HispanicBusiness

JEFFERSONVILLE, IN -- (Marketwire) -- 02/25/13 --


Highlights

•Adjusted EBITDAR of $232.1 million for the year -- a 33% increase over prior year •Operating income of $61.1 million for the year -- an increase of $57.4 million compared to prior year •Cash generated from operating activities of $65.8 million during the quarter •Net Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDAR ratio of 2.0 times at year-end •Strong liquidity with $176.6 million in available borrowing capacity as of December 31, 2012 •Company announces offering of $650 million senior secured term loan. Proceeds to redeem ACL I Notes and Senior Notes of the Company and pay distribution to shareholders

Commercial Barge Line Company (the "Company") today announced results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2012. For the year, the Company reported total revenues of $811.6 million and Adjusted EBITDAR of $232.1 million. Compared to 2011 results, revenues declined $41.4 million, or 4.9%, while Adjusted EBITDAR improved by $57.8 million, or 33.2%. For the quarter, total revenues were $207.9 million compared to $244.5 million in 2011 and Adjusted EBITDAR was $62.8 million compared to $60.3 million in 2011.

Commenting on the results, Mark Knoy, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are quite pleased with the continued strong operating performance we experienced, despite the challenges we faced due to the drought-related operating conditions as well as its impact on the US grain harvest. While we experienced a decline in transportation segment revenue of over $26 million in the quarter compared to last year, driven by a 27% reduction in grain ton-mile volume, our EBITDAR margin was essentially flat with what we achieved in the prior year and our Adjusted EBITDAR, which adjusts for non-comparable items including our estimate of drought-impact, exceeded last year by $2.5 million, resulting in a 5.6 percentage point increase in our Adjusted EBITDAR margin. For the year, this trend was even more marked, with an improvement in Adjusted EBITDAR of $57.8 million on a transportation revenue base that was nearly $34 million lower, for an Adjusted EBITDAR margin improvement of over 8%. Our ability to continue to deliver improved operating performance and earnings is the direct result of our execution of the operating priorities that we have been driving for the past two years -- maintaining a focused distribution footprint within our core operating network, reducing non-value miles, investing wisely to improve the reliability of our equipment and providing a safe environment for our teammates to deliver on our productivity initiatives."

As previously announced, the Company entered into new contractual agreements with MEG Energy (US) Inc. and SeaRiver Maritime Inc. (a marine affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation) ("Exxon") during the fourth quarter, further extending the Company's scope within the fast growing petroleum distribution market. Mr. Knoy stated, "We have identified the petroleum market as a significant growth opportunity for the Company, and have aggressively pursued new opportunities in this space. We are excited about working with MEG Energy and Exxon on these new contracts. Bolstered by these new relationships and the anticipated additions of tank barges to our fleet during 2013, we will move more than 60 million barrels of crude oil, refined petroleum products, chemicals and other liquid products on an annualized basis, greatly increasing our market position in this fast-growing sector, and thereby strengthening our business mix and improving our quality of earnings. As we continue to expand in this space, we expect that our liquids business will contribute approximately 60% of our consolidated EBITDAR in the future."