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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
 
FORM 10-Q
 
 

ýQUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018
or
¨TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from                      to                     
Commission File Number 001-35782
 
 
SUNCOKE ENERGY PARTNERS, L.P.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
 
 
Delaware 35-2451470
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
 
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
1011 Warrenville Road, Suite 600
Lisle, Illinois 60532
(630) 824-1000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
 
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    ý  Yes    ¨  No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).     ý  Yes    ¨  No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ¨  Accelerated filer ý
        
Non-accelerated filer ¨(Do not check if a smaller reporting company) Smaller reporting company ¨
        
     Emerging growth company 
ý

        
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ¨    No  ý

The registrant had 46,225,89946,227,148 common units outstanding at OctoberApril 20, 2017.2018.
 


SUNCOKE ENERGY PARTNERS, L.P.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1.Consolidated Financial Statements
SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
 Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016 2017 2016 2018 2017
            
 (Dollars and units in millions, except per unit amounts) (Dollars and units in millions, except per unit amounts)
Revenues            
Sales and other operating revenue $214.0
 $185.5
 $610.2
 $561.4
 $214.8
 $195.6
Costs and operating expenses            
Cost of products sold and operating expenses 146.2
 125.5
 431.0
 388.3
 157.1
 135.4
Selling, general and administrative expenses 7.4
 9.0
 24.4
 28.5
 8.2
 8.5
Depreciation and amortization expense 20.2
 18.1
 63.3
 57.3
 21.5
 21.6
Total costs and operating expenses 173.8
 152.6
 518.7
 474.1
 186.8
 165.5
Operating income 40.2
 32.9
 91.5
 87.3
 28.0
 30.1
Interest expense, net 15.1
 11.5
 41.7
 35.7
 15.0
 12.6
Loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt 0.1
 (1.0) 20.0
 (24.9)
Income before income tax expense 25.0
 22.4
 29.8
 76.5
 13.0
 17.5
Income tax expense 1.7
 0.4
 150.7
 1.4
 0.3
 149.2
Net income (loss) 23.3
 22.0
 (120.9) 75.1
 12.7
 (131.7)
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 0.7
 0.7
 (1.3) 1.9
 0.5
 (2.4)
Net income (loss) attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. $22.6
 $21.3
 $(119.6) $73.2
 $12.2
 $(129.3)
            
General partner's interest in net income $1.9
 $1.8
 $1.8
 $13.6
General partner's interest in net income (loss) $0.3
 $(1.3)
Limited partners' interest in net income (loss) $20.7
 $19.5
 $(121.4) $59.6
 $11.9
 $(128.0)
Net income (loss) per common unit (basic and diluted) $0.45
 $0.42
 $(2.63) $1.29
 $0.26
 $(2.77)
Weighted average common units outstanding (basic and diluted) 46.2
 46.2
 46.2
 46.2
 46.2
 46.2
(See Accompanying Notes)



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SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
 September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016 March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017
 (Unaudited)   (Unaudited)  
 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions)
Assets    
Cash and cash equivalents $26.9
 $41.8
 $41.5
 $6.6
Receivables 46.0
 39.7
 47.8
 42.2
Receivables from affiliate, net 2.6
 
 
 5.7
Inventories 85.3
 66.9
 79.7
 79.4
Other current assets 5.2
 1.6
 3.2
 1.9
Total current assets 166.0
 150.0
 172.2
 135.8
Properties, plants and equipment (net of accumulated depreciation of $405.5 million and $352.6 million at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively) 1,268.6
 1,294.9
Properties, plants and equipment (net of accumulated depreciation of $441.6 million and $423.1 million at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively) 1,259.2
 1,265.6
Goodwill 73.5
 73.5
 73.5
 73.5
Other intangible assets, net 168.9
 176.7
 163.6
 166.2
Deferred charges and other assets 0.8
 0.9
 0.2
 0.3
Total assets $1,677.8
 $1,696.0
 $1,668.7
 $1,641.4
Liabilities and Equity        
Accounts payable $69.5
 $47.0
 $77.6
 $54.9
Accrued liabilities 14.5
 11.7
 11.4
 14.6
Deferred revenue 16.6
 2.5
 3.6
 1.7
Current portion of long-term debt and financing obligation 2.6
 4.9
 2.6
 2.6
Interest payable 17.0
 14.7
 16.8
 4.0
Payable to affiliate, net 
 4.7
Total current liabilities 120.2
 85.5
 112.0
 77.8
Long-term debt and financing obligation 816.3
 805.7
 818.4
 818.4
Deferred income taxes 188.3
 37.9
 119.6
 119.2
Other deferred credits and liabilities 10.0
 13.2
 10.1
 10.1
Total liabilities 1,134.8
 942.3
 1,060.1
 1,025.5
Equity        
Held by public:        
Common units (issued 18,829,226 and 20,800,181 units at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively)
 185.2
 296.9
Common units (issued 17,769,955 and 17,958,420 units at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively)
 198.8
 207.0
Held by parent:        
Common units (issued 27,396,673 and 25,415,696 units at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively) 318.5
 410.3
General partner interest 27.9
 32.1
Common units (issued 28,457,193 and 28,268,728 units at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively) 358.0
 365.4
General partner's interest 39.5
 31.2
Partners' capital attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. 531.6
 739.3
 596.3
 603.6
Noncontrolling interest 11.4
 14.4
 12.3
 12.3
Total equity 543.0
 753.7
 608.6
 615.9
Total liabilities and equity $1,677.8
 $1,696.0
 $1,668.7
 $1,641.4
(See Accompanying Notes)



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SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2018 2017
    
  (Dollars in millions)
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:    
Net income (loss) $12.7
 $(131.7)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:    
Depreciation and amortization expense 21.5
 21.6
Deferred income tax expense 0.4
 149.2
Changes in working capital pertaining to operating activities:    
Receivables (5.6) (0.4)
Receivables/payables from affiliate, net 5.7
 1.3
Inventories (0.3) (11.4)
Accounts payable 20.9
 19.3
Accrued liabilities (3.0) (0.6)
Deferred revenue 1.9
 3.1
Interest payable 12.8
 (8.5)
Other (0.9) (2.5)
Net cash provided by operating activities 66.1
 39.4
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:    
Capital expenditures (10.6) (4.2)
Net cash used in investing activities (10.6) (4.2)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:    
Repayment of long-term debt 
 (0.3)
Repayment of financing obligation (0.6) (0.6)
Proceeds from revolving credit facility 53.5
 10.0
Repayment of revolving credit facility (53.5) (10.0)
Distributions to unitholders (public and parent) (29.5) (29.5)
Distributions to noncontrolling interest (SunCoke Energy, Inc.) (0.5) (0.5)
Capital contributions from SunCoke 10.0
 
Net cash used in financing activities (20.6) (30.9)
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 34.9
 4.3
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 6.6
 42.3
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $41.5
 $46.6
Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information    
Interest paid $2.0
 $20.9
Income taxes paid $1.3
 $0.3
(See Accompanying Notes)



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  Nine Months Ended September 30,
  2017 2016
    
  (Dollars in millions)
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:    
Net (loss) income $(120.9) $75.1
Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by operating activities:    
Depreciation and amortization expense 63.3
 57.3
Deferred income tax expense 150.4
 0.2
Loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt 20.0
 (24.9)
Changes in working capital pertaining to operating activities:    
Receivables (6.3) 2.1
Receivables (payables) from affiliate, net (5.9) 6.2
Inventories (18.4) 9.2
Accounts payable 16.6
 5.0
Accrued liabilities 2.8
 1.2
Deferred revenue 14.1
 25.5
Interest payable 2.3
 (11.2)
Other (5.3) (5.7)
Net cash provided by operating activities 112.7
 140.0
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:    
Capital expenditures (23.3) (30.1)
Decrease in restricted cash 0.1
 17.0
Other investing activities 
 2.1
Net cash used in investing activities (23.2) (11.0)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:    
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 620.6
 
Repayment of long-term debt (644.9) (60.8)
Proceeds from financing obligation 
 16.2
Repayment of financing obligation (1.8) (0.5)
Proceeds from revolving credit facility 268.0
 20.0
Repayment of revolving credit facility (240.0) (25.0)
Debt issuance costs (14.9) (0.2)
Distributions to unitholders (public and parent) (89.7) (86.8)
Distributions to noncontrolling interest (SunCoke Energy, Inc.) (1.7) (2.8)
Capital contributions from SunCoke 
 8.4
Net cash used in financing activities (104.4) (131.5)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (14.9) (2.5)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 41.8
 48.6
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $26.9
 $46.1
Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information    
Interest paid $38.3
 $49.8
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SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Consolidated Statement of Equity
(Unaudited)
 Common
- Public
 Common
- SunCoke
 General Partner
- SunCoke
 Noncontrolling Interest Total Common
- Public
 Common
- SunCoke
 General Partner
- SunCoke
 Noncontrolling Interest Total
                    
(Dollars in millions)(Dollars in millions)
At December 31, 2016 $296.9
 $410.3
 $32.1
 $14.4
 $753.7
At December 31, 2017 $207.0
 $365.4
 $31.2
 $12.3
 $615.9
Partnership net loss (55.2) (66.2) 1.8
 (1.3) (120.9) 4.6
 7.3
 0.3
 0.5
 12.7
Distribution to unitholders, net of unit issuances (35.8) (46.3) (6.0) 
 (88.1) (10.6) (16.9) (2.0) 
 (29.5)
Distributions to noncontrolling interest 
 
 
 (1.7) (1.7) 
 
 
 (0.5) (0.5)
Public units acquired by SunCoke (20.7) 20.7
 
 
 
 (2.2) 2.2
 
 
 
At September 30, 2017 $185.2
 $318.5
 $27.9
 $11.4
 $543.0
SunCoke Capital Contributions 
 
 10.0
 
 10.0
At March 31, 2018 $198.8
 $358.0
 $39.5
 $12.3
 $608.6
(See Accompanying Notes)



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SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
1. General
Description of Business
SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P., (the "Partnership", "we", "our", and "us"), is a Delaware limited partnership formed in July 2012, which primarily produces coke used in the blast furnace production of steel. Coke is a principal raw material in the blast furnace steelmaking process and is produced by heating metallurgical coal in a refractory oven, which releases certain volatile components from the coal, thus transforming the coal into coke.  We also provide handling and/or mixing services of coal and other aggregates at our logistics terminals.
At September 30, 2017,March 31, 2018, we owned a 98 percent interest in Haverhill Coke Company LLC ("Haverhill"), Middletown Coke Company, LLC ("Middletown") and Gateway Energy and Coke Company, LLC ("Granite City"). The and SunCoke Energy, Inc. ("SunCoke") owned the remaining 2.02 percent ownership interest in our three cokemaking facilities was owned by SunCoke Energy, Inc. ("SunCoke"). Weeach of Haverhill, Middletown, and Granite City. The Partnership also ownowns a 100 percent interest in all of its logistics business,terminals, which provides handling and/or mixing services of coal and other aggregates to third-party customers as well as to our own cokemaking facilities and other SunCoke cokemaking facilities. Our logistics business consistsconsist of Convent Marine Terminal ("CMT"), Kanawha River Terminals, LLC ("KRT") and SunCoke Lake Terminal, LLC ("Lake Terminal"). At September 30, 2017,March 31, 2018, SunCoke, through a subsidiary, owned a 58.160.3 percent limited partnership interest in us and indirectly owned and controlled our general partner, which holds a 2.0 percent general partner interest in us and all of our incentive distribution rights ("IDR").
Our cokemaking ovens have collective capacity to produce 2.3 million tons of coke annually and utilize efficient, modern heat recovery technology designed to combust the coal’s volatile components liberated during the cokemaking process and use the resulting heat to create steam or electricity for sale. This differs from by-product cokemaking, which seeks to repurpose the coal’s liberated volatile components for other uses. We have constructed the only greenfield cokemaking facilities in the United States ("U.S.") in approximately 30 years and are the only North American coke producer that utilizes heat recovery technology in the cokemaking process. We provide steam pursuant to steam supply and purchase agreements with our customers. Electricity is sold into the regional power market or pursuant to energy sales agreements.
Our logistics business provides handling and/or mixing services to steel, coke (including some of our and SunCoke's domestic cokemaking facilities), electric utility, coal producing and other manufacturing based customers. The logistics business has terminals in Indiana, West Virginia, and Louisiana with the collective capacity to mix and/or transload more than 40 million tons of coal annually and has total storage capacity of approximately 3 million tons.
Organized in Delaware in 2012 and headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, we became a publicly-traded partnership in 2013 and our stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “SXCP.”
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") for interim reporting. Certain information and disclosures normally included in financial statements have been omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). In management’s opinion, the financial statements reflect all adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature, necessary for a fair presentation of the results of operations, financial position and cash flows for the periods presented. The results of operations for the periods ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full year. These unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.2017.
NewRecently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
In May 2014, Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606),” which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in “Revenue Recognition (Topic 605),” and requires entities to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Subsequently, the FASB has issued various ASUs to provide further clarification around certain aspects of ASC 606. This standard will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period, and early adoption is permitted on a limited basis. Our implementation team has gained an understanding of the standard’s revenue recognition model and is completing the analysis and documentation of our contract details for impacts under the new revenue recognition model. While we are currently evaluating the impact of the standard, we expect the timing of our revenue recognition to generally remain the same under the new standard on an annual basis. Deferred revenue at CMT may be recognized on a more accelerated basis during quarterly periods within the year based on facts and circumstances considered at each quarter under the new guidance. The Partnership expects to adoptadopted this standard on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective method.method with no material impact on our revenue recognition model on an annual basis. See Note 10.
In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted cash.” The Partnership retrospectively adopted this ASU in the first quarter 2018 and modified the Partnership's cash flow presentation to include restricted cash with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The restricted cash balance was zero at both March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, and was $0.4 million and $0.5 million at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Historical restricted cash balances related to cash withheld in the 2015 acquisition of CMT to fund the completion of certain expansion capital improvements.


