!8

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020

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: 001-14129

 

STAR GROUP, L.P.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

 

Delaware

06-1437793

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

 

9 West Broad Street

Stamford, Connecticut

06902

(Address of principal executive office)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (203) 328-7310

 

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

 

Trading

Symbol(s)

 

Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Unit

 

SGU

 

New York Stock Exchange

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.    Yes      No  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 such files).    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,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

 

 

 

 

Non- accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

 

 

 

Emerging growth company

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 Exchange Act).    Yes      No  

 

At JulyApril 30, 2019,2020, the registrant had 49,280,62845,197,331 Common Units outstanding.

 

 

 

 


STAR GROUP, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES

INDEX TO FORM 10-Q

 

 

 

Page

Part I Financial Information

 

 

Item 1 - Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

3

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 (unaudited) and September 30, 20182019

 

3

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited) for the three and ninesix months ended June 30,March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2018

 

4

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) (unaudited) for the three and ninesix months ended June 30,March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2018

 

5

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Partners’ Capital (unaudited) for the three and ninesix months ended June 30,March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2018

 

6-7

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited) for the ninesix months ended June 30,March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2018

 

8

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)

 

9-249-22

Item 2 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

25-4223-39

Item 3 - Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

4340

Item 4 - Controls and Procedures

 

4340

Part II Other Information:

 

4441

Item 1 - Legal Proceedings

 

4441

Item 1A - Risk Factors

 

4441-42

Item 2 - Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

42

Item 6 - Exhibits

43

Signatures

 

44

Item 6 - Exhibits

45

Signatures

46

 

2


Part I. FINANCIALFINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.

Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

STAR GROUP, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

 

 

June 30,

 

 

September 30,

 

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

(in thousands)

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

5,717

 

 

$

14,531

 

Receivables, net of allowance of $11,244 and $8,002, respectively

 

 

167,292

 

 

 

132,668

 

Inventories

 

 

57,478

 

 

 

56,377

 

Fair asset value of derivative instruments

 

 

-

 

 

 

17,710

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

35,610

 

 

 

35,451

 

Total current assets

 

 

266,097

 

 

 

256,737

 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

97,468

 

 

 

87,618

 

Goodwill

 

 

247,341

 

 

 

228,436

 

Intangibles, net

 

 

110,322

 

 

 

98,444

 

Restricted cash

 

 

250

 

 

 

250

 

Captive insurance collateral (1)

 

 

57,841

 

 

 

45,419

 

Deferred charges and other assets, net

 

 

17,625

 

 

 

13,067

 

Total assets

 

$

796,944

 

 

$

729,971

 

LIABILITIES AND PARTNERS’ CAPITAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

$

28,254

 

 

$

35,796

 

Revolving credit facility borrowings

 

 

70,500

 

 

 

1,500

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

 

2,418

 

 

 

-

 

Current maturities of long-term debt

 

 

10,000

 

 

 

7,500

 

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

 

 

145,558

 

 

 

116,436

 

Unearned service contract revenue

 

 

60,560

 

 

 

60,700

 

Customer credit balances

 

 

38,229

 

 

 

61,256

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

355,519

 

 

 

283,188

 

Long-term debt

 

 

84,399

 

 

 

91,780

 

Deferred tax liabilities, net

 

 

14,069

 

 

 

21,206

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

 

25,382

 

 

 

24,012

 

Partners’ capital

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common unitholders

 

 

335,958

 

 

 

329,129

 

General partner

 

 

(1,522

)

 

 

(1,303

)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of taxes

 

 

(16,861

)

 

 

(18,041

)

Total partners’ capital

 

 

317,575

 

 

 

309,785

 

Total liabilities and partners’ capital

 

$

796,944

 

 

$

729,971

 

(1)

See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Captive Insurance Collateral.  

 

 

March 31,

 

 

September 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

(in thousands)

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

10,301

 

 

$

4,899

 

Receivables, net of allowance of $9,017 and $8,378, respectively

 

 

187,091

 

 

 

120,245

 

Inventories

 

 

52,826

 

 

 

64,788

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

43,319

 

 

 

36,898

 

Total current assets

 

 

293,537

 

 

 

226,830

 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

95,204

 

 

 

98,239

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

 

 

103,672

 

 

 

 

Goodwill

 

 

244,574

 

 

 

244,574

 

Intangibles, net

 

 

98,245

 

 

 

107,688

 

Restricted cash

 

 

250

 

 

 

250

 

Captive insurance collateral

 

 

65,776

 

 

 

58,490

 

Deferred charges and other assets, net

 

 

17,823

 

 

 

16,635

 

Total assets

 

$

919,081

 

 

$

752,706

 

LIABILITIES AND PARTNERS’ CAPITAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

$

23,898

 

 

$

33,973

 

Revolving credit facility borrowings

 

 

24,043

 

 

 

24,000

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

 

14,017

 

 

 

8,262

 

Current maturities of long-term debt

 

 

13,000

 

 

 

9,000

 

Current portion of operating lease liabilities

 

 

19,567

 

 

 

 

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

 

 

158,989

 

 

 

120,839

 

Unearned service contract revenue

 

 

65,176

 

 

 

61,213

 

Customer credit balances

 

 

36,202

 

 

 

68,270

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

354,892

 

 

 

325,557

 

Long-term debt

 

 

116,188

 

 

 

120,447

 

Long-term operating lease liabilities

 

 

89,373

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities, net

 

 

20,229

 

 

 

20,116

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

 

22,444

 

 

 

25,746

 

Partners’ capital

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common unitholders

 

 

334,968

 

 

 

279,709

 

General partner

 

 

(1,792

)

 

 

(1,968

)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of taxes

 

 

(17,221

)

 

 

(16,901

)

Total partners’ capital

 

 

315,955

 

 

 

260,840

 

Total liabilities and partners’ capital

 

$

919,081

 

 

$

752,706

 

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

3


STAR GROUP, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

 

 

Three Months

Ended June 30,

 

 

Nine Months

Ended June 30,

 

 

Three Months

Ended March 31,

 

 

Six Months

Ended March 31,

 

(in thousands, except per unit data - unaudited)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Sales:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product

 

$

210,657

 

 

$

256,447

 

 

$

1,306,764

 

 

$

1,246,143

 

 

$

481,275

 

 

$

637,400

 

 

$

913,963

 

 

$

1,096,107

 

Installations and services

 

 

72,719

 

 

 

70,907

 

 

 

211,221

 

 

 

202,076

 

 

 

61,788

 

 

 

62,182

 

 

 

138,045

 

 

 

138,502

 

Total sales

 

 

283,376

 

 

 

327,354

 

 

 

1,517,985

 

 

 

1,448,219

 

 

 

543,063

 

 

 

699,582

 

 

 

1,052,008

 

 

 

1,234,609

 

Cost and expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of product

 

 

155,055

 

 

 

186,207

 

 

 

876,920

 

 

 

832,280

 

 

 

285,350

 

 

 

415,639

 

 

 

573,023

 

 

 

721,865

 

Cost of installations and services

 

 

62,130

 

 

 

61,770

 

 

 

201,841

 

 

 

195,984

 

 

 

61,273

 

 

 

65,394

 

 

 

134,942

 

 

 

139,711

 

(Increase) decrease in the fair value of derivative instruments

 

 

1,630

 

 

 

(7,515

)

 

 

19,268

 

 

 

(7,306

)

 

 

11,670

 

 

 

(13,401

)

 

 

5,253

 

 

 

17,638

 

Delivery and branch expenses

 

 

82,669

 

 

 

83,312

 

 

 

296,026

 

 

 

281,121

 

 

 

85,463

 

 

 

110,684

 

 

 

182,189

 

 

 

213,357

 

Depreciation and amortization expenses

 

 

8,225

 

 

 

7,941

 

 

 

23,828

 

 

 

23,385

 

 

 

9,089

 

 

 

7,858

 

 

 

18,139

 

 

 

15,603

 

General and administrative expenses

 

 

5,472

 

 

 

5,894

 

 

 

23,136

 

 

 

18,766

 

 

 

5,422

 

 

 

9,849

 

 

 

11,928

 

 

 

17,664

 

Finance charge income

 

 

(1,872

)

 

 

(1,438

)

 

 

(4,166

)

 

 

(3,733

)

 

 

(1,321

)

 

 

(1,443

)

 

 

(2,034

)

 

 

(2,294

)

Operating income (loss)

 

 

(29,933

)

 

 

(8,817

)

 

 

81,132

 

 

 

107,722

 

Operating income

 

 

86,117

 

 

 

105,002

 

 

 

128,568

 

 

 

111,065

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

(2,967

)

 

 

(2,186

)

 

 

(8,677

)

 

 

(6,656

)

 

 

(2,756

)

 

 

(3,194

)

 

 

(5,435

)

 

 

(5,710

)

Amortization of debt issuance costs

 

 

(253

)

 

 

(418

)

 

 

(756

)

 

 

(1,034

)

 

 

(253

)

 

 

(244

)

 

 

(488

)

 

 

(503

)

Income (loss) before income taxes

 

 

(33,153

)

 

 

(11,421

)

 

 

71,699

 

 

 

100,032

 

Income tax expense (benefit)

 

 

(10,055

)

 

 

(3,416

)

 

 

20,157

 

 

 

23,077

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

(23,098

)

 

$

(8,005

)

 

$

51,542

 

 

$

76,955

 

General Partner’s interest in net income (loss)

 

 

(150

)

 

 

(49

)

 

 

319

 

 

 

445

 

Limited Partners’ interest in net income (loss)

 

$

(22,948

)

 

$

(7,956

)

 

$

51,223

 

 

$

76,510

 

Income before income taxes

 

 

83,108

 

 

 

101,564

 

 

 

122,645

 

 

 

104,852

 

Income tax expense

 

 

24,700

 

 

 

29,239

 

 

 

36,482

 

 

 

30,212

 

Net income

 

$

58,408

 

 

$

72,325

 

 

$

86,163

 

 

$

74,640

 

General Partner’s interest in net income

 

 

409

 

 

 

454

 

 

 

601

 

 

 

469

 

Limited Partners’ interest in net income

 

$

57,999

 

 

$

71,871

 

 

$

85,562

 

 

$

74,171

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted income (loss) per Limited Partner Unit (1):

 

$

(0.46

)

 

$

(0.15

)

 

$

0.86

 

 

$

1.18

 

Basic and diluted income per Limited Partner Unit (1):

 

$

1.03

 

 

$

1.15

 

 

$

1.52

 

 

$

1.19

 

Weighted average number of Limited Partner units outstanding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and Diluted

 

 

49,943

 

 

 

53,938

 

 

 

51,431

 

 

 

55,157

 

 

 

46,244

 

 

 

51,427

 

 

 

46,760

 

 

 

52,174

 

 

(1)

See Note 1516 - Earnings Per Limited Partner Unit.

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

4


STAR GROUP, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

 

 

Three Months

Ended June 30,

 

 

Nine Months

Ended June 30,

 

 

Three Months

Ended March 31,

 

 

Six Months

Ended March 31,

 

(in thousands - unaudited)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

(23,098

)

 

$

(8,005

)

 

$

51,542

 

 

$

76,955

 

Net income

 

$

58,408

 

 

$

72,325

 

 

$

86,163

 

 

$

74,640

 

Other comprehensive income:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unrealized gain on pension plan obligation (1)

 

 

455

 

 

 

448

 

 

 

1,366

 

 

 

1,344

 

 

 

455

 

 

 

457

 

 

 

910

 

 

 

911

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on pension plan obligation

 

 

(124

)

 

 

(120

)

 

 

(373

)

 

 

(422

)

 

 

(133

)

 

 

(125

)

 

 

(258

)

 

 

(249

)

Unrealized gain (loss) on captive insurance collateral

 

 

666

 

 

 

(220

)

 

 

1,960

 

 

 

(1,151

)

Tax effect of unrealized gain (loss) on captive insurance collateral

 

 

(140

)

 

 

46

 

 

 

(416

)

 

 

242

 

Unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

107

 

 

 

905

 

 

 

43

 

 

 

1,294

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

(15

)

 

 

(194

)

 

 

(7

)

 

 

(276

)

Unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

(733

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1,845

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1,716

)

 

 

(367

)

 

 

(1,382

)

 

 

(1,112

)

Tax effect of unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

196

 

 

 

 

 

 

488

 

 

 

 

 

 

460

 

 

 

95

 

 

 

374

 

 

 

292

 

Total other comprehensive income

 

 

320

 

 

 

154

 

 

 

1,180

 

 

 

13

 

Total comprehensive income (loss)

 

$

(22,778

)

 

$

(7,851

)

 

$

52,722

 

 

$

76,968

 

Total other comprehensive income (loss)

 

 

(842

)

 

 

771

 

 

 

(320

)

 

 

860

 

Total comprehensive income

 

$

57,566

 

 

$

73,096

 

 

$

85,843

 

 

$

75,500

 

 

(1)

This item is included in the computation of net periodic pension cost.    

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

5


STAR GROUP, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PARTNERS’ CAPITAL

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30, 2019

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31, 2020

 

 

Number of Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accum. Other

 

 

Total

 

 

Number of Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accum. Other

 

 

Total

 

(in thousands - unaudited)

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Comprehensive

Income (Loss)

 

 

Partners’

Capital

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Comprehensive

Income (Loss)

 

 

Partners’

Capital

 

Balance as of March 31, 2019

 

 

50,302

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

373,748

 

 

$

(1,146

)

 

$

(17,181

)

 

$

355,421

 

Net loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(22,948

)

 

 

(150

)

 

 

 

 

 

(23,098

)

Balance as of December 31, 2019

 

 

46,404

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

289,268

 

 

$

(1,991

)

 

$

(16,379

)

 

$

270,898

 

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

57,999

 

 

 

409

 

 

 

 

 

 

58,408

 

Unrealized gain on pension plan obligation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

455

 

 

 

455

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

455

 

 

 

455

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on pension plan obligation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(124

)

 

 

(124

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(133

)

 

 

(133

)

Unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

666

 

 

 

666

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

107

 

 

 

107

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(140

)

 

 

(140

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(15

)

 

 

(15

)

Unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(733

)

 

 

(733

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,716

)

 

 

(1,716

)

Tax effect of unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

196

 

 

 

196

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

460

 

 

 

460

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6,265

)

 

 

(226

)

 

 

 

 

 

(6,491

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5,788

)

 

 

(210

)

 

 

 

 

 

(5,998

)

Retirement of units (1)

 

 

(885

)

 

 

 

 

 

(8,577

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(8,577

)

 

 

(782

)

 

 

 

 

 

(6,511

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6,511

)

Balance as of June 30, 2019 (unaudited)

 

 

49,417

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

335,958

 

 

$

(1,522

)

 

$

(16,861

)

 

$

317,575

 

Balance as of March 31, 2020 (unaudited)

 

 

45,622

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

334,968

 

 

$

(1,792

)

 

$

(17,221

)

 

$

315,955

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30, 2018

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31, 2019

 

 

Number of Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accum. Other

 

 

Total

 

 

Number of Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accum. Other

 

 

Total

 

(in thousands - unaudited)

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Comprehensive

Income (Loss)

 

 

Partners’

Capital

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Comprehensive

Income (Loss)

 

 

Partners’

Capital

 

Balance as of March 31, 2018

 

 

54,607

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

385,909

 

 

$

(743

)

 

$

(18,906

)

 

$

366,260

 

Net loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(7,956

)

 

 

(49

)

 

 

 

 

 

(8,005

)

Balance as of December 31, 2018

 

 

52,489

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

328,633

 

 

$

(1,416

)

 

$

(17,952

)

 

$

309,265

 

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

71,871

 

 

 

454

 

 

 

 

 

 

72,325

 

Unrealized gain on pension plan obligation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

448

 

 

 

448

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

457

 

 

 

457

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on pension plan obligation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(120

)

 

 

(120

)

Unrealized loss on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

��

(220

)

 

 

(220

)

Tax effect of unrealized loss on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

46

 

 

 

46

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on pension plan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(125

)

 

 

(125

)

Unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

905

 

 

 

905

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(194

)

 

 

(194

)

Unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(367

)

 

 

(367

)

Tax effect of unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

95

 

 

 

95

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6,344

)

 

 

(191

)

 

 

 

 

 

(6,535

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6,120

)

 

 

(184

)

 

 

 

 

 

(6,304

)

Retirement of units (1)

 

 

(1,089

)

 

 

 

 

 

(10,515

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(10,515

)

 

 

(2,187

)

 

 

 

 

 

(20,636

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(20,636

)

Balance as of June 30, 2018 (unaudited)

 

 

53,518

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

361,094

 

 

$

(983

)

 

$

(18,752

)

 

$

341,359

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance as of March 31, 2019 (unaudited)

 

 

50,302

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

373,748

 

 

$

(1,146

)

 

$

(17,181

)

 

$

355,421

 

(1)

See Note 4 – Common Unit Repurchase and Retirement.

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

6


STAR GROUP, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PARTNERS’ CAPITAL

 

 

Nine Months Ended June 30, 2019

 

 

Six Months Ended March 31, 2020

 

 

Number of Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accum. Other

 

 

Total

 

 

Number of Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accum. Other

 

 

Total

 

(in thousands - unaudited)

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Comprehensive

Income (Loss)

 

 

Partners’

Capital

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Comprehensive

Income (Loss)

 

 

Partners’

Capital

 

Balance as of September 30, 2018

 

 

53,088

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

329,129

 

 

$

(1,303

)

 

$

(18,041

)

 

$

309,785

 

Impact of adoption of ASU No. 2014-09

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,164

 

 

 

60

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,224

 

Balance as of September 30, 2019

 

 

47,685

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

279,709

 

 

$

(1,968

)

 

$

(16,901

)

 

$

260,840

 

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

51,223

 

 

 

319

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

51,542

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

85,562

 

 

 

601

 

 

 

 

 

 

86,163

 

Unrealized gain on pension plan obligation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,366

 

 

 

1,366

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

910

 

 

 

910

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on pension plan obligation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(373

)

 

 

(373

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(258

)

 

 

(258

)

Unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,960

 

 

 

1,960

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

43

 

 

 

43

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(416

)

 

 

(416

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(7

)

 

 

(7

)

Unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,845

)

 

 

(1,845

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,382

)

 

 

(1,382

)

Tax effect of unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

488

 

 

 

488

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

374

 

 

 

374

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(18,610

)

 

 

(598

)

 

 

 

 

 

(19,208

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(11,728

)

 

 

(425

)

 

 

 

 

 

(12,153

)

Retirement of units (1)

 

 

(3,671

)

 

 

 

 

 

(34,948

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(34,948

)

 

 

(2,063

)

 

 

 

 

 

(18,575

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(18,575

)

Balance as of June 30, 2019 (unaudited)

 

 

49,417

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

335,958

 

 

$

(1,522

)

 

$

(16,861

)

 

$

317,575

 

Balance as of March 31, 2020 (unaudited)

 

 

45,622

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

334,968

 

 

$

(1,792

)

 

$

(17,221

)

 

$

315,955

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended June 30, 2018

 

 

Six Months Ended March 31, 2019

 

 

Number of Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accum. Other

 

 

Total

 

 

Number of Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accum. Other

 

 

Total

 

(in thousands - unaudited)

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Comprehensive

Income (Loss)

 

 

Partners’

Capital

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Common

 

 

General

Partner

 

 

Comprehensive

Income (Loss)

 

 

Partners’

Capital

 

Balance as of September 30, 2017

 

 

55,888

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

325,762

 

 

$

(929

)

 

$

(18,765

)

 

$

306,068

 

Balance as of September 30, 2018

 

 

53,088

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

329,129

 

 

$

(1,303

)

 

$

(18,041

)

 

$

309,785

 

Impact of adoption of ASU No. 2014-09

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,164

 

 

 

60

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,224

 

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

76,510

 

 

 

445

 

 

 

 

 

 

76,955

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

74,171

 

 

 

469

 

 

 

 

 

 

74,640

 

Unrealized gain on pension plan obligation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,344

 

 

 

1,344

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

911

 

 

 

911

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on pension plan obligation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(422

)

 

 

(422

)

Unrealized loss on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,151

)

 

 

(1,151

)

Tax effect of unrealized loss on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

242

 

 

 

242

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on pension plan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(249

)

 

 

(249

)

Unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,294

 

 

 

1,294

 

Tax effect of unrealized gain on captive insurance collateral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(276

)

 

 

(276

)

Unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,112

)

 

 

(1,112

)

Tax effect of unrealized loss on interest rate hedges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

292

 

 

 

292

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(18,640

)

 

 

(499

)

 

 

 

 

 

(19,139

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(12,345

)

 

 

(372

)

 

 

 

 

 

(12,717

)

Retirement of units (1)

 

 

(2,370

)

 

 

 

 

 

(22,538

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(22,538

)

 

 

(2,786

)

 

 

 

 

 

(26,371

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(26,371

)

Balance as of June 30, 2018 (unaudited)

 

 

53,518

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

361,094

 

 

$

(983

)

 

$

(18,752

)

 

$

341,359

 

Balance as of March 31, 2019 (unaudited)

 

 

50,302

 

 

 

326

 

 

$

373,748

 

 

$

(1,146

)

 

$

(17,181

)

 

$

355,421

 

(1)

See Note 4 – Common Unit Repurchase and Retirement.

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

7


STAR GROUP, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

 

Nine Months

Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months

Ended March 31,

 

(in thousands - unaudited)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income

 

$

51,542

 

 

$

76,955

 

 

$

86,163

 

 

$

74,640

 

Adjustment to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in)

operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Increase) decrease in fair value of derivative instruments

 

 

19,268

 

 

 

(7,306

)

 

 

5,253

 

 

 

17,638

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

24,584

 

 

 

24,419

 

 

 

18,627

 

 

 

16,106

 

Provision for losses on accounts receivable

 

 

8,500

 

 

 

5,687

 

 

 

3,203

 

 

 

4,968

 

Change in deferred taxes

 

 

(11,206

)

 

 

29,641

 

 

 

222

 

 

 

(9,335

)

Change in weather hedge contract receivable/payable

 

 

(10,053

)

 

 

2,110

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Increase in receivables

 

 

(34,793

)

 

 

(86,504

)

 

 

(69,562

)

 

 

(159,249

)

Decrease in inventories

 

 

1,958

 

 

 

12,390

 

(Increase) decrease in other assets

 

 

9,156

 

 

 

(2,938

)

Increase (decrease) in accounts payable

 

 

(7,570

)

 

 

5,078

 

Decrease (increase) in inventories

 

 

12,008

 

 

 

(3,741

)

Decrease in other assets

 

 

4,812

 

 

 

12,778

 

Decrease in accounts payable

 

 

(8,910

)

 

 

(2,364

)

Decrease in customer credit balances

 

 

(26,177

)

 

 

(36,503

)

 

 

(32,462

)

 

 

(38,476

)

Increase in other current and long-term liabilities

 

 

27,060

 

 

 

9,100

 

 

 

41,574

 

 

 

42,564

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

 

62,322

 

 

 

30,019

 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

 

 

50,875

 

 

 

(42,361

)

Cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capital expenditures

 

 

(8,235

)

 

 

(8,682

)

 

 

(5,684

)

 

 

(6,814

)

Proceeds from sales of fixed assets

 

 

1,040

 

 

 

325

 

 

 

201

 

 

 

746

 

Purchase of investments (1)

 

 

(10,576

)

 

 

(34,840

)

Purchase of investments

 

 

(7,218

)

 

 

(7,571

)

Acquisitions

 

 

(62,807

)

 

 

(21,262

)

 

 

(496

)

 

 

(13,671

)

Net cash used in investing activities

 

 

(80,578

)

 

 

(64,459

)

 

 

(13,197

)

 

 

(27,310

)

Cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revolving credit facility borrowings

 

 

139,331

 

 

 

160,104

 

 

 

90,202

 

 

 

139,331

 

Revolving credit facility repayments

 

 

(70,331

)

 

 

(118,604

)

 

 

(127,659

)

 

 

(25,831

)

Loan issuance

 

 

130,000

 

 

 

 

Term loan repayments

 

 

(5,000

)

 

 

(7,500

)

 

 

(92,500

)

 

 

(2,500

)

Distributions

 

 

(19,208

)

 

 

(19,139

)

 

 

(12,153

)

 

 

(12,717

)

Unit repurchases

 

 

(34,948

)

 

 

(22,538

)

 

 

(18,575

)

 

 

(26,371

)

Customer retainage payments

 

 

(357

)

 

 

(918

)

 

 

(300

)

 

 

(357

)

Payments of debt issue costs

 

 

(45

)

 

 

-

 

 

 

(1,291

)

 

 

(43

)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

 

 

9,442

 

 

 

(8,595

)

Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

 

 

(8,814

)

 

 

(43,035

)

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

 

 

(32,276

)

 

 

71,512

 

Net increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

 

 

5,402

 

 

 

1,841

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period

 

 

14,781

 

 

 

52,708

 

 

 

5,149

 

 

 

14,781

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period

 

$

5,967

 

 

$

9,673

 

 

$

10,551

 

 

$

16,622

 

 

(1)

See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Captive Insurance Collateral.

