Sunoco LP (SUN) 2022 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to Sunoco LP's First Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference call. (Operator Instructions). As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Scott Grischow, Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you, Scott. You may begin.

您好，歡迎參加 Sunoco LP 的 2022 年第一季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）。提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我很高興向您介紹您的主持人，投資者關係副總裁 Scott Grischow。謝謝你，斯科特。你可以開始了。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. On the call with me this morning are Joe Kim, Sunoco LP's President and Chief Executive Officer; Karl Fails, Chief Operations Officer; Dylan Bramhall, Chief Financial Officer; and other members of the management team. Today's call will contain forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These statements include expectations and assumptions regarding the partnership's future operations and financial performance, including expectations and assumptions related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

謝謝大家，大家早上好。今天早上與我通話的是 Sunoco LP 總裁兼首席執行官 Joe Kim； Karl Fails，首席運營官； Dylan Bramhall，首席財務官；和管理團隊的其他成員。今天的電話會議將包含受各種風險和不確定性影響的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述包括對合作夥伴未來運營和財務業績的預期和假設，包括與 COVID-19 大流行影響相關的預期和假設。

Actual results could differ materially and the partnership undertakes no obligation to update these statements based on subsequent events. Please refer to our earnings release as well as our filings with the SEC for a list of these factors. During today's call, we will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow as adjusted. Please refer to the Sunoco LP's website for a reconciliation of each financial measure. I will now turn the call over to Dylan to discuss first quarter results and our outlook for the remainder of 2022.

實際結果可能存在重大差異，合作夥伴不承擔根據後續事件更新這些聲明的義務。有關這些因素的列表，請參閱我們的收益發布以及我們向 SEC 提交的文件。在今天的電話會議中，我們還將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標，包括調整後的 EBITDA 和調整後的可分配現金流。請參閱 Sunoco LP 的網站，了解各項財務指標的對賬情況。我現在將把電話轉給迪倫，討論第一季度的業績和我們對 2022 年剩餘時間的展望。

Thanks, Scott. Before I walk through our first quarter results and accomplishments, I'd like to start by thanking our employees for their efforts in delivering excellent financial results this quarter against one of the most difficult macro backdrops in recent history. The team did an outstanding job of executing on our strategies in the face of a rapid increase in oil and gas prices, which resulted in the partnership reporting one of its strongest first quarters on record. Moving on to M&A. We closed on our third acquisition in the past 6 months with the addition of the Gladieux Energy assets to the Sunoco portfolio on March 31, 2022.

謝謝，斯科特。在我介紹我們的第一季度業績和成就之前，我想首先感謝我們的員工在最近歷史上最困難的宏觀背景之一下為本季度提供出色的財務業績所做的努力。面對石油和天然氣價格的快速上漲，該團隊在執行我們的戰略方面表現出色，這導致該合作夥伴關係報告了有史以來最強勁的第一季度之一。繼續併購。我們於 2022 年 3 月 31 日完成了過去 6 個月的第三次收購，將 Gladieux Energy 資產添加到 Sunoco 投資組合中。

This acquisition demonstrates our continued commitment to expand our midstream asset base with low-risk, solid return capital deployment. As a reminder, we expect a sub 7x EBITDA multiple on this investment, which, combined with our ability to finance with a mix of low-cost revolver borrowing and cash from operations, results in very strong accretion to our unitholders. Regarding guidance, the 2022 adjusted EBITDA of between $770 million and $810 million provided in early December, excluded the impact of the Gladieux energy acquisition, and we remain confident in that range for the legacy Sunoco business.

此次收購表明我們繼續致力於通過低風險、穩健的回報資本部署來擴大我們的中游資產基礎。提醒一下，我們預計這項投資的 EBITDA 倍數將低於 7 倍，再加上我們通過低成本左輪手槍借款和運營現金相結合的融資能力，將為我們的單位持有人帶來非常強勁的增長。關於指引，12 月初提供的 2022 年調整後 EBITDA 介於 7.7 億美元至 8.1 億美元之間，不包括收購 Gladieux 能源的影響，我們對傳統 Sunoco 業務的這一範圍仍然充滿信心。

We are adding $25 million to this range to reflect the acquisition, which results in updated guidance of $795 million to $835 million. Now shifting over to our first quarter 2022 results. The partnership recorded net income of $216 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $191 million compared to $157 million in the first quarter of 2021. Volumes were approximately 1.8 billion gallons, an increase of 1% versus the first quarter of 2021. Fuel margin was $0.124 per gallon versus $0.103 per gallon in the first quarter of 2021. Fuel margin results include the benefit of the 7-Eleven makeup payment of $13 million.

我們將在此範圍內增加 2500 萬美元以反映此次收購，這導致更新後的指導為 7.95 億美元至 8.35 億美元。現在轉到我們 2022 年第一季度的業績。該合夥企業的淨收入為 2.16 億美元。調整後 EBITDA 為 1.91 億美元，而 2021 年第一季度為 1.57 億美元。銷量約為 18 億加侖，比 2021 年第一季度增長 1%。燃料利潤率為每加侖 0.124 美元，而第一季度為每加侖 0.103 美元2021 年燃料利潤結果包括 7-11 補妝支付 1300 萬美元的收益。

Total operating expenses in the first quarter were $124 million, up from $100 million in Q1 of last year and essentially flat to Q4. This increase was primarily driven by the NuStar terminal acquisitions and some additional costs that we reinstituted over 2021 that have been temporarily cut during the onset of the COVID pandemic. First quarter distributable cash flow as adjusted was $142 million, yielding a current quarter coverage ratio of 1.63x and a trailing 12-month coverage ratio of 1.66x. On April 26, we declared an $0.8255 per unit distribution, consistent with last quarter.