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Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)." ASU 2016-02 requires lesseesleases to recognizebe recognized as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for the rights and obligations created by all leases with terms of more than 12 months. It is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The standard requires the use of a modified retrospective transition method. A multi-disciplined implementation team has gained an understanding of the accounting and disclosure provisions of the standard and is in the process of analyzing the impacts to our business, including the development of new accounting processes to account for our leases and support the required disclosures. We have selected a technology tool to assist with the accounting and reporting requirements of this standard. While we are still evaluating the impact of adopting this standard, we expect that upon adoption the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities, such as various plant equipment rentals and the lease of our corporate office space, will increase the reported assets and liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Partnership expects to adopt this standard on January 1, 2019.


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2. Related Party Transactions and Agreements
Transactions with Affiliate
Our logistics business provides coal handling and mixing services to certain SunCoke cokemaking operations. Coal Logistics recorded revenues derived from services provided to SunCoke’s cokemaking operations of $2.2$2.5 million and $6.8$2.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30,March 31, 2018, and 2017, respectively, and $2.5 million and $7.7 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively. Additionally, Domestic Coke purchased coal from SunCoke and its affiliates totaling $1.6 million and $3.8 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively.
Allocated Expenses
SunCoke charges us for all direct costs and expenses incurred on our behalf and allocated costs associated with support services provided to our operations. Allocated expenses from SunCoke for general corporate and operations support costs totaled $6.8 million and $20.7$6.9 million for the three and nine months ended September 30,March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and $6.5 million and $20.4 million for three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, and were included in selling, general and administrative expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. These costs include legal, accounting, tax, treasury, engineering, information technology, insurance, employee benefit costs, communications, human resources, and procurement. Corporate allocations are recorded in accordance with the terms of our omnibus agreement with SunCoke and our general partner.
During the second quarter of 2017, the Partnership reimbursed SunCoke $7.0 million and $1.4 million for corporate allocated costs and IDR cash distributions, respectively, previously deferred in the second quarter of 2016. These amounts were included in payable to affiliate, net on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2016.
Omnibus Agreement
In connection with the closing of our initial public offering on January 24, 2013 ("IPO"), we entered into an omnibus agreement with SunCoke and our general partner that addresses certain aspects of our relationship with them, including:
Business Opportunities. We have preferential rights to invest in, acquire and construct cokemaking facilities in the United States ("U.S.") and Canada. SunCoke has preferential rights to all other business opportunities.
Potential Defaults by Coke Agreement Counterparties.Environmental Indemnity. For a period of five years from the closing date of the IPO, SunCoke has agreed to make us whole (including an obligation to pay for coke) to the extent (i) AK Steel Holding Corporation ("AK Steel") exercises the early termination right provided in its Haverhill coke sales agreement, (ii) any customer fails to purchase coke or defaults in payment under its coke sales agreement (other than by reason of force majeure or our default) or (iii) we amend a coke sales agreement's terms to reduce a customer's purchase obligation as a result of the customer's financial distress. We and SunCoke will share in any damages and other amounts recovered from third-parties arising from such events in proportion to our relative losses.
Environmental Indemnity. SunCoke will indemnify us to the full extent of any remediation losses at the Haverhill, Middletown and MiddletownGranite City cokemaking facilities arising from any known environmental matter discovered and identified as requiring remediation prior to the closing of the IPO. In addition,IPO and the dropdown of Granite City, respectively. SunCoke has contributed $129 million in partial satisfaction of this obligation and will indemnifyreimburse us for additional spending in excess of $129 million as required for such known remediation losses at the Granite City cokemaking facility arising from any environmental matter discovered and identified as requiring remediation prior to the closing of the January 2015 dropdown of a 75 percent interest in Granite City ("Granite City Dropdown"). If, prior to the fifth anniversary of the closing of the IPO, a pre-existing environmental matter is identified as requiring remediation, SunCoke will indemnify us for up to $50.0 million of any such remediation costs (we will bear the first $5.0 million of any such costs).obligations.
Other Indemnification.SunCoke will fully indemnify us with respect to any additional tax liability related to periods prior to or in connection with the closing of the IPO or the Granite City Dropdown to the extent not currently presented on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Additionally, SunCoke will either cure or fully indemnify us for losses resulting from any material title defects at the properties owned by the entities acquired in connection with the closing of the IPO or the Granite City Dropdown to the extent that those defects interfere with or could reasonably be expected to interfere with the operations of the related cokemaking facilities. We will indemnify SunCoke for events relating to our operations except to the extent that we are entitled to indemnification by SunCoke.
License.SunCoke has granted us a royalty-free license to use the name “SunCoke” and related marks. Additionally, SunCoke has granted us a non-exclusive right to use all of SunCoke's current and future cokemaking and related technology. We have not paid and will not pay a separate license fee for the rights we receive under the license.
Expenses and Reimbursement.SunCoke will continue to provide us with certain corporate and other services, and we will reimburse SunCoke for all direct costs and expenses incurred on our behalf and a portion of corporate and other costs and expenses attributable to our operations. SunCoke may consider providing additional support to the Partnership in the future by providing a corporate cost reimbursement holiday, whereby the Partnership would not be required to reimburse SunCoke for costs. Additionally, we paid all fees in connection with our senior notes offering and our revolving credit facility and have agreed to pay all additional fees in connection with any future financing arrangement entered into for the purpose of replacing the credit facility or the senior notes.


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So long as SunCoke controls our general partner, the omnibus agreement will remain in full force and effect unless mutually terminated by the parties. If SunCoke ceases to control our general partner, the omnibus agreement will terminate, but our rights to indemnification and use of SunCoke's existing cokemaking and related technology will survive. The omnibus agreement can be amended by written agreement of all parties to the agreement, but we may not agree to any amendment that would, in the reasonable discretion of our general partner, be adverse in any material respect to the holders of our common units without prior approval of the conflicts committee.
3. Cash Distributions and Net Income Per Unit
Cash Distributions
Our partnership agreement generally provides that we will make cash distributions, if any, each quarter in the following manner:
first, 98 percent to the holders of common units and 2 percent to our general partner, until each common unit has received the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.412500 plus any arrearages from prior quarters and
second,98 percent to all unitholders, pro rata, and 2 percent to our general partner, until each unit has received a distribution of $0.474375.
If cash distributions to our unitholders exceed $0.474375 per unit in any quarter, our unitholders and our general partner will receive distributions according to the following percentage allocations:
Total Quarterly Distribution Per Unit Target Amount 
Marginal Percentage
Interest in Distributions
Total Quarterly Distribution Per Unit Target Amount 
Marginal Percentage
Interest in Distributions
Unitholders General PartnerUnitholders General Partner
Minimum Quarterly Distribution$0.412500 98% 2%
First Target Distributionabove $0.412500 up to $0.474375 98% 2%up to $0.474375 98% 2%
Second Target Distributionabove $0.474375 up to $0.515625 85% 15%above $0.474375 up to $0.515625 85% 15%
Third Target Distributionabove $0.515625 up to $0.618750 75% 25%above $0.515625 up to $0.618750 75% 25%
Thereafterabove $0.618750 50% 50%above $0.618750 50% 50%
Our distributions are declared subsequent to quarter end. The table below represents total cash distributions applicable to the period in which the distributions were earned:
Earned in Quarter Ended Total Quarterly Distribution Per Unit Total Cash Distribution including general partners IDRs Date of Distribution Unitholders Record Date
    (Dollars in millions)    
June 30, 2016 $0.5940
 $29.5
 September 1, 2016 August 15, 2016
September 30, 2016 $0.5940
 $29.5
 December 1, 2016 November 15, 2016
December 31, 2016 $0.5940
 $29.5
 March 1, 2017 February 15, 2017
March 31, 2017 $0.5940
 $29.5
 June 1, 2017 May 15, 2017
June 30, 2017 $0.5940
 $29.5
 September 1, 2017 August 15, 2017
September 30, 2017(1)
 $0.5940
 $29.5
 December 1, 2017 November 15, 2017
Earned in Quarter Ended Total Quarterly Distribution Per Unit Total Cash Distribution including general partners IDRs Date of Distribution Unitholders Record Date
    (Dollars in millions)    
March 31, 2017 $0.5940
 $29.5
 June 1, 2017 May 15, 2017
June 30, 2017 $0.5940
 $29.5
 September 1, 2017 August 15, 2017
September 30, 2017 $0.5940
 $29.5
 December 1, 2017 November 15, 2017
December 31, 2017 $0.5940
 $29.5
 March 1, 2018 February 15, 2018
March 31, 2018(1)
 $0.4000
 $18.9
 June 1, 2018 May 15, 2018
(1)On October 17, 2017,April 26, 2018, our Board of Directors declared a cash distribution of $0.5940$0.40 per unit, which will be paid on DecemberJune 1, 2017,2018, to unitholders of record on NovemberMay 15, 2017.2018.
Allocation of Net Income
Our partnership agreement contains provisions for the allocation of net income to the unitholders and the general partner. For purposes of maintaining partner capital accounts, the partnership agreement specifies that items of income and loss shall be allocated among the partners in accordance with their respective percentage interest. Normal allocations according to percentage interests are made after giving effect, if any, to priority income allocations in an amount equal to incentive cash distributions allocated 100 percent to the general partner.


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The calculation of net income allocated to the general and limited partners was as follows:
 Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016 2017 2016 2018 2017
            
 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions)
Net income (loss) attributable to SunCoke Energy L.P. $22.6
 $21.3
 $(119.6) $73.2
 $12.2
 $(129.3)
Less: Expenses allocated to Common - SunCoke(1)
 
 
 
 (7.0)
Net income (loss) attributable to all partners 22.6
 21.3
 (119.6) 80.2
General partner's incentive distribution rights 1.4
 1.4
 4.2
 12.2
 
 1.4
Net income (loss) attributable to partners, excluding incentive distribution rights 21.2
 19.9
 (123.8) 68.0
 12.2
 (130.7)
General partner's ownership interest: 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0%
General partner's allocated interest in net income (loss)(2)
 0.5
 0.4
 (2.4) 1.4
General partner's allocated interest in net income (loss)(1)
 0.3
 (2.7)
General partner's incentive distribution rights 1.4
 1.4
 4.2
 12.2
 
 1.4
Total general partner's interest in net income (loss) $1.9
 $1.8
 $1.8
 $13.6
 $0.3
 $(1.3)
Common - public unitholder's interest in net income (loss) $8.6
 $8.8
 $(55.2) $29.9
 $4.6
 $(57.6)
Common - SunCoke interest in net income (loss):        
Common - SunCoke interest in net income (loss) 12.1
 10.7
 (66.2) 36.7
 7.3
 (70.4)
Expenses allocated to Common - SunCoke(1)
 
 
 
 (7.0)
Total common - SunCoke interest in net income (loss) 12.1
 10.7
 (66.2) 29.7
Total limited partners' interest in net income (loss) $20.7
 $19.5
 $(121.4) $59.6
 $11.9
 $(128.0)
(1)Per the amended partnership agreement, expenses paid on behalf of the Partnership are to be allocated entirely to the partner who paid them. During the first quarter of 2016, SunCoke paid $7.0 million of allocated corporate costs on behalf of the Partnership and will not seek reimbursement for those costs. These expenses are recorded as a direct reduction to SunCoke's interest in net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2016.
(2)Our net income is allocated to the general partner and limited partners in accordance with their respective partnership percentages, after giving effect to priority income allocations for incentive distributions, if any, to our general partner, pursuant to our partnership agreement. The table above represents a simplified presentation of the calculation, and therefore, amounts may not recalculate precisely.
Earnings Per Unit
Our net income is allocated to the general partner and limited partners in accordance with their respective partnership percentages, after giving effect to priority income allocations for incentive distributions, if any, to our general partner, pursuant to our partnership agreement. Distributions less than or greater than earnings are allocated in accordance with our partnership agreement. Payments made to our unitholders are determined in relation to actual distributions declared and are not based on the net income allocations used in the calculation of net income per unit.
In addition to the common, we also have identified the general partner interest and IDRs as participating securities and we use the two-class method when calculating the net income per unit applicable to limited partners, which is based on the weighted-average number of common units outstanding during the period. Basic and diluted net income per unit applicable to limited partners are the same because we do not have any potentially dilutive units outstanding.