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

8


STAR GROUP, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)

1) Organization

Star Group, L.P. (“Star,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a full service provider specializing in the sale of home heating and air conditioning products and services to residential and commercial home heating oil and propane customers. The Company has one1 reportable segment for accounting purposes.  We also sell diesel fuel, gasoline and home heating oil on a delivery only basis, and in certain of our marketing areas, we provide plumbing services primarily to our home heating oil and propane customer base. We believe we are the nation’s largest retail distributor of home heating oil based upon sales volume. Including our propane locations, we serve customers in the more northern and eastern states within the Northeast, Central and Southeast U.S. regions.

The Company is organized as follows:

Star is a limited partnership, which at June 30, 2019, had outstanding 49.4 million Common Units (NYSE: “SGU”), representing a 99.3% limited partner interest in Star, and 0.3 million general partner units, representing a 0.7% general partner interest in Star. Our general partner is Kestrel Heat, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Kestrel Heat” or the “general partner”). The Board of Directors of Kestrel Heat (the “Board”) is appointed by its sole member, Kestrel Energy Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Kestrel”).  Since November 1, 2017, Star elected to be treated as a corporation for Federal income tax purposes, so both Star and its subsidiaries (that were already taxable entities) are now subject to Federal and state corporate income taxes. As a result of this election, the Company issued its last Schedule K-1’s for the 2017 calendar year, and now issues Form 1099-DIV’s.

Star is a limited partnership, which at March 31, 2020, had outstanding 45.6 million Common Units (NYSE: “SGU”), representing a 99.3% limited partner interest in Star, and 0.3 million general partner units, representing a 0.7% general partner interest in Star. Our general partner is Kestrel Heat, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Kestrel Heat” or the “general partner”). The Board of Directors of Kestrel Heat (the “Board”) is appointed by its sole member, Kestrel Energy Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Kestrel”).  Since November 1, 2017, Star elected to be treated as a corporation for Federal income tax purposes, so both Star and its subsidiaries (that were already taxable entities) are now subject to Federal and state corporate income taxes. As a result of this election, the Company issued its last Schedule K-1’s for the 2017 calendar year, and now issues Forms 1099-DIV to unitholders.

Star owns 100% of Star Acquisitions, Inc., a Minnesota corporation that owns 100% of Petro Holdings, Inc. (“Petro”). Star’s operations are conducted through Petro and its subsidiaries. At June 30, 2019 Petro served approximately 466,500 residential and commercial home heating oil and propane customers. Petro also sells diesel fuel, gasoline and home heating oil to approximately 81,000 customers on a delivery only basis. We installed, maintained, and repaired heating and air conditioning equipment and to a lesser extent provided these services outside our heating oil and propane customer base including approximately 17,000 service contracts for natural gas and other heating systems.

Star owns 100% of Star Acquisitions, Inc. (“SA”), a Minnesota corporation that owns 100% of Petro Holdings, Inc. (“Petro”). Star’s operations are conducted through Petro and its subsidiaries. Petro is primarily a Northeast, Central and Southeast U.S. region retail distributor of home heating oil and propane that at March 31, 2020 served approximately 448,000 full service residential and commercial home heating oil and propane customers and 63,000 customers on a delivery only basis. We also sell gasoline and diesel fuel to approximately 26,000 customers. We install, maintain, and repair heating and air conditioning equipment and to a lesser extent provide these services outside our heating oil and propane customer base including approximately 18,000service contracts for natural gas and other heating systems.

Petroleum Heat and Power Co., Inc. (“PH&P”) is a 100% owned subsidiary of Star. PH&P is the borrower and Star is the guarantor of the fourth amended and restated credit agreement’s $100 million five-year senior secured term loan and the $300 million ($450 million during the heating season of December through April of each year) revolving credit facility, both due July 2, 2023. (See Note 11—Long-Term Debt and Bank Facility Borrowings)

Petroleum Heat and Power Co., Inc. (“PH&P”) is a 100% owned subsidiary of Star. PH&P is the borrower and Star is the guarantor of the fifth amended and restated credit agreement’s $130 million five-year senior secured term loan and the $300 million ($450 million during the heating season of December through April of each year) revolving credit facility, both due December 4, 2024. (See Note 11—Long-Term Debt and Bank Facility Borrowings)

2) Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

Basis of Presentation

The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Star and its subsidiaries. All material intercompany items and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The financial information included herein is unaudited; however, such information reflects all adjustments (consisting solely of normal recurring adjustments), which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair statement of financial condition and results for the interim periods. Due to the seasonal nature of the Company’s business, the results of operations and cash flows for the nine-monthsix-month period ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

These interim financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2018.2019.

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Comprehensive income (loss) is comprised of Net income (loss) and Other comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) consists of the unrealized gain on amortization on the Company’s pension plan obligation for its two frozen defined benefit pension plans, unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale investments, unrealized gain (loss)loss on interest rate hedge and the corresponding tax effects.

9


Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less, when purchased, to be cash equivalents. At June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, the $6.0$10.6 million of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows is composed of $5.7$10.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and $0.3 million of restricted cash. At September 30, 2018,2019, the $14.8$5.1 million of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows is composed of $14.5$4.9 million of cash and cash equivalents and $0.3 million of restricted cash. Restricted cash represents deposits held by our captive insurance company that are required by state insurance regulations to remain in the captive insurance company as cash.

Captive Insurance Collateral

The captive insurance collateral is held by our captive insurance company in an irrevocable trust as collateral for certain workers’ compensation and automobile liability claims.  The collateral is required by a third party insurance carrier that insures per claim amounts above a set deductible. If we did not deposit cash into the trust, the third party carrier would require that we issue an equal amount of letters of credit, which would reduce our availability under the fifth amended and restated credit agreement.  Due to the expected timing of claim payments, the nature of the collateral agreement with the carrier, and our captive insurance company’s source of other operating cash, the collateral is not expected to be used to pay obligations within the next twelve months.

At June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, captive insurance collateral is comprised of $57.3$60.2 million of Level 1 debt securities measured at fair value and $0.5$5.6 million of mutual funds measured at net asset value.  At September 30, 2018,2019, the balance was comprised of $44.8$58.0 million of Level 1 debt securities measured at fair value and $0.6$0.5 million of mutual funds measured at net asset value. Unrealized gains and losses, net of related income taxes, are reported as accumulated other comprehensive gain (loss), except for losses from impairments which are determined to be other-than-temporary. Realized gains and losses, and declines in value judged to be other-than-temporary on available-for-sale securities are included in the determination of net income and are included in Interest expense, net, at which time the average cost basis of these securities are adjusted to fair value.

Weather Hedge Contract

To partially mitigate the adverse effect of warm weather on cash flows, the Company has used weather hedge contracts for a number of years. Weather hedge contracts are recorded in accordance with the intrinsic value method defined by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 815-45-15 Derivatives and Hedging, Weather Derivatives (EITF 99-2). The premium paid is included in the caption “Prepaid expenses and other current assets” in the accompanying balance sheets and amortized over the life of the contract, with the intrinsic value method applied at each interim period.

The Company entered into weather hedge contracts for fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.  Under these contracts, we are entitled to receive a payment if the total number of degree days within the hedge period is less than the prior ten year average. The “Payment Thresholds,” or strikes, are set at various levels. In addition, we will be obligated to make a payment capped at $5.0 million if degree days exceed the Payment Threshold which approximates the prior ten year average. The hedge period runs from November 1 through March 31, taken as a whole, for each respective fiscal year.  For fiscal 2019, 2020 and 2021 the maximum that the Company can receive annually is $12.5 million and the maximum that the Company would be obligated to pay annually is $5.0 million.  As of June 30,March 31, 2020, the Company reduced delivery and branch expense and recorded a receivable under these contracts of $10.1 million, and received the amount in full in April 2020.  As of March 31, 2019, the Company recorded a charge of $2.1 million under this contract that increased delivery and branch expenses. As of June 30, 2018, the Companyexpense and recorded a chargepayable under these contracts of $1.9 million under its contract. The Company paid $2.1 million, and $1.9 millionpaid the amount in full in April 2019 and 2018, respectively.2019.

New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund (“the NETTI Fund”) Liability

As of June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, we had $0.2 million and $17.0$16.8 million balances included in the captions “Accrued expenses and other current liabilities” and “Other long-term liabilities,” respectively, on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet representing the remaining balance of the NETTI Fund withdrawal liability. Based on the borrowing rates currently available to the Company for long-term financing of a similar maturity, the fair value of the NETTI Fund withdrawal liability as of JuneMarch 31, 2020 and September 30, 2019 was $20.4 million.$29.4 million and $21.1 million, respectively. We utilized Level 2 inputs in the fair value hierarchy of valuation techniques to determine the fair value of this liability.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The FASB has also issued several updates to ASU No. 2014-09. The Company adopted ASU No. 2014-09 effective October 1, 2018 by using the modified retrospective method and recognized the cumulative effect of initially applying ASU No. 2014-09 as an adjustment to the opening balance of Partners’ Capital at October 1, 2018. The historical periods have not been adjusted and continue to be reported under ASC No. 605, Revenue Recognition.  We have applied the guidance in ASU No. 2014-09 retrospectively to all contracts and have elected not to account for significant financing components if the period between revenue recognition and when the customer pays for product, service, or equipment installation will be one year or less.  See further detail on the impact of the adoption

10


on our condensed consolidated balance sheet and statement of operations as of and for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2019 at Note 3 – Revenue Recognition.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flow (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The update addresses the issues of debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments or other debt instruments with coupon interest rates that are insignificant in relation to the effective interest rate of the borrowing, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims, proceeds from the settlement of corporate owned life insurance policies, distributions received from equity method investees, beneficial interests in securitization transactions, and separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle. The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-15 effective October 1, 2018.  The adoption of ASU No. 2016-15 did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business. The update clarifies the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The Company adopted ASU No. 2017-01 effective October 1, 2018.  The adoption of ASU No. 2017-01 did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.  

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases.Leases (“ASC Topic 842”).  The update requires all leases with a term greater than twelve months to be recognized on the balance sheet by calculatingrecording (1) a lease liability that represents a lessee’s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured at the discounted present value of such leasesthe remaining lease payments; and accounting for them through(2) a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset andthat represents the lessee’s right to use a specified asset for the lease term, measured in an offsettingamount equal to the lease liability andadjusted for accrued lease payments.  The standard also requires the disclosure of key information pertaining to leasing arrangements.  This new guidance is effective for our annual reporting period beginning in

10


As of October 1, 2019, the first quarter of fiscal 2020, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not intend to early adopt. The Company is continuing to evaluate the effect that ASU No. 2016-02 could have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures and plans to adopt adopted ASC Topic 842 using the modified retrospective transition approach as of the effective date as permitted by the amendments in ASU 2018-11.  As a result, the Company was not required to adjust its comparative period financial information for leases that exist ineffects of the period of adoption and recognizestandard or make the cumulative effect of initially applying ASU No. 2016-02 as an adjustment to the opening balance of Partners’ Capital at October 1, 2019.  As ofnew required lease disclosures for periods before the date of adoption the(i.e. October 1, 2019).  The Company expectshas elected to electadopt the package of transition practical expedients that permit the Company to forego reassessing the Company’s prior conclusions about (i)and, therefore, has not reassessed (1) whether existing or expired contracts contain a lease, identification, (ii)(2) lease classification and (iii)for existing or expired leases or (3) the accounting for initial direct costs. The Companycosts that were previously capitalized.  We also plans to electelected a practical expedient to not separate non-lease components from the lease components.  components and excluded short term leases from the calculation of right of use asset and operating lease liability.  For certain leases relating to vehicles and equipment we elected to apply portfolio approach guidance and accounted for leases with similar characteristics as a single lease. The new guidance will materially change how we accountCompany did not elect the practical expedient to use hindsight for operating leases for office space, trucks and other equipment. Uponexisting at the adoption we expectdate.

The adoption of ASC Topic 842 had a material impact to recognize discountedthe Company’s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet, but did not impact the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations or Condensed Consolidated Statement of Partners’ Capital. The most significant changes to the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet relate to the recognition of the following as of October 1, 2019:  “Operating lease right-of-use assets and offsetting lease liabilities related to our operating leases of office space, trucks and other equipment. As of June 30, 2019, the undiscounted future minimum lease payments through 2033 for such operating leases are approximately $125.5 million, butassets” in the amount of leasing activity expected between June 30, 2019,$104.7 million, “Current portion of operating lease liabilities” in the amount of $20.1 million and “Long-term operating lease liabilities” in the dateamount of $89.9 million. The adoption as well asof ASC Topic 842 also had no impact on operating, investing, or financing cash flows in the impactCondensed Consolidated Statement of market conditions on discount rates is unknown. For these reasons we are unable to estimateCash Flows. However, ASC Topic has significantly affected the discounted right-of-use assets and lease liabilitiesCompany’s disclosures about noncash investing activities. Additionally, the Company’s lease-related disclosures have significantly increased as of and for the datesix months ended March 31, 2020 as compared to prior years. See Note 13 – Leases for further details on the adoption of ASC Topic 842.

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The Company adopted the ASU effective March 12, 2020.  The update provides optional guidance for a limited period of time to ease potential accounting impacts associated with transitioning away from reference rates that are expected to be discontinued, such as interbank offered rates and LIBOR. The Company has $66.5 million of interest rate swap agreements at March 31, 2020 that are benchmarked against LIBOR, which the Company has designated as cash flow hedging derivatives.  This guidance includes practical expedients for contract modifications due to reference rate reform. The Company has elected to adopt the practical expedient that the Company may change the contractual terms of the interest rate swap agreements that is expected to be affected by reference rate reform and not be required to de-designate the hedging relationship.  The adoption. did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses. The update broadens the information that an entity should consider in developing expected credit loss estimates, eliminates the probable initial recognition threshold, and allows for the immediate recognition of the full amount of expected credit losses. This new guidance is effective for our annual reporting period beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, with early adoption permitted in the first quarter of fiscal 2020.2021. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU No. 2016-13 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures, but has not yet determined the timing of adoption.disclosures.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 230): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. The update simplifies how an entity is required to test goodwill for impairment. An entity should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, but not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. This new guidance is effective for our annual reporting period beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, with early adoption permitted. The Company has not determined the timing of adoption, but does not expect ASU 2017-04 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-14, Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Defined Benefit Plans - General: Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans, which modifies the disclosure requirements for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans by removing and adding certain disclosures for these plans. The new guidance is effective for our annual reporting period beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU No. 2018-14 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures, butand has not determined the timing of adoption.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software: Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement that is a Service Contract, which will align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements

11


for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. The new guidance is effective for our annual reporting period beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU No. 2018-15 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures, butand has not determined the timing of adoption.

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3) Revenue Recognition

Effective October 1, 2018 we adopted the requirements of ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The adoption was not material to the financial statements presented. In accordance with the new revenue standard requirements, our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet were impacted due to: i) the deferment of commissions provided to Company employees that were previously expensed as incurred, ii) the deferment of certain upfront credits provided to customers upon entering into a new annual product or service contract as contra-revenue that were previously expensed as incurred and recorded as delivery and branch expense, and iii) the allocation of transaction price of the combination of certain contracts that were previously accounted for as separate contracts that impacts the classification of revenue and timing of revenue recognition.  The impact of adoption on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet and Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations, as of and for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2019 was as follows (in thousands):

 

For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2019

 

 

For the Nine Months Ended June 30, 2019

 

Statement of Operations

As Reported

 

 

Balances without Adoption of ASC 606

 

 

Effect of

Change

Higher/(Lower)

 

 

As Reported

 

 

Balances without Adoption of ASC 606

 

 

Effect of

Change

Higher/(Lower)

 

Sales:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Product

$

210,657

 

 

$

212,249

 

 

$

(1,592

)

 

$

1,306,764

 

 

$

1,317,809

 

 

$

(11,045

)

      Installations and services

 

72,719

 

 

 

70,975

 

 

 

1,744

 

 

 

211,221

 

 

 

206,244

 

 

 

4,977

 

           Total Sales

 

283,376

 

 

 

283,224

 

 

 

152

 

 

 

1,517,985

 

 

 

1,524,053

 

 

 

(6,068

)

Cost and Expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Delivery and branch expenses

 

82,669

 

 

 

82,432

 

 

 

237

 

 

 

296,026

 

 

 

298,804

 

 

 

(2,778

)

      Operating income (loss)

 

(29,933

)

 

 

(29,848

)

 

 

(85

)

 

 

81,132

 

 

 

84,422

 

 

 

(3,290

)

      Income (loss) before income taxes

 

(33,153

)

 

 

(33,068

)

 

 

(85

)

 

 

71,699

 

 

 

74,989

 

 

 

(3,290

)

Income tax expense (benefit)

 

(10,055

)

 

 

(10,053

)

 

 

(2

)

 

 

20,157

 

 

 

21,082

 

 

 

(925

)

     Net income (loss)

$

(23,098

)

 

$

(23,015

)

 

$

(83

)

 

$

51,542

 

 

$

53,907

 

 

$

(2,365

)

          General Partner's interest in net income (loss)

 

(150

)

 

 

(149

)

 

 

(1

)

 

 

319

 

 

 

334

 

 

 

(15

)

Limited Partner's interest in net income (loss)

$

(22,948

)

 

$

(22,866

)

 

$

(82

)

 

$

51,223

 

 

$

53,573

 

 

$

(2,350

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted income (loss) per Limited Partner Unit

$

(0.46

)

 

$

(0.46

)

 

$

-

 

 

$

0.86

 

 

$

0.90

 

 

$

(0.04

)

 

June 30, 2019

 

Balance Sheet

As Reported

 

 

Balances without Adoption of ASC 606

 

 

Effect of

Change

Higher/(Lower)

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

$

35,610

 

 

$

31,265

 

 

$

4,345

 

      Deferred charges and other assets, net

$

17,625

 

 

$

11,536

 

 

$

6,089

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

$

145,558

 

 

$

146,483

 

 

$

(925

)

Unearned service contract revenue

$

60,560

 

 

$

59,828

 

 

$

732

 

Deferred tax liabilities, net

$

14,069

 

 

$

10,301

 

 

$

3,768

 

Partners' capital

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common unitholders

$

335,958

 

 

$

329,144

 

 

$

6,814

 

General partner

$

(1,522

)

 

$

(1,567

)

 

$

45

 

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The following disaggregates our revenue by major sources for the three and ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2018:March 31, 2019:

 

Three Months

Ended March 31,

 

 

Six Months

Ended March 31,

 

(in thousands)

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Petroleum Products:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home heating oil and propane

$

413,466

 

 

$

554,364

 

 

$

756,812

 

 

$

918,566

 

Other petroleum products

 

67,809

 

 

 

83,036

 

 

 

157,151

 

 

 

177,541

 

   Total petroleum products

 

481,275

 

 

 

637,400

 

 

 

913,963

 

 

 

1,096,107

 

Installations and Services:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equipment installations

 

20,158

 

 

 

20,384

 

 

 

50,723

 

 

 

50,367

 

Equipment maintenance service contracts

 

27,764

 

 

 

26,678

 

 

 

55,672

 

 

 

54,997

 

Billable call services

 

13,866

 

 

 

15,120

 

 

 

31,650

 

 

 

33,138

 

   Total installations and services

 

61,788

 

 

 

62,182

 

 

 

138,045

 

 

 

138,502

 

   Total Sales

$

543,063

 

 

$

699,582

 

 

$

1,052,008

 

 

$

1,234,609

 

 

 

Three Months

Ended June 30,

 

 

Nine Months

Ended June 30,

 

(in thousands)

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

Petroleum Products:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home heating oil and propane

$

115,988

 

 

$

169,605

 

 

$

1,034,554

 

 

$

1,025,855

 

Other petroleum products

 

94,669

 

 

 

86,842

 

 

 

272,210

 

 

 

220,288

 

   Total petroleum products

 

210,657

 

 

 

256,447

 

 

 

1,306,764

 

 

 

1,246,143

 

Installations and Services:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equipment installations

 

24,344

 

 

 

25,472

 

 

 

74,711

 

 

 

72,513

 

Equipment maintenance service contracts

 

32,279

 

 

 

30,184

 

 

 

87,276

 

 

 

81,085

 

Billable call services

 

16,096

 

 

 

15,251

 

 

 

49,234

 

 

 

48,478

 

   Total installations and services

 

72,719

 

 

 

70,907

 

 

 

211,221

 

 

 

202,076

 

   Total Sales

$

283,376

 

 

$

327,354

 

 

$

1,517,985

 

 

$

1,448,219

 

Performance Obligations

Petroleum product revenues consist of home heating oil and propane as well as diesel fuel and gasoline.  Revenues from petroleum products are recognized at the time of delivery to the customer when control is passed from the Company to the customer.  Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for transferring control of the petroleum products.  Approximately 94% of our full service residential and commercial home heating oil customers automatically receive deliveries based on prevailing weather conditions.  We offer several pricing alternatives to our residential home heating oil customers, including a variable price (market based) option and a price-protected option, the latter of which either sets the maximum price or a fixed price that a customer will pay.  

Equipment maintenance service contracts primarily cover heating, air conditioning, and natural gas equipment.  We generally do not sell equipment maintenance service contracts to heating oil customers that do not take delivery of product from us.  The service contract period of our equipment maintenance service contracts is generally one year or less.  Revenues from equipment maintenance service contracts are recognized into income over the terms of the respective service contracts, on a straight-line basis.  Our obligation to perform service is consistent through the duration of the contracts, and the straight-line basis of recognition is a faithful depiction of the transfer of our services.  To the extent that the Company anticipates that future costs for fulfilling its contractual obligations under its equipment service contracts will exceed the amount of deferred revenue currently attributable to these contracts, the Company recognizes a loss in current period earnings equal to the amount that anticipated future costs exceed related deferred revenues.

Revenue from billable call services (repairs, maintenance and other services including plumbing) and equipment installations (heating, air conditioning, and natural gas equipment) are recognized at the time that the work is performed.

Our standard payment terms are generally 30 days.  Sales reported for product, installations and services exclude taxes assessed by various governmental authorities.

