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NORTHERN BORDER PARTNERS, L.P. REPORTS
THIRD QUARTER NET INCOME OF $12.7 MILLION
AND DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, October 16, 1997
HOUSTON -- Northern Border Partners, L.P. today reported net income of $12.7
million, or $0.47 per unit, for the third quarter of 1997. The amounts compare to net
income of $12.9 million, or $0.48 per unit, for the same period in 1996. Comparative
operating revenues were $52.7 million for the most recent quarter and $52.9 million a year
ago.
For the first nine months of 1997, Northern Border Partners, L.P. reported net
income of $39.0 million, compared to $38.5 million for the first nine months of 1996. Net
income per unit for the nine months ended September 30, 1997 amounted to $1.45 per unit
compared to $1.44 per unit for the first nine months of 1996. Net income for the first nine
months of 1997 includes $2.0 million, or $0.07 per unit, related to amounts received by
Northern Border Pipeline Company for vacating certain microwave frequency bands.
Revenues for the first nine months of 1997 were $147.5 million, compared to $158.7
million for the comparable period in 1996. The change in revenues for this period is
primarily due to lower transportation rates which resulted from the settlement of Northern
Border Pipeline Company's rate case.
Third quarter 1997 throughput volumes for Northern Border Pipeline Company
averaged 1,714 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) versus 1,684 MMcf/d for the third
quarter of 1996. Volumes for the first nine months of 1997 averaged 1,761 MMcf/d
compared to 1,747 MMcf/d for the comparable period a year ago.
The Partnership Policy Committee of Northern Border Partners, L.P. today
declared the Partnership's regular quarterly cash distribution of $0.55 per unit for the third
quarter of 1997. The indicated annual rate is $2.20 per unit. The distribution is payable
November 14, 1997, to unitholders of record as of October 31, 1997, out of available cash
flow from operations of the Partnership from July 1, 1997 to September 30, 1997.
"The Chicago Project received final Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
approval on August 1, 1997," said Larry L. DeRoin, chairman and chief executive officer
of Northern Border Partners, L.P. "The project, which is fully subscribed and will
increase capacity by 42 percent, is well underway and we continue to target a November
1998 in-service date," DeRoin said. "The Partnership expects to realize incremental
earnings and cash flows related to the capital investment in the expansion and extension of
the Northern Border Pipeline system."
Northern Border Partners, L.P. owns a 70 percent general partner interest in
Northern Border Pipeline Company, which owns a 969-mile U.S. interstate pipeline
system that transports about 20 percent of all Canadian gas into the U.S. The Partnership
also has a 71.75 percent ownership position in Black Mesa Pipeline, a 273-mile coal-water
slurry pipeline from Kayenta, Arizona to Laughlin, Nevada. Northern Border Partners,
L.P. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NBP".
For additional information please contact:
A. H. Davis
(713) 853-6941
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