第一季度的總運營費用為 1.24 億美元，高於去年第一季度的 1 億美元，與第四季度基本持平。這一增長主要是由收購 NuStar 終端和我們在 2021 年重新制定的一些額外成本推動的，這些成本在 COVID 大流行開始期間已暫時削減。調整後的第一季度可分配現金流為 1.42 億美元，當前季度覆蓋率為 1.63 倍，過去 12 個月覆蓋率為 1.66 倍。 4 月 26 日，我們宣布每單位分配 0.8255 美元，與上一季度一致。

We continue to maintain a stable and secure distribution for our unitholders, which remains the number one pillar behind our capital allocation strategy. Leverage at the end of the quarter was 4.3x, which includes a significant increase in working capital associated with higher commodity prices for our fuel inventory. We expect leverage to trend down toward our target throughout the year and could see an acceleration of this deleveraging of commodity prices decline from current levels. In early April, we closed on an amended and restated $1.5 billion credit facility.

我們繼續為我們的單位持有人維持穩定和安全的分配，這仍然是我們資本配置策略的第一大支柱。本季度末的槓桿率為 4.3 倍，其中包括與燃料庫存商品價格上漲相關的營運資金顯著增加。我們預計全年槓桿率將趨向於我們的目標，並且可能會看到商品價格從當前水平下降的這種去槓桿化加速。 4 月初，我們完成了一項經修訂和重述的 15 億美元信貸額度。

The maturity date was extended out 5 years to April 2027, and at substantially similar terms as the previous facility. First quarter's strong results, the recently closed acquisitions and the successful extension of our revolving credit facility, demonstrate our commitment to maintaining Sunoco's solid financial foundation and to increase value to our stakeholders through a strategy of disciplined capital investment and balance sheet management. With that, I will now turn the call over to Karl to walk through some additional thoughts on the first quarter performance and recent growth initiatives. Karl?

到期日延長 5 年至 2027 年 4 月，條款與之前的貸款基本相似。第一季度的強勁業績、最近完成的收購以及我們循環信貸額度的成功擴展，表明我們致力於維持 Sunoco 堅實的財務基礎，並通過嚴格的資本投資和資產負債表管理戰略為我們的利益相關者增加價值。有了這個，我現在將把電話轉給卡爾，讓他對第一季度的業績和最近的增長計劃進行一些額外的思考。卡爾?

Thanks, Dylan. Good morning, everyone. We delivered another strong quarter, supported by continued strength in margins and expense discipline. As Dylan mentioned, commodity prices in the first quarter were highly volatile. In addition, the dramatic rise in prices created significant headwinds for the first quarter. To put it in perspective, both gasoline and diesel futures reached all-time highs during the quarter and hovered around prices not seen since 2008.

謝謝，迪倫。大家，早安。在利潤率和費用紀律的持續強勁的支持下，我們實現了又一個強勁的季度。正如迪倫所說，第一季度的大宗商品價格波動很大。此外，價格的大幅上漲給第一季度帶來了巨大的阻力。從長遠來看，汽油和柴油期貨在本季度均創下歷史新高，並徘徊在自 2008 年以來未見的價格附近。

From beginning to end, gasoline futures were up $0.96 a gallon and diesel futures were up $1.36 a gallon. Despite these challenging market conditions, the first quarter again showed the resiliency of our business model. Volumes for the quarter were up about 1% versus first quarter of last year. As I mentioned in our last earnings call, there were some Omicron-related weakness in January with volumes returning in February. We saw some volume weakness in March, but are starting to see early signs of seasonal pickup in demand in April.

自始至終，汽油期貨每加侖上漲 0.96 美元，柴油期貨每加侖上漲 1.36 美元。儘管市場條件充滿挑戰，但第一季度再次顯示了我們業務模式的彈性。本季度的銷量與去年第一季度相比增長了約 1%。正如我在上次財報電話會議中提到的，1 月份出現了一些與 Omicron 相關的疲軟，而 2 月份的銷量回升。我們在 3 月份看到了一些銷量疲軟，但開始看到 4 月份需求季節性回升的早期跡象。

Looking at margins. In the first quarter, we delivered strong margins of $0.124 per gallon, even in the face of the record price increases across the quarter that I already shared. There are a few key contributing factors worth mentioning. The first is the 7-Eleven makeup payment that occurs annually in the first quarter; second, industry breakeven margins continue to stay elevated, especially in the face of rising inflation; finally, our gross profit optimization strategy continues to be part of our day-to-day business, which particularly helps us in volatile market conditions.

看著邊距。在第一季度，我們實現了每加侖 0.124 美元的強勁利潤率，即使面對我已經分享的整個季度創紀錄的價格上漲。有幾個關鍵因素值得一提。第一個是每年第一季度發生的 7-11 補妝支付；其次，行業盈虧平衡利潤率繼續保持較高水平，尤其是在通脹上升的情況下；最後，我們的毛利優化策略仍然是我們日常業務的一部分，這對我們在動蕩的市場條件下尤其有幫助。

A few years ago, we introduced the hypothesis that our business model exhibited asymmetric risk to market movements. While we are not immune to market dynamics, this quarter continues to show that our optimization strategies are able to counteract some of the effects of challenging market conditions like rising prices. And then when the market provides favorable conditions with falling prices, we are able to capitalize and deliver to the upside. I also want to add a few thoughts on expenses. As we have discussed many times, efficient operation and expense control is part of our DNA.