Deferred Contract Costs

We have elected to recognize incremental costs of obtaining a contract, other than new residential product and equipment maintenance service contracts, as an expense when incurred when the amortization period of the asset that we otherwise would have recognized is one year or less.  We recognize an asset for incremental commission expenses paid to sales personnel in conjunction with obtaining new residential customer product and equipment maintenance service contracts. We defer these costs only when we have determined the commissions are, in fact, incremental and would not have been incurred absent the customer contract. Costs to obtain a contract are amortized and recorded ratably as delivery and branch expenses over the period representing the transfer of goods or services to which the assets relate.  Costs to obtain new residential product and equipment maintenance service contracts are amortized as expense over the estimated customer relationship period of approximately five years.  Deferred contract costs are classified as current or non-current within “Prepaid expenses and other current assets” and “Deferred charges and other assets, net,” respectively.  At JuneMarch 31, 2020 the amount of deferred contract costs included in “Prepaid expenses and other current assets” and “Deferred charges and other assets, net” was $3.5 million and $6.3 million, respectively.  At September 30, 2019 the amount of deferred contract costs included in “Prepaid expenses and other current assets” and “Deferred charges and other assets, net” was $3.5$3.4 million and $6.1$5.9 million, respectively.  We recognize an impairment charge toDuring the extent the carrying amount of a deferred cost exceeds the remaining amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for the petroleum products and services related to the cost, less the expected costs related directly to providing those petroleum products and services that have not yet been recognized as expenses. There have been no impairment charges recognized for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019.


Significant Judgments – AllocationMarch 31, 2020 and 2019 we recognized expense of Transaction Price to Separate Performance Obligations

Our contracts$1.9 million each period associated with customers often include distinct performance obligations to transfer productsthe amortization of deferred contract costs within “Delivery and perform equipment maintenance services to a customer that are accounted for separately.  Judgment is required to determinebranch expenses” in the stand-alone selling price for each distinct performance obligation for the purposeCondensed Consolidated Statement of allocating the transaction price to separate performance obligations.  We determine the stand-alone selling price using information that may include market conditions and other observable inputs and typically have more than one stand-alone selling price for petroleum products and equipment maintenance services due to the stratification of those products and services by geography and customer characteristics.Operations. 

 

Contract Liability Balances

The Company has contract liabilities for advanced payments received from customers for future oil deliveries (primarily amounts received from customers on “smart pay” budget payment plans in advance of oil deliveries) and obligations to service customers with equipment maintenance service contracts.  Approximately 34% of our residential customers take advantage of our “smart pay” budget payment plan under which their estimated annual oil and propane deliveries and service contract billings are paid for in a series of equal monthly installments.  Our “smart pay” budget payment plans are annual and generally begin outside of the heating season.  We generally have received advanced amounts from customers on “smart pay” budget payment plans prior to the heating season, which are reduced as oil deliveries are made.  For customers that are not on “smart pay” budget payment plans, we generally receive the full contract amount for equipment service contracts with customers at the outset of the contracts.  Contract liabilities are recognized straight-line over the service contract period, generally one-yearone year or less.  As of June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 and September 30, 20182019 the Company had contract liabilities of $94.3$97.2 million and $118.6$127.0 million, respectively.  During the ninesix months ended JuneMarch 31, 2020 the Company recognized $95.7 million of revenue that was included in the September 30, 2019 contract liability balance.During the six months ended March 31, 2019 the Company recognized $104.6$90.3 million of revenue that was included in the September 30, 2018 contract liability balance.

 

4) Common Unit Repurchase and Retirement

In July 2012, the Board adopted a plan to repurchase certain of the Company’s Common Units that was amended in fiscal 2018 (the “Repurchase Plan”).  UnderThrough the beginning of February 2020, the Company had repurchased approximately 11.8 million Common Units under the Repurchase Plan, as amended,Plan.  In February 2020, the Board authorized an increase of the repurchasenumber of 10.9 million Common Units of which, 8.4 million werethat remained available for the Company to repurchase to a total of 1.1 million, of which 1.0 million were available for repurchase in open market transactions and 2.50.1 million were available for repurchase in privately-negotiated transactions.  As ofDuring the end of the thirdsecond fiscal quarter of 2019,2020, the Company repurchased approximately 8.00.8 million Common Units in open market transactions under the Repurchase Plan and 1.2repurchased 0.4 million Common Units in privately-negotiated transactions under the Repurchase Plan.April 2020.  There is no guarantee of the exact number of units that will be purchased under the programRepurchase Plan and the Company may discontinue purchases at any time. The programRepurchase Plan does not have a time limit. The Board may also approve additional purchases of units from time to time in private transactions. The Company’s repurchase activities take into account SEC safe harbor rules and guidance for issuer repurchases. All of the Common Units purchased in the repurchase programRepurchase Plan will be retired.

12


Under the Company’s fourthfifth amended and restated credit agreement dated July 2, 2018,December 4, 2019, in order to repurchase Common Units we must maintain Availability (as defined in the fourthfifth amended and restated credit agreement) of $45 million, 15.0% of the facility size of $300 million (assuming the non-seasonal aggregate commitment is outstanding) on a historical pro forma and forward-looking basis, and a fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.15 measured as of the date of repurchase.  The Company was in compliance with this covenant as of June 30, 2019.March 31, 2020.

14


The following table shows repurchases under the Repurchase Plan.

 

(in thousands, except per unit amounts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Period

 

Total Number of

Units Purchased

 

 

Average Price

Paid per Unit (a)

 

 

Total Number of

Units Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs

 

 

Maximum Number

of Units that May

Yet Be Purchased

 

 

Fiscal year 2012 to 2018 total

 

 

7,937

 

 

$

7.11

 

 

 

5,493

 

 

 

5,359

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First quarter fiscal year 2019 total

 

 

599

 

 

$

9.57

 

 

 

599

 

 

 

4,760

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second quarter fiscal year 2019 total  (b)

 

 

2,187

 

 

$

9.44

 

 

 

2,187

 

 

 

2,573

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2019

 

 

222

 

 

$

9.67

 

 

 

222

 

 

 

2,351

 

 

May 2019

 

 

552

 

 

$

9.67

 

 

 

552

 

 

 

1,799

 

 

June 2019

 

 

111

 

 

$

9.78

 

 

 

111

 

 

 

1,688

 

 

Third quarter fiscal year 2019 total

 

 

885

 

 

$

9.68

 

 

 

885

 

 

 

1,688

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 1, 2019 through July 30, 2019

 

 

136

 

 

$

9.76

 

 

 

136

 

 

 

1,552

 

(c)

(in thousands, except per unit amounts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Period

 

Total Number of

Units Purchased

 

 

Average Price

Paid per Unit (a)

 

 

Total Number of

Units Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs

 

 

Maximum Number

of Units that May

Yet Be Purchased

 

 

Fiscal year 2012 to 2019 total

 

 

13,340

 

 

$

8.08

 

 

 

10,896

 

 

 

956

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First quarter fiscal year 2020 total

 

 

1,281

 

 

$

9.42

 

 

 

650

 

 

 

306

 

(b)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 2020

 

 

160

 

 

$

9.48

 

 

 

160

 

 

 

146

 

 

February 2020

 

 

122

 

 

$

9.15

 

 

 

122

 

 

 

1,024

 

(c)

March 2020

 

 

500

 

 

$

7.76

 

 

 

500

 

 

 

524

 

 

Second quarter fiscal year 2020 total

 

 

782

 

 

$

8.33

 

 

 

782

 

 

 

524

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2020

 

 

424

 

 

$

7.71

 

 

 

424

 

 

 

100

 

(d)

 

(a)

Amount includes repurchase costs.

(b)

SecondFirst quarter of fiscal year 2019 common units2020 Common Units repurchased include 1.20.6 million common unitsCommon Units acquired in a private transaction.

(c)

OfIn February 2020, the totalBoard authorized an increase in the number of Common Units available for repurchase approximately 0.3from 0.1 million are available for repurchase in open market transactions and 1.3to 1.1 million.

(d)

The remaining 0.1 million units under the Repurchase Plan are available for repurchase in privately-negotiated transactions.

5) Captive Insurance Collateral

The Company considers all of its captive insurance collateral to be available-for-sale investments. Investments at JuneMarch 31, 2020 consist of the following (in thousands):

 

 

Amortized Cost

 

 

Gross Unrealized Gain

 

 

Gross Unrealized (Loss)

 

 

Fair Value

 

Cash and Receivables

 

$

5,639

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

5,639

 

U.S. Government Sponsored Agencies

 

 

33,320

 

 

 

310

 

 

 

(1

)

 

 

33,629

 

Corporate Debt Securities

 

 

22,735

 

 

 

724

 

 

 

 

 

 

23,459

 

Foreign Bonds and Notes

 

 

3,010

 

 

 

39

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,049

 

Total

 

$

64,704

 

 

$

1,073

 

 

$

(1

)

 

$

65,776

 

Investments at September 30, 2019 consist of the following (in thousands):

 

 

Amortized Cost

 

 

Gross Unrealized Gain

 

 

Gross Unrealized (Loss)

 

 

Fair Value

 

 

Amortized Cost

 

 

Gross Unrealized Gain

 

 

Gross Unrealized (Loss)

 

 

Fair Value

 

Cash and Receivables

 

$

509

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

509

 

 

$

509

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

509

 

U.S. Government Sponsored Agencies

 

 

27,593

 

 

 

185

 

 

 

(4

)

 

 

27,774

 

 

 

29,055

 

 

 

198

 

 

 

(3

)

 

 

29,250

 

Corporate Debt Securities

 

 

24,904

 

 

 

536

 

 

 

 

 

 

25,440

 

 

 

23,831

 

 

 

773

 

 

 

 

 

 

24,604

 

Foreign Bonds and Notes

 

 

4,079

 

 

 

39

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,118

 

 

 

4,066

 

 

 

61

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,127

 

Total

 

$

57,085

 

 

$

760

 

 

$

(4

)

 

$

57,841

 

 

$

57,461

 

 

$

1,032

 

 

$

(3

)

 

$

58,490

 

 

Investments at September 30, 2018 consist of the following (in thousands):13

 

 

Amortized Cost

 

 

Gross Unrealized Gain

 

 

Gross Unrealized (Loss)

 

 

Fair Value

 

Cash and Receivables

 

$

350

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

350

 

U.S. Government Sponsored Agencies

 

 

10,735

 

 

 

 

 

 

(192

)

 

 

10,543

 

Corporate Debt Securities

 

 

30,427

 

 

 

 

 

 

(928

)

 

 

29,499

 

Foreign Bonds and Notes

 

 

5,111

 

 

 

 

 

 

(84

)

 

 

5,027

 

Total

 

$

46,623

 

 

$

 

 

$

(1,204

)

 

$

45,419

 


Maturities of investments were as follows at June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 (in thousands):

 

 

Net Carrying Amount

 

 

Net Carrying Amount

 

Due within one year

 

$

8,027

 

 

$

14,402

 

Due after one year through five years

 

 

35,554

 

 

 

42,552

 

Due after five years through ten years

 

 

14,260

 

 

 

8,822

 

Total

 

$

57,841

 

 

$

65,776

 


6) Derivatives and Hedging—Disclosures and Fair Value Measurements

The Company uses derivative instruments such as futures, options and swap agreements in order to mitigate exposure to market risk associated with the purchase of home heating oil for price-protected customers, physical inventory on hand, inventory in transit, priced purchase commitments and internal fuel usage. FASB ASC 815-10-05 Derivatives and Hedging, established accounting and reporting standards requiring that derivative instruments be recorded at fair value and included in the consolidated balance sheet as assets or liabilities, along with qualitative disclosures regarding the derivative activity. The Company has elected not to designate its commodity derivative instruments as hedging derivatives, but rather as economic hedges whose change in fair value is recognized in its statement of operations in the caption “(Increase) decrease in the fair value of derivative instruments.” Depending on the risk being economically hedged, realized gains and losses are recorded in cost of product, cost of installations and services, or delivery and branch expenses.

As of June 30,March 31, 2020, to hedge a substantial majority of the purchase price associated with heating oil gallons anticipated to be sold to its price-protected customers, the Company held the following derivative instruments that settle in future months to match anticipated sales: 8.9 million gallons of swap contracts, 5.3 million gallons of call options, 4.0 million gallons of put options, and 52.8 million net gallons of synthetic call options. To hedge the inter-month differentials for its price-protected customers, its physical inventory on hand and inventory in transit, the Company, as of March 31, 2020, held 32.6 million gallons of long future contracts, and 52.1 million gallons of short future contracts that settle in future months.  To hedge its internal fuel usage and other activities for fiscal 2020, the Company, as of March 31, 2020, held 7.3 million gallons of call options and swap contracts and 0.2 million gallons of short swap contracts that settle in future months.

As of March 31, 2019, to hedge a substantial majority of the purchase price associated with heating oil gallons anticipated to be sold to its price-protected customers, the Company held the following derivative instruments that settle in future months to match anticipated sales: 6.97.2 million gallons of swap contracts, 3.62.2 million gallons of call options, 3.13.4 million gallons of put options, and 58.654.9 million net gallons of synthetic call options. To hedge the inter-month differentials for its price-protected customers, its physical inventory on hand and inventory in transit, the Company, as of June 30,March 31, 2019, had 1.3 million gallons of long swap contracts, 55.4held 33.1 million gallons of long future contracts, and 71.5 million gallons of short future contracts that settle in future months.  To hedge its internal fuel usage and other activities for fiscal 2019, the Company, as of June 30, 2019, had 7.8 million gallons of swap contracts and 0.7 million gallons of short swap contracts that settle in future months.

As of June 30, 2018, to hedge a substantial majority of the purchase price associated with heating oil gallons anticipated to be sold to its price-protected customers, the Company held the following derivative instruments that settle in future months to match anticipated sales: 8.4 million gallons of swap contracts, 3.2 million gallons of call options, 3.8 million gallons of put options, and 60.4 million net gallons of synthetic call options. To hedge the inter-month differentials for its price-protected customers, its physical inventory on hand and inventory in transit, the Company, as of June 30, 2018, had 0.4 million gallons of long swap contracts, 53.6 million gallons of long future contracts, and 64.250.8 million gallons of short future contracts that settle in future months. To hedge its internal fuel usage and other related activities for fiscal 2018,2019, the Company, as of June 30, 2018, had 3.1March 31, 2019, held 1.8 million gallons of swap contracts and 0.8 million gallons of short swap contracts that settle in future months.

In August 2018,As of March 31, 2020, the Company entered intohas interest rate swap agreements in order to mitigate exposure to market risk associated with variable rate interest on $50.0$66.5 million, or 50%51%, of its long term debt.  The Company has designated its interest rate swap agreements as cash flow hedging derivatives.  To the extent these derivative instruments are effective and the accounting standard’s documentation requirements have been met, changes in fair value are recognized in other comprehensive income until the underlying hedged item is recognized in earnings.  As of June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020 the fair value of the swap contracts was $(1.8 million).$(3.3) million. As of September 30, 2018,2019, the notional value of the swap contracts was $45.0 million and the fair value of the swap contracts was $39 thousand.$(2.0) million. We utilized Level 2 inputs in the fair value hierarchy of valuation techniques to determine the fair value of the swap contracts.

The Company’s derivative instruments are with the following counterparties: Bank of America, N.A., Bank of Montreal, Cargill, Inc., Citibank, N.A., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Key Bank, N.A., Regions Financial Corporation, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. The Company assesses counterparty credit risk and considers it to be low. We maintain master netting arrangements that allow for the non-conditional offsetting of amounts receivable and payable with counterparties to help manage our risks and record derivative positions on a net basis. The Company generally does not receive cash collateral from its counterparties and does not restrict the use of cash collateral it maintains at counterparties. At June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, the aggregate cash posted as collateral in the normal course of business at counterparties was $1.8 million and recorded in “Prepaid expense and other current assets.” Positions with counterparties who are also parties to our credit agreement are collateralized under that facility. As of June 30, 2019, $3.4March 31, 2020, $18.6 million of hedge positions and payable amounts were secured under the credit facility.

FASB ASC 820-10 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, established a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which classified the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions. The Company’s Level 1 derivative assets and liabilities represent the fair value of commodity contracts

14


used in its hedging activities that are identical and traded in active markets. The Company’s Level 2 derivative assets and liabilities represent the fair value of commodity and interest rate contracts used in its hedging activities that are valued using either directly or indirectly observable inputs, whose nature, risk and class are similar. No significant transfers of assets or liabilities have been made into and out of the Level 1 or Level 2 tiers. All derivative instruments were non-trading positions and were either a Level 1 or Level 2 instrument. The Company had no Level 3 derivative instruments. The fair market value of our Level 1 and Level 2 derivative assets and liabilities are calculated by our counter-parties and are independently validated by the Company. The Company’s calculations are, for Level 1 derivative assets and liabilities, based on the published New York Mercantile Exchange (“NYMEX”) market prices for the commodity contracts open at the end of the period. For Level 2 derivative assets and liabilities the calculations performed by the

16


Company are based on a combination of the NYMEX published market prices and other inputs, including such factors as present value, volatility and duration.

The Company had no assets or liabilities that are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis subsequent to their initial recognition. The Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are listed on the following table.

 

(In thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using:

 

Derivatives Not Designated

as Hedging Instruments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quoted Prices in

Active Markets for

Identical Assets

 

 

Significant Other

Observable Inputs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quoted Prices in

Active Markets for

Identical Assets

 

 

Significant Other

Observable Inputs

 

Under FASB ASC 815-10

 

Balance Sheet Location

 

Total

 

 

Level 1

 

 

Level 2

 

 

Balance Sheet Location

 

Total

 

 

Level 1

 

 

Level 2

 

Asset Derivatives at June 30, 2019

 

Asset Derivatives at March 31, 2020

Asset Derivatives at March 31, 2020

 

Commodity contracts

 

Fair liability value of derivative

instruments

 

$

10,299

 

 

$

 

 

$

10,299

 

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

$

35,497

 

 

$

 

 

$

35,497

 

Commodity contracts

 

Long-term derivative assets included in in the deferred charges and other assets, net and other long-term liabilities, net balances

 

 

1,069

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,069

 

 

Long-term derivative liabilities included in the deferred charges and other assets, net and other long-term liabilities, net balances

 

 

1,673

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,673

 

Commodity contract assets at June 30, 2019

 

$

11,368

 

 

$

 

 

$

11,368

 

Liability Derivatives at June 30, 2019

 

Commodity contract assets at March 31, 2020

Commodity contract assets at March 31, 2020

 

$

37,170

 

 

$

 

 

$

37,170

 

Liability Derivatives at March 31, 2020

Liability Derivatives at March 31, 2020

 

Commodity contracts

 

Fair liability value of derivative

instruments

 

$

(12,717

)

 

$

 

 

$

(12,717

)

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

$

(49,514

)

 

$

 

 

$

(49,514

)

Commodity contracts

 

Long-term derivative liabilities  included in in the deferred charges and other assets, net and other long-term liabilities, net balances

 

 

(1,106

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1,106

)

 

Long-term derivative liabilities  included in the deferred charges and other assets, net and other long-term liabilities, net balances

 

 

(1,867

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1,867

)

Commodity contract liabilities at June 30, 2019

 

$

(13,823

)

 

$

 

 

$

(13,823

)

Asset Derivatives at September 30, 2018

 

Commodity contract liabilities at March 31, 2020

Commodity contract liabilities at March 31, 2020

 

$

(51,381

)

 

$

 

 

$

(51,381

)

Asset Derivatives at September 30, 2019

Asset Derivatives at September 30, 2019

 

Commodity contracts

 

Fair asset value

of derivative instruments

 

$

17,710

 

 

$

 

 

$

17,710

 

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

$

13,824

 

 

$

 

 

$

13,824

 

Commodity contracts

 

Long-term derivative assets included in the deferred charges and other assets, net balance

 

 

906

 

 

 

 

 

 

906

 

 

Long-term derivative assets included in the deferred charges and other assets, net balance and other long term liabilities, net

 

 

1,466

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,466

 

Commodity contract assets September 30, 2018

 

$

18,616

 

 

$

 

 

$

18,616

 

Liability Derivatives at September 30, 2018

 

Commodity contract assets September 30, 2019

Commodity contract assets September 30, 2019

 

$

15,290

 

 

$

 

 

$

15,290

 

Liability Derivatives at September 30, 2019

Liability Derivatives at September 30, 2019

 

Commodity contracts

 

Fair liability and fair asset value

of derivative instruments

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

$

(22,086

)

 

$

 

 

$

(22,086

)

Commodity contracts

 

Long-term derivative liabilities included in the deferred charges and other assets, net balance

 

 

(103

)

 

 

 

 

 

(103

)

 

Long-term derivative liabilities included in the deferred charges and other assets, net balance and other long term liabilities, net

 

 

(1,719

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1,719

)

Commodity contract liabilities September 30, 2018

 

$

(103

)

 

$

 

 

$

(103

)

Commodity contract liabilities September 30, 2019

Commodity contract liabilities September 30, 2019

 

$

(23,805

)

 

$

 

 

$

(23,805

)

 

1715


The Company’s derivative assets (liabilities) offset by counterparty and subject to an enforceable master netting arrangement are listed on the following table.

 

(In thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross Amounts Not Offset in the

Statement of Financial Position

 

Offsetting of Financial Assets (Liabilities)

   and Derivative Assets (Liabilities)

 

Gross

Assets

Recognized

 

 

Gross

Liabilities

Offset in the

Statement

of Financial

Position

 

 

Net Assets

(Liabilities)

Presented in the

Statement

of Financial

Position

 

 

Financial

Instruments

 

 

Cash

Collateral

Received

 

 

Net

Amount

 

Fair asset value of derivative instruments

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Long-term derivative assets included in

   deferred charges and other assets, net

 

 

112

 

 

 

(92

)

 

 

20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

 

10,299

 

 

 

(12,717

)

 

 

(2,418

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2,418

)

Long-term derivative liabilities included in

   other long-term liabilities, net

 

 

957

 

 

 

(1,014

)

 

 

(57

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(57

)

Total at June 30, 2019

 

$

11,368

 

 

$

(13,823

)

 

$

(2,455

)

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

(2,455

)

Fair asset value of derivative instruments

 

$

17,710

 

 

$

 

 

$

17,710

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

17,710

 

Long-term derivative assets included in

   other long-term assets, net

 

 

906

 

 

 

(103

)

 

 

803

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

803

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term derivative liabilities included in

   other long-term liabilities, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total at September 30, 2018

 

$

18,616

 

 

$

(103

)

 

$

18,513

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

18,513

 

(In thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross Amounts Not Offset in the

Statement of Financial Position

 

Offsetting of Financial Assets (Liabilities)

   and Derivative Assets (Liabilities)

 

Gross

Assets

Recognized

 

 

Gross

Liabilities

Offset in the

Statement

of Financial

Position

 

 

Net Assets

(Liabilities)

Presented in the

Statement

of Financial

Position

 

 

Financial

Instruments

 

 

Cash

Collateral

Received

 

 

Net

Amount

 

Long-term derivative assets included in deferred charges and other assets, net

 

$

615

 

 

$

(559

)

 

$

56

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

56

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

 

35,497

 

 

 

(49,514

)

 

 

(14,017

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(14,017

)

Long-term derivative liabilities included in other long-term liabilities, net

 

 

1,058

 

 

 

(1,308

)

 

 

(250

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(250

)

Total at March 31, 2020

 

$

37,170

 

 

$

(51,381

)

 

$

(14,211

)

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

(14,211

)

Long-term derivative assets included in other long-term assets, net

 

$

16

 

 

$

(16

)

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Fair liability value of derivative instruments

 

 

13,824

 

 

 

(22,086

)

 

 

(8,262

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(8,262

)

Long-term derivative liabilities included in other long-term liabilities, net

 

 

1,450

 

 

 

(1,703

)

 

 

(253

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(253

)

Total at September 30, 2019

 

$

15,290

 

 

$

(23,805

)

 

$

(8,515

)

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

(8,515

)

 

(In thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statement of Operations

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statement of Operations

 

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statement of Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amount of (Gain) or Loss Recognized

 

 

Amount of (Gain) or Loss Recognized

 

 

 

 

Amount of (Gain) or Loss Recognized

 

 

Amount of (Gain) or Loss Recognized

 

Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging

Instruments Under FASB ASC 815-10

 

Location of (Gain) or Loss

Recognized in Income on Derivative

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

2019

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

2018

 

 

Nine Months Ended June 30,

2019

 

 

Nine Months Ended June 30,

2018

 

 

Location of (Gain) or Loss

Recognized in Income on Derivative

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

2020

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

2019

 

 

Six Months Ended March 31,

2020

 

 

Six Months Ended March 31,

2019

 

Commodity contracts

 

Cost of product (a)

 

$

558

 

 

$

914

 

 

$

8,751

 

 

$

(8,463

)

 

Cost of product (a)

 

$

(3,700

)

 

$

14,345

 

 

$

2,349

 

 

$

8,193

 

Commodity contracts

 

Cost of installations and service (a)

 

$

79

 

 

$

(102

)

 

$

729

 

 

$

(673

)

 

Cost of installations and service (a)

 

$

233

 

 

$

403

 

 

$

224

 

 

$

650

 

Commodity contracts

 

Delivery and branch expenses (a)

 

$

75

 

 

$

(61

)

 

$

512

 

 

$

(1,335

)

 

Delivery and branch expenses (a)

 

$

626

 

 

$

271

 

 

$

597

 

 

$

437

 

Commodity contracts

 

(Increase) / decrease in the fair

value of derivative instruments (b)

 

$

1,630

 

 

$

(7,515

)

 

$

19,268

 

 

$

(7,306

)

 

(Increase) / decrease in the fair

value of derivative instruments (b)

 

$

11,670

 

 

$

(13,401

)

 

$

5,253

 

 

$

17,638

 

 

(a)

Represents realized closed positions and includes the cost of options as they expire.

