Kilgore, Texas — Martin Midstream Partners LP’s (MMLP) Sulfur Services segment, which includes both fertilizer and sulfur, reported operating earnings of $3.36 million on sales of $50 million for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2014, up from the year-ago $753,000 and $42.1 million, respectively. Sulfur volumes were up 19 percent, to 251,000 lt from 211,800 lt, while fertilizer volumes were up 16 percent, to 52,100 lt from 44,800 lt. Despite these results, MMLP told analysts that fertilizer cash flow was a negative $600,000 in the third quarter, compared to a positive $7.2 million in the second quarter. Citing a bumper corn crop and a delayed harvest, MMLP said farmers are likely to push purchase decisions into first-quarter 2015, and that spring margins may be less than those in 2014. As a result, it believes in the fourth quarter fertilizer will underperform its earlier forecast and be in line with the third quarter. Nine-month Sulfur Services operating income was up 11 percent, to $21.7 million on sales of $166.8 million from the year-ago $19.6 million and $173.4 million. Sulfur volumes were up at 645,500 lt from 614,900 lt, while fertilizer was up as well at 233,100 lt from 219,800 lt. Company-wide, MMLP reported a third-quarter net loss of $26.9 million ($0.82 per diluted limited lp unit) on revenues of $390 million, down from the year-ago $192,000 ($0.01 per unit) and $359.6 million. MMLP attributed the loss to a $30.1 million non-cash reduction in the carrying value of its 42.2 percent investment in Cardinal Gas Storage Partners LLC. The reduction occurred as a result of MMLP’s purchase of a 57.8 percent controlling interest in Cardinal in August. MMLP reported a nine-month net loss of $16.1 million ($0.54 per unit) on sales of $1.3 billion, compared to a year-ago income of $25.9 million ($0.95 per unit) and $1.15 billion, respectively.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain