USA Compression Partners Reports First-Quarter 2024 Results; Updates 2024 Outlook; Achieves Record Utilization and Financial Results

AUSTIN, Texas, May 07, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–USA Compression Partners, LP (NYSE: USAC) (“USA Compression” or the “Partnership”) announced today its financial and operating results for first-quarter 2024.

Financial Highlights

• Record total revenues of $229.3 million for first-quarter 2024, compared to $197.1 million for first-quarter 2023.

• Net income was $23.6 million for first-quarter 2024, compared to $10.9 million for first-quarter 2023. Net income for first-quarter 2024 includes an $8.8 million gain on derivative instrument and a $5.0 million loss on extinguishment of debt.

• Net cash provided by operating activities was $65.9 million for first-quarter 2024, compared to $42.3 million for first-quarter 2023.

• Adjusted EBITDA was $139.4 million for first-quarter 2024, compared to $118.2 million for first-quarter 2023.

• Distributable Cash Flow was $86.6 million for first-quarter 2024, compared to $62.6 million for first-quarter 2023.

• Distributable Cash Flow Coverage was 1.41x for first-quarter 2024, compared to 1.21x for first-quarter 2023.

• Paid cash distribution of $0.525 per common unit for first-quarter 2024, consistent with first-quarter 2023.

Strategic Highlights

• In March 2024, the Partnership opportunistically issued $1.0 billion aggregate principal of 7.125% senior notes due 2029 and redeemed $725.0 million aggregate principal 6.875% senior notes due 2026 with the remaining net proceeds used to reduce the revolving credit facility.

• On April 1, 2024, the holders of the Partnership’s Series A Preferred Units (“Preferred Units”) elected to convert an aggregate of 280,000 Preferred Units into 13,991,954 common units, which were issued effective as of April 2, 2024. 2024 guidance for Distributable Cash Flow has been updated to reflect the impact of this conversion.

Operational Highlights

• Record average horsepower utilization of 94.8% for first-quarter 2024, compared to 92.6% for first-quarter 2023.

• Record average revenue-generating horsepower of 3.47 million for first-quarter 2024, compared to 3.24 million for first-quarter 2023.

• Record average revenue per revenue-generating horsepower per month of $19.96 for first-quarter 2024, compared to $18.19 for first-quarter 2023.

“Our first-quarter financial and operational results marked a strong start to 2024 after an outstanding 2023. Our first-quarter 2024 results again achieved record-setting revenues and Adjusted EBITDA, as well as a new record for average and exit utilization of nearly 95-percent,” commented Eric D. Long, USA Compression’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

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“Demand for our high-quality compression services continued to strengthen demonstrated by a 2% sequential-quarter increase for per-horsepower average revenue to a record $19.96 and also a 2% sequential-quarter increase for revenue-generating horsepower to exit the quarter at a record 3.50 million HP driven by our focus on oil-producing basins with associated gas.”

“Despite the current low natural gas price environment, our forward view for natural gas demand is positive for the foreseeable future as new LNG export capacity comes online and AI and data centers create incremental electric generation demand. We believe this outlook for natural gas, coupled with strong oil demand, will keep the demand for our services high, which we expect will allow us enhanced financial flexibility, as we continue to focus on delivering exceptional service to our customers and returning value to our unitholders.”

Expansion capital expenditures were $104.8 million, maintenance capital expenditures were $5.8 million, and cash interest expense, net was $44.7 million for first-quarter 2024.

On April 11, 2024, the Partnership announced a first-quarter cash distribution of $0.525 per common unit, which corresponds to an annualized distribution rate of $2.10 per common unit. The distribution was paid on May 3, 2024, to common unitholders of record as of the close of business on April 22, 2024.

Operational and Financial Data

Liquidity and Long-Term Debt

As of March 31, 2024, the Partnership was in compliance with all covenants under its $1.6 billion revolving credit facility. As of March 31, 2024, the Partnership had outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility of $736.1 million and, after accounting for outstanding letters of credit in the amount of $0.5 million, $863.4 million of remaining unused availability, of which, due to restrictions related to compliance with the applicable financial covenants, $429.3 million was available to be drawn. As of March 31, 2024, the outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Partnership’s 6.875% senior notes due 2027 and 7.125% senior notes due 2029 was $750.0 million and $1.0 billion, respectively.

