Commercial Barge Line Company Announces Results for Third Quarter 2012

JEFFERSONVILLE, IN--(Marketwire - Nov 1, 2012) -

Highlights

• Adjusted EBITDAR for the trailing twelve month period ended September 30, 2012 was $229.5 million, including a year-to-date adjustment of $26.7 million for weather-related costs -- a 31.7% increase over Adjusted EBITDAR for the year ended December 31, 2011.
• Adjusted EBITDAR of $55.1 million for the current quarter, including an adjustment of $24.2 million for weather-related costs, increased 14.5% from prior year quarter.
• Operating income of $7.1 million in the current quarter was down $4.7 million but up $59.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 compared to the comparable prior year periods.
• Strong liquidity with $169.7 million in available borrowing capacity.
  
  

Commercial Barge Line Company (the "Company,") today announced results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2012. Revenues for the current quarter decreased 27.9% over the prior year's third quarter to $166.9 million reflecting the challenging operating conditions on the Mississippi River resulting from the current year's extraordinary drought. Revenues for the current nine month period were relatively flat versus the prior nine month period at $603.7 million. For the current quarter, Adjusted EBITDAR, which reflects adjustments for losses associated with the current operating conditions, was $55.1 million, a 14.5% increase from $48.1 million for the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDAR for the third quarter 2012 reflects $24.2 million of the adjustment related to lower revenue and higher costs incurred as a result of the drought. On a trailing-twelve month basis, Adjusted EBITDAR was $229.5 million, an increase of 31.7% over Adjusted EBITDAR of $174.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Commenting on the results, Mark Knoy, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "The low water levels on the Mississippi River and the extreme drought conditions during the third quarter have resulted in some of the most challenging conditions our industry has experienced in nearly a half century in terms of severity, duration and the impact on the agriculture industry. Current operating conditions and the drought's impact on what had previously been expected to be an all-time record US corn harvest have led to lower revenues and higher costs in the short-term. Initial USDA forecasts, had suggested harvest levels that would have resulted in corn exports through the Gulf at levels nearly twice what we currently expect them to be. In those conditions, the $21 million of revenue we actually realized in grain transport during the third quarter would have been significantly improved."

Mr. Knoy went on to say, "While the current quarter's events have set the industry back in the near-term, transportation of commodities via the inland waterways continues to be the most cost effective and environmentally friendly mode of transport and we believe the fundamentals of our business are strong. Industry sources project an increase in demand for covered hopper transport during 2013, after adjusting for the effect of the 2012 drought, increasing pressure on barge availability and rates. In addition, we remain optimistic that the operating improvements we achieved over the past several quarters will continue to drive sustainable positive momentum in our financial performance when river conditions return to more normal levels. We are also pleased with the continued opportunities that we are experiencing in the liquid market. In the near-term, we are maintaining our focus on operating efficiencies and taking additional actions to mitigate the impact of the current environment on our liquidity and financial performance."

Segment Revenues

Transportation segment revenues decreased 20.3% to $156.6 million while total affreightment ton-mile volume decreased 25.2% to 6.2 billion ton-miles in the current quarter. The average number of barges in affreightment service declined by 19.5% from prior year, accounting for a significant portion of this reduction. Low water conditions during the quarter also led to reduced loading drafts and increases in transit delays, resulting in fewer tons per barge loading and a reduced fleet turn in our dry cargo sector. These conditions directly resulted in a reduction in Transportation segment revenues of approximately $19.2 million and a decline of 842 million ton-miles, or approximately 10%, during the quarter. Export coal volumes increased approximately 70% for the quarter compared to prior year; however, rates somewhat offset this improvement as they declined 10.6% from prior year. The reduced grain harvest and drought related operating conditions led to fewer dry hopper barges deployed and lower tons per barge loaded. As a result, grain shipments declined from prior year by 32.6% and rates on grain shipments were down 11.3% from prior year. 

Total liquid revenues increased by $2.3 million driven by a 30% increase in our dedicated petroleum services in the Gulf coast region, partially offset by a slight decline in chemical transportation services up river. Operating conditions had less negative impact on the Company's liquid transportation sector as these barges normally operate at much lower drafts than is required by dry cargo barges. Rates on liquid transport increased by 3.7% for the quarter compared to prior year.

Manufacturing segment revenues decreased 70.7% to $10.3 million, as 18 barges were sold to third-parties compared to 63 sold in the prior year quarter. This decline is attributable to the shift of a significant portion of the manufacturing segment's capacity to the production of barges for the transportation segment during the third quarter, as 15 new liquid barges and 35 new dry hopper barges were placed in service in the current quarter compared to two oversize liquid tank barges and 30 dry hopper barges in the prior year quarter.

Transportation segment revenues were down slightly at $513.1 million for the nine month period, with the third quarter revenue losses associated with the drought diminishing an otherwise solid year-over-year performance despite a difficult pricing environment. Total affreightment ton-mile volume decreased 4.6% to 21.7 billion ton-miles, produced with an affreightment barge fleet that was 17.3% smaller. After giving consideration to the estimated impact of the third quarter drought conditions discussed above, total ton-miles declined less than 1% for the year-to-date period.

Manufacturing segment revenues for the current nine month period increased 3.4% to $90.6 million, with 162 total barges sold to third parties in both the current and prior year nine month periods.

Operating Results

Operating income decreased by $4.7 million compared to the prior year quarter, reflecting the degradation in Mississippi River operating conditions experienced during the quarter. These losses were partially offset by a one-time gain of $11.4 million recognized on the resolution of an insurance claim related to a terminal damaged in the 2011 flood. For the quarter, the Company reported a net loss of $0.3 million. For the nine month period, operating income and net income rose $59.6 million and $35.6 million, respectively.

Adjusted EBITDAR for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 includes adjustments to reflect the impact of the challenging operating conditions on the Mississippi River experienced as a result of the current drought. These adjustments were estimated by comparing the Company's actual operating performance metrics to those that were achieved during the months leading up to the drought period. The impact related to the drought is attributable to the following factors:

• Reduction in Tons per Load: Extremely low Mississippi River levels limited the amount of cargo that could be carried due to reduced drafts. On average, the Company's dry cargo tons per barge declined by nearly 7% during the quarter compared to levels that were achieved prior to the drought. This decline in tons transported resulted in a reduction in EBITDAR of $9.8 million for the quarter and $10.9 million year-to-date.
• Reduction in Barges per Tow: The number of barges per tow was reduced along the Mississippi River in the most seriously impacted river segments between St. Louis and Vicksburg as part of an industry-wide agreement aimed at controlling disruptions to the flow of traffic on the river. As a result, the Company required more tow boats in service to deliver the same equivalent amount of freight based upon number of barges per tow. The cost of this excess towing capacity during the third quarter was $5.9 million and $6.0 million year-to-date.
• Reduction in Asset Turns: River conditions led to more traffic disruptions on the Mississippi River south of St. Louis, resulting in a reduced turn of fleet assets. As a result, the Company was required to use more tow boat power to deliver booked freight during the quarter and the slower turn also impacted the number of revenue earning days on the barge fleet. The impact of these incremental costs and lost margin totaled $8.5 million during the quarter and $9.8 million year-to-date.
  
  

In addition, Adjusted EBITDAR for the quarter has been adjusted to eliminate the gain realized on the insurance settlement discussed earlier of $11.4 million given its non-recurring nature.

After consideration of the adjustments discussed above, Adjusted EBITDAR was $55.1 million, a 14.5% increase over $48.1 million for the prior quarter. This increase over prior year can be attributed to improved boat productivity and other operating costs of $2.3 million, reduced repairs and maintenance costs of $6.7 million, increased gains on the sale of barges of $4.3 million and reduced compensation costs of $1.5 million, partially offset by lost margin on lower net affreightment volumes of $2.6 million and pricing of $1.8 million.

For the current nine month period, Adjusted EBITDAR was $169.3 million, a 48.5% increase over $114.0 million for the prior nine month period. On a trailing-twelve month basis, Adjusted EBITDAR was $229.5 million, an increase of 31.7% over Adjusted EBITDAR of $174.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Outlook

Commenting on the Company's outlook, Mr. Knoy said, "Operating conditions on the Mississippi River below St. Louis continue to impact our operating efficiencies at levels comparable to what we experienced during the third quarter. We cannot predict how long we will face these conditions but we will continue to tightly control expenses and maintain the safety of our employees, our equipment, the environment and our customers' cargoes until conditions improve. 