幾年前，我們引入了假設，即我們的商業模式對市場走勢表現出不對稱風險。雖然我們不能免受市場動態的影響，但本季度繼續表明，我們的優化策略能夠抵消具有挑戰性的市場條件（如價格上漲）的一些影響。然後，當市場提供價格下跌的有利條件時，我們就能夠獲利並實現上行。我還想補充一些關於費用的想法。正如我們多次討論過的，高效的運營和費用控制是我們 DNA 的一部分。

This year, we faced headwinds on expenses with the impact of higher fuel prices and overall inflation. Much of this impact was contemplated in our guidance given in December, some was not. The most important thing to keep in mind is that higher costs are generally passed through and contribute to higher breakeven margins. As we use our size and scale to remain efficient this can even be an advantage for us relative to other players in our space. Moving on to Brownsville. We are excited to share that our terminals operational and commercial sales commenced in late March.

今年，由於燃料價格上漲和整體通脹的影響，我們面臨著開支方面的不利因素。我們在 12 月給出的指導中已經考慮到了這種影響的大部分，有些則沒有。要記住的最重要的事情是，較高的成本通常會被轉移並有助於提高盈虧平衡利潤率。當我們利用我們的規模和規模來保持效率時，相對於我們所在領域的其他參與者，這甚至可以成為我們的優勢。繼續前往布朗斯維爾。我們很高興地分享我們的終端運營和商業銷售於 3 月下旬開始。

There will be a natural ramp in operations over the next 24 months or so. We're excited to bring this organically developed asset into service with our strong domestic demand as well as the export opportunities from this strategic location. We are also pleased with the closing of our Gladieux acquisition at the end of the quarter. The integration is going well, and although we are early in the process, the business is performing as expected. This is another meaningful expansion to our midstream portfolio.

在接下來的 24 個月左右，運營將自然增長。我們很高興能夠利用我們強勁的國內需求以及這個戰略位置的出口機會，將這一有機開發的資產投入使用。我們也對在本季度末完成對 Gladieux 的收購感到高興。整合進展順利，雖然我們處於早期階段，但業務表現符合預期。這是我們中游產品組合的又一次有意義的擴展。

As a reminder, the acquired assets consist primarily of the largest transmix processing facility in North America located in Huntington, Indiana as well as the associated refined product terminal. We also acquired a long-term operating lease in which we will operate Buckeye Partner's Indianola transmix facility outside of Pittsburgh. As with all our midstream acquisitions, while we like the stand-alone business, we are most excited about the combination of these assets with our fuel distribution portfolio and are looking forward to growing our presence in the Indiana market.

提醒一下，收購的資產主要包括位於印第安納州亨廷頓的北美最大的混合加工設施以及相關的精煉產品終端。我們還獲得了長期經營租賃，我們將在匹茲堡以外經營 Buckeye Partner 的 Indianola transmix 設施。與我們所有的中游收購一樣，雖然我們喜歡獨立業務，但我們對這些資產與我們的燃料分銷組合的結合感到最興奮，並期待擴大我們在印第安納州市場的影響力。

Before turning over to Joe, I will reiterate the strength of our underlying business. We are off to a strong start to the year, and we'll continue to focus on delivering results for our stakeholders through our proven recipe of gross profit optimization, tight expense control, solid efficient operations and growing our core business. Joe?

在交給喬之前，我將重申我們基礎業務的實力。我們今年開局良好，我們將繼續專注於通過我們行之有效的毛利潤優化配方、嚴格的費用控制、穩健高效的運營和發展我們的核心業務，為我們的利益相關者提供成果。喬？

Thanks, Karl. Good morning, everyone. We delivered a strong first quarter. Dylan and Karl have walked you through the key details. However, there are a few items that I would like to further highlight. On the volume side, every quarter presents a unique set of challenges, but this quarter had more than most. The volume recovery that we saw last year subsided at the beginning of the quarter due to a massive increase in COVID cases. As cases start to go down and volumes start to recover, a rapid and material increase in fuel prices became evident at every street corner.

謝謝，卡爾。大家，早安。我們第一季度表現強勁。 Dylan 和 Karl 向您介紹了關鍵細節。但是，我想進一步強調一些項目。在數量方面，每個季度都會出現一系列獨特的挑戰，但本季度的挑戰比大多數都多。由於 COVID 病例大量增加，我們去年看到的銷量回昇在本季度初有所減弱。隨著病例開始下降和銷量開始回升，每個街角的燃料價格都出現了明顯的快速實質性上漲。

The short and long-term impact of higher prices is still to be determined. The pace of continued volume recovery will center around a few key questions: first, how long will higher prices remain; second, how is the overall economy performing; and finally, how many more workers will return to a more traditional pre-COVID commuter schedule. Even with all these questions, we do expect fuel volume to increase as the year progresses as a result of typical seasonality, and we expect margins to remain healthy given higher industry breakeven.

價格上漲的短期和長期影響仍有待確定。銷量持續回升的步伐將圍繞幾個關鍵問題展開：首先，價格上漲會持續多久；二是整體經濟表現如何；最後，還有多少工人將回到更傳統的 COVID 之前的通勤時間表。儘管存在所有這些問題，但由於典型的季節性因素，我們確實預計燃料量會隨著時間的推移而增加，並且我們預計利潤率將保持健康，因為行業盈虧平衡較高。

The key to Sunoco's earning power has been our ability to optimize fuel gross profit and control costs. This has allowed us to minimize the downside and also allows us to capture the upside when the commodity market supports it. Quarter after quarter, we have proven the durability of our business. And looking forward, we expect 2022 to be another strong year. Moving on to growth. We continue to strengthen our business by growing our midstream assets. With the addition of Gladieux and the start-up of the Brownsville terminal, we continue to vertically integrate and provide a more enhanced platform for fuel distribution growth.