(b)

Represents the change in value of unrealized open positions and expired options.

7) Inventories

The Company’s product inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realizable value computed on the weighted average cost method. All other inventories, representing parts and equipment are stated at the lower of cost and net realizable value using the FIFO method. The components of inventory were as follows (in thousands):

 

 

June 30,

2019

 

 

September 30,

2018

 

 

March 31,

2020

 

 

September 30,

2019

 

Product

 

$

34,323

 

 

$

34,618

 

 

$

31,823

 

 

$

43,536

 

Parts and equipment

 

 

23,155

 

 

 

21,759

 

 

 

21,003

 

 

 

21,252

 

Total inventory

 

$

57,478

 

 

$

56,377

 

 

$

52,826

 

 

$

64,788

 

 

1816


8) Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation is computed over the estimated useful lives of the depreciable assets using the straight-line method (in thousands):

 

 

June 30,

2019

 

 

September 30,

2018

 

 

March 31,

2020

 

 

September 30,

2019

 

Property and equipment

 

$

226,969

 

 

$

210,581

 

 

$

234,014

 

 

$

230,690

 

Less: accumulated depreciation

 

 

129,501

 

 

 

122,963

 

 

 

138,810

 

 

 

132,451

 

Property and equipment, net

 

$

97,468

 

 

$

87,618

 

 

$

95,204

 

 

$

98,239

 

 

9) Business Combinations

During the first nine months of fiscal year 2019,2020, the Company acquired two liquid product dealersthe customer list and the assets of one of its subcontractorsa heating oil dealer for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $62.8$0.5 million.The estimated working capital associated with the May 2019 acquisition is subject to a final post closing adjustment, and as of June 30, 2019 the intangibles and goodwill have been provisionally determined.  The Company will record any material adjustments to the initial estimates based on new information obtained that would have existed as of the date of the acquisition. Any adjustment that arises from information obtained that did not exist as of the date of the acquisition will be recorded in the period the adjustment arises.  The following table summarizes the preliminary fair values and purchase price allocations in aggregate of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed related to the fiscal 2019 acquisitions as of the respective acquisition dates.

(in thousands)

 

As of Acquisition Date

 

Receivables

 

$

8,008

 

Inventories

 

 

3,059

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

89

 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

13,097

 

Intangibles

 

 

25,952

 

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

 

 

(365

)

Unearned service contract revenue

 

 

(2,763

)

Customer credit balances

 

 

(3,150

)

Other long-term liabilities

 

 

(25

)

Total net identifiable assets acquired

 

$

43,902

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total consideration

 

$

62,807

 

Less: Total net identifiable assets acquired

 

 

43,902

 

Goodwill

 

$

18,905

 

The total acquisition expenses of $1.2 million related to these acquisitions are included in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations under “General and administrative expenses” for the nine months ended June 30, 2019.  All of the $18.9 million of goodwill relating to the acquisitions is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes.

The acquired companies’ operating results are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements starting on the respective acquisition dates. Customer lists, other intangibles and trade names are amortized on a straight-line basis over ten to twenty years.

Included in our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations from the respective acquisition dates through June 30, 2019, are sales and net earnings before income taxes of $7.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively.

The following table provides unaudited pro forma results of operations as if the fiscal 2019 acquisitions had occurred on October 1, 2017, the beginning of fiscal year 2018. The unaudited pro forma results were prepared using current and prior year financial information, reflecting certain adjustments related to the acquisition, such as the elimination of directly attributable acquisition expenses and changes to depreciation and amortization expenses. These pro forma adjustments do not include any potential synergies related to combining the businesses. Accordingly, such pro forma operating results were prepared for comparative purposes only and do not purport to be indicative of what would have occurred had the acquisitions been made as of October 1, 2017 or of results that may occur in the future.

19


 

Three Months

Ended June 30,

 

 

Nine Months

Ended June 30,

 

(in thousands)

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

Total sales

$

292,107

 

 

$

344,683

 

 

$

1,585,635

 

 

$

1,520,715

 

Net income (loss)

$

(23,242

)

 

$

(8,287

)

 

$

56,391

 

 

$

79,926

 

 

10) Goodwill and Intangibles, net

Goodwill

A summary of changes in the Company’s goodwill is as follows (in thousands):

Balance as of September 30, 2018

 

$

228,436

 

Fiscal year 2019 business combinations

 

 

18,905

 

Balance as of June 30, 2019

 

$

247,341

 

Intangibles, net

The gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization of intangible assets subject to amortization are as follows (in thousands):

 

 

June 30, 2019

 

 

September 30, 2018

 

 

March 31, 2020

 

 

September 30, 2019

 

 

Gross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrying

 

 

Accum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrying

 

 

Accum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrying

 

 

Accum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrying

 

 

Accum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

 

Amortization

 

 

Net

 

 

Amount

 

 

Amortization

 

 

Net

 

 

Amount

 

 

Amortization

 

 

Net

 

 

Amount

 

 

Amortization

 

 

Net

 

Customer lists

 

$

381,890

 

 

$

292,522

 

 

$

89,368

 

 

$

358,776

 

 

$

279,990

 

 

$

78,786

 

 

$

383,388

 

 

$

306,657

 

 

$

76,731

 

 

$

382,373

 

 

$

297,221

 

 

$

85,152

 

Trade names and other intangibles

 

 

35,577

 

 

 

14,623

 

 

 

20,954

 

 

 

32,739

 

 

 

13,081

 

 

 

19,658

 

 

 

37,853

 

 

 

16,339

 

 

 

21,514

 

 

 

37,739

 

 

 

15,203

 

 

 

22,536

 

Total

 

$

417,467

 

 

$

307,145

 

 

$

110,322

 

 

$

391,515

 

 

$

293,071

 

 

$

98,444

 

 

$

421,241

 

 

$

322,996

 

 

$

98,245

 

 

$

420,112

 

 

$

312,424

 

 

$

107,688

 

 

Amortization expense for intangible assets was $14.1$10.6 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, compared to $14.5$9.3 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018.March 31, 2019.

11) Long-Term Debt and Bank Facility Borrowings

The Company’s debt is as follows (in thousands):

 

June 30,

 

 

September 30,

 

 

March 31,

 

 

September 30,

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

Carrying

Amount

 

 

Fair Value (a)

 

 

Carrying

Amount

 

 

Fair Value (a)

 

 

Carrying

Amount

 

 

Fair Value (a)

 

 

Carrying

Amount

 

 

Fair Value (a)

 

Revolving Credit Facility Borrowings

 

$

70,500

 

 

$

70,500

 

 

$

1,500

 

 

$

1,500

 

 

$

24,043

 

 

$

24,043

 

 

$

61,500

 

 

$

61,500

 

Senior Secured Term Loan (b)

 

 

94,399

 

 

 

95,000

 

 

 

99,280

 

 

 

100,000

 

 

 

129,188

 

 

 

130,000

 

 

 

91,947

 

 

 

92,500

 

Total debt

 

$

164,899

 

 

$

165,500

 

 

$

100,780

 

 

$

101,500

 

 

$

153,231

 

 

$

154,043

 

 

$

153,447

 

 

$

154,000

 

Total short-term portion of debt

 

$

80,500

 

 

$

80,500

 

 

$

9,000

 

 

$

9,000

 

 

$

37,043

 

 

$

37,043

 

 

$

33,000

 

 

$

33,000

 

Total long-term portion of debt

 

$

84,399

 

 

$

85,000

 

 

$

91,780

 

 

$

92,500

 

 

$

116,188

 

 

$

117,000

 

 

$

120,447

 

 

$

121,000

 

 

(a)

The face amount of the Company’s variable rate long-term debt approximates fair value.

(b)

Carrying amounts are net of unamortized debt issuance costs of $0.6$0.8 million as of June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 and $0.7$0.6 million as of September 30, 2018.2019.

 

2017


On July 2, 2018,December 4, 2019, the Company refinanced its five-year term loan and the revolving credit facility with the execution of the fourthfifth amended and restated revolving credit facility agreement with a bank syndicate currently comprised of eleven participants, which enables the Company to borrow up to$300 million ($450 million during the heating season of December through April of each year) on a revolving credit facility for working capital purposes (subject to certain borrowing base limitations and coverage ratios), provides for a $100$130 million five-year senior secured term loan (the “Term Loan”), allows for the issuance of up to $25 million in letters of credit, and has a maturity date of July 2, 2023.December 4, 2024.

The Company can increase the revolving credit facility size by $200 million without the consent of the bank group. However, the bank group is not obligated to fund the $200 million increase. If the bank group elects not to fund the increase, the Company can add additional lenders to the group, with the consent of the Agent (as defined in the credit agreement), which shall not be unreasonably withheld. Obligations under the fourthfifth amended and restated credit facility are guaranteed by the Company and its subsidiaries and are secured by liens on substantially all of the Company’s assets, including accounts receivable, inventory, general intangibles, real property, fixtures and equipment.

All amounts outstanding under the fourthfifth amended and restated revolving credit facility become due and payable on the facility termination date of July 2, 2023.December 4, 2024. The Term Loan is repayable in quarterly payments of $2.5$3.25 million, with the first paymentof which was made on January 2, 2019,April 1, 2020, plus an annual payment equal to 25% of the annual Excess Cash Flow as defined in the credit agreement (an amount not to exceed $15$12 million annually), less certain voluntary prepayments made during the year, with final payment at maturity.

The interest rate on the fourthfifth amended and restated revolving credit facility and the Term Loan is based on a margin over LIBOR or a base rate. At June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, the effective interest rate on the Term Loan was approximately 5.9%5.5% and the effective interest rate on revolving credit facility borrowings was approximately 4.5%4.0%. At September 30, 2018,2019, the effective interest rate on the term loan and revolving credit facility borrowings was approximately 5.2%5.9% and 3.8%4.6%, respectively.

The Commitment Feecommitment fee on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility is 0.30% from December through April, and 0.20% from May through November.

The fourthfifth amended and restated credit agreement requires the Company to meet certain financial covenants, including a fixed charge coverage ratioFixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as defined in the credit agreement) of not less than 1.1 as long as the Term Loan is outstanding or revolving credit facility availability is less than 12.5% of the facility size. In addition, as long as the Term Loan is outstanding, a senior secured leverage ratio cannot be more than 3.0 as calculated as of the quarters ending June or September, and no more than 4.5 as calculated as of the quarters ending December or March.

Certain restrictions are also imposed by the credit agreement, including restrictions on the Company’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, to pay distributions to unitholders, to pay certain inter-company dividends or distributions, repurchase units, make investments, grant liens, sell assets, make acquisitions and engage in certain other activities.

At June 30, 2019, $95.0March 31, 2020, $130.0 million of the Term Loan was outstanding, $70.5$24.0 million was outstanding under the revolving credit facility, $3.4$18.6 million of hedge positions were secured under the credit agreement, and $7.0$4.4 million of letters of credit were issued and outstanding. At September 30, 2018, $100.02019, $92.5 million of the Term Loan was outstanding, $1.5$61.5 million was outstanding under the revolving credit facility, no$7.7 million of hedge positions were secured under the credit agreement, and $7.1$4.6 million of letters of credit were issued and outstanding.

At June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, availability was $147.4$210.4 million, and the Company was in compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio and the senior secured leverage ratio. At September 30, 2018,2019, availability was $189.0$126.1 million, and the Company was in compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio and the senior secured leverage ratio.

 

12) Income Taxes

 The accompanying financial statements are reported on a fiscal year, however, the Company and its corporate subsidiaries file Federal and State income tax returns on a calendar year.

2118


The current and deferred income tax expense (benefit) for the three and ninesix months ended June 30,March 31, 2020, and March 31, 2019 and 2018 are as follows:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

June 30,

 

 

June 30,

 

(in thousands)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

Income before income taxes

 

$

(33,153

)

 

$

(11,421

)

 

$

71,699

 

 

$

100,032

 

Current tax expense (benefit)

 

 

(8,184

)

 

 

(5,803

)

 

 

31,363

 

 

 

(6,564

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Deferred tax (benefit) expense

 

 

(1,871

)

 

 

2,354

 

 

 

(11,206

)

 

 

40,844

 

   Deferred tax (benefit) expense - impact of tax reform

 

 

-

 

 

 

33

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

(11,203

)

Total deferred tax (benefit) expense

 

 

(1,871

)

 

 

2,387

 

 

 

(11,206

)

 

 

29,641

 

Total tax expense (benefit)

 

$

(10,055

)

 

$

(3,416

)

 

$

20,157

 

 

$

23,077

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

Six Months Ended

 

 

 

March 31,

 

 

March 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Income before income taxes

 

$

83,108

 

 

$

101,564

 

 

$

122,645

 

 

$

104,852

 

Current income tax expense

 

 

25,814

 

 

 

37,958

 

 

 

36,260

 

 

 

39,547

 

Deferred income tax expense (benefit)

 

 

(1,114

)

 

 

(8,719

)

 

 

222

 

 

 

(9,335

)

Total income tax expense

 

$

24,700

 

 

$

29,239

 

 

$

36,482

 

 

$

30,212

 

The effective income tax rate increased from 23.1% for the nine months ended June 30, 2018 to 28.1% for the nine months ended June 30, 2019 due primarily to a provisional $11.2 million discrete tax benefit recorded as of June 30, 2018 that was not recorded as of June 30, 2019.  The discrete tax benefit resulted from the re-measurement of deferred tax liabilities as of December 31, 2017 due to the reduction of the Federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018 per the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017.  The Company’s net deferred tax liabilities will be realized at a lower statutory tax rate than when originally recorded.  Excluding the impact of the discrete tax benefit, our effective income tax rate decreased from 34.3% for the nine months ended June 30, 2018 to 28.1% for the nine months ended June 30, 2019 primarily due to the lower enacted Federal statutory tax rate.

 

At June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, we did not0t have unrecognized income tax benefits.

Our continuing practice is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters as a component of income tax expense. We file U.S. Federal income tax returns and various state and local returns. A number of years may elapse before an uncertain tax position is audited and finally resolved. For our Federal income tax returns we have four tax years subject to examination. In our major state tax jurisdictions of New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, we have four years that are subject to examination. In the state tax jurisdiction of New Jersey we have five tax years that are subject to examination. While it is often difficult to predict the final outcome or the timing of resolution of any particular uncertain tax position, based on our assessment of many factors, including past experience and interpretation of tax law, we believe that our provision for income taxes reflect the most probable outcome. This assessment relies on estimates and assumptions and may involve a series of complex judgments about future events.

13) Leases

The Company has entered into certain operating leases for office space, vehicles and other equipment with lease terms between one to twenty years, expiring between 2020 and 2039. Some of the Company’s real estate property lease agreements have options to extend the leases for up to five years.

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception.  Lease liabilities are measured at the lease commencement date in an amount equal to the present value of the minimum lease payments over the lease term.  Right-of-use (“ROU”) assets are recognized based on the amount of the lease liability adjusted for any lease payments made to the lessor at or before the commencement date, minus any lease incentives received, plus any initial direct costs incurred.  Renewal options are included in the calculation of the ROU asset and lease liability when it is determined that they are reasonably certain of exercise.

Certain of our lease arrangements contain non-lease components such as common area maintenance.  We have elected to account for the lease component and its associated non-lease components as a single lease component.  Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recognized on our balance sheet. The Company has leases that have variable payments, including lease payments where lease payment increases are based on the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index. For such leases payment at the lease commencement date is used to measure the ROU assets and operating lease liabilities. Changes in the index and other variable payments are expensed as incurred.  The interest rate used to determine the present value of the future lease payments is our incremental borrowing rate, because the interest rate implicit in our operating leases is not readily determinable. The basis for an incremental borrowing rate was our Term Loan, market-based yield curves and comparable debt securities.

19


A summary of total lease costs and other information for the three and six months ended March 31, 2020 is as follows:

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

Six Months Ended

 

 

 

March 31,

 

 

March 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2020

 

 

2020

 

Lease cost:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating lease cost

 

$

6,333

 

 

$

12,932

 

Short-term lease cost

 

 

240

 

 

 

432

 

Variable lease cost

 

 

1,129

 

 

 

2,139

 

Total lease cost

 

$

7,702

 

 

$

15,503

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other information:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Operating cash flows from operating leases

 

$

6,244

 

 

$

12,625

 

Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new operating lease liabilities

 

$

5,426

 

 

$

9,436

 

As of March 31, 2020, our operating leases had a weighted average remaining lease term of 7.4 years and a weighted average discount rate of 4.9%. Maturities of operating lease liabilities as of March 31, 2020 are as follows:

 

 

March 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2020

 

      Remaining six months of fiscal year 2020

 

$

12,589

 

2021

 

 

22,733

 

2022

 

 

18,669

 

2023

 

 

15,347

 

2024

 

 

13,194

 

Thereafter

 

 

49,172

 

Total undiscounted lease payments

 

 

131,704

 

Less imputed interest

 

 

(22,764

)

Total lease liabilities

 

$

108,940

 

Maturities of operating lease liabilities presented undiscounted under ASC Topic 840 as prescribed by ASC Topic 842 as of September 30, 2019 are as follows:

 

 

September 30,

 

(in thousands)

 

2019

 

      2020

 

$

24,082

 

2021

 

 

20,875

 

2022

 

 

16,687

 

2023

 

 

13,344

 

2023

 

 

11,114

 

Thereafter

 

 

43,506

 

Total future minimum lease payments

 

$

129,608

 

14) Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

Six Months Ended

 

Cash paid during the period for:

 

June 30,

 

 

March 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Income taxes, net

 

$

3,046

 

 

$

889

 

 

$

9,992

 

 

$

3,748

 

Interest

 

$

9,709

 

 

$

6,958

 

 

$

6,543

 

 

$

5,770

 

 

14)20


15) Commitments and Contingencies

 

On April 18, 2017, a civil action was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, entitled M. Norman Donnenfeld v. Petro, Inc., Civil Action Number 2:17-cv-2310-JFB-SIL, against Petro, Inc. By amended complaint filed on August 15, 2017, the Plaintiff alleged he did not receive expected contractual benefits under his protected price plan contract when oil prices fell and assertsasserted various claims for relief including breach of contract, violation of the New York General Business Law and fraudulent inducement. The Plaintiff also seekssought to have a class certified of similarly situated Petro customers who entered into protected price plan contracts and were denied the same contractual benefits.  No class has yet been certified in this action. The Plaintiff seekssought compensatory, punitive and other damages in unspecified amounts.  On September 15, 2017, Petro filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint as time-barred and for failure to state a cause of action.  On September 12, 2018, the district court granted in part and denied in part Petro's motion to dismiss.  The district court dismissed the Plaintiff's claims for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and fraudulent inducement, but declined to dismiss the Plaintiff's remaining claims.  The district court granted the Plaintiff leave to amend to attempt to replead his fraudulent inducement claim.  On October 10, 2018, the Plaintiff filed a second amended complaint.  The second amended complaint attempted to replead a fraudulent inducement claim and

22


is was otherwise substantially similar or identical to the prior complaint.  On November 13, 2018, Petro moved to dismiss the fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment claims in the second amended complaint.  On January 31, 2019, the court granted the motion and dismissed the fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment claims with prejudice.  On February 22, 2019, counsel for Petro and the Plaintiff participated in a mediation which, after arms-length negotiations, resulted in a memorandum of understanding to settle the litigation, subject to the completion of confirmatory discovery, negotiation of a final settlement agreement and court approval.  In an order dated March 27, 2019, the district court stayed all discovery deadlines in light of the pending settlement.  On May 6,October 4, 2019, upon consent of all parties, Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf assigned the Plaintiff filed an Unopposed Motionaction to Magistrate Judge Steve I. Locke for Preliminary Approvalfinal disposition.  On March 26, 2020, the court granted final approval of Class Action Settlement which remains pending before the court.class action settlement, certified the class for settlement purposes only and dismissed the action with prejudice.  On March 26, 2020, the court also granted Plaintiff’s unopposed motion for fees, expenses and named plaintiff service award.  The anticipated settlement is not an admission of liability or breach to any customers by Petro and the Company continues to believe the allegations lack merit.  If the settlement is not approved or finalizedcompleted for any reason, the Company will continue to vigorously defend the action; in that case, we cannot assess the potential outcome or materiality of this matter.

The Company’s operations are subject to the operating hazards and risks normally incidental to handling, storing and transporting and otherwise providing for use by consumers hazardous liquids such as home heating oil and propane. In the ordinary course of business, the Company is a defendant in various legal proceedings and litigation. The Company records a liability when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount is reasonably estimable. We do not believe these matters, when considered individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or liquidity.

The Company maintains insurance policies with insurers in amounts and with coverages and deductibles we believe are reasonable and prudent. However, the Company cannot assure that this insurance will be adequate to protect it from all material expenses related to current and potential future claims, legal proceedings and litigation, including the above mentioned action, as certain types of claims may be excluded from our insurance coverage. If we incur substantial liability and the damages are not covered by insurance, or are in excess of policy limits, or if we incur liability at a time when we are not able to obtain liability insurance, then our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

15)16) Earnings Per Limited Partner Unit

Income per limited partner unit is computed in accordance with FASB ASC 260-10-05 Earnings Per Share, Master Limited Partnerships (EITF 03-06), by dividing the limited partners’ interest in net income by the weighted average number of limited partner units outstanding. The pro forma nature of the allocation required by this standard provides that in any accounting period where the Company’s aggregate net income exceeds its aggregate distribution for such period, the Company is required to present net income per limited partner unit as if all of the earnings for the periods were distributed, regardless of whether those earnings would actually be distributed during a particular period from an economic or practical perspective. This allocation does not impact the Company’s overall net income or other financial results. However, for periods in which the Company’s aggregate net income exceeds its aggregate distributions for such period, it will have the impact of reducing the earnings per limited partner unit, as the calculation according to this standard result in a theoretical increased allocation of undistributed earnings to the general partner.General Partner. In accounting periods where aggregate net income does not exceed aggregate distributions for such period, this standard does not have any impact on the Company’s net income per limited partner unit calculation. A separate and independent calculation for each quarter and year-to-date period is performed, in which the Company’s contractual participation rights are taken into account.