Full-Year 2024 Outlook

USA Compression is updating its full-year 2024 guidance as follows:

• Net income range of $95.0 million to $115.0 million;

• A forward-looking estimate of net cash provided by operating activities is not provided because the items necessary to estimate net cash provided by operating activities, in particular the change in operating assets and liabilities, are not accessible or estimable at this time. The Partnership does not anticipate changes in operating assets and liabilities to be material, but changes in accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and deferred revenue could be significant, such that the amount of net cash provided by operating activities would vary substantially from the amount of projected Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow;

• Adjusted EBITDA range of $555.0 million to $575.0 million; and

• Distributable Cash Flow range of $340.0 million to $360.0 million.

Conference Call

The Partnership will host a conference call today beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Central Time) to discuss first-quarter 2024 performance. The call will be broadcast live over the internet. Investors may participate by audio webcast, or if located in the U.S. or Canada, by phone. A replay will be available shortly after the call via the “Events” page of USA Compression’s Investor Relations website.

About USA Compression Partners, LP

USA Compression Partners, LP is one of the nation’s largest independent providers of natural gas compression services in terms of total compression fleet horsepower. USA Compression partners with a broad customer base composed of producers, processors, gatherers, and transporters of natural gas and crude oil. USA Compression focuses on providing midstream natural gas compression services to infrastructure applications primarily in high-volume gathering systems, processing facilities, and transportation applications. More information is available at usacompression.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release includes the Non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted gross margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Distributable Cash Flow, and Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio.

Adjusted gross margin is defined as revenue less cost of operations, exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense. Management believes Adjusted gross margin is useful to investors as a supplemental measure of the Partnership’s operating profitability. Adjusted gross margin primarily is impacted by the pricing trends for service operations and cost of operations, including labor rates for service technicians, volume, and per-unit costs for lubricant oils, quantity and pricing of routine preventative maintenance on compression units, and property tax rates on compression units. Adjusted gross margin should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, gross margin or any other measure presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, the Partnership’s Adjusted gross margin, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Because the Partnership capitalizes assets, depreciation and amortization of equipment is a necessary element of its cost structure. To compensate for the limitations of Adjusted gross margin as a measure of the Partnership’s performance, management believes it important to consider gross margin determined under GAAP, as well as Adjusted gross margin, to evaluate the Partnership’s operating profitability.

Management views Adjusted EBITDA as one of its primary tools for evaluating the Partnership’s results of operations, and the Partnership tracks this item on a monthly basis as an absolute amount and as a percentage of revenue compared to the prior month, year-to-date, prior year, and budget. The Partnership defines EBITDA as net income (loss) before net interest expense, depreciation and amortization expense, and income tax expense (benefit). The Partnership defines Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA plus impairment of compression equipment, impairment of goodwill, interest income on capital leases, unit-based compensation expense (benefit), severance charges, certain transaction expenses, loss (gain) on disposition of assets, loss on extinguishment of debt, loss (gain) on derivative instrument, and other. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a supplemental financial measure by management and external users of the Partnership’s financial statements, such as investors and commercial banks, to assess:

• the financial performance of the Partnership’s assets without regard to the impact of financing methods, capital structure, or the historical cost basis of the Partnership’s assets;

• the viability of capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return on alternative investment opportunities;

• the ability of the Partnership’s assets to generate cash sufficient to make debt payments and pay distributions; and

• the Partnership’s operating performance as compared to those of other companies in its industry without regard to the impact of financing methods and capital structure.

Management believes Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors because, when viewed in conjunction with the Partnership’s GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations, it may provide a more complete assessment of the Partnership’s performance as compared to considering solely GAAP results. Management also believes that external users of the Partnership’s financial statements benefit from having access to the same financial measures that management uses to evaluate the results of the Partnership’s business.

Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), operating income (loss), cash flows from operating activities, or any other measure presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, the Partnership’s Adjusted EBITDA, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Distributable Cash Flow is defined as net income (loss) plus non-cash interest expense, non-cash income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization expense, unit-based compensation expense (benefit), impairment of compression equipment, impairment of goodwill, certain transaction expenses, severance charges, loss (gain) on disposition of assets, loss on extinguishment of debt, change in fair value of derivative instrument, proceeds from insurance recovery, and other, less distributions on Preferred Units and maintenance capital expenditures.

Distributable Cash Flow should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), operating income (loss), cash flows from operating activities, or any other measure presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, the Partnership’s Distributable Cash Flow, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.​

Management believes Distributable Cash Flow is an important measure of operating performance because it allows management, investors, and others to compare the cash flows that the Partnership generates (after distributions on Preferred Units but prior to any retained cash reserves established by the Partnership’s general partner and the effect of the Distribution Reinvestment Plan) to the cash distributions that the Partnership expects to pay its common unitholders.

Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio is defined as the period’s Distributable Cash Flow divided by distributions declared to common unitholders in respect of such period. Management believes Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio is an important measure of operating performance because it permits management, investors, and others to assess the Partnership’s ability to pay distributions to common unitholders out of the cash flows the Partnership generates. The Partnership’s Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

This news release also contains a forward-looking estimate of Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow projected to be generated by the Partnership for its 2024 fiscal year. A forward-looking estimate of net cash provided by operating activities and reconciliations of the forward-looking estimates of Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow to net cash provided by operating activities are not provided because the items necessary to estimate net cash provided by operating activities, in particular the change in operating assets and liabilities, are not accessible or estimable at this time. The Partnership does not anticipate changes in operating assets and liabilities to be material, but changes in accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and deferred revenue could be significant, such that the amount of net cash provided by operating activities would vary substantially from the amount of projected Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow.

See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for Adjusted gross margin reconciled to gross margin, Adjusted EBITDA reconciled to net income and net cash provided by operating activities, and net income and net cash provided by operating activities reconciled to Distributable Cash Flow and Distributable Cash Flow Coverage Ratio.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the information in this news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “may,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “if,” “project,” “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “should,” or other similar words or the negatives thereof, and include the Partnership’s expectation of future performance contained herein, including as described under “Full-Year 2024 Outlook.” These statements discuss future expectations, contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition, or state other “forward-looking” information. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which can be affected by assumptions used or by known risks or uncertainties. Consequently, no forward-looking statements can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors noted below and other cautionary statements in this news release. The risk factors and other factors noted throughout this news release could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Known material factors that could cause the Partnership’s actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by such forward-looking statements include:

• changes in economic conditions of the crude oil and natural gas industries, including any impact from the ongoing military conflict involving Russia and Ukraine or the conflict in the Middle East;

• changes in general economic conditions, including inflation or supply chain disruptions;

• changes in the long-term supply of and demand for crude oil and natural gas, including as a result of, actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to world health events, and the resulting disruption in the oil and gas industry and impact on demand for oil and gas;

• competitive conditions in the Partnership’s industry, including competition for employees in a tight labor market;

• changes in the availability and cost of capital, including changes to interest rates;

• renegotiation of material terms of customer contracts;

• actions taken by the Partnership’s customers, competitors, and third-party operators;

• operating hazards, natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics, weather-related impacts, casualty losses, and other matters beyond the Partnership’s control;

• the deterioration of the financial condition of the Partnership’s customers, which may result in the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings with respect to certain customers;

• the restrictions on the Partnership’s business that are imposed under the Partnership’s long-term debt agreements;

• information technology risks, including the risk from cyberattacks, cybersecurity breaches, and other disruptions to the Partnership’s information systems;

• the effects of existing and future laws and governmental regulations;

• the effects of future litigation;

• factors described in Part I, Item 1A (“Risk Factors”) of the Partnership’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 13, 2024, and subsequently filed reports; and

• other factors discussed in the Partnership’s filings with the SEC.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. Unless legally required, the Partnership undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed herein also could have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements.

 

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Contacts

USA Compression Partners, LP
Investor Relations
[email protected]