Williams Swings to Loss; Williams Partners Profit Falls 27%

By Tess Stynes 

Williams Cos. swung to a fourth-quarter loss as its Williams Partners LP affiliate said its earnings fell 27% during the period--mostly on lost production at its Geismar olefins plant and lower natural-gas liquids margins.

Williams gathers and transports natural gas and owns most of its namesake master limited partnership, Williams Partners.

The company, which affirmed its 2014 guidance, has been investing to take advantage of production opportunities in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays and other areas.

Williams Partners' Geismar plant in Louisiana exploded last June and has been out of service since then. The company expects the plant to remain offline until June of this year. The expected delay in returning the plant to service resulted from a variety of factors, including the extended loss of utilities and the congestion and complexity from temporary utility equipment influencing both the rebuild and expansion efforts.

Williams reported a loss of $14 million, or two cents a share, compared with year-earlier earnings of $149 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding effects for the Geismar plant and other items, adjusted earnings from continuing operations fell to 22 cents from 25 cents.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters recently expected per-share profit of 22 cents.

Williams Partners reported a profit of $211 million, or 12 cents a unit, down from $291 million, or 42 cents a unit a share, a year earlier. Fee-based revenue rose 8.4% to $752 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters recently expected per-unit profit of 39 cents.

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