"We continue to see opportunities in the energy sector, as US coal exports are strong and North American oil production continues to rise. Tank barge capacity in the industry continues to be in tight supply and we are exploring a number of strategies that we believe will take advantage of these market dynamics. However, a number of factors will impact the dry cargo market for the remainder of 2012 and into next year. Coal demand at domestic utilities remains sluggish as a result of high inventories and coal's recent competitive disadvantage to natural gas and increased emissions regulations. This reduced demand has led to pricing pressure for open-top barge freight in the US and we expect that dynamic to continue. In addition, the drought had a significant negative impact on this year's grain harvest, which is reducing projected grain exports to levels not seen since the mid-1990s. As a result, we expect that demand for grain transport in the coming months will be significantly reduced from demand in the prior year. Finally, the overall economic conditions in the United States have resulted in reduced industrial demand for our dry cargo services." 

Mr. Knoy went on to say, "We are responding to these conditions by remaining very focused on operating efficiencies, including maintaining our network density and tight coordination of multiple freight movements to minimize non-revenue generating activities. In addition, we continue to review our previously announced capital spending plan to ensure that we are deploying our new investments to those opportunities that present the best returns."

Liquidity and Debt Position

At September 30, 2012, we had total long-term debt of $444.0 million, including $200.0 million related to the 2017 Notes, $25.0 million in unamortized premium recorded at the Acquisition-date to recognize their fair value, and $219.0 million drawn on our Credit Facility. At this level of debt, we had $169.7 million in remaining availability under our Credit Facility. The Credit Facility has no maintenance financial covenants unless borrowing availability is less than $48.8 million. At September 30, 2012, debt levels were $120.9 million above this threshold.

As of September 30, 2012, the present value of lease payments associated with revenue generating equipment was $45.5 million. Including the present value of these lease payments and excluding the unamortized premium on the 2017 Notes, the Company's total funded net long-term debt was $464.5 million as of September 30, 2012. The ratio of funded net debt to Adjusted EBITDAR for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2012 was 2.0 times, reflecting an improvement from 2.3 times as of December 31, 2011.

About the Company

Commercial Barge Line Company, headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is an integrated marine transportation and service company operating in the United States Jones Act trades. For more information about the Company, visit the Company's website at http://www.aclines.com/.

Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted EBITDAR is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company believes provides investors with a useful tool for analyzing its operating results as it eliminates the impact of certain non-comparable items and discontinued operations. The Company has included a reconciliation of its financial results to Adjusted EBITDAR elsewhere in this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's present expectations and beliefs about future events. As with any projection or forecast, these statements are inherently susceptible to risks, uncertainty and changes in circumstance. Important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and should be considered in evaluating the outlook of Commercial Barge Line Company. Risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Commercial Barge Line Company's filings with the SEC, including our report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Commercial Barge Line Company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of changes, new information, subsequent events or otherwise.

COMMERCIAL BARGE LINE COMPANY
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited - In thousands)
				Three Months Ended September 30,				Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
				2012				2011				2012				2011
Revenues
	Transportation and Services			$	156,588			$	196,350			$	513,057			$	520,793
	Manufacturing				10,297				35,086				90,636				87,640
		Revenues			166,885				231,436				603,693				608,433
Cost of Sales
	Transportation and Services				138,232				172,372				447,389				498,302
	Manufacturing				9,607				34,932				81,247				86,377
		Cost of Sales			147,839				207,304				528,636				584,679
Gross Profit					19,046				24,132				75,057				23,754
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses					11,923				12,276				34,623				42,966
Operating Income (Loss)					7,123				11,856				40,434				(19,212	)
Other Expense (Income)
	Interest Expense				7,874				7,553				23,185				22,645
	Other, Net				(181	)			(188	)			(484	)			(532	)
		Other Expense			7,693				7,365				22,701				22,113
(Loss) Income from Continuing Operations
Before Income Taxes					(570	)			4,491				17,733				(41,325	)
Income Taxes (Benefit)					(273	)			(486	)			6,659				(16,784	)
(Loss) Income from Continuing Operations					(297	)			4,977				11,074				(24,541	)
Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax					-				85				26				122
	Net (Loss) Income			$	(297	)		$	5,062			$	11,100			$	(24,419	)