2321


The following presents the net income allocation and per unit data using this method for the periods presented:

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

Six Months Ended

 

Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Limited Partner:

 

June 30,

 

 

June 30,

 

 

March 31,

 

 

March 31,

 

(in thousands, except per unit data)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

(23,098

)

 

$

(8,005

)

 

$

51,542

 

 

$

76,955

 

Less General Partner’s interest in net income (loss)

 

 

(150

)

 

 

(49

)

 

 

319

 

 

 

445

 

Net income (loss) available to limited partners

 

 

(22,948

)

 

 

(7,956

)

 

 

51,223

 

 

 

76,510

 

Net income

 

$

58,408

 

 

$

72,325

 

 

$

86,163

 

 

$

74,640

 

Less General Partner’s interest in net income

 

 

409

 

 

 

454

 

 

 

601

 

 

 

469

 

Net income available to limited partners

 

 

57,999

 

 

 

71,871

 

 

 

85,562

 

 

 

74,171

 

Less dilutive impact of theoretical distribution of earnings

under FASB ASC 260-10-45-60

 

 

-

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

6,740

 

 

 

11,610

 

 

 

10,283

 

 

 

12,934

 

 

 

14,631

 

 

 

12,294

 

Limited Partner’s interest in net income (loss) under FASB ASC 260-10-45-60

 

$

(22,948

)

 

$

(7,956

)

 

$

44,483

 

 

$

64,900

 

Limited Partner’s interest in net income under FASB ASC 260-10-45-60

 

$

47,716

 

 

$

58,937

 

 

$

70,931

 

 

$

61,877

 

Per unit data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net income (loss) available to limited partners

 

$

(0.46

)

 

$

(0.15

)

 

$

1.00

 

 

$

1.39

 

Basic and diluted net income available to limited partners

 

$

1.25

 

 

$

1.40

 

 

$

1.83

 

 

$

1.42

 

Less dilutive impact of theoretical distribution of earnings

under FASB ASC 260-10-45-60

 

 

-

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

0.14

 

 

$

0.21

 

 

 

0.22

 

 

 

0.25

 

 

 

0.31

 

 

$

0.23

 

Limited Partner’s interest in net income (loss) under FASB ASC

260-10-45-60

 

$

(0.46

)

 

$

(0.15

)

 

$

0.86

 

 

$

1.18

 

Limited Partner’s interest in net income under FASB ASC

260-10-45-60

 

$

1.03

 

 

$

1.15

 

 

$

1.52

 

 

$

1.19

 

Weighted average number of Limited Partner units outstanding

 

 

49,943

 

 

 

53,938

 

 

 

51,431

 

 

 

55,157

 

 

 

46,244

 

 

 

51,427

 

 

 

46,760

 

 

 

52,174

 

 

16)17) Subsequent Events

Quarterly Distribution Declared

In July 2019,April 2020, we declared a quarterly distribution of $0.125$0.1325 per unit, or $0.50$0.53 per unit on an annualized basis, on all Common Units with respect to the thirdsecond quarter of fiscal 2019,2020, payable on August 6, 2019,May 12, 2020, to holders of record on July 29, 2019.May 4, 2020. The amount of distributions in excess of the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.0675 are distributed in accordance with our Partnership Agreement, subject to the management incentive compensation plan. As a result, $6.2$6.0 million will be paid to the Common Unit holders, $0.2 million to the General Partner unit holders (including $0.2 million of incentive distribution as provided in our Partnership Agreement) and $0.2 million to management pursuant to the management incentive compensation plan which provides for certain members of management to receive incentive distributions that would otherwise be payable to the General Partner.

Common Units Repurchased and Retired

In April 2020, in accordance with the Repurchase Plan, from July 1, 2019 to July 30, 2019 the Company repurchased and retired 0.10.4 million Common Units at an average price paid of $9.767.71 per unit.

24Impact of COVID-19

We have seen a reduction in certain sales activity in the month of April 2020 when compared to that in April 2019, primarily due to the decrease in economic activity and travel resulting from the current pandemic of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

The volume of Motor Fuel and Other Petroleum Products for April 2020 (which is primarily motor fuels used for both on and off road purposes) is down approximately 35% compared to the volume sold in April 2019.  Service revenues are down approximately 10% in April 2020 when compared to April 2019, as in some locations the company has restricted its service to only emergency services, or customers are electing to defer non-emergency services until a later date.  Installation revenues are also down approximately 40% in April 2020 when compared to April 2019 as, again, many customers are deferring non-emergency installations.

The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our operational and financial performance will depend on certain developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak, its impact on our customers and suppliers and the range of governmental and community reactions to the pandemic, which are uncertain and cannot be fully predicted at this time.

22


ITEM 2.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Disclosure

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “Report”) includes “forward-looking statements” which represent our expectations or beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties, including those associated with the severity and duration of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, the pandemic’s impact on the U.S. and global economies, the timing, scope and effectiveness of federal, state and local governmental responses to the pandemic, the effect of weather conditions on our financial performance, the price and supply of the products that we sell, the consumption patterns of our customers, our ability to obtain satisfactory gross profit margins, our ability to obtain new customers and retain existing customers, our ability to make strategic acquisitions, the impact of litigation, our ability to contract for our current and future supply needs, natural gas conversions, future union relations and the outcome of current and future union negotiations, the impact of current and future governmental regulations, including climate change, environmental, health, and safety regulations, the ability to attract and retain employees, customer credit worthiness, counterparty credit worthiness, marketing plans, potential cyber-attacks, general economic conditions and new technology. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this Report including, without limitation, the statements under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere herein, are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “seek,” “estimate,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those set forth in this Report under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Business Strategy.“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and in our Fiscal 2019 Form 10-K under Part I Item 1A “Risk Factors.”  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations (“Cautionary Statements”) are disclosed in this Report.Report and in our Fiscal 2019 Form 10-K. Currently, one of the most significant factors, however, is the potential adverse effect of the current pandemic of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, on the financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and performance of the Company and its customers and counterparties and the global economy and financial markets. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts us and our customers will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the scope, severity and duration of the pandemic, the actions taken to contain the pandemic or mitigate its impact, and the direct and indirect economic effects of the pandemic and containment measures, among others. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Starthe Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statements. Unless otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this Report.

Impact of COVID 19 - A Global Pandemic on our Operations and Outlook

In December 2019, there was an outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”). On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak of COVID-19 as a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures. The United States has declared a national emergency concerning the outbreak, which has adversely impacted global activity and contributed to significant declines and volatility in financial markets. There have been extraordinary and wide-ranging actions taken by international, federal, state and local public health and governmental authorities to contain and combat the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 in regions across the United States and the world, including quarantines, and “stay-at-home” orders and similar mandates for many individuals to substantially restrict daily activities and for many businesses to curtail or cease normal operations. Our business is concentrated in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic sections of the United States. These areas have been significantly impacted by the virus.

To date we have been designated by state and local governmental officials in the markets we serve as providing essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are closely monitoring all official pronouncements and executive orders concerning our status as an essential business.  To date, we have not experienced any significant supply chain issues impacting our ability to deliver products and provide services to our customers.  We believe the various initiatives we have implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as certain staff working remotely, have not significantly impacted our ability to serve our customers.  We are still making fuel deliveries and providing emergency services to all areas in which we operate.  The 2019-2020 peak heating season coincides with our first and second fiscal quarters, which historically represent approximately 80% of our annual volume of home heating oil and propane sold. 

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in order to protect the safety and health of our workforce and our customers, we have expanded certain employee benefit programs and will incur additional operating costs such as sanitizing our facilities and providing IT infrastructure to allow many office, clerical, sales and customer service employees to work from home. At this time, we cannot estimate the cost of these undertakings. In certain areas, we have ceased making non-emergency service calls that would have been performed in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. These service calls may be deferred to subsequent periods and may increase our future service costs.  In addition, we believe that some of our customers are deferring non-emergency services, including the installation of new equipment, which has caused a significant decline in April 2020 in equipment installation sales and reactive service

23


calls and may continue to reduce future service and installation income.  We are experiencing a significant decline in motor fuel sales due to a significant reduction in economic activity and travel in the states in which we operate.  During fiscal 2019 Motor Fuel and Other Petroleum Products represented 32.6% of our Total Product Volume, 25.0% of our Total Product Sales and 9.1%, of our Total Product Gross Profit, and historically we sell more volumes of motor fuels than heating oil and propane in the second half of the fiscal year.  Accordingly, our financial results may suffer accordingly if these trends continue.

As of March 31, 2020, we had accounts receivable of $187.1 million, of which $149.4 million is due from residential customers and $37.7 million is due from commercial customers. Our ability to borrow from our bank group is based in part on the aging of these accounts receivable. If such past due balances that do not meet the eligibility tests as found in our fifth amended and restated credit agreement increase from historic levels, our future ability to borrow would be reduced.

The Company intends to take advantage of certain tax and legislative actions which will permit the Company to defer its April 2020 Federal income tax payment to July 2020 and to defer certain payroll tax withholdings relating to calendar 2020 to calendar 2021 and 2022.  We are also looking into loans available under various Federal stimulus packages, but at the present time our eligibility and need for such loans is uncertain.

We believe COVID-19’s impact on our business, operating results, cash flows (including the collection of accounts receivable) and/or financial condition primarily will be driven by the severity and duration of the pandemic, the pandemic’s impact on the U.S. and global economies, the price of petroleum products, and the timing, scope and effectiveness of federal, state and local governmental responses to the pandemic. Those primary drivers are beyond our knowledge and control and, as a result, at this time we cannot reasonably estimate the adverse impact COVID-19 will have on our business, operating results, cash flows and/or financial condition going forward.

Impact on Liquidity of Increases and Decreases in Wholesale Product Cost

Our liquidity is adversely impacted in times of increasing wholesale product costs, as we must use more cash to fund our hedging requirements as well as the increased levels of accounts receivable and inventory. This may result in higher interest expense as a result of increased working capital borrowing to finance higher receivables and/or inventory balances. We may also incur higher bad debt expense and credit card processing costs as a result of higher selling prices as well as higher vehicle fuel costs due to the increase in energy costs.  OurIn addition, our liquidity can also be adversely impacted by sudden and sharp decreases in wholesale product costs, due to the increased margin requirements for futures contracts and collateral requirements for options and swaps that we use to manage market risks.

Home Heating OilLiquid Product Price Volatility

Volatility, which is reflected in the wholesale price of liquid products, including home heating oil, propane and motor fuels, has a larger impact on our business when prices rise, as consumerrise. Consumers are price sensitivitysensitive to heating costscost increases, often leadingwhich can lead to increased gross customer losses. As a commodity, the price of home heating oil is generally impacted by many factors, including economic and geopolitical forces. The price of home heating oilforces, and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, and is closely linked to the price refiners pay for crude oil, which is the principal cost component of home heating oil.diesel fuel. The volatility in the wholesale cost of home heating oil,diesel fuel as measured by the New York Mercantile Exchange (“NYMEX”), for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2015,2016, through 2019,2020, on a quarterly basis, is illustrated in the following chart (price per gallon):

 

 

Fiscal 2019

 

 

Fiscal 2018

 

 

Fiscal 2017

 

 

Fiscal 2016

 

 

Fiscal 2015

 

 

Fiscal 2020 (a)

 

 

Fiscal 2019

 

 

Fiscal 2018

 

 

Fiscal 2017

 

 

Fiscal 2016

 

Quarter Ended

 

Low

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

 

High

 

December 31

 

$

1.66

 

 

$

2.44

 

 

$

1.74

 

 

$

2.08

 

 

$

1.39

 

 

$

1.70

 

 

$

1.08

 

 

$

1.61

 

 

$

1.85

 

 

$

2.66

 

 

$

1.86

 

 

$

2.05

 

 

$

1.66

 

 

$

2.44

 

 

$

1.74

 

 

$

2.08

 

 

$

1.39

 

 

$

1.70

 

 

$

1.08

 

 

$

1.61

 

March 31

 

 

1.70

 

 

 

2.04

 

 

 

1.84

 

 

 

2.14

 

 

 

1.49

 

 

 

1.70

 

 

 

0.87

 

 

 

1.26

 

 

 

1.62

 

 

 

2.30

 

 

 

0.95

 

 

 

2.06

 

 

 

1.70

 

 

 

2.04

 

 

 

1.84

 

 

 

2.14

 

 

 

1.49

 

 

 

1.70

 

 

 

0.87

 

 

 

1.26

 

June 30

 

 

1.78

 

 

 

2.12

 

 

 

1.96

 

 

 

2.29

 

 

 

1.37

 

 

 

1.65

 

 

 

1.08

 

 

 

1.57

 

 

 

1.68

 

 

 

2.02

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.78

 

 

 

2.12

 

 

 

1.96

 

 

 

2.29

 

 

 

1.37

 

 

 

1.65

 

 

 

1.08

 

 

 

1.57

 

September 30 (a)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.05

 

 

 

2.35

 

 

 

1.45

 

 

 

1.86

 

 

 

1.26

 

 

 

1.53

 

 

 

1.38

 

 

 

1.84

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.75

 

 

 

2.08

 

 

 

2.05

 

 

 

2.35

 

 

 

1.45

 

 

 

1.86

 

 

 

1.26

 

 

 

1.53

 

 

(a)

On JulyApril 30, 2019,2020, the wholesale cost of home heating oilNYMEX ultra low sulfur diesel contract closed at $1.940.73 per gallon or $1.00 per gallon lower than the average of $1.73 in the first half of Fiscal 2020.

Income Taxes

New Federal Income Tax LegislationExecution of Fifth Amended and Restated Revolving Asset-based Credit Agreement

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Reform Act”) was enacted into law.  The Tax Reform Act contains several key tax provisions that impact4, 2019, the Company includingrefinanced its credit facility and entered into the reductionfifth amended and restated revolving credit facility agreement with a bank syndicate of eleven participants, which enables the corporate Federal income tax rateCompany to 21% from 35% effective January 1, 2018. In addition, between September 28, 2017borrow up to $300 million ($450 million during the heating season of December through April of each year) on a revolving line of credit for working capital purposes (subject to certain borrowing base limitations and December 31, 2022, the Tax Reform Actcoverage ratios), provides for a $130 million five-year senior secured term loan, allows for the full depreciation,issuance of up to $25 million in letters of credit, and extends the year acquired, for certain fixed assets purchased in that year (also knownmaturity date of the previous agreement to December 4, 2024. Proceeds from the new term loan were used to repay the $90.0 million outstanding balance of the term loan and $40.0 million of the revolving credit facility borrowings under the old credit facility.  Availability as 100% bonus depreciation).a result of the new credit agreement increased $40.0 million.

2524


DuringConsistent with the nine months ended June 30, 2018,fourth amended and restated revolving credit facility, under the Company recorded an $11.2Company’s fifth amended and restated credit agreement, in order to repurchase Common Units we must maintain availability of $45 million, discrete income tax benefit forequivalent to 15.0% of the re-measurementfacility size of deferred tax assets$300 million (assuming the non-seasonal aggregate commitment is outstanding) on a historical pro forma and liabilities due toforward-looking basis, and a fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.15 measured as of the change in the Federal corporate income tax rate on which the deferred taxes are based.  Excluding the $11.2 million benefit recorded to income tax expense, our combined Federal, state, and local effective income tax rate was reduced to 28.1% for the nine months ended June 30, 2019 from 34.3% at June 30, 2018.  date of repurchase.

Income Taxes

Book versus Tax Deductions

The amount of cash flow that we generategenerated in any given year depends upon a variety of factors including the amount of cash income taxes that we are required, to pay, which will increase as tax depreciation and amortization decreases. The amount of depreciation and amortization that we deduct for book (i.e., financial reporting) purposes will differ from the amount that the Company can deduct for Federal tax purposes. The table below compares the estimated depreciation and amortization for book purposes to the amount that we expect to deduct for Federal tax purposes, based on currently owned assets. While we file our tax returns based on a calendar year, the amounts below are based on our September 30 fiscal year, and the tax amounts include any 100% bonus depreciation available for fixed assets purchased.  However, this table does not include any forecast of future annual capital purchases. 

Estimated Depreciation and Amortization Expense

 

(In thousands) Fiscal Year

 

Book

 

Tax

 

 

Book

 

Tax

 

2019

 

$

33,674

 

$

39,636

 

2020

 

 

32,839

 

25,930

 

 

$

32,045

 

$

28,628

 

2021

 

 

27,778

 

21,145

 

 

 

26,651

 

21,644

 

2022

 

 

23,167

 

19,441

 

 

 

23,064

 

19,598

 

2023

 

 

20,182

 

17,651

 

 

 

19,778

 

17,812

 

2024

 

 

16,021

 

16,616

 

 

 

15,944

 

16,771

 

2025

 

 

13,047

 

16,279

 

Weather Hedge Contracts

Weather conditions have a significant impact on the demand for home heating oil and propane because certain customers depend on these products principally for space heating purposes. Actual weather conditions may vary substantially from year to year, significantly affecting ourthe Company’s financial performance. To partially mitigate the adverse effect of warm weather on cash flow, we have used weather hedging contracts for a number of years with several providers.

Under these contracts, we are entitled to a payment if the total number of degree days within the hedge period is less than the ten yearten-year average. The “Payment Thresholds,” or strikes, are set at various levels. Conversely, we are obligated to make a payment capped at $5.0 million if degree days exceed the ten yearten-year average. The hedge period runs from November 1 through March 31, taken as a whole, for each respective fiscal year. For fiscalthe six months ended March 31, 2020 we recorded a $10.1 million benefit and for the six months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, we recorded a charge of $2.1 million and $1.9 million, respectively, for amounts paid under our weather hedge contracts, reflecting colder weather than the ten year average. For fiscal 2020 and 2021 the maximum that the Company can receive annually is $12.5 million and the maximum that the Company would be obligated to pay annually is $5.0 million.

Per Gallon Gross Profit Margins

We believe home heating oil and propane margins should be evaluated on a cents per gallon basis (before the effects of increases or decreases in the fair value of derivative instruments), as we believe that realizedsuch per gallon margins should not includeare best at showing profit trends in the underlying business, without the impact of non-cash changes in the market value of hedges before the settlement of the underlying transaction.

A significant portion of our home heating oil volume is sold to individual customers under an arrangement pre-establishing a ceiling price or fixed price for home heating oil over a fixedset period of time, generally twelve to twenty-four months (“price-protected” customers). When these price-protected customers agree to purchase home heating oil from us for the next heating season, we purchase option contracts, swaps and futures contracts for a substantial majority of the heating oil that we expect to sell to these customers. The amount of home heating oil volume that we hedge per price-protected customer is based upon the estimated fuel consumption per average customer per month. In the event that the actual usage exceeds the amount of the hedged volume on a monthly basis, we may be required to obtain additional volume at unfavorable costs. In addition, should actual usage in any month be less than the hedged volume, our hedging costs and losses could be greater, thus reducing expected margins.

 

Derivatives

FASB ASC 815-10-05 Derivatives and Hedging requires that derivative instruments be recorded at fair value and included in the consolidated balance sheet as assets or liabilities. To the extent our interest rate derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges are effective, as defined under this guidance, changes in fair value are recognized in other comprehensive income until the forecasted hedged item is recognized in earnings. We have elected not to designate our commodity derivative instruments as hedging instruments

26


under this guidance and, as a result, the changes in fair value of the derivative instruments are recognized in our statement

25


of operations. Therefore, we experience volatility in earnings as outstanding derivative instruments are marked to market and non-cash gains and losses are recorded prior to the sale of the commodity to the customer. The volatility in any given period related to unrealized non-cash gains or losses on derivative instruments can be significant to our overall results. However, we ultimately expect those gains and losses to be offset by the cost of product when purchased.

Revenue Recognition

Effective October 1, 2018 we adopted the requirements of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (“ASU No. 2014-09”).  In accordance with the new revenue standard requirements, our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and the balance sheet were impacted due to a portion of our sales being accounted for as service revenue that were previously accounted for as product revenue, a decrease in revenue as a result of the deferment of certain customer credits that were previously accounted for as delivery and branch expenses and expensed as incurred, and a decrease in delivery and branch expenses for the deferment of commissions provided to Company employees that were previously expensed as incurred.  Refer to Note 3- Revenue Recognition to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the impact of the adoption of the revenue recognition accounting standard on our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and balance sheet, as of and for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2019.

Customer Attrition

We measure net customer attrition on an ongoing basis for our full service residential and commercial home heating oil and propane customers. Net customer attrition is the difference between gross customer losses and customers added through marketing efforts. Customers added through acquisitions are not included in the calculation of gross customer gains. However, additional customers that are obtained through marketing efforts or lost at newly acquired businesses are included in these calculations. Customer attrition percentage calculations include customers added through acquisitions in the denominators of the calculations on a weighted average basis. Gross customer losses are the result of a number of factors, including price competition, move-outs, credit losses, conversions to natural gas and service disruptions. When a customer moves out of an existing home, we count the “move out” as a loss, and if we are successful in signing up the new homeowner, the “move in” is treated as a gain.  The economic impact of COVID-19 could increase future attrition due to higher losses from credit related issues.

