HOUSTON, TX, Oct. 29, 2009 (Marketwire) --
HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwire) -- 10/29/09 -- Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EEP) ("Enbridge Partners" or "the Partnership") today declared a cash distribution of $0.99 per unit payable November 13, 2009 to unitholders of record on November 5, 2009 (the ex-dividend date will be November 3, 2009). The Partnership's key financial results for the third quarter of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008, were as follows:
Three Months Nine Months
Ended Ended
September 30, September 30,
--------------- ---------------
(unaudited, dollars in millions except per
unit amounts) 2009 2008 2009 2008
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Net income* $ 57.2 $ 119.4 $ 243.3 $ 281.3
Net income per unit 0.37 1.04 1.73 2.58
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Adjusted EBITDA* 247.1 191.7 668.7 570.3
Adjusted net income* 116.0 80.5 287.7 272.5
Adjusted net income per unit 0.86 0.71 2.11 2.49
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*excluding earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest
Adjusted net income reported above eliminates the impact of non-cash, mark-to-market, gains and losses, which arise from changes in the fair value of certain of the Partnership's derivative instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment under applicable accounting standards. Also, removed from 2009 adjusted earnings is the impact of unrecorded prior period revenues recognized during the first quarter that affected the Partnership's liquids operations (see Non-GAAP Reconciliations section below), a non-cash impairment charge related to certain of our natural gas pipelines assets that are classified as held for sale on September 30, 2009 and net income attributable to the noncontrolling interest in the Partnership's Alberta Clipper pipeline project.
Terrance L. McGill, president of the Partnership's management company and of its general partner, commented, "We are very pleased with our third quarter adjusted results which were 44% higher than the same period of 2008 and expect adjusted earnings for the year will be between $350 and $375 million. We continued to make significant progress on our expansion program during the quarter. On August 20th we received the Presidential Border Crossing Permit for the Alberta Clipper project and started construction activities immediately thereafter. We expect to complete this project by mid-2010."
For the third quarter of 2009, the Partnership reported progress on its major internal growth initiatives, as follows:
-- Alberta Clipper: The Alberta Clipper project involves construction of
a new 36-inch diameter, 1,000 mile heavy crude oil pipeline from Hardisty,
Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. Alberta Clipper will have an initial
capacity of 450,000 Bpd and allows for expansions up to 800,000 Bpd by
adding pump stations. Alberta Clipper will be a common carrier line fully
integrated with the Enbridge/Lakehead mainline systems for tolling
purposes. We and Enbridge are progressing with the project, which is
expected to be in service by mid-2010. The commercial structure for this
expansion is a cost-of-service based surcharge that will be added to the
existing transportation rates. We anticipate financing the $1.2 billion of
expected construction costs for the United States portion of the project
through our recently announced joint funding arrangement through which our
general partner will participate jointly in financing a portion of the
construction project in return for a two-thirds interest in the earnings
and cash flows. We anticipate that our share of the first full year EBITDA
resulting from the completion of this project will approximate $57 million.
-- North Dakota: We continue to work on an approximate $150 million
additional expansion consisting of upgrades to existing pump stations,
additional tankage, as well as extensive use of drag reducing agents, or
DRA, that are injected into the pipeline. This expansion of our North
Dakota system, referred to as Phase VI, is expected to increase system
capacity to 161,000 Bpd from the 110,000 Bpd that is currently available.
The commercial structure for this expansion is a cost-of-service based
surcharge that will be added to the existing transportation rates. All
necessary permits and approvals have been received and the Phase VI
expansion is expected to be in service in early 2010.
COMPARATIVE EARNINGS STATEMENT
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
-------------------- ---------------------
(unaudited, dollars in millions
except per unit amounts) 2009 2008 2009 2008
--------- ---------- --------- ----------
Operating revenue $ 1,363.7 $ 2,770.2 $ 4,104.2 $ 8,044.7
Operating expenses:
Cost of natural gas 943.2 2,376.2 2,929.3 7,019.6
Operating and administrative 133.6 135.2 399.0 363.3
Power 33.7 35.0 96.9 104.6
Depreciation and amortization 65.2 54.8 191.7 153.3
--------- ---------- --------- ----------
Operating income 188.0 169.0 487.3 403.9
Interest expense 60.7 50.7 169.9 129.6
Other income 2.8 0.2 2.5 1.5
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Income from continuing
operations before income tax
expense 130.1 118.5 319.9 275.8
Income tax expense 2.7 1.9 6.8 5.0
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Income from continuing
operations 127.4 116.6 313.1 270.8
Income (loss) from discontinued
operations (67.9) 2.8 (67.5) 10.5
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Net income 59.5 119.4 245.6 281.3
Less: Net income attributable
to noncontrolling interest 2.3 -- 2.3 --
--------- ---------- --------- ----------
Net income attributable to
general and limited partner
ownership interests in
Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. $ 57.2 $ 119.4 $ 243.3 $ 281.3
Allocations to General Partner 13.6 17.8 41.9 35.1
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Net income allocable to Limited
Partners $ 43.6 $ 101.6 $ 201.4 $ 246.2
Weighted average limited
partner units (millions) 117.0 96.9 116.0 95.3
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Net income per limited partner
unit (dollars) $ 0.37 $ 1.04 $ 1.73 $ 2.58
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COMPARISON OF QUARTERLY RESULTS
Following are discussions of significant changes in the Partnership's financial results, comparing the third quarter of 2009 with the third quarter of 2008.
