Tidewater Renewables Ltd. (LCFS) Earnings Call Transcript
August 13, 2026
Earnings Call Speaker Segments
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Limited and Tidewater Renewables Limited Q2 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded on Thursday, August 13, 2026. And I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Ian Quartly, CFO. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Leena, and welcome, everyone, to the joint conference call for the second quarter 2026 results of both Tidewater Midstream Infrastructure Limited and Tidewater Renewables Limited. Joining me today is our CEO, Jeremy Baines, who will provide an update on our operational performance, regulatory tailwinds and the favorable market conditions we are seeing to start the year. I will follow with the financial results and details on the increased 2026 guidance, and then we'll open the line for your questions. This morning, both Tidewater Midstream and Tidewater Renewables reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. A copy of the news releases, financial statements and MD&A may be accessed on SEDAR+ or on the respective companies' websites. Before we get started, I'd like to note that today's call is being recorded for the benefit of individual shareholders, the media and other interested parties who may want to review the call at a later time. The recorded call will be available through Cision. Some of the comments made today may be forward-looking in nature and are based on Tidewater's current expectations, judgments and projections. Forward-looking statements we express today are subject to risks and uncertainties, which can cause actual results to differ from expectations. Further, some of the information provided refers to non-GAAP measures. To know more about these forward-looking statements, non-GAAP measures and risk factors, please see the company's various financial reports, which are available on the company's website and on SEDAR+. I'll now turn the call over to Jeremy.
Thanks, Ian, and good morning to everybody, and thank you for joining us today. I'm going to start off my remarks talking about Tidewater Renewables. During the second quarter, HDRD complex achieved record average daily throughput of 3,315 barrels per day, representing a 111% utilization rate. The team has done a fantastic job completing a number of very low-cost debottlenecking initiatives, which, along with flawless facility reliability, enabled the HDRD complex to consistently operate above nameplate capacity. This was extremely important to produce above nameplate capacity during a quarter when we realized record margins on the sale of the renewable diesel sold at U.S. import parity pricing from the facility. We also captured an additional $0.16 per liter of margin from the Biofuels Production Incentive, which led to the record financial results that Ian will discuss later on the call. On the regulatory front, during the first quarter of 2026, Tidewater Renewables received conditional approval from Natural Resources Canada for the Biofuel Production Incentive Program. On July 7, the contribution agreement was executed, which secures total funding in line with the full annual production capacity of the HDRD complex. We expect to receive both the first and second quarter cash contributions totaling $13.8 million during the third quarter of 2026, with subsequent contributions to be received quarterly in arrears, providing a consistent boost to our cash flow and liquidity. Moving next to the sustainable aviation fuel project, which continues to progress toward a final investment decision during the fourth quarter of this year. On June 19, 2026, Tidewater Renewables executed a new Initiative Agreement with the Government of British Columbia, which will provide additional BC LCFS credits to support the funding of critical pre-FID activities. These pre-FID activities are expected to allow Tidewater Renewables to preserve project schedule, maintain vendor and fabrication capacity availability, mature engineering deliverables, support regulatory advancement and position the project for efficient execution post-FID. Tidewater Renewables expects to receive BC LCFS credits in the third and fourth quarter of 2026 as certain project milestones are achieved. Now moving over to Tidewater Midstream. Throughput at the Prince George Refinery averaged 10,032 barrels per day in the second quarter due to a planned 17-day partial facility outage during April to complete scheduled equipment cleaning and other maintenance activities. Excluding the impact of the scheduled outage, throughput at PGR averaged 12,060 barrels per day or 101% of design capacity. Market conditions for refined products were at historically high levels during the second quarter due to global energy supply disruptions and the reduction of global refining capacity, particularly in the Middle East and Russia. As a result, the Prince George crack spread averaged $118 per barrel in the second quarter of 2026, a 16% increase from the first quarter of 2026. Looking ahead for the second half of the year and beyond, the refining macro environment remains very constructive. Globally, there is approximately 10% of refining capacity offline and most of that is due to damaged equipment that will take an extended time to repair or rebuild. At the same time, inventories of refined products are at historically low levels. As previously disclosed, Tidewater Midstream hedged approximately 50% of crack spread exposure between April and December 2026. Subsequent to the second quarter, during the second half of July, Tidewater Midstream entered into additional hedges for approximately 40% of its crack spread exposure for 2027 at fixed prices significantly above both mid-cycle pricing and 2026 realized hedge pricing. Tidewater's hedging program is designed to manage commodity price volatility and establish a baseline for the corporation's free cash flow. At the BRC gas processing, throughput averaged 105 million cubic feet per day during the second quarter of 2026, an 8% decrease over the previous quarter. The lower throughput was primarily due to NGTL curtailments that limited producer volumes coming through the facility, which also decreased fractionation facility utilization to 76% in the second quarter compared to 90% in the first quarter of 2026. We continue to hold active discussions with prospective and existing customers as we focus on increasing utilization at the BRC. The Ram River Gas Plant remains temporarily curtailed, while sulfur handling operations continue to operate. Current market prices, especially for sulfur are at levels that are highly economic for sour gas producers, and our intent is to restart the gas plant when production in the area resumes. Looking ahead, we continue to remain focused on driving operational excellence, enhancing margins and executing on strategic initiatives, including maximizing utilization at the PGR and HDRD complex, strengthening commercial platforms and offtakes, advancing our SAF project while managing capital prudently, increasing our midstream facility utilizations at BRC and Ram River, progressing non-core asset sales to unlock liquidity, and we continue to advocate for a fair regulatory and trade environment. We believe these building blocks position us for both revenue growth and margin expansion during the second half of 2026. With that, I'll now turn it to Ian for the financial review.
