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Alliance Resource Partners

arlp · NASDAQ Energy
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Ticker arlp
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Sector Energy
Industry Coal
Employees 1001-5000
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FY2018 Annual Report · Alliance Resource Partners
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THE

20 1 8   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   A L L I A N C E   R E S O U R C E   PA R T N E R S ,  L . P.

THE RIGHT 
ATTITUDE 

WE’RE COMMITTED TO 

DELIVERING STRONG 

PERFORMANCE AND 

INVESTING IN OUR 

BUSINESS TO CREATE 

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 

AND CASH FLOWS.

RIGHT MOVES

FELLOW UNITHOLDERS, achieving your goals doesn’t happen overnight. It takes forethought, focus 
and follow-through. Most of all, it takes a dedicated team making the right moves. That’s why Alliance entered 

2018 expecting strong operating and financial results and continued execution on our strategic objective to 

generate future growth in cash flow.

Through a challenging market in 2016, we made strategic decisions designed to lay a foundation for long-

term performance, value and reliability for you: our unitholders. In 2017, we remained true to those decisions, 

building on our foundation and executing plans with an unwavering focus. In 2018, those efforts paid off. 

Alliance achieved record coal sales volumes at higher price realizations and posted year-over-year increases  

to coal production, revenues, net income and EBITDA.

These results reflect the dedication of our employees and their daily focus on executing ARLP’s strategic 

objectives and priorities. Through the efforts of our operating team, we reopened the Gibson North mine and 

added a production unit at our River View mine, increasing ARLP’s year-over-year production volumes by more 

than 7%. The increased production supported the efforts of our marketing team to capitalize on positive coal 

market fundamentals. We achieved record sales volumes in 2018 driven primarily by a significant expansion 

of ARLP’s presence in the international thermal and metallurgical coal markets, with the year-over-year 

shipments to those markets increasing by 4.6 million tons to 11.2 million tons or approximately 27.8% of  

our total 2018 coal sales volumes.

We’re proud of our team’s strong performance in 2018. Making the right moves, investing in long-term  

growth, and working hard for our unitholders has served us well this past year...and that dedication will 

continue to guide our growth and success in 2019 and beyond.

Joseph W. Craft III 
PRESIDENT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF ALLIANCE RESOURCE PARTNERS, L.P.                          April 1, 2019

1

RIGHT
STRATEGY

Our capital allocation focus and the accompanying goals—

grow the business, increase cash flow, and return cash to 

our unitholders—all benefited from faithful execution of our 

long-term strategy in 2018.

TOTAL REVENUES INCREASED 11.5% TO $2.0 BILLION. 

NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO ARLP INCREASED 

20.7% TO $366.6 MILLION. EBITDA INCREASED 12.2%  

TO $686.9 MILLION*.

TOTAL COAL SALES VOLUMES INCREASED BY 6.9% TO 

A RECORD 40.4 MILLION TONS AND IMPROVED YEAR-

OVER-YEAR PRICE REALIZATIONS LED TO A COAL-SALE 

REVENUE INCREASE OF 7.8% TO $1.84 BILLION.

DURING 2018, THE BOARD ELECTED TO INCREASE 

DISTRIBUTIONS PER UNIT 3.9% AND ARLP REPURCHASED 

3.7 MILLION UNITS FOR $70.6 MILLION IN OPEN MARKET 

TRANSACTIONS.

*2018 and 2017 comparative results were impacted by:

•  2018 results include an $80.0 million settlement gain recorded upon resolution of litigation related to a coal supply agreement and  
$40.5 million of non-cash impairment charges in the fourth quarter of 2018 comprised of (i) a $34.3 million impairment related to  
the reduction of the economic mine life at our Dotiki mine and (ii) a $6.2 million impairment of certain coal reserves in Illinois.
•  2017 results include an $8.1 million debt extinguishment loss related to ARLP’s early repayment of its Series B Senior Notes.

 Please see inside back cover for a reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to the most closely comparable GAAP measure.