Sunoco 盈利能力的關鍵在於我們優化燃料毛利潤和控製成本的能力。這使我們能夠最大限度地減少下行空間，也使我們能夠在商品市場支持它時抓住上行空間。一個又一個季度，我們已經證明了我們業務的持久性。展望未來，我們預計 2022 年將是又一個強勁的一年。繼續增長。我們通過增加我們的中游資產來繼續加強我們的業務。隨著 Gladieux 的加入和 Brownsville 碼頭的啟動，我們將繼續進行垂直整合，並為燃料分銷增長提供更強大的平台。

We'll continue to look for attractively valued midstream assets with material synergy opportunities. On the field distribution side, we will continue to grow organically and also look for attractively valued acquisition opportunities. Let me close by stating that our current and future growth plans will build on our history of maintaining financial discipline, which means protecting the security of our distribution, while also protecting our balance sheet. Operator, that concludes our prepared remarks. You may open the line for questions.

我們將繼續尋找具有重大協同機會的具有吸引力的中游資產。在現場分配方面，我們將繼續有機增長，並尋找具有吸引力的收購機會。最後讓我聲明，我們當前和未來的增長計劃將建立在我們維持財務紀律的歷史之上，這意味著保護我們的分配安全，同時也保護我們的資產負債表。接線員，我們準備好的評論到此結束。您可以打開專線提問。

(Operator Instructions). Our first question comes from Theresa Chen with Barclays.

（操作員說明）。我們的第一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的Theresa Chen。

I first wanted to ask about the near-term margin outlook. Understandably, you had very strong results in the first quarter despite the unrelenting upward move in wholesale gasoline prices for most of the quarter. Now that we move into second quarter and that pattern seems -- the pattern seems to be more normalized with volatility, some increases and decreases depending on the day. Would you expect the margin to be better than first quarter? Or how should we think about that?

我首先想問一下近期的利潤率前景。可以理解的是，儘管在本季度的大部分時間批發汽油價格持續上漲，但您在第一季度取得了非常強勁的業績。現在我們進入第二季度並且出現了這種模式——這種模式似乎隨著波動而更加正常化，根據當天的情況有所增加和減少。你認為利潤率會好於第一季度嗎？或者我們應該怎麼想？

Theresa, this is Karl. I mentioned in my prepared remarks, a few different factors that really contributed to our first quarter margin. And so the first is the 7-Eleven makeup payment. Second is really the -- our base gross profit optimization strategy that's really across the whole fuel supply chain. And really, as we've talked about before, volatility -- really our size and scale help us take advantage of that volatility, and that's generally constructive. And then the third is the higher breakeven margins.

特蕾莎，這是卡爾。我在準備好的評論中提到了一些真正促成我們第一季度利潤率的不同因素。所以第一個是7-11的彩妝支付。其次是我們的基本毛利優化策略，它確實貫穿了整個燃料供應鏈。實際上，正如我們之前談到的那樣，波動性——實際上我們的規模和規模幫助我們利用這種波動性，這通常是建設性的。第三個是更高的盈虧平衡利潤率。

As we look forward into the year, I think some of those pieces are so relevant and some of them maybe not so much. We're not going to have a benefit of a makeup payment from 7-Eleven in the second or third quarter. I think the trend on the breakeven margin is going to continue with inflation and other factors. And then the gross profit optimization and volatility, as you've said, I mean, it's going to be hard to mimic the volatility that we saw in March, but April was -- had its own volatility, and we're starting May with some movements.

當我們展望這一年時，我認為其中一些作品是如此相關，而其中一些可能不是那麼重要。我們不會從第二或第三季度的 7-11 補貨中受益。我認為盈虧平衡邊際的趨勢將隨著通貨膨脹和其他因素而繼續。然後是毛利潤優化和波動，正如你所說，我的意思是，很難模仿我們在 3 月份看到的波動，但 4 月份有其自身的波動，我們從 5 月份開始一些動作。

So my crystal ball isn't perfect in terms of what the market conditions are going to be. But I think our system and our ability to take advantage of that is going to remain. So which of those outweighs the other in terms of where the margin is? I'm not sure, but those factors and our ability to take advantage of them is how we look at it through the year. And as we've talked before, margins are these things that we have guided to on an annual basis. There will be some quarters that are stronger than others, but we think overall, the strength of our business will weigh out.

因此，就市場狀況而言，我的水晶球並不完美。但我認為我們的系統和我們利用它的能力將保持不變。那麼就邊際而言，其中哪一個比另一個更重要？我不確定，但這些因素以及我們利用它們的能力是我們全年看待它的方式。正如我們之前所說，利潤率是我們每年指導的這些事情。會有一些季度比其他季度更強勁，但我們認為總體而言，我們的業務實力將會受到影響。

Got it. And I'm sorry if I missed this, but what would the cent per gallon have been without the 7-Eleven payment in first quarter?

知道了。如果我錯過了這一點，我很抱歉，但是如果沒有第一季度的 7-11 付款，每加侖的美分會是多少？

I don't have the math. I don't know, Scott, if you have it. I think it's probably around 70 points 60 or 70 points.

我沒有數學。我不知道，斯科特，如果你有的話。我想大概是 70 分 60 或 70 分。

Got it. And just looking at the volume side of things, clearly, the demand picture has remained resilient, absent the impact of COVID per Joe's prepared comments. But going forward, as we're seeing the escalation in gasoline prices, are you seeing any softening as far as the demand response to higher prices? When do you think we'll kind of reach that inflection point of demand elasticity? And then similarly, are you seeing any substitution along the octane curve as a result?