Customer gains and losses of home heating oil and propane customers

 

 

Fiscal Year Ended

 

 

Fiscal Year Ended

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

First Quarter

 

 

26,200

 

 

 

25,400

 

 

 

800

 

 

 

24,700

 

 

 

19,900

 

 

 

4,800

 

 

 

24,300

 

 

 

19,100

 

 

 

5,200

 

 

 

23,900

 

 

 

23,100

 

 

 

800

 

 

 

26,200

 

 

 

25,400

 

 

 

800

 

 

 

24,700

 

 

 

19,900

 

 

 

4,800

 

Second Quarter

 

 

12,600

 

 

 

22,300

 

 

 

(9,700

)

 

 

14,100

 

 

 

18,900

 

 

 

(4,800

)

 

 

13,200

 

 

 

16,400

 

 

 

(3,200

)

 

 

12,600

 

 

 

18,200

 

 

 

(5,600

)

 

 

12,600

 

 

 

22,300

 

 

 

(9,700

)

 

 

14,100

 

 

 

18,900

 

 

 

(4,800

)

Third Quarter

 

 

7,100

 

 

 

15,900

 

 

 

(8,800

)

 

 

7,900

 

 

 

16,200

 

 

 

(8,300

)

 

 

8,000

 

 

 

12,700

 

 

 

(4,700

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7,100

 

 

 

15,900

 

 

 

(8,800

)

 

 

7,900

 

 

 

16,200

 

 

 

(8,300

)

Fourth Quarter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13,100

 

 

 

19,400

 

 

 

(6,300

)

 

 

12,400

 

 

 

16,500

 

 

 

(4,100

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13,200

 

 

 

20,600

 

 

 

(7,400

)

 

 

13,100

 

 

 

19,400

 

 

 

(6,300

)

Total

 

 

45,900

 

 

 

63,600

 

 

 

(17,700

)

 

 

59,800

 

 

 

74,400

 

 

 

(14,600

)

 

 

57,900

 

 

 

64,700

 

 

 

(6,800

)

 

 

36,500

 

 

 

41,300

 

 

 

(4,800

)

 

 

59,100

 

 

 

84,200

 

 

 

(25,100

)

 

 

59,800

 

 

 

74,400

 

 

 

(14,600

)

 

Customer gains (attrition) as a percentage of home heating oil and propane customer base

 

 

Fiscal Year Ended

 

 

Fiscal Year Ended

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gross Customer

 

 

Gains /

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

 

Gains

 

 

Losses

 

 

(Attrition)

 

First Quarter

 

 

5.8

%

 

 

5.6

%

 

 

0.2

%

 

 

5.4

%

 

 

4.3

%

 

 

1.1

%

 

 

5.6

%

 

 

4.4

%

 

 

1.2

%

 

 

5.3

%

 

 

5.1

%

 

 

0.2

%

 

 

5.8

%

 

 

5.6

%

 

 

0.2

%

 

 

5.4

%

 

 

4.3

%

 

 

1.1

%

Second Quarter

 

 

2.8

%

 

 

5.0

%

 

 

(2.2

%)

 

 

3.0

%

 

 

4.1

%

 

 

(1.1

%)

 

 

3.0

%

 

 

3.7

%

 

 

(0.7

%)

 

 

2.8

%

 

 

4.0

%

 

 

(1.2

%)

 

 

2.8

%

 

 

5.0

%

 

 

(2.2

%)

 

 

3.0

%

 

 

4.1

%

 

 

(1.1

%)

Third Quarter

 

 

1.6

%

 

 

3.5

%

 

 

(1.9

%)

 

 

1.7

%

 

 

3.5

%

 

 

(1.8

%)

 

 

1.8

%

 

 

2.9

%

 

 

(1.1

%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.6

%

 

 

3.5

%

 

 

(1.9

%)

 

 

1.7

%

 

 

3.5

%

 

 

(1.8

%)

Fourth Quarter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.9

%

 

 

4.3

%

 

 

(1.4

%)

 

 

2.7

%

 

 

3.6

%

 

 

(0.9

%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.7

%

 

 

4.2

%

 

 

(1.5

%)

 

 

2.9

%

 

 

4.3

%

 

 

(1.4

%)

Total

 

 

10.2

%

 

 

14.1

%

 

 

(3.9

%)

 

 

13.0

%

 

 

16.2

%

 

 

(3.2

%)

 

 

13.1

%

 

 

14.6

%

 

 

(1.5

%)

 

 

8.1

%

 

 

9.1

%

 

 

(1.0

%)

 

 

12.9

%

 

 

18.3

%

 

 

(5.4

%)

 

 

13.0

%

 

 

16.2

%

 

 

(3.2

%)

 

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, the Company lost 17,7004,800 accounts (net), or 3.9%,1.0% of ourits home heating oil and propane customer base, compared to 8,3008,900 accounts lost (net), or 1.8%,2.0% of ourits home heating oil and propane customer base, during the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018. Our grossMarch 31, 2019. Gross customer gains were 8002,300 less than the prior year’s comparable period, but ourand gross customer losses were 8,6006,400 accounts higher. Gross customer losses exceeded the prior year primarily due to our decision not to renew certain low margin accounts, credit issues, and the price of home heating oil and propane.

27


For the nine months ended June 30, 2018, the Company lost 8,300 accounts (net), or 1.8% of our home heating oil and propane customer base, compared to 2,700 accounts lost net, or 0.6%, of our home heating oil and propane customer base, during the nine months ended June 30, 2017. Our net customer attrition was 5,600 accounts worse as our gross customer gains were 1,200 accounts higher than the prior year’s comparable period and our gross customer losses were 6,800 accounts higher.  Gross customer losses exceeded the prior year primarily as a result of an increase in customer losses due to the price of home heating oil and propane, credit issues, and service disruptions. The wholesale cost of home heating oil and propane increased by 20.4% per gallon year-over-year, putting additional price pressure on retaining our customer base and attracting new customers. Higher prices also drove up customer account balances resulting in higher credit-related losses. In addition, the extremely cold temperatures and hazardous road conditions, due to winter storms at the end of December 2017 and early January 2018, stressed our ability to service our customers at times, resulting in higher delivery and service losses. The majority of the increase in gross customer losses occurred during the third quarter of fiscal 2018, after the heating season when it is easier for a customer to leave us.less.

During the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, we estimate that we lost 1.1%0.7% of our home heating oil and propane accounts to natural gas conversions versus 1.0%0.8% for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019 and 0.9% for the nine0.6% six months ended June 30, 2017.March 31, 2018.  Losses to natural gas in our footprint for the heating oil and propane industry could be greater or less than the Company’s estimates. Conversions to natural gas may continue as it remains less expensive than home heating oil on an equivalent BTU basis.

Acquisitions

The timing of acquisitions and the types of products sold by the acquired companies will impact year-over-year comparisons.  During the six months ended March 31, 2020, the Company acquired a heating oil dealer.  During fiscal 2019 the Company acquired two liquid product dealers, and in January 2019 we purchased the assets of one of our subcontractors.  The subcontractor acquisition had revenues of approximately $11 million for the 12 month period prior to date of acquisition and Star accounted for approximately 60% of its revenue (any such revenue will be eliminated in consolidation, but the Company will benefit from lower costs related to such revenue).  During fiscal 2018 the Company completed sixthree acquisitions. The following tables detail the Company’s acquisition activity and the volumesassociated volume sold by the acquired company during the 12-month period prior to the date of acquisition.

 

26


(in thousands of gallons)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiscal 2019 Acquisitions

 

Fiscal 2020 Acquisitions

Fiscal 2020 Acquisitions

 

Acquisition Number

 

Month of Acquisition

 

Home Heating Oil and Propane

 

 

Other Petroleum Products

 

 

Total

 

 

Month of Acquisition

 

Home Heating Oil and Propane

 

 

Other Petroleum Products

 

 

Total

 

1

 

November

 

 

130

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

130

 

 

October

 

 

1,085

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,085

 

2

 

January (a)

 

 

-

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

-

 

3

 

May

 

 

13,200

 

 

 

6,772

 

 

 

19,972

 

 

 

 

 

13,330

 

 

 

6,772

 

 

 

20,102

 

 

 

 

 

1,085

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,085

 

(in thousands of gallons)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiscal 2019 Acquisitions

 

Acquisition Number

 

Month of Acquisition

 

Home Heating Oil and Propane

 

 

Other Petroleum Products

 

 

Total

 

1

 

November

 

 

130

 

 

 

 

 

 

130

 

2

 

January (a)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3

 

May

 

 

13,200

 

 

 

6,772

 

 

 

19,972

 

 

 

 

 

 

13,330

 

 

 

6,772

 

 

 

20,102

 

 

 

(a)

The business acquired in January 2019 did not sell any petroleum products. This acquisition was of a subcontractor, which had revenue of approximately $11 million during the 12 month period prior to the date of acquisition, and Star accounted for approximately 60% of its revenue (any such revenue is eliminated in consolidation, but the Company benefits from lower costs related to such revenue). 

(in thousands of gallons)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiscal 2018 Acquisitions

 

Acquisition Number

 

Month of Acquisition

 

Home Heating Oil and Propane

 

 

Other Petroleum Products

 

 

Total

 

1

 

November

 

 

53

 

 

 

75

 

 

 

128

 

2

 

November

 

 

164

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

170

 

3

 

April

 

 

7,775

 

 

 

6,567

 

 

 

14,342

 

4

 

May

 

 

1,573

 

 

 

35,617

 

 

 

37,190

 

5

 

August

 

 

1,136

 

 

 

135

 

 

 

1,271

 

6

 

September

 

 

1,730

 

 

 

180

 

 

 

1,910

 

 

 

 

 

 

12,431

 

 

 

42,580

 

 

 

55,011

 

Seasonality

The following matters should be considered in analyzing our financial results. OurCompany’s fiscal year ends on September 30. All references to quarters and years, respectively, in this document are to the fiscal quarters and fiscal years unless otherwise noted. The seasonal nature of our business has resulted, on average, during the last five years, in the sale of approximately 30% of ourthe volume of home heating oil and propane in the first fiscal quarter and 50% of ourthe volume in the second fiscal quarter, the peak heating season. Approximately 25% of the volume of motor fuel and other petroleum products is sold in each of the four fiscal quarters.  We generally realize net income in both of theseduring the quarters ending December and March and net losses during the quarters ending June and September. In addition, sales volume typically fluctuates from year to year in response to variations in weather, wholesale energy prices and other factors.

28


Degree Day

A “degree day” is an industry measurement of temperature designed to evaluate energy demand and consumption. Degree days are based on how far the average daily temperature departs from 65°F. Each degree of temperature above 65°F is counted as one cooling degree day, and each degree of temperature below 65°F is counted as one heating degree day. Degree days are accumulated each day over the course of a year and can be compared to a monthly or a long-term (multi-year) average to see if a month or a year was warmer or cooler than usual. Degree days are officially observed by the National Weather Service.

Every ten years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) computes and publishes average meteorological quantities, including the average temperature for the last 30 years by geographical location, and the corresponding degree days. The latest and most widely used data covers the years from 1981 to 2010. Our calculations of “normal” weather are based on these published 30 year averages for heating degree days, weighted by volume for the locations where we have existing operations.

Consolidated Results of Operations

The following is a discussion of the consolidated results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries and should be read in conjunction with the historical financial and operating data and Notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report.

2927


Three Months Ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020

Compared to the Three Months Ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019

Volume

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, retail volume of home heating oil and propane sold decreased by 17.637.1 million gallons, or 32.2%21.4%, to 36.9136.2 million gallons, compared to 54.5173.3 million gallons for the three months ended June 30, 2018.March 31, 2019. For those locations where we had existing operations during both periods, which we sometimes refer to as the “base business” (i.e., excluding acquisitions), temperatures (measured on a heating degree day basis) for the three months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 were 21.5%18.2% warmer than the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 20.6%March 31, 2019. Temperatures during the three months ended March 31, 2020 were 21.2% warmer than normal, as reported by NOAA. The volume delivered during the third fiscal quarter is largely impacted by heating degree days accumulated during April. While the third quarter of fiscal 2019 was 21.5% warmer than the prior year, April 2019 was over 35% warmer than April 2018. In addition, April 2018 was over 20% colder than normal.  For the twelve months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, net customer attrition for the base business was 5.3%4.6%. The impact of fuel conservation, along with any period-to-period differences in delivery scheduling, the timing of accounts added or lost during the fiscal years, equipment efficiency, and other volume variances not otherwise described, are included in the chart below under the heading “Other.” An analysis of the change in the retail volume of home heating oil and propane, which is based on management’s estimates, sampling, and other mathematical calculations and certain assumptions, is found below: 

 

(in millions of gallons)

 

Heating Oil

and Propane

 

Volume - Three months ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019

 

 

54.5173.3

 

Acquisitions

 

 

0.85.5

 

Impact of warmer temperatures

 

 

(11.930.5

)

Net customer attrition

 

 

(2.68.6

)

Other

 

 

(3.93.5

)

Change

 

 

(17.637.1

)

Volume - Three months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020

 

 

36.9136.2

 

The following chart sets forth the percentage by volume of total home heating oil sold to residential variable-price customers, residential price-protected customers and commercial/industrial/other customers for the three months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018:March 31, 2019:

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Customers

 

June 30,

2019

 

 

June 30,

2018

 

 

March 31,

2020

 

 

March 31,

2019

 

Residential Variable

 

 

38.0

%

 

 

41.5

%

 

 

42.0

%

 

 

41.1

%

Residential Price-Protected (Ceiling and Fixed Price)

 

 

48.4

%

 

 

46.9

%

 

 

45.5

%

 

 

46.7

%

Commercial/Industrial

 

 

13.6

%

 

 

11.6

%

 

 

12.5

%

 

 

12.2

%

Total

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

 

Volume of other petroleum products sold increaseddecreased by 6.32.4 million gallons, or 17.4%6.1%, to 42.336.6 million gallons for the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, compared to 36.039.0 million gallons for the three months ended June 30, 2018, largelyMarch 31, 2019 attributable to lower wholesale revenue due to acquisitions.the 18.2% warmer weather and lower sales of motor fuels.

Product Sales

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, product sales decreased $45.7by $156.1 million, or 17.9%24.5%, to $210.7$481.3 million, compared to $256.4$637.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 asMarch 31, 2019 due to the impact of lower volume sales of home heating oilsold and propane at slightly higherreduced selling prices.  The decline in selling prices was reduced by an increase in volume sales of other petroleum products at lower selling prices.  The adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 lowered home heating oil and propane product sales by $1.6 million and reduced home heating oil and propane average selling prices by $0.0431 per gallon duelargely attributable to a portion of these sales being previously accounted for as service revenue ($1.2 million) and accounting for certain upfront credits given to customers previously accounted for as delivery and branch expenses ($0.4 million).decrease in product cost.

Installations and Services

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, installation and service revenue increased $1.8decreased by $0.4 million, or 2.6%0.6%, to $72.7$61.8 million, compared to $70.9$62.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018,March 31, 2019 as increases due tothe additional revenue provided from acquisitions ($3.0 million) and the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 ($1.7 million), were partially offset by a $2.9 million reductionwas reduced by lower revenues in the base business of $3.3 million.  In the base business, service sales and installation sales declined due to net customer attrition and the impact of 18.2% warmer weather which $0.9 million was related tonegatively impacted billable service revenue and reduced the sale in September 2018need for the installation of the Company’s security business.new equipment.

3028


Cost of Product

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, cost of product decreased $31.2$130.3 million, or 16.7%31.4%, to $155.1$285.4 million, compared to $186.2$415.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018,March 31, 2019, largely due largely to a decrease in total volume sold of 12.5%18.6%, and a $0.0994$0.3067 per gallon, or 4.8%15.7%, decrease in wholesale product cost.

Gross Profit — Product

The table below calculates our per gallon margins and reconciles product gross profit for home heating oil and propane and other petroleum products. We believe the change in home heating oil and propane margins should be evaluated before the effects of increases or decreases in the fair value of derivative instruments, as we believe that realized per gallon margins should not include the impact of non-cash changes in the market value of hedges before the settlement of the underlying transaction. On that basis, home heating oil and propane margins for the three months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 increased by $0.1021$0.1406 per gallon, or 9.2%11.5%, to $1.2171$1.3619 per gallon, from $1.1150$1.2213 per gallon during the three months ended June 30, 2018. March 31, 2019. The market conditions experienced during the three months ended March 31, 2020, which resulted in lower product costs, created an opportunity for margin expansion and contributed to an increase in home heating oil and propane margins versus the prior year’s comparable quarter.  In addition, the Company utilizes weighted average costing for computing cost of goods sold which contributed to an increase in product gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2020 of $6.9 million. It is anticipated that product gross profit will be reduced by a similar amount over future periods asthe impact of recent price changes are incorporated into the weighted average costing calculations. Going forward, we cannot assume that the per gallon margins realized during the three months ending June 30, 2019ended March 31, 2020 are sustainable for future periods.

Product sales and cost of product include home heating oil, propane, other petroleum products and liquidated damages billings.

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

June 30, 2019

 

 

June 30, 2018

 

 

March 31, 2020

 

 

March 31, 2019

 

Home Heating Oil and Propane

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

Volume

 

 

36.9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

54.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

136.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

173.3

 

 

 

 

 

Sales

 

$

116.0

 

 

$

3.1421

 

 

$

169.6

 

 

$

3.1130

 

 

$

413.5

 

 

$

3.0358

 

 

$

554.4

 

 

$

3.1989

 

Cost

 

$

71.1

 

 

$

1.9250

 

 

$

108.9

 

 

$

1.9980

 

 

$

228.0

 

 

$

1.6739

 

 

$

342.7

 

 

$

1.9776

 

Gross Profit

 

$

44.9

 

 

$

1.2171

 

 

$

60.7

 

 

$

1.1150

 

 

$

185.5

 

 

$

1.3619

 

 

$

211.7

 

 

$

1.2213

 

 

Other Petroleum Products

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

Motor Fuel and Other Petroleum Products

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

Volume

 

 

42.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

36.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

36.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

39.0

 

 

 

 

 

Sales

 

$

94.7

 

 

$

2.2395

 

 

$

86.8

 

 

$

2.4112

 

 

$

67.8

 

 

$

1.8534

 

 

$

83.0

 

 

$

2.1311

 

Cost

 

$

84.0

 

 

$

1.9870

 

 

$

77.3

 

 

$

2.1476

 

 

$

57.4

 

 

$

1.5683

 

 

$

72.9

 

 

$

1.8717

 

Gross Profit

 

$

10.7

 

 

$

0.2525

 

 

$

9.5

 

 

$

0.2636

 

 

$

10.4

 

 

$

0.2851

 

 

$

10.1

 

 

$

0.2594

 

 

Total Product

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

 

Sales

 

$

210.7

 

 

 

 

$

256.4

 

 

 

 

$

481.3

 

 

 

 

$

637.4

 

 

 

Cost

 

$

155.1

 

 

 

 

$

186.2

 

 

 

 

$

285.4

 

 

 

 

$

415.6

 

 

 

Gross Profit

 

$

55.6

 

 

 

 

$

70.2

 

 

 

 

$

195.9

 

 

 

 

$

221.8

 

 

 

 

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, total product gross profit was $55.6$195.9 million, which was $14.6$25.9 million, or 20.8%11.7% less than the three months ended June 30, 2018,March 31, 2019, as a decrease in home heating oil and propane volume ($19.645.3 million) was partiallysomewhat offset by an increase in home heating oil and propane margins ($3.819.1 million) and ana slight increase in gross profit from other petroleum products ($1.20.3 million). The increase in product gross profit from other petroleum products was largely due to acquisitions.

Cost of Installations and Services

Total installation costs for the three months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 decreased by $1.4slightly to $17.6 million, or 6.8% to $19.7 million,0.4%, compared to $21.1$17.7 million inof installation costs for the three months ended June 30, 2018, as a decline of $1.6 million in the base business due to lower sales was reduced by additional installation costs associated with acquisitions.March 31, 2019. Installation costs as a percentage of installation sales were 80.9%87.2% for the three months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 and 83.0%86.6% for the three months ended June 30, 2018.  The gross profit percentage on installation sales increased from 17.0% for the three months ended June 30, 2018 to 19.1% for the three months ended June 30, 2019 due to the January 2019 acquisition of one of our subcontractors.March 31, 2019.

3129


Service expense increaseddecreased by $1.8$4.0 million, or 4.4%8.5%, to $42.4$43.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, representing 87.7%105.0% of service sales, versus $40.7$47.7 million, or 89.4%114.2% of service sales, for the three months ended June 30, 2018. This increase was due to acquisition related service expenses of $1.3 million, and a $1.3 million, or 3.2% increase in the base business primarily due to an increased focus in the quarter on performing customer heating system checks.  This was partially offset by $0.8 million of reduced expenses related to the sale of the Company’s security business in September 2018.March 31, 2019.  We realized a combined gross profit from service and installation of $10.6$0.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 compared to $9.1a loss of $3.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018. Also, as a resultMarch 31, 2019 or an improvement of $3.7 million.  Acquisitions positively impacted the adoptioncomparison by $0.5 million and in the base business, service and installation gross profit improved by $3.2 million due to warmer temperatures of ASU No. 2014-09,18.2%, which reduced the demand for service, revenue increasedand certain measures undertaken by $1.7 million relatedthe company to a portion of our sales being accounted for as service revenue that were previously accounted for as product revenue.improve its operating efficiency.  Management views the service and installation department on a combined basis because many overhead functions cannot be separated or precisely allocated to either service or installation billings.

(Increase) Decrease in the Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

During the three months ended June 30,March 31, 2020, the change in the fair value of derivative instruments resulted in an $11.7 million charge due to a decrease in the market value for unexpired hedges (a $15.2 million charge) partially offset by a $3.5 million credit due to the expiration of certain hedged positions.

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, the change in the fair value of derivative instruments resulted in a $1.6 million charge due to a decrease in the market value for unexpired hedges ($2.3 million), and partially offset by a $0.7 million credit due to the expiration of certain hedged positions.

During the three months ended June 30, 2018, the change in the fair value of derivative instruments resulted in a $7.5$13.4 million credit due to an increase in the market value for unexpired hedges ($6.9 million)(a $5.5 million credit), and a $0.6$7.9 million credit due to the expiration of certain hedged positions.

Delivery and Branch Expenses

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, delivery and branch expenses decreased $0.6$25.2 million, or 0.8%22.8%, to $82.7$85.5 million, compared to $83.3$110.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018,March 31, 2019, as the additional costs from acquisitions of $2.9$3.7 million waswere more than offset by a $3.5$28.9 million, or 4.2%26.0%, decrease in expenses inwithin the base business.  The decreasedecline in the base business was attributable to a $2.1$7.2 million, or 9.9%18.5%, decreasereduction in direct delivery costs due to lower volume, a $1.5$0.9 million decrease in expenses related to ourthe Company’s concierge level of service program (which was greatly curtailed in January 2019), and a $1.2other reductions in operating costs totaling $7.6 million, decrease in otheror 6.9%, as we continue to improve Star’s operating efficiency. Operating expenses primarilywere also reduced by $13.1 million due to insurance claims. Partially offsetting the decreaseimpact of our weather hedging program.  As of December 31, 2019, as previously disclosed in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, we expected to pay $3.0 million under our weather hedge program based on prevailing conditions as of that point in time; however, the weather for the weather hedge period comprised of the three months ended March 31, 2020 were ultimately warmer than the hedge strikes resulting in a reversal of the $3.0 million charge previously accrued and the recording of an incremental benefit and receivable in the base business expensesamount of $10.1 million. This $10.1 million was a $1.3 million increasereceived in bad debt and payment processing related costs.April 2020.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, depreciation and amortization expense increased $0.3$1.2 million, or 3.6%15.7% to $8.2$9.1 million, compared to $7.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019, largely due to acquisitions.

General and Administrative Expenses

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, general and administrative expenses decreased by $0.4$4.4 million or 44.9%, to $5.5$5.4 million, from $5.9$9.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018,March 31, 2019, primarily due to reduced profit sharing.  The Company accrues approximately 6%lower legal and professional fees of Adjusted EBITDA, as defined$2.6 million, a $1.5 million charge related to the discontinued use of a tank monitoring system that occurred during the three months ended March 31, 2019 (that did not recur in the Company’s profit sharing plan, for distribution to its employees,current fiscal year), and this amount is payable when the Company achieves Adjusted EBITDAother savings of at least 70% of the amount budgeted. The dollar amount of the profit sharing pool is subject to increases and decreases in line with increases and decreases in Adjusted EBITDA.$0.3 million.

Finance Charge Income

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, finance charge income increaseddecreased to $1.3 million from $1.4 million at June 30, 2018 to $1.9 million at June 30,for the three months ended March 31, 2019, primarily due to income from increasedlower customer late customer payment charges.

Interest Expense, Net

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, net interest expense increaseddecreased by $0.8$0.4 million, or 35.8%13.7%, to $3.0$2.8 million compared to $2.2$3.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018. Interest expense rose by $1.0 millionMarch 31, 2019, primarily due to an increasedecrease in average borrowings of $52.6 $9.4 million from $141.9 $213.4 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019 to $194.5 $204.0 million during the three months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 and an increasea decrease in the weighted average interest rate from 4.7%4.9% during the three months ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019 to 5.3%4.7% during the three months ended June 30, 2019. The increase in average borrowings of $52.6 million was largely used to fund acquisitions.March 31, 2020.  To hedge against rising interest rates, the Company entered into anutilizes interest rate swap in July 2018 to fix the interest rate for $50.0swaps.  At March 31, 2020 $66.5 million, or 50%51%, of our long term debt.  debt was fixed.

3230


Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, amortization of debt issuance costscost was $0.3 million, essentially unchanged from the three months ended March 31, 2019.

Income Tax Expense

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company’s income tax expense decreased by $0.1$4.5 million or 39.7%, to $0.3$24.7 million, compared to $0.4from $29.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 due to lower debt issuance costs associated with the fourth amended and restated credit agreement as compared to the third amended and restated credit agreement.

Income Tax Benefit

For the three months ended June 30,March 31, 2019, the Company’s income tax benefit increased by $6.6 million to $10.1 million, from $3.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018, primarily due to a decrease in income before income taxes of $21.7 million.  $18.5 million primarily due to a $25.1 million non-cash unfavorable change in the fair market value of derivative instruments.

