for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.
For the third quarter, net income attributable to our stockholders, exclusive of lower of cost or market inventory valuation adjustments and related tax effects, decreased by $276.0 million compared to the same period of 2015, principally reflecting lower refining margins. Production levels averaged approximately 457,000 barrels per day (“BPD”) and crude oil charges averaged 444,000 BPD for the current quarter. On a per barrel basis, consolidated refinery gross margin was $9.83 per produced barrel, a 50% decrease compared to $19.85 for the third quarter of 2015. Total operating expenses for the quarter were $256.2 million compared to $265.4 million for the third quarter of last year, and refining operating expenses averaged $5.49 per produced barrel sold compared to $5.46 per barrel for the same period of 2015. A reconciliation of actual to adjusted amounts are shown in the accompanying reconciliations to amounts reported under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles tables.
HollyFrontier’s President & CEO, George Damiris, commented, “Excellent operational reliability and continued progress on controlling operating and capital spending were overshadowed by weak industry margins, a diminishing crude advantage and escalating costs associated with the RFS mandate during the quarter. Given our balance sheet strength and excellent liquidity position, HollyFrontier remains well positioned to withstand the challenging operating environment and exploit potential opportunities. Last week, we announced the acquisition of Suncor Energy’s Petro-Canada Lubricants business (“PCLI”). PCLI will diversify HollyFrontier’s earnings stream through the addition of a differentiated high-margin business that generates more stable cash flows. We anticipate that lubricants will represent more than 20% of normalized refining EBITDA and a higher percentage in a low fuels margin year like 2016. We believe increased scale in high-margin, lower volatility lubricants, alongside our high-quality refining and midstream business will drive continued value creation for our shareholders.”
For the third quarter of 2016, net cash provided by operations totaled $133.9 million. During the period , we declared a dividend of $0.33 per share to shareholders totaling $58.4 million. At September 30, 2016, our combined balance of cash and short-term investments totaled $478.2 million and our consolidated debt was $1,665.6 million. Our debt, exclusive of Holly Energy Partners’ debt, which is nonrecourse to HollyFrontier, was $595.0 million at September 30, 2016.
The Company has scheduled a webcast conference call for today, November 3, 2016, at 8:30 AM Eastern Time to discuss third quarter financial results. This webcast may be accessed at: https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1120080. An audio archive of this webcast will be available using the above noted link through November 17, 2016.
HollyFrontier Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is an independent petroleum refiner and marketer that produces high-value light products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and other specialty products. HollyFrontier operates through its subsidiaries a 135,000 barrels per stream day (“BPSD”) refinery located in El Dorado, Kansas, two refinery facilities with a combined capacity of 125,000 BPSD located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a 100,000 BPSD refinery located in Artesia, New Mexico, a 52,000 BPSD refinery located in Cheyenne, Wyoming and a 45,000 BPSD refinery in Woods Cross, Utah. HollyFrontier markets its refined products principally in the Southwest U.S., the Rocky Mountains extending into the Pacific Northwest and in other neighboring Plains states. A subsidiary of HollyFrontier also owns a 37% interest (including the general partner interest) in Holly Energy Partners, L.P.