COMMERCIAL BARGE LINE COMPANY
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
					September 30,				December 31,
					2012				2011
					(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Current Assets
	Cash and Cash Equivalents				$	2,667			$	938
	Accounts Receivable, Net					77,700				87,368
	Inventory					62,318				62,483
	Prepaid and Other Current Assets					37,299				27,310
		Total Current Assets				179,984				178,099
Properties, Net						982,060				935,576
Investment in Equity Investees						6,619				6,470
Accounts Receivable, Related Parties, Net						12,558				12,021
Goodwill						17,692				17,692
Other Assets						37,590				45,521
		Total Assets			$	1,236,503			$	1,195,379
LIABILITIES
Current Liabilities
	Accounts Payable					39,123			$	48,653
	Accrued Payroll and Fringe Benefits					14,273				20,035
	Deferred Revenue					15,252				15,251
	Accrued Claims and Insurance Premiums					12,340				13,823
	Other Current Liabilities					41,840				41,977
		Total Current Liabilities				122,828				139,739
Long Term Debt						443,979				384,225
Pension and Post Retirement Liabilities						62,526				67,531
Deferred Tax Liability						180,665				178,602
Other Long Term Liabilities						35,746				46,335
		Total Liabilities				845,744				816,432
SHAREHOLDER'S EQUITY
Other Capital						424,432				424,932
Retained Deficit						(9,727	)			(20,826	)
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss						(23,946	)			(25,159	)
			Total Shareholder's Equity			390,759				378,947
			Total Liabilities and Shareholder's Equity		$	1,236,503			$	1,195,379

COMMERCIAL BARGE LINE COMPANY
NET INCOME (LOSS) TO ADJUSTED EBITDA AND EBITDAR RECONCILIATION
( Unaudited - Dollars in thousands)
			For the Three Months Ended								For the Nine Months Ended
			September 30,								September 30,
			2012				2011				2012						2011
Consolidated Net Income (Loss)			$	(297	)		$	5,062			$	11,100					$	(24,419	)
Less Discontinued Operations, Net of Income Taxes				-				85				26						122
Net (Loss) Income from Continuing Operations				(297	)			4,977				11,074						(24,541	)
Adjustments from Continuing Operations:
	Interest Income			-				(4	)			(5	)					(162	)
	Interest Expense			7,874				7,553				23,185						22,645
	Depreciation and Amortization			26,148				26,626				80,353						82,020
	Taxes			(273	)			(486	)			6,659						(16,784	)
EBITDA from Continuing Operations				33,452				38,666				121,266						63,178
Adjustments from Continuing Operations for EBITDAR:
	Long-term Boat and Barge Rents			3,822				3,873				11,592						11,550
EBITDAR from Continuing Operations				37,274				42,539				132,858						74,728
Adjustments from Discontinued Operations:
	Interest Income			-				-				-						(18	)
	Depreciation and Amortization			-				23				-						61
EBITDA from Discontinued Operations				-				108				26						165
Adjustments from Discontinued Operations for EBITDAR:
EBITDAR from Discontinued Operations				-				108				26						165
Consolidated EBITDAR			$	37,274			$	42,647			$	132,884					$	74,893
Other Adjustments to EBITDAR
Other Non-cash or Non-comparable charges included in net income:
Continuing Ops
	Share based compensation and restructuring		$	21			$	943			$	234					$	4,586
	Other restructuring/acqusition-related costs and consulting			3,887				3,455				9,671						14,994
	Other non-cash impacts of purchase accounting			(2,028	)			(730	)			(6,084	)					(1,952	)
	Purchase accounting impact on boat/barge gains			2,866				559				28,311						3,688
	Gain on excess boat sales			335				-				(10,943	)					-
	Insurance gain on 2011 flood claims			(11,442	)			-				(11,442	)					-
	Drought, flood and other costs			24,164				1,325				26,714			(A	)		17,943
Total Continuing Ops				17,803				5,552				36,461						39,259
Adjusted EBITDAR from Continuing Ops				55,077				48,091				169,319						113,987
Discontinued Ops
	Merger Related and Consulting Expenses			-				-				-						20
Total Discontinued				-				-				-						20
Adjusted EBITDAR form Discontinued Ops				-				108				26						185
Adjusted Consolidated EBITDAR			$	55,077			$	48,199			$	169,345					$	114,172
(A) In order to provide a comprehensive estimate of the total drought effect, we have included $2,550 of drought related impact, incurred in June, in the nine months ended September 30, 2012. This amount was not included in adjusted EBITDAR in the second quarter 10Q filed on August 14, 2012 as materiality and duration of the drought were not known at that time.