Net LossIncome

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, net loss increased $15.1income decreased $13.9 million or 188.6%, to $23.1$58.4 million primarily due to an unfavorable change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $9.1$25.1 million andpartially offset by an increase in the Adjusted EBITDA loss of $11.7$7.4 million, described below, partially offset by the favorable changeand a decrease in income tax benefitexpense of $6.6 million due to the decrease in income before income tax.$4.5 million.

Adjusted EBITDA Loss

For the three months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, Adjusted EBITDA loss increased by $11.7$7.4 million, or 139.3%7.5%, to $20.1$106.9 million. Acquisitions provided $0.9$4.9 million of Adjusted EBITDA loss, and Adjusted EBITDA in the base business Adjusted EBITDA loss increased by $12.6 million. The$2.5 million as the impact of lower volume sold in the base business more than(due to 18.2% warmer weather and net customer attrition) was largely offset by higher per gallon home heating oil and propane margins, and lower total operating expenses in the base business.

business of $20.0 million, a favorable change in the amount due under the Company’s weather hedge of $13.1 million and an improvement in the net service and installation profitability of $3.2 million.  As discussed above, product gross profit was favorably impacted by $6.9 million due to the Company’s product costing method, and the Company anticipates that product gross profit will be reduced by a similar amount over future periods.

EBITDA loss and Adjusted EBITDA loss should not be considered as an alternative to net income (as an indicator of operating performance) or as an alternative to cash flow (as a measure of liquidity or ability to service debt obligations), but provide additional information for evaluating our ability to make the Minimum Quarterly Distribution. EBITDA loss and Adjusted EBITDA loss are calculated as follows:

 

 

Three Months

Ended June 30,

 

 

Three Months

Ended March 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Net loss

 

$

(23,098

)

 

$

(8,005

)

Net income

 

$

58,408

 

 

$

72,325

 

Plus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax benefit

 

 

(10,055

)

 

 

(3,416

)

Amortization of debt issuance cost

 

 

253

 

 

 

418

 

Income tax expense

 

 

24,700

 

 

 

29,239

 

Amortization of debt issuance costs

 

 

253

 

 

 

244

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

2,967

 

 

 

2,186

 

 

 

2,756

 

 

 

3,194

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

8,225

 

 

 

7,941

 

 

 

9,089

 

 

 

7,858

 

EBITDA loss (a)

 

 

(21,708

)

 

 

(876

)

EBITDA (a)

 

 

95,206

 

 

 

112,860

 

(Increase) / decrease in the fair value of derivative

instruments

 

 

1,630

 

 

 

(7,515

)

 

 

11,670

 

 

 

(13,401

)

Adjusted EBITDA loss (a)

 

 

(20,078

)

 

 

(8,391

)

Adjusted EBITDA (a)

 

 

106,876

 

 

 

99,459

 

Add / (subtract)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax benefit

 

 

10,055

 

 

 

3,416

 

Income tax expense

 

 

(24,700

)

 

 

(29,239

)

Interest expense, net

 

 

(2,967

)

 

 

(2,186

)

 

 

(2,756

)

 

 

(3,194

)

Provision for losses on accounts receivable

 

 

3,532

 

 

 

2,222

 

 

 

2,193

 

 

 

3,439

 

Decrease in accounts receivables

 

 

124,456

 

 

 

84,026

 

Decrease (increase) in accounts receivables

 

 

16,183

 

 

 

(63,506

)

Decrease in inventories

 

 

5,699

 

 

 

12,498

 

 

 

27,435

 

 

 

16,446

 

Increase in customer credit balances

 

 

12,299

 

 

 

5,681

 

Decrease in customer credit balances

 

 

(16,564

)

 

 

(24,356

)

Change in deferred taxes

 

 

(1,871

)

 

 

2,387

 

 

 

(1,114

)

 

 

(8,719

)

Change in other operating assets and liabilities

 

 

(26,442

)

 

 

(9,359

)

 

 

(5,087

)

 

 

30,200

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

$

104,683

 

 

$

90,294

 

 

$

102,466

 

 

$

20,530

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

$

(53,268

)

 

$

(23,242

)

 

$

(5,534

)

 

$

(19,198

)

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

 

$

(62,070

)

 

$

(93,058

)

Net cash used in financing activities

 

$

(101,173

)

 

$

(8,749

)


(a)

EBITDA (Earnings from continuing operations before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) and Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings from continuing operations before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, (increase) decrease in the fair value of derivatives, net other income, multiemployer pension plan withdrawal charge, gain or loss on debt redemption, goodwill impairment, and other non-cash and non-operating charges) are non-GAAP financial measures that are used as supplemental financial measures by management and external users of our financial statements, such as investors, commercial banks and research analysts, to assess:

our compliance with certain financial covenants included in our debt agreements;

our compliance with certain financial covenants included in our debt agreements;

our financial performance without regard to financing methods, capital structure, income taxes or historical cost basis;

our financial performance without regard to financing methods, capital structure, income taxes or historical cost basis;

our operating performance and return on invested capital compared to those of other companies in the retail distribution of refined petroleum products, without regard to financing methods and capital structure;

our operating performance and return on invested capital compared to those of other companies in the retail distribution of refined petroleum products, without regard to financing methods and capital structure;

our ability to generate cash sufficient to pay interest on our indebtedness and to make distributions to our partners; and

our ability to generate cash sufficient to pay interest on our indebtedness and to make distributions to our partners; and

the viability of acquisitions and capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return of alternative investment opportunities.

the viability of acquisitions and capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return of alternative investment opportunities.

The method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA may not be consistent with that of other companies, and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA both have limitations as analytical tools and so should not be viewed in isolation and should be viewedbut in conjunction with measurements that are computed in accordance with GAAP. Some of the limitations of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are:

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect our cash used for capital expenditures.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect our cash used for capital expenditures.

Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated or amortized often will have to be replaced and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash requirements for such replacements;

Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated or amortized often will have to be replaced and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash requirements for such replacements;

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital requirements;

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital requirements;

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash necessary to make payments of interest or principal on our indebtedness; and

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash required to pay taxes.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash necessary to make payments of interest or principal on our indebtedness; and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash required to pay taxes.

3432


NineSix Months Ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020

Compared to the NineSix Months Ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019

Volume

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, the retail volume of home heating oil and propane sold decreased by 14.443.3 million gallons, or 4.3%15.1%, to 323.6243.3 million gallons, compared to 338.0286.6 million gallons for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018.March 31, 2019. For those locations where we had existing operations during both periods, which we sometimes refer to as the “base business” (i.e., excluding acquisitions), temperatures (measured on a heating degree day basis) for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 were 0.8% colder11.6% warmer than the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018 but 3.9%March 31, 2019 and 13.8% warmer than normal, as reported by NOAA. For the twelve months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, net customer attrition for the base business was 5.3%4.6%.  The impact of fuel conservation, along with any period-to-period differences in delivery scheduling, the timing of accounts added or lost during the fiscal years, equipment efficiency, and other volume variances not otherwise described, are included in the chart below under the heading “Other.”  An analysis of the change in the retail volume of home heating oil and propane, which is based on management’s estimates, sampling, and other mathematical calculations and certain assumptions, is found below: 

(in millions of gallons)

 

Heating Oil

and Propane

 

Volume - NineSix months ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019

 

 

338.0286.6

 

Acquisitions

 

 

10.29.8

 

Impact of colderwarmer temperatures

 

 

2.2(32.0

)

Net customer attrition

 

 

(21.115.3

)

Other

 

 

(5.75.8

)

Change

 

 

(14.443.3

)

Volume - NineSix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020

 

 

323.6243.3

 

The following chart sets forth the percentage by volume of total home heating oil sold to residential variable-price customers, residential price-protected customers and commercial/industrial/other customers for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 compared to the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018:March 31, 2019:

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

Six Months Ended

 

Customers

 

June 30,

2019

 

 

June 30,

2018

 

 

March 31,

2020

 

 

March 31,

2019

 

Residential Variable

 

 

40.9

%

 

 

42.5

%

 

 

42.1

%

 

 

41.2

%

Residential Price-Protected (Ceiling and Fixed Price)

 

 

46.5

%

 

 

45.3

%

 

 

45.6

%

 

 

46.3

%

Commercial/Industrial

 

 

12.6

%

 

 

12.2

%

 

 

12.3

%

 

 

12.5

%

Total

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

Volume of other petroleum products sold increaseddecreased by 26.42.9 million gallons, or 27.3%3.6%, to 123.278.0 million gallons for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, compared to 96.880.9 million gallons for the nine six months ended June 30, 2018, largelyMarch 31, 2019 attributable to lower wholesale sales due to acquisitionsthe 11.6% warmer weather and lower sales of motor fuels.

Product Sales

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, product sales increased $60.6 million,decreased $0.2 billion, or 4.9%16.6%, to $1.30$0.9 billion, compared to $1.25$1.1 billion for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018, due to an increaseMarch 31, 2019, reflecting a decrease in volume saleswholesale product cost of other petroleum products at lower selling prices and to a lesser extent, the impact of lower volume sales of home heating oil and propane at higher selling prices. The adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 lowered home heating oil and propane product sales by $11.0 million and reduced home heating oil and propane average selling prices by $0.0341$0.1809 per gallon, due toor 9.2%, and a portiondecrease in total volume sold of these sales being previously accounted for as service revenue ($6.7 million) and accounting for certain upfront credits given to customers previously accounted for as delivery and branch expenses ($4.3 million)12.6%.

Installations and Services

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, installations and services revenue increased $9.1decreased $0.5 million, or 4.5%0.3%, to $211.2$138.0 million, compared to $202.1$138.5 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018,March 31, 2019 as increases relating tothe additional revenue provided from acquisitions ($6.5 million), the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 ($5.0 million), and a small increase in revenue$8.5 million was reduced by lower revenues in the base business ($0.2 million) were partially offset by a $2.6 million reduction in revenuesof $9.0 million.  In the base business, service and installation sales declined due to net customer attrition and the saleimpact of 11.6% warmer weather which reduced billable service revenue and the Company’s security business in September 2018.need for the installation of new equipment.

3533


Cost of Product

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, cost of product increased $44.6decreased $148.8 million, or 5.4%20.6%, to $876.9$573.0 million, compared to $832.3$721.9 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018,March 31, 2019, due largely to an increasea decrease in total volume sold of 2.8%12.6%, and a $0.0487$0.1809 per gallon, or 2.5%9.2%, increasedecrease in wholesale product cost.

Gross Profit — Product

The table below calculates our per gallon margins and reconciles product gross profit for home heating oil and propane and other petroleum products. We believe the change in home heating oil and propane margins should be evaluated before the effects of increases or decreases in the fair value of derivative instruments, as we believe that realized per gallon margins should not include the impact of non-cash changes in the market value of hedges before the settlement of the underlying transaction. On that basis, home heating oil and propane margins for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 increased by $0.0837$0.0823 per gallon, or 7.3%6.7%, to $1.2314$1.3155 per gallon, from $1.1477$1.2332 per gallon during the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018. March 31, 2019.  In addition, the Company utilizes weighted average costing for computing cost of goods sold which contributed to an increase in product gross profit for the six months ended March 31, 2020 of $6.9 million. It is anticipated that product gross profit will be reduced by a similar amount over future periods asthe impact of recent price changes are incorporated into the weighted average costing calculations.  Going forward, we cannot assume that the per gallon margins realized during the ninesix months ending June 30, 2019ended March 31, 2020 are sustainable for future periods.

Product sales and cost of product include home heating oil, propane, other petroleum products and liquidated damages billings.

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

Six Months Ended

 

 

June 30, 2019

 

 

June 30, 2018

 

 

March 31, 2020

 

 

March 31, 2019

 

Home Heating Oil and Propane

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

Volume

 

 

323.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

338.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

243.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

286.6

 

 

 

 

 

Sales

 

$

1,034.6

 

 

$

3.1975

 

 

$

1,025.9

 

 

$

3.0350

 

 

$

756.8

 

 

$

3.1102

 

 

$

918.6

 

 

$

3.2046

 

Cost

 

$

636.1

 

 

$

1.9661

 

 

$

637.9

 

 

$

1.8873

 

 

$

436.7

 

 

$

1.7947

 

 

$

565.1

 

 

$

1.9714

 

Gross Profit

 

$

398.5

 

 

$

1.2314

 

 

$

388.0

 

 

$

1.1477

 

 

$

320.1

 

 

$

1.3155

 

 

$

353.5

 

 

$

1.2332

 

 

Other Petroleum Products

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

Motor Fuel and Other Petroleum Products

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

Per

Gallon

 

Volume

 

 

123.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

96.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

78.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

80.9

 

 

 

 

 

Sales

 

$

272.2

 

 

$

2.2100

 

 

$

220.3

 

 

$

2.2765

 

 

$

157.2

 

 

$

2.0143

 

 

$

177.5

 

 

$

2.1946

 

Cost

 

$

240.8

 

 

$

1.9549

 

 

$

194.4

 

 

$

2.0086

 

 

$

136.3

 

 

$

1.7471

 

 

$

156.8

 

 

$

1.9382

 

Gross Profit

 

$

31.4

 

 

$

0.2551

 

 

$

25.9

 

 

$

0.2679

 

 

$

20.9

 

 

$

0.2672

 

 

$

20.7

 

 

$

0.2564

 

 

Total Product

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

 

 

Amount

(in millions)

 

 

 

Sales

 

$

1,306.8

 

 

 

 

$

1,246.2

 

 

 

 

$

914.0

 

 

 

 

$

1,096.1

 

 

 

Cost

 

$

876.9

 

 

 

 

$

832.3

 

 

 

 

$

573.0

 

 

 

 

$

721.9

 

 

 

Gross Profit

 

$

429.9

 

 

 

 

$

413.9

 

 

 

 

$

341.0

 

 

 

 

$

374.2

 

 

 

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, total product gross profit was $429.9$341.0 million, which was $16.0$33.2 million, or 3.9% greater8.9% less than the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018, due to higherMarch 31, 2019, as a decrease in home heating oil and propane marginsvolume sold ($27.153.4 million) that were partiallywas slightly offset by a decrease in volumehigher margins ($16.620.0 million), and an increase in gross profit from other petroleum products ($5.50.2 million). The increase in product gross profit from other petroleum products was largely due to acquisitions.

Cost of Installations and Services

Total installation costs for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019 increased by $1.4 million, or 2.2%March 31, 2020 decreased slightly to $62.2$42.4 million, compared to $60.8$42.5 million in installation costs for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018, due to higher sales in the base business, and to a lesser extent, acquisitions.March 31, 2019.  Installation costs as a percentage of installation sales were 83.5% for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 and 84.4% for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018 were 83.2% and 83.9% respectively.March 31, 2019.

36


Service expense increaseddecreased by $4.5$4.6 million, or 3.3%4.8%, to $139.7$92.6 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, representing 102.3%106.0% of service sales, versus $135.2$97.2 million, or 104.3%110.3% of service sales, for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018. This increase was due to acquisition related service expenses of $3.8 million and a $3.2 million, or 0.5%, increase in the base business partially due to an increased focus on performing customer heating system checks. This was partially offset by $2.5 million of reduced expenses related to the sale of the Company’s security business in September 2018.March 31, 2019.  We realized a combined gross profit from service and installation of $9.4$3.1 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 compared to a combined gross profitloss of $6.1$1.2 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018. Also, as a resultMarch 31, 2019, an improvement of $4.3 million in profitability.  Acquisitions positively impacted the adoptioncomparison by $1.4 million and in the base business, service gross profit improved by $2.9 million due to warmer temperatures of ASU No. 2014-09,11.6% which reduced the demand for service, revenue increasedand certain measures undertaken by $5.0 million primarily relatedthe company to accounting for certain customer consideration as service revenue that was previously accounted for as product revenue.  improve operating

34


efficiency.  Management views the service and installation department on a combined basis because many overhead functions cannot be separated or precisely allocated to either service or installation billings.

(Increase) Decrease in the Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

During the ninesix months ended June 30,March 31, 2020, the change in the fair value of derivative instruments resulted in a $5.3 million charge due to a decrease in the market value for unexpired hedges (a $14.0 million charge) partially offset by an $8.7 million credit due to the expiration of certain hedged positions.

During the six months ended March 31, 2019, the change in the fair value of derivative instruments resulted in a $19.3$17.6 million charge due to a decrease in the market value for unexpired hedges $5.4(a $5.3 million charge), and a $13.9 million charge due to the expiration of certain hedged positions.

During the nine months ended June 30, 2018, the change in the fair value of derivative instruments resulted in a $7.3 million credit due to an increase in the market value for unexpired hedges ($11.1 million), partially offset by a $3.8$12.3 million charge due to the expiration of certain hedged positions.

Delivery and Branch Expenses

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, delivery and branch expenses increased $14.9decreased $31.2 million, or 5.3%14.6%, to $296.0$182.2 million, compared to $281.1$213.4 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018, due toMarch 31, 2019 as additional costs from acquisitions of $11.6 $7.6 million andwere more than offset by a $3.3$38.8 million, or 1.2%18.2%, increasedecrease in operating expenses inwithin the base business.  The increasedecline in the base business includes $2.6was attributable to a $10.0 million, or 14.4%, reduction in increased bad debt and payment processing relateddirect delivery costs $2.2due to lower volume, a $3.5 million of increased vehicle related fuel and leasing and repair costs, $1.7 million of costsdecrease in expenses related to ourthe Company’s concierge level of service program (which was greatly curtailed this past January)in January 2019), and $1.6other reductions in operating costs totaling $13.1 million, or 6.1%, as we continue to improve Star’s operating efficiency. Operating expenses were reduced by $12.2 million due to the impact of normal salary,our weather hedging program.  As of March 31, 2019 we recorded a charge of $2.1 million versus a benefit and other expense changes.  These increasesreceivable of $10.1 million as of March 31, 2020.  The $10.1 million was received in the base business expenses were partially reduced by a $2.2 million decline in insurance claims expense. Delivery and branch expenses also decreased $2.6 million (with a corresponding decrease to revenue) for certain customer credits as a result of the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09.April 2020.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, depreciation and amortization expense increased $0.4$2.5 million, or 1.9%16.3%, to $23.8$18.1 million, compared to $23.4$15.6 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019 largely due to acquisitions.

General and Administrative Expenses

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, general and administrative expenses increaseddecreased by $4.4$5.8 million, or 23.3%32.5%, to $23.1$11.9 million from $18.8$17.7 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018, March 31, 2019, primarily due to higherlower legal and professional expenses of $3.0 $3.6 million, a $1.5$1.5 million charge related to the discontinued use of a tank monitoring system and a $0.6 million increase in acquisition expenses that was partially offset by a $0.7 million reduction in profit sharing.  The Company accrues approximately 6% of Adjusted EBITDA, as definedoccurred during the six months ended March 31, 2019 (and did not recur in the Company’s profit sharing plan, for distribution to its employees,current fiscal year), and this amount is payable when the Company achieves Adjusted EBITDAother savings of at least 70% of the amount budgeted. The dollar amount of the profit sharing pool is subject to increases and decreases in line with increases and decreases in Adjusted EBITDA.$0.7 million.

Finance Charge Income

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, finance charge income increased by $0.5decreased to $2.0 million or 11.6%, to $4.2 million compared to $3.7from $2.3 million for the nine monthssix month ended June 30, 2018,March 31, 2019, primarily due to income from increasedlower customer late customer payment charges.

Interest Expense, Net

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, net interest expense increaseddecreased by $2.0$0.3 million, or 30.4%4.8%, to $8.7$5.4 million compared to $6.7$5.7 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018. Interest expense rose by $2.6 million primarily due toMarch 31, 2019. The change year-over-year reflects an increase in average borrowings of $34.7 $16.9 million from $148.2 $177.1 million during the nine six months ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019 to $182.9 $194.0million during the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019 and an increaseMarch 31, 2020, offset by a decrease in the weighted average interest rate from 4.2%5.2% during the nine six months ended June 30, 2018March 31, 2019 to 5.2%4.9% during the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019.March 31, 2020. The increase in average borrowings of $34.7 $16.9 million was largely used to fund acquisitions. To hedge against rising interest rates, the Company entered into anutilizes interest rate swap in July 2018 to fix the interest

37


rate for $50.0swaps.  At March 31, 2020, $66.5 million, or 50%51%, of our long term debt.debt was fixed.  Interest income increased by $0.6$0.3 million primarily due to higher cash deposited into our captive insurance company and an increase in the return on these investments.company.

Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, amortization of debt issuance costs decreased by $0.3was $0.5 million, or 26.9%, to $0.8 million compared to $1.0 million foressentially unchanged from the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018 due to lower debt issuance costs associated with the fourth amended and restated credit agreement as compared to the third amended and restated credit agreement.March 31, 2019.

35


Income Tax Expense

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, the Company’s income tax expense decreasedincreased by $2.9$6.3 million to $20.2$36.5 million, from $23.1$30.2 million for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018. Income tax expense decreased $14.1March 31, 2019 due primarily to an increase in income before income taxes of $17.8 million due to lower income versus the prior year’s comparative quarter.  The decreasethat was partially offset by an $11.2 million discrete income tax benefit recorded as of June 30, 2018 to reflect the impact of the Tax Reform Act signed into law in December 2017 that did not recur in fiscal 2019.  The tax reform reduced the Federal statutory income tax rate for corporations from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018 and, therefore, the Company’s net deferred tax liability would be realized at a lower statutory tax rate than originally recorded, resulting in a tax benefit to the Company.  The Company’s combined Federal, state, and local effective tax rate increased from 23.1% for the nine months ended June 30, 2018 to 28.1% for the nine months ended June 30, 2019. Excluding the impact of the discrete tax benefit, our combined Federal, state, and local effective income tax rate decreased to 28.1% for the nine months ended June 30, 2019 from 34.3% for the nine months ended June 30, 2018, primarily due to a $12.4 million non-cash favorable change in the lower enacted Federal statutory income tax rate.fair market value of derivative instruments.

Net Income

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, net income decreased $25.4increased $11.5 million, or 33.0%15.4%, to $51.5$86.2 million due primarily to an unfavorable a favorable change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $26.6$12.4 million and ana $7.7 million increase in net interest expense of $2.0 millionAdjusted EBITDA, described below, that was partially offset by lowera $6.3 million increase in income tax expense and the increase in Adjusted EBITDA of $0.4 million, described below.expense.

Adjusted EBITDA

For the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, Adjusted EBITDA increased by $0.4$7.7 million, or 0.3%5.3%, to $124.2$152.0 million. Acquisitions provided $5.4$8.0 million of Adjusted EBITDA while,and Adjusted EBITDA in the base business Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $5.0 million.  The$0.3 million as the impact of lower volume sold (due to 11.6% warmer weather and net customer attrition) was largely offset by higher per gallon home heating oil and propane margins, lower operating expenses in the base business more than offsetof $32.1 million, a decline in home heating oil and propane volume of 4.3% and increase in total operating expenses, improving year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA by $4.5 million prior to the following items: i) $3.3 million due to the implementation of the aforementioned revenue recognition accounting standard (the majority of which is expected to be reversed by the end of fiscal 2019); ii) $3.0 million of higher legal and professional expenses; iii) a charge of $1.5 million related to the discontinued use of a tank monitoring system; iv) a $1.5 million increase in the net Adjusted EBITDA loss associated with the Company’s concierge program, which was greatly curtailed this past January; and v) $0.2 million of expense related to an increasefavorable change in the amount due under ourthe Company’s weather hedge contracts (as previously discussed).of $12.2 million and an improvement in the net service and installation profitability of $2.9 million.  As discussed above, product gross profit was favorably impacted by $6.9 million due to the Company’s product costing method, and the Company anticipates that product gross profit will be reduced by a similar amount over future periods.