2

3

SIMPLIFY

THE TIMING WAS RIGHT TO MAKE 

ALLIANCE HOLDINGS GP, L.P. (AHGP) 

A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY 

OF ARLP. WITH THIS MOVE, WE 

INCREASED INVESTOR TRANSPARENCY, 

CREATED A SINGLE ENTITY WITH 

GREATER LIQUIDITY AND ELIMINATED 

DUPLICATIVE COSTS REQUIRED TO 

MAINTAIN TWO PUBLIC COMPANIES.

RIGHT 
TIMING

2018 proved to be the right time  

to simplify, diversify, and modify  

in pursuit of unitholder value.

4

THE TIMING WAS RIGHT TO MAKE 

ALLIANCE HOLDINGS GP, L.P. (AHGP) 

A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY 

OF ARLP. WITH THIS MOVE, WE 

INCREASED INVESTOR TRANSPARENCY, 

CREATED A SINGLE ENTITY WITH 

GREATER LIQUIDITY AND ELIMINATED 

DUPLICATIVE COSTS REQUIRED TO 

MAINTAIN TWO PUBLIC COMPANIES.

MODIFY

JOHN P. NEAFSEY DECIDED IT WAS THE 

RIGHT TIME TO RETIRE AFTER SERVING 

20 DISTINGUISHED YEARS AS BOARD 

CHAIRMAN. JOSEPH W. CRAFT III 

REPLACED HIM AS CHAIRMAN OF THE 

BOARD, AND ROBERT J. DRUTEN WAS 

ELECTED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

DIVERSIFY

IT WAS THE RIGHT TIME TO EXPAND 

OUR PARTICIPATION IN OIL AND GAS 

MINERALS AS A LONG-TERM GROWTH 

PLATFORM FOR OUR BUSINESS. ARLP 

ACQUIRED SIGNIFICANT OWNERSHIP 

OF ATTRACTIVE OIL AND GAS MINERAL 

INTERESTS—GAINING CONTROL OF 

APPROXIMATELY 42,000 NET ROYALTY 

ACRES IN PREMIER OIL AND GAS 

RESOURCE PLAYS.*

*The bulk of the work for the acquisition of certain partnership interests in  
AllDale Minerals, LP and AllDale Minerals II, LP occurred in 2018. The 

acquisition closed on January 3, 2019.

5

RIGHT PLACES

COAL OPERATIONS

1. Gibson Complex

3. River View Complex

7. MC Mining Complex

9. Tunnel Ridge Complex

  1A. Gibson South

4. Dotiki Complex

  7A. Excel Mine No. 4

 10. Penn Ridge Reserves

  1B. Gibson North

5. Warrior Complex

  7B. Excel Mine No. 5

2. Hamilton Complex

6. Henderson/Union 
  Reserves

8. Mettiki Complex

 11. Mount Vernon  
  Transfer Terminal

Illinois

Indiana

Ohio

10

9

Pennsylvania

Maryland

2

ILLINOIS BASIN

1B

1A

11

3

4

6

5

APPALACHIA BASIN

8

West Virginia

Kentucky

7B

7A

Virginia

Operating Mine

Mine in Development

Transfer Terminal

Reserve

THE REOPENING OF THE GIBSON NORTH MINE AND ADDING A CONTINUOUS MINING 

UNIT AT OUR RIVER VIEW MINE HELPED DRIVE TOTAL COAL SALES VOLUMES TO 

RECORD LEVELS.

6

Low-cost coal operations strategically located in the Illinois Basin  

and Appalachia. And now, oil & gas mineral interests positioned in 

the core of the Anadarko, Permian, Williston and Appalachian Basins.

