Westlake Chemical Partners LP (WLKP) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners first-quarter 2025 earnings conference call.(Operator instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, May 2, 2025.

午安.感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Westlake Chemical Partners 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議將於今天（2025 年 5 月 2 日）進行錄製。

I would now like to turn the call over to today's host, John Zoeller, Westlake Chemical Partners' Vice President and Treasurer. Sir, you may begin.

現在，我想將電話轉給今天的主持人，Westlake Chemical Partners 副總裁兼財務主管 John Zoeller。先生，您可以開始了。

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners first-quarter 2025 conference call. I am joined today by Albert Chao, our Executive Chairman; Jean-Marc Gilson, our President and CEO; Steve Bender, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and other members of our management team.

謝謝。大家下午好，歡迎參加 Westlake Chemical Partners 2025 年第一季電話會議。今天與我一起出席的還有我們的執行主席 Albert Chao；我們的總裁兼執行長 Jean-Marc Gilson；我們的執行副總裁兼財務長史蒂夫‧本德 (Steve Bender)；以及我們管理團隊的其他成員。

During this call, we refer to ourselves as Westlake Partners or the Partnership. References to Westlake refer to our parent company, Westlake Corporation, and references to OpCo refer to Westlake Chemical OpCo LP, a subsidiary of Westlake and the Partnership, which owns certain olefins assets. Additionally, when we refer to distributable cash flow, we are referring to Westlake Chemical Partners' MLP distributable cash flow. Definitions of these terms are available on the Partnership's website.

在本次電話會議中，我們稱自己為 Westlake Partners 或合夥企業。提及的 Westlake 指的是我們的母公司 Westlake Corporation，所提及的 OpCo 指的是 Westlake Chemical OpCo LP，它是 Westlake 和合夥企業的子公司，擁有某些烯烴資產。此外，當我們提到可分配現金流時，我們指的是 Westlake Chemical Partners 的 MLP 可分配現金流。這些術語的定義可在夥伴關係的網站上找到。

Today, management is going to discuss certain topics that will contain forward-looking information that is based on management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management.

今天，管理層將討論某些主題，這些主題將包含基於管理層的信念以及管理層所做的假設和當前可用的信息的前瞻性資訊。

These forward-looking statements suggest predictions or expectations and thus are subject to risks or uncertainties. We encourage you to learn more about the factors that could lead our actual results to differ by reviewing the cautionary statements in our regulatory filings, which are also available on our Investor Relations website.

這些前瞻性陳述顯示了預測或預期，因此存在風險或不確定性。我們鼓勵您透過查看我們監管文件中的警告聲明來了解更多可能導致我們的實際結果不同的因素，這些聲明也可以在我們的投資者關係網站上找到。

This morning, Westlake Partners issued a press release with details of our first quarter 2025 financial and operating results. This document is available in the Press Release section of our web page at wlkpartners.com. A replay of today's call will be available beginning 2 hours after the conclusion of this call.

今天上午，Westlake Partners 發布了一份新聞稿，詳細介紹了我們 2025 年第一季的財務和營運表現。該文件可在我們網頁 wlkpartners.com 的新聞稿部分找到。本次通話的重播將在本次通話結束後 2 小時開始提供。

The replay can be accessed via the Partnership website. Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, May 2, 2025, and therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay.

可以透過合作夥伴網站觀看重播。請注意，本次通話中報告的資訊僅截至今天（2025 年 5 月 2 日），因此，請注意，時間敏感資訊在任何重播時可能不再準確。

I would finally advise you that this conference call is being broadcast live through an Internet webcast system that can be accessed on our web page at wlkpartners.com.

最後，我要告訴大家，本次電話會議將透過網路網路直播系統進行現場直播，您可以透過我們的網頁 wlkpartners.com 存取。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Jean-Marc Gilson. Jean-Marc?

現在我想把電話轉給 Jean-Marc Gilson。讓-馬克？

Thank you, John, and good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our first quarter 2025 results. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners first quarter 2025 net income of $5 million or $0.14 per unit. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, our first quarter earnings were impacted by the planned turnaround at our Petro 1 ethylene unit in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which resulted in lower production and sales volume in addition to higher maintenance capital expenditure.