Thanks, Jeremy. Tidewater Renewables generated record adjusted EBITDA of $56 million during the second quarter. This performance was underpinned by the HDRD complex running above nameplate capacity, which allowed us to capture the improving market pricing by leveraging our offtake contracts that are indexed to the U.S. import pricing benchmarks. Included in the $56 million of adjusted EBITDA is $7.7 million of expected proceeds recognized during the second quarter from the Biofuels Production Incentive and $7.7 million of adjusted EBITDA from the equity investment in the cattle company, primarily due to increase in cattle prices. Tidewater Midstream generated deconsolidated adjusted EBITDA of $32.9 million in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of $7.3 million from the first quarter of '26. This performance was primarily driven by stronger crack spread at Prince George Refinery, which were partially offset by realized losses on the crack spread hedges. At the Tidewater consolidated group level, second quarter adjusted EBITDA of $88.9 million was a quarterly record and a $39.2 million increase over the first quarter of 2026. Moving now to the credit facilities and leverage, where both Tidewater Renewables and Tidewater Midstream had significant progress towards our debt reduction and deleveraging targets during the second quarter. Consolidated net debt decreased by $44.4 million during second quarter due to a $30.9 million debt reduction in Tidewater Midstream in addition to a $13.5 million debt reduction at Tidewater Renewables. When combined with the higher adjusted EBITDA recorded in the second quarter, this has resulted in significant reductions in each company's leverage. Tidewater Renewables reported a debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio of 1.47x at June 30 and Tidewater Midstream reported a debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio of 2.3x. On a consolidated basis, the debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio of 1.7x is now back within the target range of 1.2 to 2.5x. With the release of the second quarter financial results this morning, we also announced increases to the full year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA is now forecast to be between $230 million and $250 million, an increase of 20% over the midpoint of the previous guidance. Tidewater Renewables adjusted EBITDA guidance was increased to between $130 million and $140 million, and Tidewater Midstream's deconsolidated adjusted EBITDA guidance was increased to between $100 million and $110 million. The primary drivers for the increased adjusted EBITDA guidance are higher facility utilization, sustained strength in forward market crack spreads and improved pricing for renewable diesel and emission credits. Forecasted 2026 capital expenditures remain unchanged at $2 million to $3 million for Tidewater Renewables and $20 million to $25 million for Tidewater consolidated. This capital guidance includes both growth and maintenance capital and is net of the BC LCFS credits expected to be received under the executed Initiative Agreements for capital projects. By maintaining a disciplined capital program, the resulting free cash flow will be primarily directed towards debt reduction. That concludes our prepared remarks. Leena, please open the line for questions.
[Operator Instructions] And your first question comes from the line of Rob Hope from Scotiabank.
First question is on the SAF project. So as we take a look at a Q4 potential sanctioning of the project, can you update us with any, we'll call it, key milestones we should be looking for as well as sizing and cost and the potential in-service date of the asset?
Yes. Great. Thanks for the question, Rob. So milestones, we've been very consistent on this. We need the regulatory environment to support the project. There's really two pieces to that. We're waiting for the targeted amendments that ECCC is looking at around the CFR, and how they treat SAF there. But we're expecting to see those come out sometime here, I'm guessing, in the third quarter. And then the second piece would be some other regulatory programs around support for a SAF industry in Canada that we're watching for. With those, we would go ahead and FID the project later this year. Capital cost is about a $1.2 billion build-out is what we're at. We've got a very detailed and solid Class III FEED on that.
Appreciate that. And then maybe moving over to the hedging program. Can you update us on how you're thinking about the level of hedging that is appropriate for Tidewater? So it does appear that 50% is kind of the number for 2026. You've already got 40% for 2027. Could we see potentially you layering on above that depending on what the forward market looks like, or is that kind of 50-ish percent open the sweet spot for the company?