38


EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net income (as an indicator of operating performance) or as an alternative to cash flow (as a measure of liquidity or ability to service debt obligations), but provide additional information for evaluating our ability to make the Minimum Quarterly Distribution. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are calculated as follows:

 

 

Nine Months

Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months

Ended March 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Net income

 

$

51,542

 

 

$

76,955

 

 

$

86,163

 

 

$

74,640

 

Plus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax expense

 

 

20,157

 

 

 

23,077

 

 

 

36,482

 

 

 

30,212

 

Amortization of debt issuance cost

 

 

756

 

 

 

1,034

 

Amortization of debt issuance costs

 

 

488

 

 

 

503

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

8,677

 

 

 

6,656

 

 

 

5,435

 

 

 

5,710

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

23,828

 

 

 

23,385

 

 

 

18,139

 

 

 

15,603

 

EBITDA (a)

 

 

104,960

 

 

 

131,107

 

 

 

146,707

 

 

 

126,668

 

(Increase) / decrease in the fair value of derivative instruments

 

 

19,268

 

 

 

(7,306

)

 

 

5,253

 

 

 

17,638

 

Adjusted EBITDA (a)

 

 

124,228

 

 

 

123,801

 

 

 

151,960

 

 

 

144,306

 

Add / (subtract)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax expense

 

 

(20,157

)

 

 

(23,077

)

 

 

(36,482

)

 

 

(30,212

)

Interest expense, net

 

 

(8,677

)

 

 

(6,656

)

 

 

(5,435

)

 

 

(5,710

)

Provision for losses on accounts receivable

 

 

8,500

 

 

 

5,687

 

 

 

3,203

 

 

 

4,968

 

Increase in accounts receivables

 

 

(34,793

)

 

 

(86,504

)

 

 

(69,562

)

 

 

(159,249

)

Decrease in inventories

 

 

1,958

 

 

 

12,390

 

Decrease (increase) in inventories

 

 

12,008

 

 

 

(3,741

)

Decrease in customer credit balances

 

 

(26,177

)

 

 

(36,503

)

 

 

(32,462

)

 

 

(38,476

)

Change in deferred taxes

 

 

(11,206

)

 

 

29,641

 

 

 

222

 

 

 

(9,335

)

Change in other operating assets and liabilities

 

 

28,646

 

 

 

11,240

 

 

 

27,423

 

 

 

55,088

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

$

62,322

 

 

$

30,019

 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

 

$

50,875

 

 

$

(42,361

)

Net cash used in investing activities

 

$

(80,578

)

 

$

(64,459

)

 

$

(13,197

)

 

$

(27,310

)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

 

$

9,442

 

 

$

(8,595

)

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

 

$

(32,276

)

 

$

71,512

 

36


(a)

EBITDA (Earnings from continuing operations before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) and Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings from continuing operations before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, (increase) decrease in the fair value of derivatives, net other income, multiemployer pension plan withdrawal charge, gain or loss on debt redemption, goodwill impairment, and other non-cash and non-operating charges) are non-GAAP financial measures that are used as supplemental financial measures by management and external users of our financial statements, such as investors, commercial banks and research analysts, to assess:

our compliance with certain financial covenants included in our debt agreements;

our compliance with certain financial covenants included in our debt agreements;

our financial performance without regard to financing methods, capital structure, income taxes or historical cost basis;

our financial performance without regard to financing methods, capital structure, income taxes or historical cost basis;

our operating performance and return on invested capital compared to those of other companies in the retail distribution of refined petroleum products, without regard to financing methods and capital structure;

our operating performance and return on invested capital compared to those of other companies in the retail distribution of refined petroleum products, without regard to financing methods and capital structure;

our ability to generate cash sufficient to pay interest on our indebtedness and to make distributions to our partners; and

our ability to generate cash sufficient to pay interest on our indebtedness and to make distributions to our partners; and

the viability of acquisitions and capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return of alternative investment opportunities.

the viability of acquisitions and capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return of alternative investment opportunities.

The method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA may not be consistent with that of other companies, and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA both have limitations as analytical tools and so should not be viewed in isolation and should be viewedbut in conjunction with measurements that are computed in accordance with GAAP. Some of the limitations of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are:

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect our cash used for capital expenditures.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect our cash used for capital expenditures.

Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated or amortized often will have to be replaced and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash requirements for such replacements;

Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated or amortized often will have to be replaced and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash requirements for such replacements;

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital requirements;

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital requirements;

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash necessary to make payments of interest or principal on our indebtedness; and

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash necessary to make payments of interest or principal on our indebtedness; and

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash required to pay taxes.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash required to pay taxes.

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DISCUSSION OF CASH FLOWS

We use the indirect method to prepare our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Under this method, we reconcile net income to cash flows provided by operating activities by adjusting net income for those items that impact net income but do not result in actual cash receipts or payment during the period.

Operating Activities

Due to the seasonal nature of our business, cash is generally used in operations during the winter (our first and second fiscal quarters) as we require additional working capital to support the high volume of sales during this period, and cash is generally provided by operating activities during the spring and summer (our third and fourth fiscal quarters) when customer payments exceed the cost of deliveries.

During the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, cash provided by operating activities increased $32.3$93.2 million to $62.3$50.9 million, compared to $30.0$42.4 million of cash used in operating activities during the ninesix months ended June 30, 2018.  This reflectsMarch 31, 2019.  The increase was driven by a $1.2$95.7 million increasefavorable change in cash generated from operations prior to consideration of income tax, $62.0 million of higher net collections of accounts receivablesreceivable (including customer credit balances), due to improved collections and lower sales volume at lower selling prices, a $15.7 million favorable change in inventory due primarily to fewer gallons of liquid product on hand as of March 31, 2020 at lower cost as compared to March 31, 2019, which waswere partially offset by a $12.6$6.5 million unfavorable change in accounts payable due primarily to the timing of inventory purchases, a $10.4 million unfavorable change in inventory, a $3.1 million increase in insurance related claim payments, a $2.2$6.2 million increase in income taxes paid, and a $1.9$2.7 million increasereduction in escheatcash flows from operations, $1.8 million lower escheatment payments to state authorities.  The remaining $0.7 million of the change is related to other changes in working capital.

During the nine months ended June 30, 2018, cash provided by operating activities increased $6.8 million to $30.0 million, compared to $23.2 million of cash provided by operating activities during the nine months ended June 30, 2017.  The increase was driven by a $15.5 million increase in cash generated from operations prior to consideration of income tax, an $8.5 million favorable change in accounts payable due primarily to the timing of inventory purchases, an $8.6 million favorable change in inventory due to 5.8 million more gallons of liquid product purchases for the upcoming heating season at the beginning of fiscal 2018 as compared to fiscal 2017, a $7.0 million favorable change in insurance related liabilities due to timing, a $3.2 million decrease in taxes paid,authorities, and $0.7$1.0 million of other changes in working capital, which was partially offset by an unfavorable change in accounts receivable of $36.7 million (including customer credit balances).  The impact of colder weather in late March and April 2018, and an increase in per gallon product costs drove an increase in accounts receivable.capital.

Investing Activities

Our capital expenditures for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 totaled $8.2$5.7 million, as we invested in computer hardware and software ($3.51.4 million), refurbished certain physical plants ($1.01.4 million), expanded our propane operations ($2.1 1.0 million) and made additions to our fleet and other equipment ($1.61.9 million).

During the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020, we deposited $9.5 $6.4 million into an irrevocable trust to secure certain liabilities for our captive insurance company and another $1.1 $0.8 million of earnings were reinvested into the irrevocable trust. The cash deposited into the trust is shown on our balance sheet as captive insurance collateral and, correspondingly, reduced cash on our balance sheet.  We believe that investments into the irrevocable trust will lower our letter of credit fees, increase interest income on invested cash balances, and provide us with certain tax advantages attributable to a captive insurance company.

37


During the ninesix months ended June 30,March 31, 2020, the Company acquired the customer list and the assets of a heating oil dealer for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $0.5 million.

Our capital expenditures for the six months ended March 31, 2019 totaled $6.8 million, as we invested in computer hardware and software ($3.0 million), refurbished certain physical plants ($0.8 million), expanded our propane operations ($1.9 million) and made additions to our fleet and other equipment ($1.1 million).

During the six months ended March 31, 2019, we deposited $6.8 million into an irrevocable trust to secure certain liabilities for our captive insurance company and another $0.8 million of earnings were reinvested into the irrevocable trust.

During the six months ended March 31, 2019 the Company acquired two liquid product dealersa propane dealer and the assets of one of its subcontractors for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $62.8$13.7 million.  The gross purchase price was allocated $44.9$11.2 million to intangible assets, $13.1$2.7 million to fixed assets, $0.1 million to other long-term assets and $4.7reduced by $0.2 million for working capital. 

Our capital expenditures for the nine months ended June 30, 2018 totaled $8.7 million, as we invested in computer hardware and software ($1.7 million), refurbished certain physical plants ($1.3 million), expanded our propane operations ($2.1 million) and made additions to our fleet and other equipment ($3.6 million). We completed four acquisitions for approximately $22.8 million; $21.3 million in cash and $1.5 million of deferred liabilities.

In October 2017, we deposited $34.2 million of cash into an irrevocable trust to secure certain liabilities for our captive insurance company and, as a result, $36.6 million of letters of credit were cancelled that previously had secured these liabilities. Subsequently, $0.6 million of earnings have been reinvested into the irrevocable trust.  The cash deposited into the trust is shown on our balance sheet as Captive Insurance Collateral and, correspondingly, reduced cash on our balance sheet.  We believe that the investment into the irrevocable trust will lower our letter of credit fees, increase interest income on invested cash balances, and provide us with certain tax advantages attributable to a captive insurance company.credits.

Financing Activities

During the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020, werefinanced our five-year term loan and the revolving credit facility with the execution of the fifth amended and restated revolving credit facility agreement.  The $130 million of proceeds from the new term loan were used to repay the $90.0 million outstanding balance of the term loan, $39.0 million of the revolving credit facility borrowings under the old credit facility, and $1.0 million of debt issuance costs.  We also paid an additional $0.3 million of debt issuance costs, borrowed an additional net balance of $1.5 million under our revolving credit facility, repaid $2.5 million of our term loan, repurchased 2.1 million Common Units for $18.6 million in connection with our unit repurchase plan, and paid distributions of $18.6$11.8 million to our Common Unit holders and $0.6 million to our General Partner unit holders (including $0.5 million of incentive distributions as provided in our Partnership

40


Agreement). We borrowed $139.3 million under our revolving credit facility and subsequently repaid $70.3 million. We also repaid $5.0 million of our tem loan and repurchased 3.7 million common units for $34.9 million in connection with our unit repurchase plan.

During the nine months ended June 30, 2018 we paid distributions of $18.6 million to our Common Unit holders and $0.5$0.4 million to our General Partner unit holders (including $0.4 million of incentive distributions as provided in our Partnership Agreement).

During the six months ended March 31, 2019 we paid distributions of $12.3 million to our Common Unit holders and $0.4 million to our General Partner unit holders (including $0.3 million of incentive distributions as provided in our Partnership Agreement). We borrowed $160.1$139.3 million under our revolving credit to finance our working capitalfacility and subsequently repaid $118.6$25.8 million. We also repaid $7.5$2.5 million of our term loan. In addition, weloan and repurchased 2.42.8 million common units for $22.5$26.4 million in connection with our unit repurchase plan.

FINANCING AND SOURCES OF LIQUIDITY

Liquidity and Capital Resources Comparatives

Our primary uses of liquidity are to provide funds for our working capital, capital expenditures, distributions on our units, acquisitions and unit repurchases. Our ability to provide funds for such uses depends on our future performance, which will be subject to prevailing economic, financial, and business andconditions, especially in light of the impact of COVID-19, weather, conditions, the ability to pass on the full impact of high product costs to customers, the effects of high net customer attrition, conservation and other factors. Capital requirements, at least in the near term, are expected to be provided by cash flows from operating activities, cash on hand as of June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 ($5.710.3 million) or a combination thereof. To the extent future capital requirements exceed cash on hand plus cash flows from operating activities, we anticipate that working capital will be financed by our revolving credit facility, as discussed below, and reduced from subsequent seasonal reductions in inventory and accounts receivable. As of June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, we had $70.5 accounts receivable of $187.1 million of which $149.4 million is due from residential customers and $37.7 million is due from commercial customers. Our ability to borrow from our bank group is based in part on the aging of these accounts receivable. If these balances do not meet the eligibility tests as found in our fifth amended and restated credit agreement, our ability to borrow will be reduced and our anticipated cash flow from operating activities will also be reduced.  As of March 31, 2020, we had $24.0 million in borrowings under our revolving credit facility, $95.0$130 million under our term loan and $7.0$4.4 million in letters of credit outstanding. We are also analyzing whether to participate in certain Federal Reserve-backed loan programs adopted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that are available to companies our size.

Under the terms of our credit agreement, we must maintain at all times Availability (borrowing base less amounts borrowed and letters of credit issued) of 15% of the maximum facility size and a fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.15. We must also maintain a senior secured leverage ratio that cannot be more than 3.0 as of June 30th30th or September 30th,30th, and no more than 4.5 as of December 31st31st or March 31st.31st. As of June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, Availability, as defined in the credit agreement, was $147.4$210.4 million, and we were in compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio and senior secured leverage ratio.  

Maintenance capital expenditures for the remainder of fiscal 20192020 are estimated to be approximately $1.5$4.0 million to $2.0$5.5 million, excluding the capital requirements for leased fleet. In addition, we plan to invest approximately $0.5 million to $1.0 million in our propane operations. Distributions for the balance of fiscal 2019,2020, at the current quarterly level of $0.1250$0.1325 per unit, would result in an aggregate of approximately $6.2$12.0 million to Common Unit holders, $0.2$0.5 million to ourthe General Partner (including $0.2$0.5 million of incentive distribution as provided for in our Partnership Agreement) and $0.2$0.5 million to management pursuant to the management incentive compensation plan which provides for certain members of management to receive incentive distributions that would otherwise be payable to the General Partner. Under the terms of our credit facility, our term loan is repayable in quarterly

38


payments of $2.5$3.25 million (the first of which was made on April 1, 2020) and, depending on our fiscal 20192020 results, we may be required to make an additional payment (see(See Note 11 - Long-Term Debt and Bank Facility Borrowings). In addition, subject to any additional liquidity issues or concerns resulting from the current COVID-19 pandemic, we intend to continue to repurchase Common Units pursuant to our unit repurchase plan, as amended from time to time, and seek attractive acquisition opportunities within the Availability constraints of our revolving credit facility and funding resources.

Contractual Obligations and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

There has been no material change to Contractual Obligations and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements since our September 30, 20182019 Form 10-K disclosure and therefore, the table has not been included in this Form 10-Q.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The following new accounting standards were recently adopted by the Company, and are more fully described inRefer to Note 2 -Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements, of the consolidated financial statements:

ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers

ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flow (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments

ASU No. 2017-01, Business Combinations:  Clarifying the Definition of a Business

The following new accounting standards are currently being evaluated by the Company, and are more fully described in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements,for discussion regarding the impact of theaccounting standards that were recently adopted and issued but not yet effective, on our consolidated financial statements:  statements.

ASU No. 2016-02, Leases

ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses

41


ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other:  Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment

ASU No. 2018-14, Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Defined Benefit Plans - General: Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans

ASU No. 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software: Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement that is a Service Contract

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Item 3.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We are exposed to interest rate risk primarily through our bank credit facilities. We utilize these borrowings to meet our working capital needs.

At June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, we had outstanding borrowings totaling $165.5154.0 million, which are subject to variable interest rates under our credit agreement. In the event that interest rates associated with this facility were to increase 100 basis points, the after tax impact on annual future cash flows would be a decrease of $1.21.1 million.

We regularly use derivative financial instruments to manage our exposure to market risk related to changes in the current and future market price of home heating oil and vehicle fuels. The value of market sensitive derivative instruments is subject to change as a result of movements in market prices. Sensitivity analysis is a technique used to evaluate the impact of hypothetical market value changes. Based on a hypothetical ten percent increase in the cost of product at June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, the potential impact on our hedging activity would be to increase the fair market value of these outstanding derivatives by $7.1$0.4 million to a fair market value of $4.7$(13.8) million; and conversely a hypothetical ten percent decrease in the cost of product would decrease the fair market value of these outstanding derivatives by $4.8less than $0.1 million to a fair market value of $(7.2)$(14.2) million.

Item 4.

Controls and Procedures

a) Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures

The General Partner’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as that term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) as of June 30, 2019.March 31, 2020. Based on that evaluation, such chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 at the reasonable level of assurance. For purposes of Rule 13a-15(e), the term disclosure controls and procedures means controls and other procedures of an issuer that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Act”) (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Act is accumulated and communicated to the issuer’s management, including its chief executive officer and chief financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

b) Change in internal control over financial reporting

No changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting occurred during the Company’s most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected or is reasonably likely to materially affect the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

c) Other

The General Partner and the Company believe that a controls system, no matter how well designed and operated, cannot provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the controls system are met, and no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a Company have been detected. Therefore, a control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide such reasonable assurances of achieving our desired control objectives, and the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of our general partnerthe General Partner have concluded, as of June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective in achieving that level of reasonable assurance.

 

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PART II OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1.

On April 18, 2017, a civil action was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, entitled M. Norman Donnenfeld v. Petro, Inc., Civil Action Number 2:17-cv-2310-JFB-SIL, against Petro, Inc. By amended complaint filed on August 15, 2017, the Plaintiff alleged he did not receive expected contractual benefits under his protected price plan contract when oil prices fell and assertsasserted various claims for relief including breach of contract, violation of the New York General Business Law and fraudulent inducement. The Plaintiff also seekssought to have a class certified of similarly situated Petro customers who entered into protected price plan contracts and were denied the same contractual benefits.  No class has yet been certified in this action. The Plaintiff seekssought compensatory, punitive and other damages in unspecified amounts.  On September 15, 2017, Petro filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint as time-barred and for failure to state a cause of action.  On September 12, 2018, the district court granted in part and denied in part Petro's motion to dismiss.  The district court dismissed the Plaintiff's claims for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and fraudulent inducement, but declined to dismiss the Plaintiff's remaining claims.  The district court granted the Plaintiff leave to amend to attempt to replead his fraudulent inducement claim.  On October 10, 2018, the Plaintiff filed a second amended complaint.  The second amended complaint attempted to replead a fraudulent inducement claim and iswas otherwise substantially similar or identical to the prior complaint.  On November 13, 2018, Petro moved to dismiss the fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment claims in the second amended complaint.  On January 31, 2019, the court granted the motion and dismissed the fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment claims with prejudice.  On February 22, 2019, counsel for Petro and the Plaintiff participated in a mediation which, after arms-length negotiations, resulted in a memorandum of understanding to settle the litigation, subject to the completion of confirmatory discovery, negotiation of a final settlement agreement and court approval.  In an order dated March 27, 2019, the district court stayed all discovery deadlines in light of the pending settlement.  On May 6,October 4, 2019, upon consent of all parties, Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf assigned the Plaintiff filed an Unopposed Motionaction to Magistrate Judge Steve I. Locke for Preliminary Approvalfinal disposition.  On March 26, 2020, the court granted final approval of Class Action Settlement which remains pending before the court.class action settlement, certified the class for settlement purposes only and dismissed the action with prejudice.  On March 26, 2020, the court also granted Plaintiff’s unopposed motion for fees, expenses and named plaintiff service award.  The anticipated settlement is not an admission of liability or breach to any customers by Petro and the Company continues to believe the allegations lack merit.  If the settlement is not approved or finalizedcompleted for any reason, the Company will continue to vigorously defend the action; in that case, we cannot assess the potential outcome or materiality of this matter. matter.

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

The following risk factor is in addition to our risk factors included in Part I Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our Fiscal 2019 Form 10-K that could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations In addition to the other information set forth in this Report, investors should carefully review and consider the information regarding certain factors, which could materially affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows set forth in Part I Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our Fiscal 20182019 Form 10-K. We may disclose changes to such factors or disclose additional factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.

Our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows may be adversely affected by global public health pandemics, including COVID-19, an infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and their related impact on the economy and financial markets.

A global public health pandemic, including COVID-19, poses the risk that we or our employees, vendors, or customers may be prevented from conducting business activities for an indefinite period of time, including shutdowns that may be requested or mandated by governmental authorities, restrictions on travel to or from locations where we obtain product, provide services or where our customers are located. While as of the date hereof, we have been deemed an essential business by state and local governmental officials and are therefore permitted to continue operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, our continued status as an essential business in all or certain of our markets could change by subsequent order and is beyond our control  If workers at one or more of our offices or the offices of our suppliers become ill or are quarantined and in either or both events are therefore unable to work, our operations could be subject to disruption. Further, our customers’ financial condition may be adversely impacted as a result of the impacts of COVID-19, or another global public health pandemic, and efforts taken to prevent its spread, which could result in reduced demand or impact their ability to pay for our products and services. The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused, and is likely to continue to cause, severe economic, market and other disruptions worldwide. We cannot assure you that conditions in the bank lending, capital and other financial markets will not continue to deteriorate as a result of the pandemic, or that our access to capital and other sources of funding will not become constrained, which could adversely affect the availability and terms of future borrowings,

41


renewals or refinancings.  The extent, if any, to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact our business remains uncertain, however, there could be a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

The potential effects of COVID-19 also could impact many of our risk factors, included in Part 1, Item A of our Fiscal 2019 Form 10-K, including, but not limited to our profitability, laws and regulations affecting our business, fluctuations in the financial markets and hedging, the availability of future borrowings, the costs of current and future borrowings, valuation of our pension assets and obligations, and credit risks of our customers and counterparties. However, given the evolving health, economic, social, and governmental environments, the potential impact that COVID-19 could have on our risk factors that are further described in our Fiscal 2019 Form 10-K remain uncertain.

Item 2.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

Note 4 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements concerning the Company’s repurchase of Common Units during the ninesix months ended June 30, 2019March 31, 2020 is incorporated into this Item 2 by reference.

 

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Item 6.

Exhibits

(a)

Exhibits Included Within:

 

 

 

 

  10.20

Letter Agreement, dated as of June 19, 2019, between the Company and Jeffrey M. Woosnam regarding employment (Incorporated by reference to an exhibit to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 21, 2019).

  10.21

Second Amendment to the Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of June 17, 2019.

31.1

Certification of Chief Executive Officer, Star Group, L.P., pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a).

 

 

31.2

Certification of Chief Financial Officer, Star Group, L.P., pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a).

 

 

32.1

Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

32.2

Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

101

The following materials from the Star Group, L.P. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019,March 31, 2020, formatted in Inline Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL)(iXBRL): (i) the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, (iii) the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, (iv) the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Partners’ Capital, (v) the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and (vi) related notes.

 

 

101.INS

XBRL Instance Document.

101.SCH

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.

 

 

101.CAL

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.

 

 

101.LAB

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.

 

 

101.PRE

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.

 

 

101.DEF

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.

104

Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)

 

 

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SIGNATURESSIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrants have duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf of the undersigned thereunto duly authorized:

 

 

 

Star Group, L.P.

(Registrant)

 

 

By:

Kestrel Heat LLC AS GENERAL PARTNER

 

Signature

 

Title

 

Date

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Richard F. Ambury

Richard F. Ambury

 

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer,

Treasurer and Secretary Kestrel Heat LLC

(Principal Financial Officer)

 

July 31, 2019May 4, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Signature

 

Title

 

Date

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Cory A. Czekanski

Cory A. Czekanski

 

Vice President – Controller Kestrel Heat LLC

(Principal Accounting Officer)

 

July 31, 2019May 4, 2020

 

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