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The calculation of earnings per unit is as follows:
 Three Months Ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016 2017 2016 2018 2017
            
 (Dollars and units in millions, except per unit amounts) (Dollars and units in millions, except per unit amounts)
Net income (loss) attributable to SunCoke Energy L.P. $22.6
 $21.3
 $(119.6) $73.2
 $12.2
 $(129.3)
Less: Expenses allocated to Common - SunCoke 
 
 
 (7.0)
Net income (loss) attributable to all partners 22.6
 21.3
 (119.6) 80.2
General partner's distributions (including $1.4 million, $1.4 million, $4.2 million and $4.2 million of cash incentive distribution rights declared, respectively) 2.0
 2.0
 6.0
 6.0
General partner's distributions (including zero and $1.4 million, of cash incentive distribution rights declared, respectively) 0.4
 2.0
Limited partners' distributions on common units 27.5
 27.5
 82.5
 82.4
 18.5
 27.5
Distributions greater than earnings/loss (6.9) (8.2) (208.1) (8.2) (6.7) (158.8)
General partner's earnings:        
Distributions (including $1.4 million, $1.4 million, $4.2 million and $4.2 million of cash incentive distribution rights declared, respectively) 2.0
 2.0
 6.0
 6.0
Allocation of distributions (greater than) less than earnings/loss (0.1) (0.2) (4.2) 7.6
Total general partner's earnings 1.9
 1.8
 1.8
 13.6
General partner's earnings (loss):    
Distributions (including zero and $1.4 million, of cash incentive distribution rights declared, respectively) 0.4
 2.0
Allocation of distributions greater than earnings/loss (0.1) (3.3)
Total general partner's earnings (loss) 0.3
 (1.3)
Limited partners' earnings (loss) on common units:            
Distributions 27.5
 27.5
 82.5
 82.4
 18.5
 27.5
Expenses allocated to Common - SunCoke 
 
 
 (7.0)
Allocation of distributions greater than earnings/loss (6.8) (8.0) (203.9) (15.8) (6.6) (155.5)
Total limited partners' earnings (loss) on common units 20.7
 19.5
 (121.4) 59.6
 11.9
 (128.0)
            
Weighted average limited partner units outstanding:            
Common - basic and diluted 46.2
 46.2
 46.2
 46.2
 46.2
 46.2
Net income (loss) per limited partner unit:            
Common - basic and diluted $0.45
 $0.42
 $(2.63) $1.29
 $0.26
 $(2.77)
Unit Activity
Unit activity for the ninethree months ended September 30, 2017:March 31, 2018:
  Common - Public Common - SunCoke Total Common
At December 31, 2016 20,800,181
 25,415,696
 46,215,877
Units issued to directors 10,022
 
 10,022
Public units acquired by SunCoke (1,980,977) 1,980,977
 
At September 30, 2017 18,829,226
 27,396,673
 46,225,899
  Common - Public Common - SunCoke Total Common
At December 31, 2017 17,958,420
 28,268,728
 46,227,148
Common units acquired by SunCoke (188,465) 188,465
 
At March 31, 2018 17,769,955
 28,457,193
 46,227,148
4. Inventories
The components of inventories were as follows:
 September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016 March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017
        
 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions)
Coal $48.9
 $34.5
 $45.2
 $41.0
Coke 8.0
 4.7
 5.5
 9.5
Materials, supplies, and other 28.4
 27.7
 29.0
 28.9
Total inventories $85.3
 $66.9
 $79.7
 $79.4


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5. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
Goodwill, which represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired, is tested for impairment as of October 1 of each year, or when events occur or circumstances change that would, more likely than not, reduce the fair value of a reporting unit to below its carrying value. Goodwill allocated to our Coal Logistics segment was $73.5 million at both September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2016.2017.
The components of other intangible assets, net were as follows:
 September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016 March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017
Weighted - Average Remaining Amortization Years Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization Net Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization NetWeighted - Average Remaining Amortization Years Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization Net Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization Net
 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions)
Customer contracts5 $24.0
 $6.9
 $17.1
 $24.0
 $4.5
 $19.5
5 $24.0
 $8.5
 $15.5
 $24.0
 $7.8
 $16.2
Customer relationships14 28.7
 5.2
 23.5
 28.7
 3.8
 24.9
14 28.7
 6.2
 22.5
 28.7
 5.7
 23.0
Permits25 139.0
 10.9
 128.1
 139.0
 7.1
 131.9
25 139.0
 13.5
 125.5
 139.0
 12.2
 126.8
Trade name1 1.2
 1.0
 0.2
 1.2
 0.8
 0.4
1 1.2
 1.1
 0.1
 1.2
 1.0
 0.2
Total $192.9
 $24.0
 $168.9
 $192.9
 $16.2
 $176.7
 $192.9
 $29.3
 $163.6
 $192.9
 $26.7
 $166.2
The permits above represent the environmental and operational permits required to operate a coal export terminal in accordance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory bodies. Intangible assets are amortized over their useful lives in a manner that reflects the pattern in which the economic benefit of the asset is consumed. The permits’ useful lives were estimated to be 27 years at acquisition based on the expected useful life of the significant operating equipment at the facility. These permits have an average remaining renewal term of approximately 3.7 years. The permits were renewed regularly prior to our acquisition of CMT. We also have historical experience of renewing and extending similar arrangements at our other facilities and intend to continue to renew our permits as they come up for renewal for the foreseeable future. The permits were renewed regularly prior to our acquisition of CMT. These permits have an average remaining renewal term of approximately 3.2 years.
Total amortization expense for intangible assets subject to amortization was $2.6 million and $7.8 million for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively,March 31, 2018 and $2.6 million and $8.0 million for three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively.2017.
6. Income Taxes
The Partnership is a limited partnership and generally is not subject to federal or state income taxes. At the end of each interim period, we make our best estimate of the effective tax rate expected to be applicable for the full fiscal year and the impact of discrete items, if any, and adjust the rate as necessary.
The Partnership recorded income tax expense of $150.7$0.3 million duringfor the ninethree months ended September 30, 2017. Income tax expense during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 included the impacts of the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") announcement of its final regulations on qualifying income in January 2017 discussed below.March 31, 2018 primarily related to local taxes and activities related to Gateway Cogeneration Company LLC.
In January 2017, the IRS announced its decision to exclude cokemaking as a qualifying income generating activity in its final regulations (the "Final Regulations") issued under section 7704(d)(1)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code relating to the qualifying income exception for publicly traded partnerships. However,Subsequent to the Final Regulations include a10-year transition period, for activities that were reasonably interpreted to be qualifying income and carried on by publicly traded partnerships prior to the Final Regulations. The Partnership previously received a will-level opinion from its counsel, Vinson & Elkins LLP, that the Partnership'scertain cokemaking operations generated qualifying income prior to the Final Regulations. Therefore, the Partnership believes it had a reasonable basis to conclude its cokemaking operations were considered qualifying income before the issuance of the new regulations and as such expects to maintain its treatment as a partnership through the transition period. Cokemaking entities in the Partnership will become taxable as corporations on January 1, 2028, after the transition period ends.
corporations. As a result, of the Final Regulations, the Partnership recorded deferred income tax expense of $148.6 million to set up its initial deferred income tax liability during the first quarter ofthree months ended March 31, 2017 primarily related to differences in the book andfuture tax basis of fixed assets, which areobligation expected to existbe owed for the projected book to tax differences at the end of the 10-year transition period when the cokemaking operations become taxable. The Partnership has reassessed these deferred tax liabilities quarterly, resulting in immaterial impacts to deferred income tax expense. A portion of this deferred tax liability, $3.0 million, was attributable to SunCoke's retained ownership interest in the cokemaking facilities and, therefore, was also reflected as a reduction in noncontrolling interest during the nine months ended September 30, 2017.period.


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7. Debt and Financing Obligation
Total debt and financing obligation, including the current portion of long-term debt and financing obligation, consisted of the following:
  September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016
     
  (Dollars in millions)
7.500 percent senior notes, due 2025 ("2025 Partnership Notes") $630.0
 $
7.375 percent senior notes, due 2020 ("2020 Partnership Notes") 
 463.0
Partnership term loan, due 2019 ("Partnership Term Loan") 
 50.0
Revolving credit facility, due 2022 and 2019, respectively ("Partnership Revolver") 200.0
 172.0
Partnership promissory note payable, due 2021 ("Promissory Note") 
 113.2
5.82 percent financing obligation, due 2021 ("Financing Obligation") 13.3
 15.2
Total borrowings 843.3
 813.4
Original issue (discount) premium (9.1) 7.5
Debt issuance cost (15.3) (10.3)
Total debt and financing obligation 818.9
 810.6
Less: current portion of long-term debt and financing obligation 2.6
 4.9
Total long-term debt and financing obligation $816.3
 $805.7
Issuance of 2025 Partnership Senior Notes
In May 2017, the Partnership issued $630.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes with an interest rate of 7.5 percent due in May 2025. The Partnership received proceeds of $620.6 million, net of a discount of $9.4 million. The Partnership incurred debt issuance costs related to this transaction of $11.9 million. The 2025 Partnership Senior Notes are the senior unsecured obligations of the Partnership, and are guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by each of the Partnership’s existing and certain future subsidiaries (other than SunCoke Energy Partners Finance Corp.). Interest on the 2025 Partnership Senior Notes is payable semi-annually in cash in arrears on June 15 and December 15 of each year, commencing on December 15, 2017.
The Partnership may redeem some or all of the 2025 Partnership Senior Notes at any time on or after June 15, 2020 at specified redemption prices plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the redemption date. Before June 15, 2020, and following certain equity offerings, the Partnership also may redeem up to 35 percent of the 2025 Partnership Senior Notes at a price equal to 107.50 percent of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the redemption date. In addition, at any time prior to June 15, 2020, the Partnership may redeem some or all of the 2025 Partnership Senior Notes at a price equal to 100 percent of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the redemption date, plus a “make-whole” premium.
The Partnership is obligated to offer to purchase all or a portion of the 2025 Partnership Senior Notes at a price of (a) 101 percent of their principal amount, together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of purchase, upon the occurrence of certain change of control events and (b) 100 percent of their principal amount, together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of purchase, upon the occurrence of certain asset dispositions. These restrictions and prohibitions are subject to certain qualifications and exceptions set forth in the Indenture, including without limitation, reinvestment rights with respect to the proceeds of asset dispositions.
The 2025 Partnership Senior Notes contains covenants that, among other things, limit the Partnership’s ability and the ability of certain of the Partnership’s subsidiaries to (i) incur indebtedness, (ii) pay dividends or make other distributions, (ii) prepay, redeem or repurchase certain subordinated debt, (iv) make loans and investments, (v) sell assets, (vi) incur liens, (vii) enter into transactions with affiliates, (viii) enter into agreements restricting the ability of subsidiaries to pay dividends and (ix) consolidate or merge.
Purchase and Redemption of 2020 Partnership Senior Notes and Repayment of Partnership Term Loan
During the first nine months of 2017, the Partnership used the proceeds from the 2025 Partnership Notes to purchase and redeem its 2020 Partnership Notes, including principal of $463.0 million and a premium of $18.7 million, and to repay the $50.0 million outstanding on the Partnership Term Loan. As a result, during the nine months ended September 30, 2017, the Partnership recorded a loss on extinguishment of debt on the Consolidated Statement of Operations of $19.1 million, which included the premium paid and a write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs of $7.0 million partly offset by a write-off of unamortized premiums of $6.6 million.


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  March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017
     
  (Dollars in millions)
7.500 percent senior notes, due 2025 ("2025 Partnership Notes") $700.0
 $700.0
Revolving credit facility, due 2022 ("Partnership Revolver") 130.0
 130.0
5.82 percent financing obligation, due 2021 ("Financing Obligation") 12.1
 12.7
Total borrowings 842.1
 842.7
Original issue discount (5.7) (5.9)
Debt issuance cost (15.4) (15.8)
Total debt and financing obligation 821.0
 821.0
Less: current portion of long-term debt and financing obligation 2.6
 2.6
Total long-term debt and financing obligation $818.4
 $818.4
Partnership Revolver
In May 2017, the Partnership repaid the $172.0 million outstanding balance and then amended and restated theThe Partnership Revolver which increased the Partnership'shas a capacity from $250.0 million toof $285.0 million and extended the maturity to May 2022. The Partnership then borrowed $200.0 million under the amended and restated credit facility during the nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. In connection with the amendments to the Partnership Revolver, the Partnership incurred debt issuance costs of $3.0 million and recorded a loss on extinguishment of debt on the Consolidated Statement of Operations of $0.8 million, representing a write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs, during the nine months ended September 30, 2017.million. As of September 30, 2017,March 31, 2018, the Partnership had $1.9 million of letters of credit outstanding and an outstanding balance of $200.0$130.0 million, leaving $83.1$153.1 million available.
Partnership's Promissory Note
In August 2017, the Partnership utilized $100.0 million of its borrowings under the Partnership Revolver and $12.6 million of cash to repay the remaining outstanding balance of $112.6 million on the Partnership's Promissory Note. As a result, the Partnership recorded a loss on extinguishment of debt on the Consolidated Statement of Operations of $0.1 million, representing a write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs, during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017.
Covenants
Under the terms of the Partnership Revolver, the Partnership is subject to a maximum leverage ratio of 4.5:1.04.50:1.00 prior to June 30, 2020 and 4.0:1.04.00:1.00 after June 30, 2020, and a minimum consolidated interest coverage ratio of 2.5:1.0.2.50:1.00. The Partnership Revolver contains other covenants and events of default that are customary for similar agreements and may limit our ability to take various actions including our ability to pay a dividend or repurchase our stock.
If we fail to perform our obligations under these and other covenants, the lenders' credit commitment could be terminated and any outstanding borrowings, together with accrued interest, under the Partnership Revolver could be declared immediately due and payable. The Partnership has a cross-default provision that applies to our indebtedness having a principal amount in excess of $35 million.
As of September 30, 2017,March 31, 2018, the Partnership was in compliance with all applicable debt covenants. We do not anticipate violation of these covenants nor do we anticipate that any of these covenants will restrict our operations or our ability to obtain additional financing.
8. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"(the "EPA") has issued Notices of Violations (“NOVs”) for the Haverhill and Granite City cokemaking facilities which stemmed from alleged violations of air operating permits for these facilities. We are working in a cooperative manner with the EPA, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to address the allegations, and have entered into a consent degree in federal district court with these parties. The consent decree includes a $2.2 million civil penalty payment that was paid by SunCoke in 2014, as well as capital projects underway to improve the reliability of the energy recovery systems and enhance environmental performance at the Haverhill and Granite City cokemaking facilities. An amendment was lodged in federal court in February 2018 and is undergoing review. The amendment provides the Haverhill and Granite City facilities with additional time to perform necessary maintenance on the flue gas desulfurization systems without exceeding consent decree limits. The emissions associated with this maintenance will be mitigated in accordance with the amendment, and there are no civil penalty payments.
We retained an aggregate of $119 million in proceeds from the Partnership's IPO and subsequent dropdowns to fund these environmental remediation projects at the Haverhill and Granite City cokemaking facilities. Pursuant to the omnibus agreement, any amounts that we spend on these projects in excess of the $119 million will be reimbursed by SunCoke. SunCoke spent $7 million related to these projects. We have spent approximately $96$111 million to date and the remaining capital is expected to be spent through the first quarter of 2019. UnderPursuant to the omnibus agreement, SunCoke, will reimbursethrough the general partner, made a capital contribution of $10 million to us during the first quarter 2018 for these known environmental remediation projects. SunCoke expects to make an additional capital contribution to us of approximately $15$10 million for the estimated future spending related to these environmental remediation projects.


