Westlake Chemical Partners LP Announces First Quarter 2022 Results

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE: WLKP) (the "Partnership") today reported net income attributable to the Partnership in the first quarter of 2022 of $16.2 million, or $0.46 per limited partner unit, an increase of $1.1 million compared to first quarter 2021 net income of $15.1 million. The Partnership's net income in the first quarter of 2022 was the result of strong production volumes and solid margins on third-party sales. The first quarter of 2021 was impacted by Winter storm Uri and benefited from a $9.7 million buyer deficiency fee as well as recovery of certain other costs from Westlake Corporation ("Westlake") attributable to a related unplanned outage. Cash flows from operating activities in the first quarter of 2022 were $104.8 million, a decrease of $50.6 million compared to first quarter 2021 cash flows from operating activities of $155.4 million. The decrease was due to the timing of payments from Westlake related to the 2021 buyer deficiency and turnaround costs. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, MLP distributable cash flow was $19.3 million, an increase of $3.1 million compared to first quarter 2021 MLP distributable cash flow. The increase in MLP distributable cash flow was primarily attributable to the higher earnings at OpCo as well as reduced contributions to turnaround reserves.

"The Partnership's performance in the first quarter of 2022 reflects strong production volumes following the turnaround of our Petro 2 ethylene facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana in the second half of 2021. We are well positioned to deliver solid cash flows as we continue to benefit from strong production paired with our sales agreement with Westlake that delivers a fixed margin on 95% of our production as well as favorable margin on third party sales during the first quarter," said Albert Chao, President and Chief Executive Officer. "As we look at the full year of 2022, we are excited about the strong underlying fundamentals of the Partnership and continuing to deliver a premium value and predictable cash flows to our unitholders."

On May 2, 2022, the Partnership announced that the Board of Directors of Westlake Chemical Partners GP LLC had approved a quarterly distribution for the first quarter of 2022 of $0.4714 per unit to be payable on May 26, 2022 to unitholders of record as of May 12, 2022, representing the 31^st consecutive quarterly distribution to our unitholders. MLP distributable cash flow provided trailing twelve-month coverage of 1.10x the declared distributions for the first quarter of 2022.

OpCo's Ethylene Sales Agreement with Westlake is designed to provide for stable and predictable cash flows. The agreement provides that 95% of OpCo's ethylene production is sold to Westlake for a cash margin of $0.10 per pound, net of operating costs, maintenance capital expenditures and reserves for future turnaround expenditures.

The statements in this release and the related teleconference relating to matters that are not historical facts, such as those with respect to the ability to deliver value and cash flows, the expectation that strong production will continue and the expectation for sustained performance are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially, based on factors including, but not limited to, the COVID-19 pandemic and the response thereto; operating difficulties; the volume of ethylene that we are able to sell; the price at which we are able to sell ethylene; changes in the price and availability of feedstocks; changes in prevailing economic conditions; actions and commitments of Westlake Corporation; actions of third parties; inclement or hazardous weather conditions, including flooding, and the physical impacts of climate change; environmental hazards; changes in laws and regulations (or the interpretation thereof); inability to acquire or maintain necessary permits; inability to obtain necessary production equipment or replacement parts; technical difficulties or failures; labor disputes; difficulty collecting receivables; inability of our customers to take delivery; fires, explosions or other industrial accidents; our ability to borrow funds and access capital markets; and other risk factors. For more detailed information about the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, please refer to the Partnership's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC in March 2022.

This release is intended to be a qualified notice under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b). Brokers and nominees should treat one hundred percent (100.0%) of the Partnership's distributions to non-U.S. investors as being attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business. Accordingly, the Partnership's distributions to non-U.S. investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release makes reference to certain "non-GAAP" financial measures, such as MLP distributable cash flow and EBITDA. For this purpose, a non-GAAP financial measure is generally defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") as a numerical measure of a registrant's historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows that (1) excludes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding amounts, that are included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") in the statement of income, balance sheet or statement of cash flows (or equivalent statements) of the registrant; or (2) includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of including amounts, that are excluded from the most directly comparable measure so calculated and presented. We report our financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP, but believe that certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as MLP distributable cash flow and EBITDA, provide useful supplemental information to investors regarding the underlying business trends and performance of our ongoing operations and are useful for period-over-period comparisons of such operations. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We define MLP distributable cash flow as distributable cash flow less distributable cash flow attributable to Westlake Corporation's noncontrolling interest in OpCo and distributions attributable to the incentive distribution rights holder. MLP distributable cash flow does not reflect changes in working capital balances. We define EBITDA as net income before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. MLP distributable cash flow and EBITDA are non-GAAP supplemental financial measures that management and external users of our consolidated financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, lenders and rating agencies, may use to assess our operating performance as compared to other publicly traded partnerships, our ability to incur and service debt and fund capital expenditures and the viability of acquisitions and other capital expenditure projects and the returns on investment of various investment opportunities. Reconciliations of MLP distributable cash flow to net income and to net cash provided by operating activities and of EBITDA to net income, income from operations and net cash provided by operating activities can be found in the financial schedules at the end of this press release.

Westlake Chemical Partners LP

Westlake Chemical Partners is a limited partnership formed by Westlake Corporation to operate, acquire and develop ethylene production facilities and other qualified assets. Headquartered in Houston, the Partnership owns a 22.8% interest in Westlake Chemical OpCo LP. Westlake Chemical OpCo LP's assets consist of three ethylene production facilities in Calvert City, Kentucky, and Lake Charles, Louisiana and an ethylene pipeline. For more information about Westlake Chemical Partners LP, please visit http://www.wlkpartners.com.

Westlake Chemical Partners LP Conference Call Information:

A conference call to discuss Westlake Chemical Partners' first quarter 2022 results will be held Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time (12:00 PM Central Time). To access the conference call, dial (855) 765-5686 or (234) 386-2848 for international callers, approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and reference passcode 673 90 02.

A replay of the conference call will be available beginning two hours after its conclusion until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. To hear a replay, dial (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406 for international callers. The replay passcode is 673 90 02.

The conference call will also be available via webcast at: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/zeeudc2d and the earnings release can be obtained via the Partnership web page at: https://investors.wlkpartners.com/corporate-profile/default.aspx.