知道了。僅從數量方面來看，顯然，需求情況仍然保持彈性，沒有根據 Joe 準備好的評論的 COVID 影響。但展望未來，當我們看到汽油價格上漲時，您是否看到需求對價格上漲的反應有所減弱？你認為我們什麼時候會達到需求彈性的拐點？然後類似地，您是否看到沿辛烷值曲線的任何替代結果？

Theresa, this is Joe. As far as -- let me answer the second question first. it's only been roughly about -- probably about 30 days or so. So it's still a pretty short period of time whenever -- when March -- when prices started hitting record gasoline prices. So I'll probably try to give you some insight by kind of looking backwards and put it in a crystal ball, probably look back at history and see if that's applicable on a going-forward basis. So if you kind of think back to 2008, gas prices were roughly sitting somewhere between $3.50 and $4.

特蕾莎，這是喬。至於——讓我先回答第二個問題。它只是大約 - 可能大約 30 天左右。因此，無論何時——當三月份——價格開始觸及創紀錄的汽油價格時，這仍然是一段相當短的時間。所以我可能會嘗試通過回顧過去給你一些見解，然後把它放在一個水晶球裡，可能回顧歷史，看看這是否適用於未來的基礎。因此，如果您回想一下 2008 年，汽油價格大約在 3.50 美元到 4 美元之間。

And when that happened, we saw demand destruction happen whenever prices hit that $4 mark back in 2008. And during that time period, what we did see, we saw some volume go down, and we saw people trading down from premium down to regular unleaded. So I think if you use that as a kind of a point in time, I think it has some potential applicability going forward. One of the things to keep in mind about the 2008 prices sitting somewhere $4 and above. If you inflation adjust that, that's more like a $5.25 price in today's environment.

當這種情況發生時，每當價格在 2008 年達到 4 美元大關時，我們就會看到需求遭到破壞。在那段時間裡，我們確實看到，我們看到一些交易量下降，我們看到人們從溢價交易到普通無鉛.因此，我認為如果您將其用作一種時間點，我認為它具有一些潛在的適用性。關於 2008 年的價格在 4 美元及以上，要記住的一件事。如果你對通貨膨脹進行調整，在今天的環境中，這更像是 5.25 美元的價格。

And the one other factor you got to think about is if you think about inflation and you also think about the efficiency of cars have improved since 2008, if you let it kind of on a 20-year average of dollars per miles driven for an average American, we're sitting somewhere in the kind of midpoint of that average. The other big factor, and I alluded to it in my prepared remarks, is the economy matters. In 2008, we saw high prices, coupled with the recession. And the recession and a combination of $4-plus gasoline and recession is what really had volume going down.

你需要考慮的另一個因素是，如果你考慮通貨膨脹，你還考慮自 2008 年以來汽車的效率是否有所提高，如果你讓它以平均每英里行駛 20 年的美元來計算美國人，我們正處於該平均值的中點。另一個重要因素，我在準備好的發言中提到過，是經濟問題。 2008 年，我們看到了高價格，再加上經濟衰退。經濟衰退以及 4 美元以上的汽油和經濟衰退的結合才是真正導致銷量下降的原因。

So as I said in my prepared remarks, it's early. So the effects of high prices, the economy and I think the commuter schedule is also an important element. All those are playing out. But with all that said, I do believe that our volume is going to increase throughout the year. If you look at our most recent numbers, somewhere around mid-April through today, we have seen a volume increase that started happening around this time. So those are some encouraging signs.

正如我在準備好的發言中所說，現在還為時過早。所以高價格的影響，經濟和我認為通勤時間表也是一個重要因素。所有這些都在發揮作用。但話雖如此，我確實相信我們的銷量全年都會增加。如果您查看我們最近的數據，大約從 4 月中旬到今天，我們已經看到在這個時候開始出現交易量增加。所以這些是一些令人鼓舞的跡象。

Our next question comes from Spiro Dounis with Credit Suisse.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的 Spiro Dounis。

First question is on M&A, actually. Just thinking about funding future deals for the rest of the year. If you look at your liquidity, I think you guys are fine there, no issues. But leverage has been ticking up kind of after these last few deals. And Dylan, I know you mentioned sort of a natural path of delevering as the year goes on. But just curious, is your expectation that you would prefer to sort of delever first before getting more active again? Or is that not necessarily a gating item yet?

實際上，第一個問題是關於併購的。只是考慮為今年剩餘時間的未來交易提供資金。如果你看看你的流動性，我認為你們在那裡很好，沒有問題。但在最近幾筆交易之後，槓桿率一直在上升。迪倫，我知道你提到了隨著時間的推移，一種自然的去槓桿途徑。但只是好奇，您是否希望在再次變得更加活躍之前先進行某種程度的去槓桿化？還是那不一定是門控項目？

Yes. I think it's more the latter at this point. I'll never take anything off the table. I would say you're absolutely right. In the prepared remarks, I mentioned that we expect some deleveraging through the year. I think if you look at our -- look at the guidance and then with -- depending on what happens with commodity prices, that could be a bit of a tailwind as well. And then we expect to probably lower inventory levels a little bit from where they are today.

是的。我認為在這一點上更傾向於後者。我永遠不會從桌面上拿走任何東西。我會說你是完全正確的。在準備好的評論中，我提到我們預計今年會出現一些去槓桿化。我認為，如果您查看我們的指導意見，然後根據商品價格的變化情況，這也可能有點順風。然後我們預計庫存水平可能會從今天的水平降低一點。

So all that's going to lead to lower leverage. I will say that right now, when we look out at M&A, we're probably going to be a little bit more critical in our analysis, a little more selective there. But for the right deal, I don't think where we're at from a leverage standpoint or a liquidity standpoint would keep us out of the market.