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Table of additional spending on these projects.Contents

The Partnership is a party to certain other pending and threatened claims, including matters related to commercial and tax disputes, product liability, employment claims, personal injury claims, premises-liability claims, allegations of exposures to toxic substances and general environmental claims. Although the ultimate outcome of these claims cannot be ascertained at this time, it is reasonably possible that some portion of these claims could be resolved unfavorably to the Partnership. Management of the Partnership believes that any liability which may arise from claims would not have a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial statements.


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9. Fair Value Measurements
The Partnership measures certain financial and non-financial assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Fair value disclosures are reflected in a three-level hierarchy, maximizing the use of observable inputs and minimizing the use of unobservable inputs.
The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability on the measurement date. The three levels are defined as follows:
Level 1—inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for an identical asset or liability in an active market.
Level 2—inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for a similar asset or liability in an active market or model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs are observable for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.
Level 3—inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement of the asset or liability.
Financial Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
Certain assets and liabilities are measured at fair value on a recurring basis. The Partnership’s cash equivalents are measured at fair value based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets. These inputs are classified as Level 1 within the valuation hierarchy. The Partnership did not have material cash equivalents at September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 or December 31, 2016.2017.
Convent Marine Terminal Contingent Consideration
In connection with the CMT acquisition, the Partnership entered into a contingent consideration arrangement that requires us to make future payments to The Cline Group based on future volume over a specified threshold, price and contract renewals. The fair value of the contingent consideration was estimated based on a probability-weighted analysis using significant inputs that are not observable in the market, or Level 3 inputs. Key assumptions included probability adjusted levels of handling services provided by CMT, anticipated price per ton on future sales and probability of contract renewal, including length of future contracts, volume commitment, and anticipated price per ton. The fair value of the contingent consideration was $2.5 million at September 30, 2017both March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2016 was $2.5 million and $4.2 million, respectively,2017 and was included in other deferred charges and liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The decrease in the fair value of the contingent consideration liability was due to changes in expected throughput volumes related to the long-term, take-or-pay agreements. This reduction in the contingent consideration balance decreased costs of products sold and operating expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations by $2.0 million and $1.7 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. During the first quarter of 2016, the Partnership amended the contingent consideration terms with The Cline Group. These amendment terms and subsequent fair value adjustments during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 of $4.6 million and $8.3 million, respectively, decreased costs of products sold and operating expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Certain Financial Assets and Liabilities not Measured at Fair Value
At September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2016,2017, the estimated fair value of the Partnership's total debt was $864.2$863.0 million and $810.4$875.0 million, respectively, compared to a carrying amount of $843.3$842.1 million and $813.4$842.7 million, respectively. The fair value was estimated by management based upon estimates of debt pricing provided by financial institutions which are considered Level 2 inputs.
10. Revenue from Contracts with Customers
Cokemaking
Substantially all our coke sales are made pursuant to long-term, take-or-pay agreements with ArcelorMittal USA LLC and/or its affiliates (“AM USA”), AK Steel Holding Corporation ("AK Steel") and United States Steel Corporation ("U.S. Steel"), who are three of the largest blast furnace steelmakers in North America. The take-or-pay provisions of our agreements require us to deliver minimum annual tonnage, which varies by contract, but covers at least 90 percent of each facility's annual capacity. The take-or-pay provisions also require our customers to purchase such volumes of coke or pay the contract price for any tonnage they elect not to take. These coke sales agreements have an average remaining term of approximately seven years, and to date, our coke customers have satisfied their obligations under these agreements.


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Our coke sales prices include an operating cost component, a coal cost component and a return of capital component. Operating costs under one of our coke sales agreements are contractual, subject to an annual adjustment based on an inflation index. Under our other three coke sales agreements operating costs are passed through to the respective customers subject to an annually negotiated budget, in some cases subject to a cap annually adjusted for inflation, and generally we share any difference in costs from the budgeted amounts with our customers. Our coke sales agreements contain pass-through provisions for coal and coal procurement costs, subject to meeting contractual coal-to-coke yields. To the extent that the actual coal-to-coke yields are less than the contractual standard, we are responsible for the cost of the excess coal used in the cokemaking process. Conversely, to the extent our actual coal-to-coke yields are higher than the contractual standard, we realize gains. The reimbursement of pass-through operating and coal costs from these coke sales agreements are considered to be variable consideration components included in the cokemaking sales price. The return of capital component for each ton of coke sold to the customer is determined at the time the coke sales agreement is signed and is effective for the term of each sales agreement. This component of our coke sales prices is intended to provide an adequate return on invested capital and may differ based on investment levels and other considerations. The actual return on invested capital at any facility is also impacted by favorable or unfavorable performance on pass-through cost items. Revenues are recognized when performance obligations to our customers are satisfied in an amount that reflects the consideration that we expect to receive in exchange for the coke.
Logistics
In our logistics business, handling and/or mixing services are provided to steel, coke (including some of our and SunCokes's domestic cokemaking facilities), electric utility, coal producing and other manufacturing based customers. Materials are transported in numerous ways, including rail, truck, barge or ship. We do not take possession of materials handled, but rather act as intermediaries between our customers and end users, deriving our revenues from services provided on a per ton basis. The handling and mixing services consist primarily of two performance obligations, unloading and loading of materials. Our logistics business has long-term, take-or-pay agreements requiring us to handle over 15 million tons annually. The take-or-pay provisions in these agreements require our customers to purchase such handling services or pay the contract price for services they elect not to take. Estimated take-or-pay revenue of approximately $430 million from all of our long-term logistics contracts is expected to be recognized over the next six years for unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligations as of March 31, 2018. To date, our customers have satisfied their obligations under these agreements. Included with these long-term, take-or-pay arrangements are our contracts with Murray American Coal, Inc. ("Murray") and Foresight Energy LLC ("Foresight"), which cover 10 million tons of CMT's annual transloading capacity of 15 million tons. Revenues in our logistics business are recognized when the customer receives the benefits of the services provided, in an amount that reflects the consideration that we will receive in exchange for those services. Billings to CMT customers for take-or-pay volume shortfalls based on pro-rata volume commitments under take-or-pay contracts that are in excess of billings earned for services provided are recorded as contract liabilities and characterized as deferred revenue on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Deferred revenue will be recognized at the earlier of i) when the performance obligation is satisfied; ii) when the performance obligation has expired, based on the terms of the contract; or iii) as a result of a remote likelihood that the customer would exercise its right to the performance obligation. The following table provides changes in the Partnership's deferred revenue:
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2018 2017
  (Dollars in millions)
Opening balance $1.7
 $2.5
Reclassification of the beginning contract liabilities to revenue, as a result of performance obligation satisfied (0.6) (0.5)
Billings in excess of services performed, not recognized as revenue 2.5
 3.6
Ending balance $3.6
 $5.6
Energy
Our energy sales are made pursuant to either steam or energy supply and purchase agreements or is sold into the regional power market. Our cokemaking ovens utilize efficient, modern heat recovery technology designed to combust the coal’s volatile components liberated during the cokemaking process and use the resulting heat to create steam or electricity for sale. The energy provided under these arrangements result in transfer of control over time. Revenues are recognized as energy is delivered to our customers, in an amount based on the terms of each arrangement.


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Disaggregated sales and other operating revenue
The following table provides disaggregated sales and other operating revenue by product or service:
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2018 2017
     
  (Dollars in millions)
Sales and other operating revenue:    
Cokemaking $174.8
 $157.3
Energy 13.6
 13.6
Logistics 24.4
 21.9
Other 2.0
 2.8
Sales and other operating revenue $214.8
 $195.6

The following table provides disaggregated sales and other operating revenue by customer:
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2018 2017
     
  (Dollars in millions)
Sales and other operating revenue:    
AM USA $37.1
 $40.2
AK Steel 92.9
 83.5
U.S. Steel 51.7
 47.7
Foresight and Murray 14.1
 11.5
Other 19.0
 12.7
Sales and other operating revenue $214.8
 $195.6
Shipping and Handling Costs
Shipping and handling costs are included in cost of products sold and operating expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and are generally passed through to our customers. The Partnership has elected to account for shipping and handling activities as a promise to fulfill the transfer of coke.
11. Business Segment Disclosures
The Partnership derives its revenues from the Domestic Coke and Coal Logistics reportable segments. Domestic Coke operations are comprised of the Haverhill and Middletown cokemaking facilities located in Ohio and the Granite City cokemaking facility located in Illinois. These facilities use similar production processes to produce coke and to recover waste heat that is converted to steam or electricity. Steam is provided to third-party customers primarily pursuant to steam supply and purchase agreements. Electricity is sold into the regional power market or to AK Steel Holding Corporation ("AK Steel") pursuant to energy sales agreements. Coke sales at the Partnership's cokemaking facilities are made pursuant to long-term, take-or-pay agreements with ArcelorMittal S.A., AK Steel and United States Steel Corporation. Each of the coke sales agreements contain pass-through provisions for costs incurred in the cokemaking process, including coal procurement costs (subject to meeting contractual coal-to-coke yields), operating and maintenance expenses, costs related to the transportation of coke to the customers, taxes (other than income taxes) and costs associated with changes in regulation, in addition to containing a fixed fee.


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Coal Logistics operations are comprised of CMT located in Louisiana, Lake Terminal located in Indiana and KRT located in West Virginia. Our logistics operations have a collective capacity to mix and transload approximately 40 million tons of coal and other aggregates annually and provide handling and/or mixing services to its customers, which include our own cokemaking facilities and other SunCoke cokemaking facilities. Handling and mixing results are presented in the Coal Logistics segment.
Corporate and other expenses that can be identified with a segment have been included in determining segment results. The remainder is included in Corporate and Other.


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The following table includes Adjusted EBITDA, which is the measure of segment profit or loss and liquidity reported to the chief operating decision maker for purposes of allocating resources to the segments and assessing their performance:
 Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016 2017 2016 2018 2017
            
 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions)
Sales and other operating revenue:            
Domestic Coke $193.4
 $170.8
 $548.6
 $517.2
 $190.0
 $173.2
Coal Logistics 20.6
 14.7
 61.6
 44.2
Coal Logistics intersegment sales 1.6
 1.5
 4.9
 4.7
Logistics 24.8
 22.4
Logistics intersegment sales 1.7
 1.8
Elimination of intersegment sales (1.6) (1.5) (4.9) (4.7) (1.7) (1.8)
Total sales and other operating revenue $214.0
 $185.5
 $610.2
 $561.4
 $214.8
 $195.6
Adjusted EBITDA:            
Domestic Coke $50.0
 $42.9
 $130.0
 $130.3
 $40.3
 $42.5
Coal Logistics 12.3
 7.0
 34.9
 18.2
Logistics 13.4
 13.0
Corporate and Other (3.9) (4.2) (11.8) (12.9) (4.2) (3.8)
Total Adjusted EBITDA $58.4
 $45.7
 $153.1
 $135.6
 $49.5
 $51.7
Depreciation and amortization expense:            
Domestic Coke $14.3
 $12.7
 $45.6
 $38.7
 $14.7
 $15.7
Coal Logistics 5.9
 5.4
 17.7
 18.6
Logistics 6.8
 5.9
Total depreciation and amortization expense $20.2
 $18.1

$63.3
 $57.3
 $21.5
 $21.6
Capital expenditures:            
Domestic Coke $13.0
 $4.4
 $21.8
 $15.8
 $10.3
 $3.6
Coal Logistics 0.4
 3.6
 1.5
 14.3
Logistics 0.3
 0.6
Total capital expenditures $13.4
 $8.0
 $23.3
 $30.1
 $10.6
 $4.2
The following table sets forth the Partnership's segment assets:
  September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016
     
  (Dollars in millions)
Segment assets:    
Domestic Coke $1,182.6
 $1,184.2
Coal Logistics 494.2
 510.6
Corporate and Other 1.0
 1.2
Total assets $1,677.8
 $1,696.0


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The following table sets forth the Partnership’s total sales and other operating revenue by product or service, excluding intersegment revenues:
  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
  2017 2016 2017 2016
         
  (Dollars in millions)
Sales and other operating revenue:        
Cokemaking $177.0
 $155.8
 $503.8
 $471.3
Energy 14.7
 13.9
 39.0
 42.5
Logistics 19.2
 14.2
 59.0
 43.2
Other 3.1
 1.6
 8.4
 4.4
Total revenues $214.0
 $185.5
 $610.2
 $561.4
  March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017
     
  (Dollars in millions)
Segment assets:    
Domestic Coke $1,181.6
 $1,151.4
Logistics 486.2
 489.8
Corporate and Other 0.9
 0.2
Total assets $1,668.7
 $1,641.4
The Partnership evaluates the performance of its segments based on segment Adjusted EBITDA, which represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), adjusted for any loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted forand/or changes to our contingent consideration liability related to our acquisition of CMT and the expiration of certain acquired contractual obligations.CMT. Adjusted EBITDA does not represent and should not be considered an alternative to net income or operating income under GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures in other businesses.
Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure of the operating performance and liquidity of the Partnership's net assets and its ability to incur and service debt, fund capital expenditures and make distributions. Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors because it highlights trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP measures and because it eliminates items that have less bearing on our operating performance and liquidity. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and they should not be considered an alternative to net income, operating cash flow or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Set forth below is additional discussion of the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA as an analytical tool.