COMMERCIAL BARGE LINE COMPANY
Statement of Operating Income by Reportable Segment
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
				Reportable Segments								Intersegment
				Transportation				Manufacturing				Eliminations				Total
Three Months ended September 30, 2012
Total revenue				$	156,727			$	47,182			$	(37,024	)		$	166,885
Less Intersegment revenues					139				36,885				(37,024	)			-
Revenue from external customers					156,588				10,297				-				166,885
Operating expense
	Materials, supplies and other				38,374				-				-				38,374
	Rent				6,646				-				-				6,646
	Labor and fringe benefits				28,262				-				-				28,262
	Fuel				38,161				-				-				38,161
	Depreciation and amortization				25,719				-				-				25,719
	Taxes, other than income taxes				2,684				-				-				2,684
	Gain on disposition of equipment				(1,614	)			-				-				(1,614	)
	Cost of goods sold				-				9,607				-				9,607
		Total cost of sales			138,232				9,607				-				147,839
	Selling, general & administrative				11,059				864				-				11,923
		Total operating expenses			149,291				10,471				-				159,762
Operating income				$	7,297			$	(174	)		$	-			$	7,123
Three Months ended September 30, 2011
Total revenue				$	196,694			$	56,907			$	(22,165	)		$	231,436
Less Intersegment revenues					344				21,821				(22,165	)			-
Revenue from external customers					196,350				35,086				-				231,436
Operating expense
	Materials, supplies and other				63,391				-				-				63,391
	Rent				6,960				-				-				6,960
	Labor and fringe benefits				28,875				-				-				28,875
	Fuel				45,347				-				-				45,347
	Depreciation and amortization				24,645				-				-				24,645
	Taxes, other than income taxes				3,094				-				-				3,094
	Gain on disposition of equipment				60				-				-				60
	Cost of goods sold				-				34,932				-				34,932
		Total cost of sales			172,372				34,932				-				207,304
	Selling, general & administrative				11,823				453				-				12,276
		Total operating expenses			184,195				35,385				-				219,580
Operating income				$	12,155			$	(299	)		$	-			$	11,856

COMMERCIAL BARGE LINE COMPANY
Statement of Operating Income by Reportable Segment
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
				Reportable Segments								Intersegment
				Transportation				Manufacturing				Eliminations				Total
Nine Months ended September 30, 2012
Total revenue				$	513,489			$	153,233			$	(63,029	)		$	603,693
Less Intersegment revenues					432				62,597				(63,029	)			-
Revenue from external customers					513,057				90,636				-				603,693
Operating expense
	Materials, supplies and other				146,209				-				-				146,209
	Rent				20,073				-				-				20,073
	Labor and fringe benefits				85,084				-				-				85,084
	Fuel				120,960				-				-				120,960
	Depreciation and amortization				76,019				-				-				76,019
	Taxes, other than income taxes				8,545				-				-				8,545
	Gain on disposition of equipment				(9,501	)			-				-				(9,501	)
	Cost of goods sold				-				81,247				-				81,247
		Total cost of sales			447,389				81,247				-				528,636
	Selling, general & administrative				31,591				3,032				-				34,623
		Total operating expenses			478,980				84,279				-				563,259
Operating income				$	34,077			$	6,357			$	-			$	40,434
Nine Months ended September 30, 2011
Total revenue				$	521,674			$	121,488			$	(34,729	)		$	608,433
Less Intersegment revenues					881				33,848				(34,729	)			-
Revenue from external customers					520,793				87,640				-				608,433
Operating expense
	Materials, supplies and other				181,647				-				-				181,647
	Rent				20,924				-				-				20,924
	Labor and fringe benefits				84,801				-				-				84,801
	Fuel				126,919				-				-				126,919
	Depreciation and amortization				76,072				-				-				76,072
	Taxes, other than income taxes				9,207				-				-				9,207
	Gain on disposition of equipment				(1,268	)			-				-				(1,268	)
	Cost of goods sold				-				86,377				-				86,377
		Total cost of sales			498,302				86,377				-				584,679
	Selling, general & administrative				41,505				1,461				-				42,966
		Total operating expenses			539,807				87,838				-				627,645
Operating income				$	(19,014	)		$	(198	)		$	-			$	(19,212	)