因此，所有這些都將導致槓桿率降低。我要說的是，現在，當我們關注併購時，我們可能會在分析中更加挑剔，更加挑剔。但對於正確的交易，我認為從槓桿的角度或流動性的角度來看，我們所處的位置不會讓我們遠離市場。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. Second question, just looking for an update on J.C. Nolan and how that's running. It sounds like demand has kind of been moving higher in that basin, but we're also seeing more competition to move fuel there as well. So just curious how you're thinking about the performance of that pipeline and the competitive dynamics going forward?

知道了。好的。這很有幫助。第二個問題，只是尋找關於 J.C. Nolan 的更新以及它是如何運行的。聽起來該盆地的需求一直在上升，但我們也看到在那裡運輸燃料的競爭也越來越激烈。所以只是好奇您如何看待該管道的性能和未來的競爭動態？

Yes, Spiro. I've talked about before how our West Texas business and our diesel demand has lagged the recovery in the rest of the country. And I'd say in the last 3 to 4 months, there's been some catching up out there, as you'd expect with these higher oil prices. Activity in drilling and fracking has increased, and we've seen that in the pipeline volume. So I wouldn't say we're quite back to where the pipeline was in the first -- if you remember, that pipeline started up at the end of 2019, and it was just ramping up in the first quarter and kind of in full operation in the first quarter of 2020. And then the COVID demand impact occurred. We're not quite back to those volumes, but we've had a few days and we expect to those volumes. So it's been promising.

是的，斯皮羅。我之前談過我們的西德克薩斯業務和柴油需求如何落後於該國其他地區的複蘇。我想說的是，在過去的 3 到 4 個月裡，出現了一些追趕，正如你所期望的那樣，油價上漲。鑽井和水力壓裂活動有所增加，我們已經在管道量中看到了這一點。所以我不會說我們已經完全回到了管道最初的位置——如果你還記得的話，這條管道在 2019 年底開始運行，並且在第一季度剛剛開始增長，而且有點全面2020 年第一季度運營。然後發生了 COVID 需求影響。我們還沒有完全回到那些卷，但我們已經有幾天了，我們期待這些卷。所以一直很有希望。

Our next question comes from Gabe Moreen with Mizuho.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞穗的 Gabe Moreen。

I know this didn't really have much of a bottom line impact, but just curious what sort of the income tax stuff flowing through the DCF line was? It seems like it was related to a prior transaction.

我知道這並沒有真正對底線產生太大影響，但只是好奇流經 DCF 線的所得稅是什麼樣的？這似乎與之前的交易有關。

Yes. This is Dylan. Absolutely. It's related to the 2018 return that included the divestiture of the retail asset to 7-Eleven. So in the first quarter, we filed an amended federal and state income tax returns related to that 2018. And with these updated returns, we had some increase in tax basis, it resulted in about a $40 million refund. And so what you're looking at there on the DCF reconciliation is that refund -- that cash tax refund, but since that related to the M&A transaction, that's where you see that line item that you don't normally see where it backs -- that back out. So we're not taking credit for that in DCF. The only other place we see that showing up is on the balance sheet. That's part of the increase there in the current asset line as well as we have a receivable on that, and we'll expect to receive that cash in later this year.

是的。這是迪倫。絕對地。這與 2018 年的回報有關，其中包括將零售資產剝離給 7-11。因此，在第一季度，我們提交了與 2018 年相關的經修訂的聯邦和州所得稅申報表。隨著這些更新的申報表，我們的稅基有所增加，因此獲得了約 4000 萬美元的退款。因此，您在 DCF 對賬中看到的是退稅——現金退稅，但由於這與併購交易有關，因此您會看到通常看不到它支持的行項目 - - 退出。因此，我們不會在 DCF 中對此表示讚賞。我們看到的唯一其他地方出現在資產負債表上。這是當前資產線增加的一部分，以及我們有應收賬款，我們預計將在今年晚些時候收到這筆現金。

Got it. And then maybe if I could just ask one broader question on industry breakevens. I mean -- and also just related to that, Karl mentioned there were costs. Costs are increasing throughout, some you anticipated some of you didn't. Can you talk about kind of what you did and didn't anticipate in what you're seeing? Some unexpected pressure whether it's passed through or not? And then I assume -- look, relative to smaller wholesalers, Sunoco clearly has cheaper cost of capital, but I'm just wondering if you're seeing -- you think there's pressure on others with these high commodity prices and -- is that -- there's a potential to raise industry breakevens as a result if gasoline stays where it currently is at?

知道了。然後也許我可以問一個關於行業盈虧平衡的更廣泛的問題。我的意思是——也只是與此相關，卡爾提到有成本。成本自始至終都在增加，有些是你預料到的，有些是你沒有預料到的。你能談談你在所見所聞中做過和沒有預料到的事情嗎？是否通過了一些意想不到的壓力？然後我假設 - 看，相對於較小的批發商，Sunoco 顯然擁有更便宜的資本成本，但我只是想知道你是否看到 - 你認為這些高商品價格給其他人帶來壓力 - 是- 如果汽油保持目前的水平，是否有可能提高行業盈虧平衡？

Yes, Gabe, I'll give you an example of some of the cost pressures that we anticipated, things like wage increases and/or increase in some of our services partners. I mean, we baked that into our assumptions, and we haven't seen anything there that's -- that we did not anticipate. An area of costs that we didn't necessarily have baked into our original guidance would be credit card fees. So obviously, we pay for credit cards to be processed. Some of that is passed through with our customers, our wholesale customers, but we pay that for the 70 to 80 sites that we company operate, right, on the New Jersey Turnpike in Hawaii.