Yes, that's a good question. We've been sort of monitoring the situation and, obviously, in a fairly attractive crack spread environment. And we wanted to put a baseline of cash flow under the business for the year to ensure we met some of our debt reduction goals. And so that led us to the 50% hedge program in '26. We've started layering in at '27. We like where the forward cracks are in '27. So putting some certainty under those is, we think, prudent. I don't see us maybe opportunistically in certain points if we could go above 50%, but 50% seems to be the right sort of spot for us to just make sure we take some of the volatility out of revenues.
[Operator Instructions] Your next question comes from the line of Maurice Choy from RBC Capital Markets.
Just wanted to talk about funding for a moment. The net debt to EBITDA clearly has come down very nicely into target ranges. And I guess in the past, you direct a lot of attention to raising new capital through, I guess, non-core asset sales, for example. When you think about your funding plan, and how much cash you're generating, like is there still a need to go about some of those initiatives, or should we think about this balance sheet meant to support initiatives like the SAF, for example, other growth projects?
No, good question. Thank you, Maurice. So two things. We will continue to pursue the non-core asset sales that we've talked about in the past, and we're on track to the guidance we've given the market there. We have done a deep review over the last couple of years of all of our assets and any assets that aren't generating an appropriate return and don't fit our strategy. We are actively working to core up and sell those assets. So we will continue on that front. It's really a matter more of do these assets fit our strategy, most importantly, do they generate an appropriate return. And so the assets we're selling, some of them are negative period like don't generate any return, but are -- do have some value to others. And so we're continuing on that path and on track. As far as funding going forward, yes, obviously, we've been very careful managing our capital programs over the last couple of years. I think the team has done a very good job in implementing a new risk-based framework, ensuring that every dollar we spend generates an appropriate return or an appropriate reduction in risk. So we'll continue to do that. The big item, I think that you're probably thinking about is our SAF project. And we do -- assuming, regulatory environment gets to the spot that we would like -- that we need for us to go ahead and FID that project, we see that the ability to finance and fund that program, we expect to get the same level of support for that project as we did on the RD plant on a relative basis. We do see that an ability to over a 3-year build period for that project, contribute funds out of cash flow from operations to fund that build. As the project goes here, we feel pretty comfortable with our ability to do that. We do have other alternatives. We've got a First Nations partner who is taking a look at a small equity stake in that project who is very supportive of the project. There's others who've expressed an interest in partnering with us, so we have that option as well. So we feel like we're in good shape to meet our key funding programs. Obviously, we will always continue to treat our capital and our spending there, ensuring that we're getting an appropriate risk-adjusted return on it.
And maybe just a quick clarification on that part. You mentioned that 3-year build, you can probably fund that out of your own operating cash flows. So it sounds like you don't necessarily need the funding partners, but you probably welcome the collaboration and reconciliation, is that fair?
Yes. Like right now, obviously, we're working with a potential First Nations partner. We would like them to join the project if they so choose to invest. Otherwise, we believe through the Part 3 Agreements and cash flow from operations, we have the ability to do this whole SAF project on our own. It's a 3-year build out, online 2030, and will have a meaningful impact on our cash flows at that time. So that's the base case, but we do have a lot of other alternatives available to us that -- to consider as we move forward on that project.
Understood. And maybe just thinking more holistically of the Tidewater complex. Obviously, when Tidewater Renewables was first created, it was under a very different environment, different market expectations, different outlook, and we are where we are today. And I just wonder if you could just reset our views to why you still think this is the right construct today, perhaps what variables could change for you to reconsider the structure itself.
So when we look at the business, and I think I've been saying this from day 1, we see it as a fuels business and midstream business. We have a great team that has very good experience across both of those lines of business, both building, owning, operating. We continue to see constructive environments around both of those business streams. We see a very supportive regulatory environment, supporting renewable fuels. We've seen global events that are very supportive of our conventional fuels refining business, and we continue to see the build-out and development of a great resource in Western Canada that supports the demand for our midstream services. So we're very comfortable with our businesses. We have two companies. We have generated efficiencies operating them. And we continue to work to be -- generate cash flow for all our shareholders and optimize the businesses.
[Operator Instructions] There are no further question at this time. I will now hand the call back to Mr. Ian Quartly for any closing remarks.
Thanks, everyone, for joining the call. The team is available to address any of your outstanding items with our contact information at the bottom of each company's press release. Thank you.
This concludes today's call. Thank you for participating. You may all disconnect.
Read the full transcript via the API
You're viewing the first half of this call. Get the complete Tidewater Renewables Ltd. transcript - plus 252,000+ transcripts from 12,000+ companies, speaker segments and full-text search - through the EarningsAPI REST API or hosted MCP server.
Get an API key View API docs →For developers and AI pipelines
Programmatic access to Tidewater Renewables Ltd. earnings transcripts and 252,000+ others is available through the
EarningsAPI REST API and the hosted MCP server.
Quarterly plans from $105 - full transcripts, speaker segments, full-text search,
and the /api/v1/transcripts/recent polling endpoint for ETL pipelines.