謝謝你，約翰，大家下午好，謝謝你們加入我們討論我們 2025 年第一季的業績。在今天早上的新聞稿中，我們報告了 Westlake Partners 2025 年第一季的淨收入為 500 萬美元或每股 0.14 美元。與 2024 年第四季相比，我們第一季的收益受到位於路易斯安那州查爾斯湖的 Petro 1 乙烯裝置的計畫檢修的影響，導致產量和銷售量下降，以及維護資本支出增加。

The stability of Westlake Partners business model is consistently demonstrated through our fixed margin Ethylene Sales Agreement, which minimizes market volatility and other production risk. The high degree of stability in cash flow when paid with the predictability of our business has enabled us to deliver the long history of reliable distributions and coverage. This quarter distribution is the 43rd consecutive quarterly distribution since our IPO in July of 2014 without any reductions.

Westlake Partners 商業模式的穩定性透過我們的固定利潤乙烯銷售協議持續體現，該協議最大限度地降低了市場波動和其他生產風險。支付時現金流的高度穩定性以及業務的可預測性使我們能夠提供長期可靠的分銷和覆蓋範圍。本季分配是我們自 2014 年 7 月首次公開募股以來連續第 43 個季度分配，沒有任何減少。

I would now like to turn our call over to Steve to provide more detail on the financial and operating results for the quarter. Steve?

現在，我想將我們的電話轉給史蒂夫，以提供有關本季財務和營運業績的更多詳細資訊。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Jean-Marc, and good afternoon, everyone. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners' first quarter 2025 net income of $5 million or $0.14 per unit. Consolidated net income, including OpCo's earnings was $42 million on consolidated net sales of $238 million. The partnership had distributable cash flow for the quarter of $5 million or $0.13 per unit.

謝謝你，讓-馬克，大家下午好。在今天早上的新聞稿中，我們報告了 Westlake Partners 2025 年第一季的淨收入為 500 萬美元或每股 0.14 美元。包括 OpCo 收益在內的綜合淨收入為 4,200 萬美元，綜合淨銷售額為 2.38 億美元。該合夥企業本季的可分配現金流量為 500 萬美元或每單位 0.13 美元。

First quarter 2025 net income for Westlake Partners of $5 million was $10 million below the first quarter 2024 partnership net income primarily due to lower production and sales volume as a result of the planned turnaround at Petro 1.

Westlake Partners 2025 年第一季的淨收入為 500 萬美元，比 2024 年第一季合夥企業淨收入低 1,000 萬美元，主要原因是 Petro 1 計劃扭虧為盈導致產量和銷售量下降。

Distributable cash flow of $5 million for the first quarter of 2025 decreased by $12 million compared to the first quarter of 2024 due to the lower production and sales volume and higher maintenance capital expenditures as a result of the Petro 1 planned turnaround.

2025 年第一季的可分配現金流為 500 萬美元，與 2024 年第一季相比減少了 1,200 萬美元，原因是 Petro 1 計畫週轉導致生產和銷售量下降以及維護資本支出增加。

Turning our attention to the balance sheet and cash flows, at the end of the first quarter we had consolidated cash balance and cash investments with Westlake through our investment management agreement totaling $154 million.

將注意力轉向資產負債表和現金流，在第一季末，我們透過投資管理協議與 Westlake 合併了現金餘額和現金投資，總額為 1.54 億美元。

Long-term debt at the end of the quarter was $400 million, of which $377 million was at the Partnership and the remaining $23 million was at OpCo. In the first quarter of 2025, OpCo spent $16 million on capital expenditures. We maintained our strong leverage metrics with a consolidated leverage ratio of approximately 1 times.

長期本季末的債務為 4 億美元，其中合夥企業債務為 3.77 億美元，OpCo 債務為 2,300 萬美元。2025 年第一季度，OpCo 的資本支出為 1,600 萬美元。我們維持了強勁的槓桿指標，綜合槓桿比率約為 1 倍。

On April 30, 2025, we announced a quarterly distribution of $0.4714 per unit with respect to first quarter of 2025. Since our IPO in 2014, the Partnership has made 43 consecutive quarterly distributions to unitholders, and we have grown distributions 71% since the partnership's original minimum quarterly distribution of $0.275 per unit.

2025 年 4 月 30 日，我們宣布 2025 年第一季的季度分配為每單位 0.4714 美元。自 2014 年首次公開募股以來，合夥企業已連續 43 次向單位持有人進行季度分配，自合夥企業最初設定每單位 0.275 美元的最低季度分配額以來，我們的分配額增長了 71%。

The partnership's first quarter distribution will be paid on May 29, 2025, to unitholders of record May 13, 2025. Partnership's predictable fee-based cash flow continues to prove beneficial in today's economic environment and is differentiated by the consistency of our earnings and cash flows.