是的，Gabe，我將舉例說明我們預期的一些成本壓力，例如工資增長和/或我們的一些服務合作夥伴的增長。我的意思是，我們將其納入我們的假設中，我們還沒有看到任何我們沒有預料到的東西。我們最初的指導中未必包含的一個成本領域是信用卡費用。很明顯，我們為要處理的信用卡付費。其中一些是通過我們的客戶，我們的批發客戶傳遞的，但我們為我們公司在夏威夷新澤西收費公路上運營的 70 到 80 個站點支付這些費用。

We pay those fees. Now those are generally going to be covered in margins. But those are often based on the absolute price of the fuel, since it's a percentage fee. And so we didn't necessarily anticipate that we were going to have the retail prices that we have this year. All things being equal, we prefer the prices be lower than they currently are. So that's an example of an expense that we didn't anticipate in our guidance, but that will be passed through and that impacts higher breakeven margins.

我們支付這些費用。現在，這些通常會被利潤覆蓋。但這些通常基於燃料的絕對價格，因為它是按百分比收費的。因此，我們不一定預期我們將擁有今年的零售價格。在所有條件相同的情況下，我們希望價格低於目前的價格。所以這是我們在指導中沒有預料到的費用的一個例子，但這將被傳遞，這會影響更高的盈虧平衡利潤率。

And then building on to your second question, yes, we think our size is -- this is another example of our size and scale that where it benefits us is we are able to withstand inflationary pressures or periods like this where capital gets tight. The working capital requirements based on the higher prices are higher, and we're able to withstand that where maybe some smaller competitors in the marketplace struggle with that, and that will put upward pressure on the breakeven margins.

然後基於你的第二個問題，是的，我們認為我們的規模是 - 這是我們規模和規模的另一個例子，它對我們有利的地方是我們能夠承受通脹壓力或類似資本緊張的時期。基於更高價格的營運資金要求更高，我們能夠承受市場上一些較小的競爭對手可能與之抗爭的情況，這將對盈虧平衡利潤率造成上行壓力。

(Operator Instructions). Our next question comes from John Royall with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）。我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 John Royall。

So just back on the OpEx, just looking at your guidance, 1Q looks like it's about 1/4 of the high end of the guidance range. And I know there's a variable component with volumes moving up throughout the year, and then you've also got this acquisition that you bumped up the EBITDA guidance, but you didn't move the OpEx. And as well as the pressures you're talking about. So am I interpreting this correctly that maybe that OpEx guidance is biased upwards, but it could be offset elsewhere with the margin? Is that kind of what the message is? Because I know you didn't move the guidance numbers for anything with EBITDA, so this point -- I want to make sure I understood that.

所以回到運營支出，看看你的指導，1Q 看起來大約是指導範圍高端的 1/4。而且我知道有一個可變的組成部分，全年銷量都在上升，然後你也得到了這次收購，你提高了 EBITDA 指導，但你沒有改變 OpEx。還有你所說的壓力。那麼我是否正確地解釋了這一點，即運營支出指導可能是向上的，但它可能會在其他地方被利潤抵消？信息是這樣的嗎？因為我知道你沒有移動 EBITDA 的任何指導數字，所以這一點 - 我想確保我理解這一點。

Yes. So you're right. We did not move any -- we did not -- we only updated the EBITDA guidance. And so the OpEx guidance is now stale. That said, I think as we look at it, obviously, there's going to be some OpEx related to Gladieux. I think -- you pointed to some of the seasonality. I think some of the seasonality that we see in OpEx we've taken out of the business a little bit. We've done some things to smooth out some things with some changes in how we accrue for items so that we don't get some of the lumpiness there. And then the last one I'd touch on really is what you hit there.

是的。所以你是對的。我們沒有採取任何行動——我們沒有——我們只是更新了 EBITDA 指導。所以運營支出指南現在已經過時了。也就是說，我認為當我們看到它時，顯然會有一些與 Gladieux 相關的 OpEx。我認為 - 你指出了一些季節性。我認為我們在運營支出中看到的一些季節性因素已經讓我們稍微退出了業務。我們已經做了一些事情來平滑一些事情，改變我們如何累積物品，這樣我們就不會在那裡得到一些笨拙的東西。然後我要談到的最後一個就是你在那裡打的。

You noted is that some of it's more of a pass through to margin and things like credit cards, which Karl talked about there. And so from -- we kind of -- put that all together, and like I said, we're not updating guidance, but I think that should -- that hopefully gives you a little bit of clarity in how we're looking at OpEx going forward.

你注意到的是，其中一些更多的是通過保證金和信用卡之類的東西，卡爾在那裡談到了這些。所以從 - 我們有點 - 把所有這些放在一起，就像我說的，我們不會更新指導，但我認為應該 - 希望能讓你對我們的看法有一點清晰運營支出向前發展。

Yes. Yes. Understood. And then just wondering the 7-Eleven makeup payment. Your payment this year, I think, was smaller than last year. Some volumes -- you've got volumes kind of headed in the right direction. And I think we all hope that it continues that way. So I guess the question is -- and I know you won't get too granular here because it has to do with the contract. But just trying to think through how much growth we would need to see from here for that contract to kind of not be under one or anymore and to be thinking about these payments anymore? Are we sort of getting close there? Or are we still -- have a little bit to kind of dig out?

是的。是的。明白了。然後只是想知道 7-11 的化妝品付款。我想你今年的付款比去年少。有些卷——你的捲有點朝著正確的方向發展。我想我們都希望它繼續這樣下去。所以我想問題是——我知道你在這裡不會太細化，因為它與合同有關。但是只是想通過從這裡看到我們需要多少增長才能使該合同不再低於或不再考慮這些付款？我們接近那裡了嗎？還是我們仍然 - 有一點要挖掘？

Yes. Here's how I think about it, and you already touched on it. I probably -- I'm not going to give you a clear answer. And here's why is it's really at 7-Eleven's discretion and choice on how they manage that. Overall, our relationship with 7-Eleven remains as good as it's ever been, and they're a great partner, and we really like the contract. But one of the things we got out of that contract is a guaranteed gross profit on an annual basis. And one of the things they got out of the contract is some flexibility to manage that volume the way that it makes sense for them and their business.