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Limitations. Other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure. Adjusted EBITDA also has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for an analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations include that Adjusted EBITDA:
does not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements, for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
does not reflect items such as depreciation and amortization;
does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, working capital needs;
does not reflect our interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest on or principal payments of our debt;
does not reflect certain other non-cash income and expenses;
excludes income taxes that may represent a reduction in available cash; and
includes net income attributable to noncontrolling interests.


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Below is a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income and net cash provided by operating activities, which are its most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP:
  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
  2017 2016 2017 2016
  (Dollars in millions)
Net cash provided by operating activities $61.1
 $31.9
 $112.7
 $140.0
Subtract:        
Depreciation and amortization expense 20.2
 18.1
 63.3
 57.3
Loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt 0.1
 (1.0) 20.0
 (24.9)
Deferred income tax expense (benefit) 1.6
 (0.2) 150.4
 0.2
Changes in working capital and other 15.9
 (7.0) (0.1) 32.3
Net income (loss) $23.3
 $22.0
 $(120.9) $75.1
Add:        
Depreciation and amortization expense $20.2
 $18.1
 $63.3
 $57.3
Interest expense, net 15.1
 11.5
 41.7
 35.7
Loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt 0.1
 (1.0) 20.0
 (24.9)
Income tax expense, net 1.7
 0.4
 150.7
 1.4
Contingent consideration adjustments(1)
 (2.0) (4.6) (1.7) (8.3)
Non-cash reversal of acquired contractual obligation(2)
 
 (0.7) 
 (0.7)
Adjusted EBITDA(3)
 $58.4
 $45.7
 $153.1
 $135.6
Subtract:        
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interest (4)
 $1.0
 $0.9
 $2.6
 $2.6
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. $57.4
 $44.8
 $150.5
 $133.0
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2018 2017
  (Dollars in millions)
Net income (loss) $12.7
 $(131.7)
Add:    
Depreciation and amortization expense 21.5
 21.6
Interest expense, net 15.0
 12.6
Income tax expense 0.3
 149.2
Adjusted EBITDA $49.5
 $51.7
Subtract:    
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interest(1)
 0.8
 0.8
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners $48.7
 $50.9
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2018 2017
  (Dollars in millions)
Net cash provided by operating activities $66.1
 $39.4
Add:    
Cash interest paid 2.0
 20.9
Cash taxes paid 1.3
 0.3
Changes in working capital(2)
 (19.6) (11.3)
Other adjustments to reconcile cash provided by operating activities to Adjusted EBITDA (0.3) 2.4
Adjusted EBITDA $49.5
 $51.7
Subtract:    
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interest(1)
 0.8
 0.8
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners $48.7
 $50.9
(1)As a result of changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration liability, the Partnership recognized gains of $2.0 million and $1.7 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. The Partnership amended its contingent consideration terms with The Cline Group during the first quarter of 2016. This amendment and subsequent fair value adjustments resulted in a gain of $4.6 million and $8.3 million recorded during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively.
(2)
In association with the acquisition of CMT, we assumed certain performance obligations under existing contracts and recorded liabilities related to such obligations. In the third quarter of 2016, the final acquired contractual performance obligation expired without the customer requiring performance. Therefore, the Partnership reversed the liability as we no longer have any obligations under the contract.
(3)
In accordance with the SEC’s May 2016 update to its guidance on the appropriate use of non-GAAP financial measures, Adjusted EBITDA does not include Coal Logistics deferred revenue until it is recognized as GAAP revenue.
(4)Reflects net income attributable to noncontrolling interest adjusted for noncontrolling interest's share of interest, taxes, income, and depreciation and amortization.
(2)Changes in working capital exclude those items not impacting Adjusted EBITDA, such as changes in interest payable and income taxes payable.


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Item 2.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains certain forward-looking statements of expected future developments, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This discussion contains forward-looking statements about our business, operations and industry that involve risks and uncertainties, such as statements regarding our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Our future results and financial condition may differ materially from those we currently anticipate as a result of the factors we describe under “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements.”
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") is based on financial data derived from the financial statements prepared in accordance with United States ("U.S.") generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and certain other financial data that is prepared using non-GAAP measures. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP components, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” at the end of this Item, and Note 1011 to our consolidated financial statements.
These statements reflect significant assumptions and allocations and include all expenses allocable to our business, but may not be indicative of those that would have been achieved had we operated as a separate public entity for all periods presented or of future results.
Our MD&A is provided in addition to the accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes to assist readers in understanding our results of operations, financial condition and cash flow.
Overview
SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P., (the "Partnership", "we", "our", and "us"), is a Delaware limited partnership formed in July 2012, which primarily produces coke used in the blast furnace production of steel. At September 30, 2017,March 31, 2018, we owned a 98 percent interest in Haverhill Coke Company LLC ("Haverhill"), Middletown Coke Company, LLC ("Middletown") and Gateway Energy and Coke Company, LLC ("Granite City"). The and SunCoke Energy, Inc. ("SunCoke") owned the remaining 2 percent ownership interest in our three cokemaking facilities was owned by SunCoke Energy, Inc. ("SunCoke"). Weeach of Haverhill, Middletown, and Granite City. The Partnership also ownowns a 100 percent interest in all of its logistics business,terminals, which provides handling and/or mixing services of coal and other aggregates to third-party customers as well as to our own cokemaking facilities and other SunCoke cokemaking facilities. Our logistics business consistsconsist of Convent Marine Terminal ("CMT"), Kanawha River Terminals, LLC ("KRT") and SunCoke Lake Terminal, LLC ("Lake Terminal"). At September 30, 2017,March 31, 2018, SunCoke, through a subsidiary, owned a 58.160.3 percent limited partnership interest in us and indirectly owned and controlled our general partner, which holds a 2.0 percent general partner interest in us and all of our incentive distribution rights ("IDR").
Our coke sales are made pursuant to long-term, take-or-pay agreements. These coke sales agreements have an average remaining term of approximately eightseven years and contain pass-through provisions for costs we incur in the cokemaking process, including coal procurement costs (subject to meeting contractual coal-to-coke yields), operating and maintenance expenses, costs related to the transportation of coke to our customers, taxes (other than income taxes) and costs associated with changes in regulation. To date, our customers have satisfied their obligations under these agreements. The coke sales agreement and energy sales agreement with AK Steel Holding Corporation ("AK Steel") at our Haverhill facility are subject to early termination by AK Steel under limited circumstancesonly if AK Steel meets both of the following two criteria: (1) AK Steel permanently shuts down operation of the iron producing portion of its Ashland Plant and provided that(2) AK Steel has givennot acquired or begun construction of a new blast furnace in the U.S. to replace, in whole or in part, the Ashland Plant iron production capacity. AK Steel must give at least two years prior notice of its intention to terminate the agreements and certain other conditions areagreement. The Partnership finds that neither of the criteria have met. No other coke sales contract has an early termination clause. For a five-year period following our initial public offering on January 24, 2013 ("IPO"), SunCoke has agreed to make us whole or purchase all of our coke production not taken by our customers in the event of a customer's default or exercise of certain termination rights, under the same terms as those provided for in the coke sales agreements with our customers.
Our core business model is predicated on providing steelmakers an alternative to investing capital in their own captive coke production facilities. We direct our marketing efforts principally towards steelmaking customers that require coke for use in their blast furnaces. While our steelmaking customers are operatingcontinue to operate in an environment that is challenged by global overcapacity, our customersthey have continued to see favorablebenefited from improved steel pricing, and positive signals onfavorable trade and infrastructurepolicies, including new U.S. steel tariffs signed into order during the first nine monthsquarter of 2017. Despite2018, and solid end market demand. In response to the improved market trends over the last year, AK Steel andimproving macro environment, United States Steel Corporation ("(“U.S. Steel"Steel”) haverecently announced that it intends to restart one of the blast furnaces at its Granite City Works facility in the second half of 2018. Despite the improving market trends, AK Steel has kept portions of theirits Ashland Kentucky Works facility and Granite City Works facility, respectively, idled as they awaitit awaits further signs of market stability. While market challenges remain, our customers continue to comply with the terms of their long-term, take-or-pay contracts with us.
Our Granite City facility and the first phase of our Haverhill facility, or Haverhill I, have steam generation facilities, which use hot flue gas from the cokemaking process to produce steam for sale to customers, pursuant to steam supply and purchase agreements. Granite City sells steam to U.S. Steel and Haverhill I provides steam, at minimal cost, to Altivia Petrochemicals, LLC ("Altivia").LLC. Our Middletown facility and the second phase of our Haverhill facility, or Haverhill II, have cogeneration plants that use the hot flue gas created by the cokemaking process to generate electricity, which either is sold into the regional power market or to AK Steel pursuant to energy sales agreements.


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The following table sets forth information about our cokemaking facilities and our coke, steam and energy sales agreements as of September 30, 2017:March 31, 2018:
Facility Location 
Coke
Customer
 
Year of
Start Up
 
Contract
Expiration
 
Number of
Coke Ovens
 
Annual Cokemaking
Capacity
(thousands of tons)
 Use of Waste Heat Location 
Coke
Customer
 
Year of
Start Up
 
Contract
Expiration
 
Number of
Coke Ovens
 
Annual Cokemaking
Capacity
(thousands of tons)
 Use of Waste Heat
Granite City Granite City, Illinois U.S. Steel 2009 2025 120
 650
 Steam for power generation Granite City, Illinois U.S. Steel 2009 December 2025 120
 650
 Steam for power generation
Haverhill I Franklin Furnace, Ohio ArcelorMittal 2005 2020 100
 550
 Process steam Franklin Furnace, Ohio AM USA 2005 December 2020 100
 550
 Process steam
Haverhill II Franklin Furnace, Ohio AK Steel 2008 2022 100
 550
 Power generation Franklin Furnace, Ohio AK Steel 2008 December 2021 100
 550
 Power generation
Middletown(1)
 Middletown, Ohio AK Steel 2011 2032 100
 550
 Power generation Middletown, Ohio AK Steel 2011 December 2032 100
 550
 Power generation
Total 420
 2,300
  420
 2,300
 