該合夥企業的第一季分配將於 2025 年 5 月 29 日支付給 2025 年 5 月 13 日登記在冊的單位持有人。合夥企業的可預測收費現金流在當今的經濟環境下繼續證明是有益的，並且因我們的收益和現金流的一致性而與眾不同。

Looking back since our IPO in July of 2014, we have maintained a cumulative distribution coverage ratio of approximately 1.1 times. And with a partnership stability and cash flows, we are able to sustain our current distribution without the need to access the capital markets. For modeling purposes, our Petro 1 ethylene unit began to restart from its planned turnaround on April 12 and continues to ramp up to meet market demand needs. As Jean-Marc mentioned, we have no further planned turnarounds in 2025 or 2026.

回顧自2014年7月首次公開募股以來，我們的累計分配覆蓋率一直維持在約1.1倍。透過合作夥伴關係的穩定性和現金流，我們能夠維持當前的分銷，而無需進入資本市場。為了建模目的，我們的 Petro 1 乙烯裝置於 4 月 12 日從計畫檢修點開始重啟，並繼續提高產量以滿足市場需求。正如 Jean-Marc 所提到的，我們沒有計劃在 2025 年或 2026 年做出進一步的轉變。

Now I'd like to turn the call back over to Jean-Marc to make some closing comments. Jean-Marc?

現在我想將電話轉回給 Jean-Marc 來做一些總結演講。讓-馬克？

Thank you, Steve. We are pleased with the successful completion of the Petro 1 turnaround, which positions us for solid production levels in the future. Our first quarter financial performance was consistent with our expectations and prior experience during a period where a significant turnaround temporarily impacts our production and sales volume.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。我們對 Petro 1 改造的成功完成感到非常高興，這為我們未來保持穩定的生產水準奠定了基礎。我們第一季的財務表現與我們的預期和先前的經驗一致，因為當時的重大轉變會暫時影響我們的生產和銷售量。

Turning to our outlook. Global trade tensions have intensified in recent weeks, creating a heightened atmosphere of uncertainty for businesses and investors. While trade negotiations are likely to continue to cause some market volatility, the partnership's financial performance and distributions will continue to be supported by our Ethylene Sales Agreement, which provides a predictable fee-based cash flow structure from our take or pay contract with Westlake for 95% of OpCo's production.

轉向我們的展望。近幾週全球貿易緊張局勢加劇，為企業和投資者帶來了更大的不確定性。雖然貿易談判可能會繼續引起一些市場波動，但合作夥伴的財務業績和分配將繼續受到我們乙烯銷售協議的支持，該協議透過我們與 Westlake 簽訂的照付不議合約為 OpCo 95% 的產量提供了可預測的基於費用的現金流結構。

As has been the case since our IPO over 10 years ago, this Ethylene Sales Agreement will continue to deliver stable and predictable cash flows through economics ups and downs as well as planned and unplanned turnaround.

正如我們十多年前首次公開募股以來的情況一樣，該乙烯銷售協議將繼續在經濟起伏以及計劃內和計劃外的轉變中提供穩定且可預測的現金流。

Turning to our capital structure. We maintain a strong balance sheet with conservative financial and leverage metrics. As we continue to navigate market conditions, we will evaluate opportunities via our four levers of growth in the future, including increases of our ownership interest of OpCo, acquisitions of other qualified income streams, organic growth opportunities, such as expansions of our current ethylene facilities, and negotiation of a higher fixed margin in our Ethylene Sales Agreement with Westlake.

轉向我們的資本結構。我們保持著強勁的資產負債表，並採用保守的財務和槓桿指標。隨著我們繼續應對市場狀況，我們將透過未來的四個成長槓桿來評估機會，包括增加我們對 OpCo 的所有權權益、收購其他合格收入來源、有機成長機會（例如擴大我們現有的乙烯設施）以及在與 Westlake 簽訂的乙烯銷售協議中協商更高的固定利潤率。

We remain focused on our ability to continue to provide long-term value and distributions to our unitholders. As always, we will continue to focus on safe operations, along with being good stewards of the environment where we work and live as part of our broader sustainability efforts.

我們將繼續專注於為我們的單位持有人提供長期價值和分配的能力。像往常一樣，我們將繼續注重安全運營，同時作為我們更廣泛的可持續發展努力的一部分，並做好我們工作和生活的環境的管理。

Thank you very much for listening to our first quarter earnings call. Now I will turn the call back over to John.

非常感謝您收聽我們的第一季財報電話會議。現在我將把電話轉回給約翰。

Thank you, Jean-Marc. Before we begin taking questions, I would like to remind you that a replay of this teleconference will be available 2 hours after the call has ended. We will provide instructions to access the replay at the end of the call.

