ONEOK Partners Profit In Line, Revenue Misses; Cuts FY Profit Guidance

(RTTNews) - ONEOK Partners L.P. (OKS) Tuesday reported third-quarter net earnings of $167 million or $0.32 per unit, compared with $216 million or $0.64 per unit last year.

Results for the quarter included a non-cash impairment charge of $76.4 million, or $0.31 per unit.

Revenues for the quarter were $3.12 billion, compared with $3.13 billion in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.63 per share on revenues of $3.72 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For the full year, the partnership now expects net income of $910 million to $970 million, down from prior guidance of $975 million to $1.08 billion.

The partnership also revised full-year volume guidance for natural gas gathered and processed and NGLs gathered and fractionated.

Natural gas gathered is now expected to be about 1,720 billion British thermal units per day (BBtu/d), compared with the prior guidance of 1,700 BBtu/d, and natural gas processed is expected to be about 1,510 BBtu/d, compared with the prior guidance of 1,410 BBtu/d, due primarily to volume growth in the Williston Basin and Mid-Continent from new natural gas processing plants placed in service.

NGLs gathered are expected to be about 520,000 barrels per day (bpd), from prior 2014 guidance of 631,000 bpd, and NGLs fractionated are expected to be about 530,000 bpd, compared with prior guidance of 589,000 bpd, due primarily to increased ethane rejection, the slower than expected ramp-up of previously connected natural gas processing plants and the impact of severely cold weather in the first quarter 2014.

For the fourth quarter, natural gas gathered and natural gas processed are expected to reach about 1,850 BBtu/d and 1,600 BBtu/d, respectively, for the fourth quarter. NGLs gathered and fractionated are expected to reach about 575,000 bpd for the quarter.

The partnership's 2014 capital expenditures are expected to be $1.7 billion, compared with the prior guidance of $2.1 billion.