(1)Cokemaking capacity represents stated capacity for the production of blast furnace coke. The Middletown coke sales agreement provides for coke sales on a “run of oven” basis, which includes both blast furnace coke and small coke. Middletown nameplate capacity on a “run of oven” basis is 578 thousand tons per year.
We also provide handling and/or mixing services of coal and other aggregates with our logistics business, which has collective capacity to mix and/or transload approximately 40 million tonsconsists of materials annuallyCMT, KRT and store approximately 3 million tons.Lake Terminal. CMT is one of the largest export terminals on the U.S. gulf coastGulf Coast. CMT provides strategic access to seaborne markets for coal and other industrial materials. Supporting low-cost Illinois Basin coal producers, the terminal provides loading and unloading services and has direct rail access and the current capability to transload approximately 15 million tons of coal and other aggregates annually through its operations in Convent, Louisiana.annually. The facility is supported by long-term take-or-pay contracts with volume commitments covering 10 million tons of its current capacity.capacity as well as 350 thousand liquid tons. In 2017, we secured barge unloading capabilities to efficiently unload coal, petroleum coke and other materials from barges at CMT’s dock. The addition of barge unloading capabilities complements CMT's existing rail and truck offerings and provides the terminal with the ability to transload and mix a significantly broader variety of materials. KRT is a leading metallurgical and thermal coal mixing and handling terminal service provider with collective capacity to mix and transload approximately 25 million tons of materials annually through its two operations in West Virginia. Our terminalLake Terminal is located in East Chicago, Indiana Lake Terminal,and provides coal handling and mixing services to SunCoke's Indiana Harbor cokemaking operations. Materials are transported in numerous ways, including rail, truck, barge or ship.
Our terminals act as intermediaries between customers and end users by providing transloading, storage and mixing services. We do not take possession of materials in our logistics business but instead earn revenue by providing handlinghas the collective capacity to mix and/or mixing servicestransload more than 40 million tons of coal and other aggregates to our customers on a fee per ton basis. We provide mixingannually and handlinghas storage capacity of approximately 3 million tons. Our services are provided to steel, coke (including some of our and SunCoke's domestic cokemaking facilities), electric utility, coal producing and other manufacturing based customers. Services provided to our and SunCoke's domestic cokemaking facilities are provided under contracts with terms equivalent to those of an arm's-length transactions. Materials are transported in numerous ways, including rail, truck, barge or ship. We do not take possession of materials handled, but rather act as intermediaries between our customers and end users, deriving our revenues from services provided on a per ton basis. Billings to CMT customers for take-or-pay volume shortfalls based on pro-rata volume commitments under take-or-pay contracts that are in excess of billings earned for services provided are recorded as contract liabilities and characterized as deferred revenue on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Deferred revenue will be recognized at the earlier of i) when the performance obligation is satisfied; ii) when the performance obligation has expired, based on the terms of the contract; or iii) as a result of a remote likelihood that the customer would exercise its right to the performance obligation.
The financial performance of our logistics business is substantially dependent upon a limited number of customers. Our CMT customers are impacted by seaborne export market dynamics. Fluctuations in the benchmark price for coal delivery into northwest Europe, as referenced in the Argus/McCloskey's Coal Price Index report ("API2 index price"), as well as Newcastle index coal prices, as referenced in the Argus/McCloskey's Coal Price Index report ("API5 index price"), which reflect high-ash coal prices shipped from Australia, contribute to our customers' decisions to place tons into the export market and thus impact transloading volumes through our terminal facility.CMT. Our KRT terminals serve two primary domestic markets, metallurgical coal trade and thermal coal trade. Metallurgical markets are primarily impacted by the domestic coalsteel prices and blast furnace operating levels whereas thermal markets inare impacted by natural gas prices and electricity demand.
API2 and API5 index prices remain attractive for Illinois Basin producers, which its customers operate and generally benefitshould support continued strong volumes at CMT even though prices have retraced somewhat from extreme weather conditions.
The Partnership's logistics customers have experienced higher coal prices, including API2, domestic and seaborne metallurgical, duringrecent highs. Late in the first nine monthsquarter of 20172018, near historic water levels on the Mississippi River adversely impacted our barge unloading activities and temporarily limited larger vessel loading activity at CMT. River conditions are now slowly returning to normal. At KRT, first quarter metallurgical market conditions and volumes were generally favorable, however thermal market volumes remained low due to low natural gas prices


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and flooding on the Ohio and Kanawha rivers that disrupted barge related activity. We expect thermal market demand to slowly improve as compared to prices in 2016. As a result tons handled by the Coal Logistics segment have increased and improved its financial performance in 2017 as compared to 2016.of depleted inventory levels during recent winter period. 
Organized in Delaware in July 2012, and headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, we are a master limited partnership whose common units, representing limited partnership interests, were first listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) in January 2013 under the symbol “SXCP.”


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ThirdFirst Quarter Key Financial Results
Our consolidated results of operations were as follows:
Three Months Ended September 30,   Nine Months Ended September 30,  Three Months Ended March 31,  
2017 2016 Increase (Decrease) 2017 2016 Increase (Decrease)2018 2017 Increase (Decrease)
(Dollars in millions)(Dollars in millions)
Sales and other operating revenue(1)
$214.0
 $185.5
 $28.5
 $610.2
 $561.4
 $48.8
Net income (loss)$12.7
 $(131.7) $144.4
Net cash provided by operating activities(2)
$61.1
 $31.9
 $29.2
 $112.7
 $140.0
 $(27.3)$66.1
 $39.4
 $26.7
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
$58.4
 $45.7
 $12.7
 $153.1
 $135.6
 $17.5
$49.5
 $51.7
 $(2.2)
(1)See analysis of changes described in "Analysis of Segment Results."
(2)See analysis of changes described in "Liquidity and Capital Resources."
First quarter 2018 results reflect a solid operating performance and record sales volumes at CMT. See detailed analysis of the quarter's results throughout the MD&A.
Recent Developments and Items Impacting Comparability
Termination of Proposed Simplification Transaction. In April 2017, SunCoke announced the termination of discussions with the Conflicts Committee of our Board of Directors regarding its proposal to acquire all of the Partnership’s common units not already owned by SunCoke ("Simplification Transaction"), announced on October 31, 2016. The Conflicts Committee and its independent advisors reviewed the proposal made by SunCoke and had several discussions with SunCoke regarding the potential transaction. At this time, the parties determined that they will not be able to reach an agreement and have therefore terminated discussions regarding the proposed Simplification Transaction.
Debt Activities. During the first nine months of 2017, the Partnership refinanced its debt obligations. As a result of the debt refinancing, the nine months ended September 30, 2017 included a loss on extinguishment of debt on the Consolidated Statement of Operations of $20.0 million, which consisted primarily of the premium paid of $18.7 million. The Partnership anticipates annualized interest expense, net to increase by approximately $8 million, which includes approximately $6 million of cash interest and $2 million of amortization of debt issuance costs and discounts. See Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements for further details.
During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Partnership repurchased $14.5 million and $84.4 million, respectively, of 2020 Partnership Notes, which resulted in a gain on extinguishment of debt of $1.0 million and $24.9 million, respectively.
IRS Final Regulations on Qualifying Income.In January 2017, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS")IRS announced its decision to exclude cokemaking as a qualifying income generating activity in its final regulations (the "Final Regulations") issued under section 7704(d)(1)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code relating to the qualifying income exception for publicly traded partnerships. However,Subsequent to the Final Regulations include a10-year transition period, for activities that were reasonably interpreted to be qualifying income and carried on by publicly traded partnerships prior to the Final Regulations. The Partnership previously received a will-level opinion from its counsel, Vinson & Elkins LLP, that the Partnership'scertain cokemaking operations generated qualifying income prior to the Final Regulations. Therefore, the Partnership believes it had a reasonable basis to conclude its cokemaking operations were considered qualifying income before the issuance of the new regulations and as such expects to maintain its treatment as a partnership through the transition period. Cokemaking entities in the Partnership will become taxable as corporations on January 1, 2028, after the transition period ends.
corporations. As a result of the Final Regulations,qualifying income exception, the Partnership recorded deferred income tax expense of $148.6 million to set up its initial deferred income tax liability during the first quarter ofthree months ended March 31, 2017, primarily related to differences in the book andfuture tax basis of fixed assets, which areobligation expected to existbe owed for the projected book to tax differences at the end of the 10-year transition period when the cokemaking operations become taxable. The Partnership has reassessed these deferred tax liabilities quarterly, resulting in immaterial impacts to deferred income tax expense.period. A portion of this deferred tax liability, $3.0 million, was attributable to SunCoke's retained ownership interest in the cokemaking facilities and, therefore, was also reflected as a reduction in noncontrolling interest during the ninethree months ended September 30,March 31, 2017.
Pass Through Coal Cost Under-Recovery. During the fourth quarter of 2016, as part of our ordinary course coal sourcing activities, Haverhill, Middletown and AK Steel each entered into arrangements with a coal supplier for 2017 fulfillment. As a result of unfulfilled coal supply commitments by this coal supplier, substitute coal suppliers are currently meeting the shortfall at a higher price. We are sharing half of the increased coal cover cost differential with AK Steel. During the third quarter of 2017, we received $1.5 million of reimbursements from this


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coal supplier for a portion of our share of the coal cover cost associated with the unfulfilled coal supply commitments and reimbursement of legal costs. These higher coal costs, net of reimbursements from the coal supplier, resulted in a negative impact to both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA of $0.2 million and $3.0 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. At this time, we expect the full year 2017 impact of these events to lower revenue and Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $4 million.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth amounts from the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 and 20162017
 Three Months Ended September 30,   Nine Months Ended September 30,   Three Months Ended March 31,  
 2017 2016 Increase (Decrease) 2017 2016 Increase (Decrease) 2018 2017 Increase (Decrease)
                  
 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions)
Revenues                  
Sales and other operating revenue $214.0
 $185.5
 $28.5
 $610.2
 $561.4
 $48.8
 $214.8
 $195.6
 $19.2
Costs and operating expenses                  
Cost of products sold and operating expenses 146.2
 125.5
 20.7
 431.0
 388.3
 42.7
 157.1
 135.4
 21.7
Selling, general and administrative expenses 7.4
 9.0
 (1.6) 24.4
 28.5
 (4.1) 8.2
 8.5
 (0.3)
Depreciation and amortization expense 20.2
 18.1
 2.1
 63.3
 57.3
 6.0
 21.5
 21.6
 (0.1)
Total costs and operating expenses 173.8
 152.6
 21.2
 518.7
 474.1
 44.6
 186.8
 165.5
 21.3
Operating income 40.2
 32.9
 7.3
 91.5
 87.3
 4.2
 28.0
 30.1
 (2.1)
Interest expense, net 15.1
 11.5
 3.6
 41.7
 35.7
 6.0
 15.0
 12.6
 2.4
Loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt(1)
 0.1
 (1.0) 1.1
 20.0
 (24.9) 44.9
Income before income tax expense 25.0
 22.4
 2.6
 29.8
 76.5
 (46.7) 13.0
 17.5
 (4.5)
Income tax expense 1.7
 0.4
 1.3
 150.7
 1.4
 149.3
 0.3
 149.2
 (148.9)
Net income (loss) 23.3
 22.0
 1.3
 (120.9) 75.1
 (196.0) 12.7
 (131.7) 144.4
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 0.7
 0.7
 
 (1.3) 1.9
 (3.2) 0.5
 (2.4) 2.9
Net income (loss) attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. $22.6
 $21.3
 $1.3
 $(119.6) $73.2
 $(192.8) $12.2
 $(129.3) $141.5
(1)See year-over-year changes described in "Recent Developments and Items Impacting Comparability."
Total Revenues. Sales and Other Operating Revenue and Costs of Products Sold and Operating Expenses.Sales and other operating revenue and costs of products sold and operating expenses increased for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 compared to the same prior year periods. These increases wereperiod, primarily due to the pass-through of higher coal prices in our Domestic Coke segment as well as higher sales volumes in our Coal Logistics segment.
Costs of Products Sold and Operating Expenses. Costs of products sold and operating expenses increased for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to the same prior year periods. These increases were primarily due to higher coal costs associated with higher coal prices in our Domestic Coke segment as well as the year-over-year impact of the contingent consideration adjustments. See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for further details on the contingent consideration adjustments.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 decreased compared to the same prior year periods decreasedperiod primarily due to lower spendinglegal expenses, partially offset by $0.4 million of unfavorable period-over-period, mark-to-market adjustments on professional services duringdeferred compensation driven by changes in the third quarter of 2017.Partnership's unit price.
Depreciation and Amortization Expense. The increase in depreciation and amortization expense during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to the same prior year periods was primarily the result of new assets placed in service, including the new ship loader at CMT and certain environmental remediation assets at our Haverhill cokemaking facility both placed in service during the fourth quarter of 2016.


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Interest Expense, net. The increase in interest expense, net during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 compared to the same prior year periodsperiod was primarily due to higher interest rates on the 2025 Partnership Notes issued in May 2017, as well as lower capitalized interest as compared to the prior year period as a result of the CMT ship loader and certain environmental remediation assets at our Haverhill cokemaking facility, both placed in service during the fourth quarter of 2016.2017.
Income Taxes. The Partnership recorded income tax expense of $1.7$0.3 million and $149.2 million during the three months ended September 30,March 31, 2018 and 2017, which was primarily due to an increase in Illinois income tax rate effective July 2017. Additionally,respectively. The prior year income tax expense during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 included the $148.6 million impact ofwas impacted by the IRS Final Regulations previously discussed in "Recent Developments and Items"Items Impacting Comparability."
Noncontrolling Interest. Net income (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interest represents SunCoke's retained ownership interest in our cokemaking facilities. The decreasechange in net income (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interest for the ninethree months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 was driven by the absence of the $3.0 million impact of the IRS Final Regulations recorded in the prior year period, previously described in "Recent Developments and Items"Items Impacting Comparability."
Results of Reportable Business Segments
We report our business results through two segments:
Domestic Coke consists of our Haverhill, Middletown and Granite City cokemaking and heat recovery operations located in Franklin Furnace, Ohio; Middletown, Ohio; and Granite City, Illinois, respectively.
Coal Logistics consists of our handling and/or mixing services in East Chicago, Indiana; Ceredo, West Virginia; Belle, West Virginia; and Convent, Louisiana.
The operations of each of our segments are described at the beginning of the MD&A.
Corporate expenses that can be identified with a segment have been included in determining segment results. The remainder is included in Corporate and Other.


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Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure of operating performance and liquidity and it is used as the primary basis for the chief operating decision maker to evaluate the performance of each of our reportable segments. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered a substitute for the reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" near the end of this Item.