是的。這就是我的想法，你已經觸及了它。我可能 - 我不會給你一個明確的答案。這就是為什麼 7-11 可以自行決定和選擇他們如何管理它。總的來說，我們與 7-11 的關係一如既往地好，他們是一個很好的合作夥伴，我們非常喜歡這份合同。但我們從該合同中得到的一件事是保證每年的毛利潤。他們從合同中獲得的其中一件事是，他們可以靈活地以對他們和他們的業務有意義的方式管理該數量。

And so some of that makeup payment is really driven by the choices that they're making. I wouldn't necessarily give it as a read-through on industry-wide volumes. So I would expect we're going to be in a similar to slightly smaller range. But again, I don't want to take any of the flexibility or give too much guidance on what 7-Eleven's plans are.

因此，其中一些補妝付款實際上是由他們所做的選擇驅動的。我不一定會把它作為全行業卷的通讀。因此，我預計我們將處於類似略小的範圍內。但同樣，我不想採取任何靈活性或對 7-11 的計劃提供太多指導。

Understood. And if you don't mind, if I could just sneak a third one in there. You guys are just such a huge player in gasoline. I just wanted to get your view on the waiver of the E15 summertime band. Do you expect that to be have any real impact on your business? Or is that just maybe not as impactful as politicians -- they want us to think it is?

明白了。如果你不介意的話，我可以偷偷第三個進去。你們是汽油的巨大參與者。我只是想听聽你對 E15 夏季樂隊的棄權的看法。您認為這會對您的業務產生任何實際影響嗎？或者這可能不像政客那樣有影響力——他們希望我們認為它是？

Yes. E15 is a product that is going to continue to grow in demand, but it's starting from a really low base. If you dissect the 1-pound waiver, it's really only available in conventional gasoline market. So that already says that, that limits it to a certain geography. And then I think there have been some retailers and wholesalers that have offered E15 with some success, and there are others who have offered, and it hasn't really taken off as much. And then the other thing, with today's prices, one of the things that E15 -- that makes it interesting is that even when you adjust for the lower BTU content, it's still a cheaper fuel which in today's market is -- makes it more attractive, but we still haven't seen a huge demand pickup for that.

是的。 E15 是一種需求將繼續增長的產品，但它的起點非常低。如果你仔細分析一下 1 磅的豁免，它實際上只適用於傳統汽油市場。這已經說明了這一點，這將其限制在特定的地理範圍內。然後我認為有一些零售商和批發商提供了 E15 並取得了一些成功，還有其他人提供了，但它並沒有真正起飛。然後另一件事，以今天的價格，讓 E15 變得有趣的一件事是，即使你調整了較低的 BTU 含量，它仍然是當今市場上更便宜的燃料——使它更具吸引力，但我們仍然沒有看到對此的巨大需求回升。

And then from our perspective, it's not clear whether the margins on that are going to be any better or maybe even worse than the E10. So that's how we're looking at it. From our view is even though it's a pretty small base, we're looking at ways that we can sell and offer more E15 for our customers. And as that demand picks up, that will become a bigger part of what we sell, it's just not material right now.

然後從我們的角度來看，尚不清楚其利潤率是否會比 E10 更好甚至更差。這就是我們的看法。從我們的角度來看，即使它的基數很小，我們也在尋找可以為我們的客戶銷售和提供更多 E15 的方法。隨著需求的增加，這將成為我們銷售的更大一部分，只是現在並不重要。

Our next question comes from Ned Baramov with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Ned Baramov。

You reaffirmed growth CapEx guidance for 2022, and this is after a fairly light Q1 spending budget. So maybe if you could just talk about the cadence of CapEx for the remainder of the year? And go over some of the larger items that could bring CapEx above the $150 million threshold?

您重申了對 2022 年資本支出增長的指導，這是在第一季度支出預算相當少之後。所以，也許你可以談談今年剩餘時間資本支出的節奏？並檢查一些可能使資本支出超過 1.5 億美元門檻的較大項目？

Yes, Ned, I'd say -- I wouldn't read through anything in particular. Q1 has traditionally been a lighter capital quarter for us for a multitude of reasons. And we still are comfortable with the $50 million of maintenance and $150 million of growth capital. If you look at the larger projects, I mean, we're finishing up the back half of the Brownsville project, is a component of that growth CapEx. And then the vast majority of the rest of the growth is on us signing up new field distribution customers.

是的，內德，我會說——我不會特別閱讀任何內容。出於多種原因，Q1 傳統上對我們來說是一個較輕的資本季度。我們仍然對 5000 萬美元的維護和 1.5 億美元的增長資本感到滿意。如果您查看較大的項目，我的意思是，我們正在完成布朗斯維爾項目的後半部分，這是增長資本支出的一部分。然後絕大多數的增長是我們與新的現場分銷客戶簽約。

There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the floor back over to Scott Grischow for any closing comments.

目前沒有其他問題。我想把發言權轉回給 Scott Grischow 以徵求任何結束意見。

Well, thanks, everyone, for joining us on the call this morning. As always, feel free to reach out to me with any follow-up questions. We'll see everyone soon.

嗯，謝謝大家，今天早上加入我們的電話會議。與往常一樣，如有任何後續問題，請隨時與我聯繫。我們很快就會見到大家。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。