謝謝你，讓-馬克。在我們開始回答問題之前，我想提醒您，本次電話會議的重播將在會議結束 2 小時後提供。我們將在通話結束時提供訪問重播的說明。

Michelle, we will now take questions.

米歇爾，我們現在來回答問題。

(Operator instructions)

（操作員指示）

Matthew Blair, TPH.

馬修·布萊爾，TPH。

Thank you and good afternoon. It seems like the financial impact of the Q1 turnaround at Petro 1 was a little bit more significant on your quarterly earnings than previous turnarounds. Could you help us understand that? Was that just a function of the size of the turnaround? Or were there like any unplanned expenses that caused a bigger impact there?

謝謝，下午好。看起來，Petro 1 第一季轉虧為盈對季度收益的財務影響比之前的扭虧為盈更為顯著。你能幫助我們理解這一點嗎？這僅僅是周轉規模的函數嗎？或是否有造成更大影響的非計劃性開支？

Matthew, this is Steve. It really went really as we had planned in terms of the impact. We brought the unit down at the end of January. And so for the quarter, it was down for the months of February and March. And so we expect the unit to be down from a production perspective in those two months. And so the impact for the quarter really was reflective of what's going on.

馬修，這是史蒂夫。從影響來看，事情確實按照我們計劃的那樣進行。我們在一月底就把該單位撤走了。因此，就本季而言，二月和三月的銷量均有所下降。因此，我們預計這兩個月該單位的產量將會下降。因此本季的影響確實反映了正在發生的事情。

I think you may be also factoring into the fact that we still are seeing elevated interest rates kind of weighing on the loan obligations that the company has. That's probably the factor that you might be thinking about because realistically, the performance and its production over the course of the quarter was really as we had been expecting and frankly, as we had it internally budgeted.

我想您可能還考慮到這樣一個事實，即我們仍然看到利率上升對公司的貸款義務造成一定壓力。這可能是您正在考慮的因素，因為實際上，本季的業績和產量確實如我們預期的那樣，坦白說，也與我們內部預算的一樣。

Okay. Sounds good. And then the valuation difference between the parent Westlake and the MLP, Westlake LP seems to have compressed lately. Is there still enough of a valuation difference to justify keeping Westlake LP around?

好的。聽起來不錯。母公司 Westlake 與 MLP Westlake LP 之間的估值差異最近似乎有所縮小。估值差異是否仍足以證明 Westlake LP 的繼續存在是合理的？

Yes. It's a good question. I think as you think about the parent, the C-Corp it certainly has seen some compression in its valuations, which increases its multiple accordingly. But we tend to think about this over the business cycle rather than at any period in time. And so as we think about this, the value proposition has continued to be there.

是的。這是個好問題。我認為，當你考慮母公司 C 公司時，它的估值肯定會壓縮，這也相應地增加了它的倍數。但我們傾向於在商業週期而不是任何時間段內考慮這個問題。因此，當我們思考這一點時，價值主張仍然存在。

As you know well, the markets have been challenged in terms of drop-down stories in the MLP space. But nevertheless, the valuation differential between the partnership where it trades, and Westlake Corporation where it trades really over a reasonable cycle period of time remains pretty elevated.

眾所周知，市場在 MLP 領域的下拉故事方面面臨挑戰。但儘管如此，其交易的合夥企業與其交易的 Westlake Corporation 在合理的周期內之間的估值差異仍然相當高。

Great. Thanks for your comments.

偉大的。感謝您的評論。

You're welcome.

不客氣。

(Operator instructions)

（操作員指示）

At this time, the Q&A session has now ended. I will now turn the call back over to John Zoeller.

至此，問答環節已經結束。現在我將把電話轉回給約翰·佐勒。

Thank you again for participating in today's call. We hope you will join us for our next conference call to discuss our second quarter 2025 results.

再次感謝您參加今天的電話會議。我們希望您能參加我們的下一次電話會議，討論我們 2025 年第二季的業績。

Thank you for participating in today's Westlake Chemical Partners first-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. As a reminder, this call will be available for replay beginning 2 hours after the call has ended and may be accessed until 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Friday, May 16, 2025. The replay can be accessed via the partnership website. Goodbye.

感謝您參加今天的 Westlake Chemical Partners 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。提醒一下，本次通話將在通話結束 2 小時後開始重播，並可在 2025 年 5 月 16 日星期五美國東部時間晚上 11:59 之前存取。可以透過合作夥伴網站觀看重播。再見。