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Segment Operating Data
The following tables set forth financial and operating data for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 and 2016:2017:
Three Months Ended September 30,   Nine Months Ended September 30,  Three Months Ended March 31,
2017 2016 Increase (Decrease) 2017 2016 Increase (Decrease)2018 2017
              
(Dollars in millions)(Dollars in millions)
Sales and other operating revenues:              
Domestic Coke$193.4
 $170.8
 $22.6
 $548.6
 $517.2
 $31.4
$190.0
 $173.2
Coal Logistics20.6
 14.7
 5.9
 61.6
 44.2
 17.4
Coal Logistics intersegment sales1.6
 1.5
 0.1
 4.9
 4.7
 0.2
Logistics24.8
 22.4
Logistics intersegment sales1.7
 1.8
Elimination of intersegment sales(1.6) (1.5) (0.1) (4.9) (4.7) (0.2)(1.7) (1.8)
Total Sales and other operating revenues$214.0
 $185.5
 $28.5
 $610.2
 $561.4
 $48.8
$214.8
 $195.6
Adjusted EBITDA(1):
              
Domestic Coke$50.0
 $42.9
 $7.1
 $130.0
 $130.3
 (0.3)$40.3
 $42.5
Coal Logistics12.3
 7.0
 5.3
 34.9
 18.2
 16.7
Logistics13.4
 13.0
Corporate and Other(3.9) (4.2) 0.3
 (11.8) (12.9) 1.1
(4.2) (3.8)
Total Adjusted EBITDA$58.4
 $45.7
 $12.7
 $153.1
 $135.6
 $17.5
$49.5
 $51.7
Coke Operating Data:              
Domestic Coke capacity utilization (%)103
 103
 
 100
 102
 (2)
Domestic Coke capacity utilization98% 100%
Domestic Coke production volumes (thousands of tons)595
 593
 2
 1,727
 1,751
 (24)554
 567
Domestic Coke sales volumes (thousands of tons)585
 595
 (10) 1,718
 1,755
 (37)568
 564
Domestic Coke Adjusted EBITDA per ton(2)
$85.47
 $72.10
 $13.37
 $75.67
 $74.25
 $1.42
$70.95
 $75.35
Coal Logistics Operating Data:           
Logistics Operating Data:   
Tons handled (thousands of tons)(3)
4,862
 4,055
 807
 15,220
 12,028
 3,192
5,531
 5,449
CMT take-or-pay shortfall tons (thousands of tons)(4)
1,005
 1,748
 (743) 2,505
 5,002
 (2,497)172
 544
(1)See Note 1011 in our consolidated financial statements for both the definition of Adjusted EBITDA and the reconciliations from GAAP to the non-GAAP measurement for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 and 2016.2017.
(2)Reflects Domestic Coke Adjusted EBITDA divided by Domestic Coke sales volumes.
(3)
Reflects inbound tons handled during the period.
(4)
Reflects tons billed under take-or-pay contracts where services have not yet been performed.


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Analysis of Segment Results
Domestic Coke
The following table explains year-over-year changes in our Domestic Coke segment's sales and other operating revenues and Adjusted EBITDA results:
Three months ended September 30, 2017 vs. 2016 Nine months ended September 30, 2017 vs. 2016Three months ended March 31, 2018 vs. 2017
Sales and other operating revenue Adjusted EBITDA Sales and other operating revenue Adjusted EBITDASales and other operating revenue Adjusted EBITDA
(Dollars in millions)(Dollars in millions)
Prior year period$170.8
 $42.9
 $517.2
 $130.3
$173.2
 $42.5
Volumes(1)
(1.0) 1.6
 (4.2) 2.6
4.0
 (0.1)
Coal cost recovery and yields(2)(1)
23.5
 2.5
 38.3
 (0.9)14.1
 (0.1)
Operating and maintenance costs(2)(1.2) 0.8
 (0.3) (1.9)(0.7) (2.1)
Energy and other(3)
1.3
 2.2
 (2.4) (0.1)(0.6) 0.1
Current year period$193.4
 $50.0
 $548.6
 $130.0
$190.0
 $40.3
(1)We delivered lower volumes to AK SteelThe increase in 2017 compared to 2016, but received make-whole payments in both periods based onrevenues was driven by the termspass-through of our long-term, take-or-pay contract. As such this reduction in volumes did not impact the period-over-period change in Adjusted EBITDA.higher coal prices.
(2)The increase in revenues was primarily driven by the pass-through of higher coal prices. These higher coal prices also increased the benefit of coal-to-coke yields, increasing Adjusted EBITDA. This benefit during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 was more than offset by the impact of the coal cover costs associated with the unfulfilled coal supply commitments by our coal supplier previously discussed in "Recent Developments and Items Impacting Comparability," which decreased both revenues and Adjusted EBITDA by $3.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.
(3)Lower allocations of costs from SunCoke benefited Adjusted EBITDA by $0.5 million during both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017. Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 was favorably impacted by the absencetiming of the second quarter 2016 write-off of a $1.4 million receivable related to 2015 spot coke sales to Essar Algoma. The three months ended September 30, 2017 had higher energy sales, increasing both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA by $0.8 million. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, both revenues and Adjusted EBITDA were unfavorably impacted by $3.6 million of lower energy sales as a result of the planned outage at the Granite City facility in the second quarter.and maintenance costs.
Coal Logistics
The following table explains year-over-year changes in our Coal Logistics segment's sales and other operating revenues and Adjusted EBITDA results:
Three months ended September 30, 2017 vs. 2016 Nine months ended September 30, 2017 vs. 2016Three months ended March 31, 2018 vs. 2017
Sales and other operating revenue, inclusive of intersegment sales Adjusted EBITDA Sales and other operating revenue, inclusive of intersegment sales Adjusted EBITDASales and other operating revenue, inclusive of intersegment sales Adjusted EBITDA
(Dollars in millions)(Dollars in millions)
Prior year period$16.2
 $7.0
 $48.9
 $18.2
$24.2
 $13.0
Transloading volumes(1)
6.1
 5.7
 17.6
 17.2
2.4
 1.5
Price/margin impact of mix in transloading services(0.7) (0.8) (1.3) (1.3)0.2
 0.2
Operating and maintenance costs and other(2)0.6
 0.4
 1.3
 0.8
(0.3) (1.3)
Current year period$22.2
 $12.3
 $66.5
 $34.9
$26.5
 $13.4
(1)The increase in revenues and Adjusted EBITDA during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 was driven primarily by record sales volumes at CMT in the resultcurrent year period.
(2)Near historic water levels resulted in increased operating costs at CMT, negatively impacting Adjusted EBITDA during the first quarter of higher tons handled as2018 compared to the same prior year periods of 807 thousand and 3,192 thousand, respectively, primarily at CMT, including nominal business from new customers.period.


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Corporate and Other
Corporate and other expenses improved $0.3increased $0.4 million and $1.1to $4.2 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively,March 31, 2018, as compared to the same prior year periods due to lower spending on professional services of $0.7 million and $1.2 million, respectively, as well as $0.4 million and $0.6 million, respectively, of favorabledriven by unfavorable period-over-period, mark-to-market adjustments in deferred compensation caused by changes in the Partnership's unit price. These improvements were partially offset by higher cost allocations from SunCoke.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our primary liquidity needs are to finance thefund working capital, fund investments, service our debt, maintain cash reserves, and replacement of partially or fully depreciated assets and other capital expenditures, service our debt, fund investments, fund working capital, maintain cash reserves, and pay distributions.expenditures. Our sources of liquidity include cash generated from operations, borrowings under our revolving credit facility and, from time to time, debt and equity offerings. We believe our current resources are sufficient to meet our working capital requirements for our current business for the foreseeable future. We may be required to access the capital markets for funding related to the maturities of our long-term borrowings beginning in 2022. As of September 30, 2017,March 31, 2018, we had $26.9$41.5 million of cash and cash equivalents and $83.1$153.1 million of borrowing availability under the Partnership Revolver.
Debt Refinancing
During the first nine months

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Table of 2017, the Partnership refinanced its debt obligations. The Partnership received $620.6 million of proceeds, net of a discount of $9.4 million, from the issuance of the 7.5 percent 2025 Partnership Notes and borrowed an additional $200.0 million of proceeds from borrowings under the Partnership's amended and restated credit facility. The Partnership also increased the Partnership Revolver capacity to $285.0 million and extended its maturities to May 2022. In connection with the debt refinancing and Partnership Revolver amendments, the Partnership incurred debt issuance costs of $14.9 million.Contents
The Partnership used the proceeds described above to purchase and redeem all of its 2020 Partnership Notes, including principal of $463.0 million and a premium of $18.7 million, repay the $50.0 million outstanding on the Partnership Term Loan, repay the $172.0 million Partnership Revolver balance outstanding as of December 31, 2016 and repay the $112.6 million outstanding on the Partnership Promissory Note.    
As a result of the debt refinancing, the Partnership anticipates annualized interest expense, net to increase by approximately $8 million, which includes approximately $6 million of cash interest and $2 million of amortization of debt issuance costs and discounts. See Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements for further details.
Covenants
As of September 30, 2017,March 31, 2018, the Partnership was in compliance with all applicable debt covenants. We do not anticipate violation of these covenants nor do we anticipate that any of these covenants will restrict our operations or our ability to obtain additional financing. See Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements for details on debt covenants.
Credit Rating
In May 2017, Moody's Investor ServicesFebruary 2018, S&P Global Ratings ("Moody's"S&P Global") upgraded the SunCoke's corporate family rating to B1 from B2, in connection with the refinancing ofreaffirmed the Partnership's capital structure. Thecorporate credit rating upgrade reflects the improved steel market fundamentals and the strengthened financial position of our customers as well as de-leveraging undertaken by the Partnership in the past 24 months. BB- (stable).
DistributionsDistribution
On October 17, 2017, ourApril 26, 2018, the Partnership's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.5940$0.40 per unit. This distribution will be paid on DecemberJune 1, 20172018 to unitholders of record on NovemberMay 15, 2017.


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Directors believe reallocating capital towards paying down debt and building additional liquidity will maximize long-term value for all unitholders, as a stronger balance sheet and increased financial flexibility better positions the Partnership for long-term success. This new distribution policy will enable us to achieve our stated leverage target of 3.50:1.00 or lower by the end of 2019, and it will provide the desired cushion when our maximum leverage covenant steps down from the current 4.50:1:00 to 4.00:1.00 in June of 2020.
Cash Flow Summary
The following table sets forth a summary of the net cash provided by (used in) operating, investing and financing activities for the ninethree months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 and 2016:2017:
 Nine Months Ended September 30, Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016 2018 2017
        
 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions)
Net cash provided by operating activities $112.7
 $140.0
 $66.1
 $39.4
Net cash used in investing activities (23.2) (11.0) (10.6) (4.2)
Net cash used in financing activities (104.4) (131.5) (20.6) (30.9)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents $(14.9) $(2.5)
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $34.9
 $4.3
Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities decreasedincreased by $27.3$26.7 million to $112.7$66.1 million for the ninethree months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 as compared to $140.0$39.4 million in the corresponding period of 2016.2017. The decrease in operating cash flows is primarilyimprovement was driven by the unfavorabletiming of interest payments as a result of the Partnership's debt restructuring in the second quarter of 2017, which decreased interest paid during the quarter by $18.9 million as compared to the same prior year period. The remaining improvement was driven by favorable year-over-year change in primary working capital, which is comprised of accounts receivable, inventories and accounts payable, of which approximately $25 million was due to fluctuating coal prices and inventory levels. Further contributing to the unfavorable year-over-year change was the payment of $7.0 million of the deferred corporate allocated costs to SunCoke during the second quarter of 2017, which had been deferred in the prior year period. These unfavorable impacts were partially offset by lower interest payments during the first nine months of 2017 as compared to the prior year period due primarily to changes in the timing of interest payments as a result of the Partnership refinancing its debt obligations in the second quartertiming of 2017.coal purchases and related payments.
Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities increased $12.2$6.4 million for the ninethree months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 as compared to the corresponding period in 2016.2017. The increase was due to higher capital spending, onprimarily related to the environmental remediation project during the first nine months of 2017 as compared to the same prior year period. The higher capital spend was net of the use of restricted cash, which consisted of cash withheld in the acquisition of CMT to fund the ship loader expansion capital project.at our Granite City facility.
Cash Used in Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities was $104.4$20.6 million for the ninethree months ended September 30, 2017. In the first nine months of 2017, the Partnership received gross proceeds of $620.6 million from the issuance of the 2025 Partnership Senior Notes and $200.0 million from the Partnership Revolver under its amended and restated credit facility.March 31, 2018. The Partnership used the proceeds received primarily to repay $644.9 million of long-term debt, $172.0 million on the Partnership Revolver and pay $14.9 million of debt issuance costs related to the debt refinancing. Additionally, the Partnership paid distributions of $91.4$30.0 million to its unitholders and SunCoke during the first ninethree months of 2017.2018. Pursuant to the omnibus agreement, SunCoke, through the general partner, made a capital contribution of $10 million to us during the first quarter 2018 for certain known environmental remediation.
Net cash used in financing activities was $131.5$30.9 million for the ninethree months ended September 30, 2016.March 31, 2017. In the first nine monthsquarter of 2016,2017, the Partnership repurchased $60.8repaid $0.9 million of long-term debt primarily Partnership Notes,and paid distributions of $89.6$30.0 million to its unitholders and repaid $5.0 million on the Partnership Revolver. The repayments of debt and distributions were partially offset by capital contributions from SunCoke of $8.4 million from the reimbursement holiday and IDR giveback and proceeds received from the sale-leaseback arrangement of $16.2 million, which is accounted for as a financing obligation.SunCoke.


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Capital Requirements and Expenditures
Our cokemaking operations are capital intensive, requiring significant investment to upgrade or enhance existing operations and to meet environmental and operational regulations. The level of future capital expenditures will depend on various factors, including market conditions and customer requirements, and may differ from current or anticipated levels. Material changes in capital expenditure levels may impact financial results, including but not limited to the amount of depreciation, interest expense and repair and maintenance expense.
Our capital requirements have consisted, and are expected to consist, primarily of:
Ongoing capital expenditures required to maintain equipment reliability, ensure the integrity and safety of our coke ovens and steam generators and to comply with environmental regulations. Ongoing capital expenditures are made to replace partially or fully depreciated assets in order to maintain the existing operating capacity of the assets and/or to extend their useful lives and also include new equipment that improves the efficiency, reliability


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or effectiveness of existing assets. Ongoing capital expenditures do not include normal repairs and maintenance expenses, which are expensed as incurred;
Environmental remediation project expenditures required to implement design changes to ensure that our existing facilities operate in accordance with existing environmental permits; and
Expansion capital expenditures to acquire and/or construct complementary assets to grow our business and to expand existing facilities as well as capital expenditures made to enable the renewal of a coke sales agreement and on which we expect to earn a reasonable return.    
The following table summarizes ongoing, the environmental remediation projects and expansion capital expenditures for the ninethree months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018 and 2016:2017:
 Nine Months Ended September 30, Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016 2018 2017
        
 (Dollars in millions) (Dollars in millions)
Ongoing capital $11.9
 $10.7
 $3.3
 $1.0
Environmental remediation capital(1)
 11.0
 6.5
Environmental remediation projects(1)
 7.3
 3.1
Expansion capital: 

 
 

 

CMT ship loader(2)
 0.1
 12.9
Other expansion capital 0.3
 
CMT expansion 
 0.1
Total $23.3
 $30.1
 $10.6
 $4.2
(1)Includes $0.7$0.5 million and $2.2$0.1 million of capitalized interest, in connection with the environmental remediation projects, during the ninethree months ended September 30,March 31, 2018 and 2017, and 2016, respectively.
(2)Represents capital expenditures of $11.0 million for the ship loader expansion project funded with cash withheld in conjunction with the acquisition of CMT and $1.9 million of capitalized interest for the nine months ended September 30, 2016.
In 2017,2018, we expect our capital expenditures to be approximately $45$61 million, which is comprised of the following:
Total ongoing capital expenditures of approximately $19$25 million;
Total capital expenditures on the environmental remediation projects of approximately $25$35 million; and
Total expansion capital of approximately $1 million in our Coal Logistics segment.
We retained $119 million in proceeds from our initial public offering and subsequent dropdowns to fund our environmental remediation projects to comply with the expected terms of a consent decree at the Haverhill and Granite City cokemaking operations. Pursuant to the omnibus agreement, any amounts that we spend on these projects in excess of the $119 million will be reimbursed by SunCoke. Prior to our formation, SunCoke spent approximately $7 million related to these projects. The Partnership has spent approximately $96$111 million to date and the remaining capital is expected to be spent through the first quarter of 2019. UnderPursuant to the omnibus agreement, SunCoke, will reimbursethrough the general partner, made a capital contribution of $10 million to us during the first quarter 2018 for these known environmental remediation projects. SunCoke expects to make an additional capital contribution to us of approximately $15$10 million of additionalfor the estimated future spending onrelated to these environmental remediation projects.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have letters of credit, operating leases and outstanding surety bonds to secure reclamation and other performance commitments. There have been no significant changes to these arrangements during the ninethree months ended September 30, 2017.March 31, 2018. Please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 16, 201715, 2018 for further disclosure of these arrangements. Other than these arrangements, the Partnership has not entered into any transactions, agreements or other contractual arrangements that would result in material off-balance sheet liabilities.


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Critical Accounting Policies
There have been no significant changes to our accounting policies during the ninethree months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2018. Please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 16, 201715, 2018 for a summary of these policies.
Recent Accounting Standards
See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements.


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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to the GAAP results provided in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have provided a non-GAAP financial measure, Adjusted EBITDA. Our management, as well as certain investors, uses this non-GAAP measure to analyze our current and expected future financial performance and liquidity. This measure is not in accordance with, or a substitute for, GAAP and may be different from, or inconsistent with, non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. See Note 1011 in our consolidated financial statements for both the definition of Adjusted EBITDA and the reconciliations from GAAP to the non-GAAP measurement for the three and nine months ended September 30,March 31, 2018 and 2017, and 2016, respectively. This reconciliation has been updated to reflect the impact of our debt refinancing activity.
Below is a reconciliation of 20172018 estimated Adjusted EBITDA from its closest GAAP measures:
  2017
  Low High
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities $130
 $150
Subtract:    
Depreciation and amortization expense 86
 86
Deferred income tax expense 149
 149
Changes in working capital and other (23) (14)
Loss on extinguishment of debt 20
 20
Net loss $(102) $(91)
Add:    
Depreciation and amortization expense 86
 86
Interest expense, net 58
 57
Loss on extinguishment of debt 20
 20
Income tax expense 151
 151
Adjusted EBITDA $213
 $223
Subtract: Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interest(1)
 3
 3
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. $210
 $220
  2018
  Low High
  (Dollars in millions)
Net Income $68
 $83
Add:    
Depreciation and amortization expense 88
 83
Interest expense 60
 60
Income tax expense 2
 3
Adjusted EBITDA $218
 $229
Subtract:    
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to controlling interest(1)
 3
 4
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. $215
 $225
     
     
  2018
  Low High
  (Dollars in millions)
Net cash provided by operating activities 145
 160
Add:    
Cash interest paid 60
 60
Cash income tax paid 2
 3
Changes in working capital and other(2)
 11
 6
Adjusted EBITDA 218
 229
Subtract:    
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interest(1)
 3
 4
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SunCoke Energy Partners.L.P. 215
 225
(1)Reflects net income attributable to noncontrolling interest adjusted for noncontrolling interest's share of interest, taxes, income, and depreciation and amortization.

(2)Changes in working capital exclude those items not impacting Adjusted EBITDA, such as changes in interest payable and income taxes payable.


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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
    
We have made forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including, among others, in the sections entitled “Risk Factors,” “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Such forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. Forward-looking statements include the information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, potential growth opportunities, potential operating performance, and the effects of competition and the effects of future legislation or regulations. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as the words “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “may,” “will,” “should” or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. In particular, statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q concerning future distributions are subject to approval by our Board of Directors and will be based upon circumstances then existing.
Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We do not have any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statement (or its associated cautionary language), whether as a result of new information or future events, after the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, except as required by applicable law.
The risk factors discussed in “Risk Factors” could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements made in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. There also may be other risks that we are unable to predict at this time. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation:
changes in levels of production, production capacity, pricing and/or margins for coal and coke;
variation in availability, quality and supply of metallurgical coal used in the cokemaking process, including as a result of non-performance by our suppliers;
changes in the marketplace that may affect our logistics business, including the supply and demand for thermal and metallurgical coals;
changes in the marketplace that may affect our cokemaking business, including the supply and demand for our coke, as well as increased imports of coke from foreign producers;
competition from alternative steelmaking and other technologies that have the potential to reduce or eliminate the use of coke;
our dependence on, relationships with, and other conditions affecting, our customers;customers and/or suppliers;
severe financial hardship or bankruptcy of one or more of our major customers, or the occurrence of a customer default or other event affecting our ability to collect payments from our customers;
volatility and cyclical downturns in the steel industry and in other industries in which our customers and/or suppliers operate;
volatility and cyclical downturns in the coal market, in the carbon steel industry, and other industries in which our customers and/or suppliers operate;
our ability to enter into new, or renew existing, long-term agreements upon favorable terms for the sale of coke, steam, or electric power, or for coal and other aggregates handling services (including transportation, storage and mixing);
our ability to identify acquisitions, execute them under favorable terms and integrate them into our existing business operations;
our ability to realize expected benefits from investments and acquisitions;
our ability to consummate investments under favorable terms, including with respect to existing cokemaking facilities, which may utilize by-product technology, and integrate them into our existing businesses and have them perform at anticipated levels;
our ability to develop, design, permit, construct, start up or operate new cokemaking facilities in the U.S.;
our ability to successfully implement our growth strategy;


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age of, and changes in the reliability, efficiency and capacity of the various equipment and operating facilities used in our cokemaking and/or logistics operations, and in the operations of our major customers, business partners and/or suppliers;
changes in the expected operating levels of our assets;


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our ability to meet minimum volume requirements, coal-to-coke yield standards and coke quality standards in our coke sales agreements;
changes in the level of capital expenditures or operating expenses, including any changes in the level of environmental capital, operating or remediation expenditures;
our ability to service our outstanding indebtedness;
our ability to comply with the restrictions imposed by our financing arrangements;
our ability to comply with applicable federal, state, or statelocal laws and regulations, including but not limited to those relating to environmental statutes, rules or regulations;matters;
nonperformance or force majeure by, or disputes with, or changes in contract terms with, major customers, suppliers, dealers, distributors or other business partners;
availability of skilled employees for our cokemaking and/or logistics operations, and other workplace factors;
effects of railroad, barge, truck and other transportation performance and costs, including any transportation disruptions;
effects of adverse events relating to the operation of our facilities and to the transportation and storage of hazardous materials (including equipment malfunction, explosions, fires, spills, and the effects of severe weather conditions);
effects of adverse events relating to the business or commercial operations of our customers and/or suppliers;
disruption in our information technology infrastructure and/or loss of our ability to securely store, maintain, or transmit data due to security breach by hackers, employee error or malfeasance, terrorist attack, power loss, telecommunications failure or other events;
our ability to enter into joint ventures and other similar arrangements under favorable terms;
our ability to consummate assetsasset sales, other divestitures and strategic restructuring in a timely manner upon favorable terms, and/or realize the anticipated benefits from such actions;
changes in the availability and cost of equity and debt financing;
impacts on our liquidity and ability to raise capital as a result of changes in the credit ratings assigned to our indebtedness;
changes in credit terms required by our suppliers;
risks related to labor relations and workplace safety;
proposed or final changes in existing, or new, statutes, regulations, rules, governmental policies, and taxes, or their interpretations, including those relating to environmental matters and taxes;
the existence of hazardous substances or other environmental contamination on property owned or used by us;
receipt of required permits and other regulatory approvals and compliance with contractual obligations and/or bonding requirements in connection with our cokemaking and/or logistics operations;
claims of noncompliance with any statutory and regulatory requirements;
the accuracy of our estimates of any necessary reclamation and/or remediation activities;
proposed or final changes in accounting and/or tax methodologies, laws, regulations, rules, or policies, or their interpretations, including those affecting inventories, leases, post-employment benefit income, and/or other items;
historical consolidated financial data may not be reliable indicator of future results;
public company costs;
our indebtedness and certain covenants in our debt documents;
our ability to secure new coal supply agreements or to renew existing coal supply agreements;


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changes in product specifications for the coke that we produce or the coals that we mix, store and transport;
changes in insurance markets impacting costs and the level and types of coverage available, and the financial ability of our insurers to meet their obligations;
changes in financial markets impacting pension expense and funding requirements;
inadequate protection of our intellectual property rights; and


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effects of geologic conditions, weather, natural disasters and other inherent risks beyond our control.
The factors identified above are believed to be important factors, but not necessarily all of the important factors, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by us. Other factors not discussed herein could also have material adverse effects on us. All forward-looking statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.


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Item 3.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
There have been no material changes to the Partnership's exposure to market risk disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.2017.
Item 4.Controls and Procedures
Management’s Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The Partnership maintains disclosure controls and procedures, (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), as amended (the “Exchange Act”) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in its reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Partnership’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives.
The Partnership carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Partnership’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, the Partnership’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Partnership's disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
ThereDuring our most recent fiscal quarter, we implemented a new enterprise resource planning ("ERP") system. Accordingly, we modified the design and documentation of certain internal control processes and procedures relating to the new ERP system. Other than the ERP and related systems implementation, there have been no changes in the Partnership’sPartnership's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the most recently completed fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.



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PART II - OTHER INFORMAITON
Item 1.Legal Proceedings
The information presented in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements within this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is incorporated herein by reference.
Many legal and administrative proceedings are pending or may be brought against us arising out of our current and past operations, including matters related to commercial and tax disputes, product liability, employment claims, personal injury claims, premises-liability claims, allegations of exposures to toxic substances and general environmental claims. Although the ultimate outcome of these proceedings cannot be ascertained at this time, it is reasonably possible that some of them could be resolved unfavorably to us. Our management believes that any liabilities that may arise from such matters would not be material in relation to our business or our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows at September 30, 2017.March 31, 2018.
Item 1A.Risk Factors
There have been no material changes with respect to the risk factors disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.2017.
Item 2.Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Market Repurchases
There has been no activity with respect to the program to repurchase outstanding units during the three months ended September 30, 2017.March 31, 2018. Please refer to SunCoke Energy Partners' Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 16, 201715, 2018 for further information on the program.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Certain logistics assets are subject to Mine Safety and Health Administration regulatory purview. The information concerning mine safety violations and other regulatory matters that we are required to report in accordance with Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Item 104 of Regulation S-K (17 CFR 229.014) is included in Exhibit 95.1 to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.


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Item 6.Exhibits
The following exhibits are filed as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Form 10-Q.
Exhibit
Number
   Description
     
     
     
   
   
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
101*   The following financial statements from SunCoke Energy Partners L.P.'s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2017,March 31, 2018, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on OctoberApril 26, 2017,2018, formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language is attached to this report): (i) the Consolidated Statements of Operations; (ii) the Consolidated Balance Sheets; (iii) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows; (iv) the Consolidated Statement of Equity; and, (v) the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
*Filed herewith.



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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Lisle, State of Illinois, on OctoberApril 26, 2017.2018.
SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P.
  
By: SunCoke Energy Partners GP LLC, its general partner
  
By: /s/ Fay West
  Fay West
  
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(As Principal Financial Officer and Duly Authorized Officer of SunCoke Energy Partners GP LLC)


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