Montana

North Dakota

South Dakota

OIL & GAS MINERAL 
HOLDINGS

New York

APPALACHIA BASIN (MARCELLUS/UTICA)

ANADARKO BASIN (SCOOP/STACK)

Indiana

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Maryland

New Mexico

Oklahoma

West Virginia

Kentucky

Virginia

PERMIAN BASIN (DELAWARE/MIDLAND)

Texas

WILLISTON BASIN (BAKKEN)

Montana

North Dakota

South Dakota

THROUGH 2018, OUR PASSIVE INVESTMENTS IN OIL AND GAS MINERALS HAVE 

TOTALED APPROXIMATELY $171.4 MILLION AND GENERATED CASH FLOW TO 

ARLP OF APPROXIMATELY $52.4 MILLION. IN JANUARY 2019, WE INVESTED AN 

ADDITIONAL $176.0 MILLION IN OIL AND GAS MINERALS TO FURTHER EXPAND  

Oklahoma

New Mexico

OUR ROYALTY ACREAGE HOLDINGS.

Texas

7

$346.5

MILLION RETURNED
TO UNITHOLDERS IN 2018 
PAYING OUT $275.9 MILLION OF DISTRIBUTIONS 

AND REPURCHASING APPROXIMATELY 3% OF 

OUR UNITS FOR $70.6 MILLION.

ARLP INCREASED DISTRIBUTIONS 3.9% PER 

UNIT YEAR-OVER-YEAR WHILE MAINTAINING 

A CONSERVATIVE BALANCE SHEET.

8

RIGHT
DIRECTION

Moving forward, we plan to continue this direction and expect 

performance from our coal operations and increasing contributions 

from oil and gas royalties will support ARLP’s goal of increasing  

cash returns and delivering long-term value to our unitholders.

9

RIGHT 
LEADERSHIP

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

JOSEPH W. CRAFT III 
President, Chief Executive Officer  
and Chairman of the Board

CHARLES R. WESLEY 
Executive Vice President  
and Director

BRIAN L. CANTRELL 
Senior Vice President and  
Chief Financial Officer

R. EBERLEY DAVIS 
Senior Vice President,  
General Counsel and Secretary

ROBERT J. FOUCH 
Vice President, Controller and  
Chief Accounting Officer

ROBERT G. SACHSE  
Executive Vice President

TIMOTHY J. WHELAN 
Senior Vice President, Sales  
and Marketing

THOMAS M. WYNNE 
Senior Vice President and  
Chief Operating Officer

NICK CARTER 
Director, member of the Audit, 
Compensation and Conflicts 
Committees

ROBERT J. DRUTEN 
Director, Chairman of Conflicts  
Committee, member of Audit  
and Compensation Committees 

JOHN H. ROBINSON 
Director, Chairman of the  
Compensation Committee,  
and member of the Audit and  
Conflicts Committees

WILSON M. TORRENCE   
Director, Chairman of the Audit  
Committee and member of the 
Compensation Committee

10

GENERAL INFORMATION
The following information applies to  
Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (ARLP)  
unless specified otherwise.

PARTNERSHIP OFFICES
1717 South Boulder Avenue, Suite 400 
Tulsa, OK 74119 
(918) 295-7600

PARTNERSHIP MAILING ADDRESS
P.O. Box 22027 
Tulsa, OK 74121-2027

CONTACT
Brian L. Cantrell 
Senior Vice President and  
Chief Financial Officer 
(918) 295-7674 
brian.cantrell@arlp.com

BUSINESS STRUCTURE
Publicly traded master limited partnership. 

COMMON UNIT TRADING
Common units are traded on the NASDAQ  
Global Select Market.

NASDAQ TICKER SYMBOLS
Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (ARLP)

COMMON UNITS OUTSTANDING  
AT 02/22/2019
ARLP 128,391,191 common units

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
Ernst & Young LLP 
1700 One Williams Center 
Tulsa, OK 74172

UNITHOLDER INFORMATION

CASH DISTRIBUTIONS
The partnerships expect to make quarterly  
distributions to unitholders of record on the  
applicable record dates according to the  
following schedules:

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.

Within 45 days after the end of each March,  
June, September and December. 

PARTNERSHIP TAX DETAILS
Unitholders are partners in the partnership and receive quarterly 
cash distributions. Cash distributions generally are not taxable as 
long as the individual unitholder’s tax basis remains above zero.

A partnership generally is not subject to federal or state income 
tax. The annual income, gains, losses, deductions or credits  
of the partnership flow through to the unitholders, who are 
required to report their allocated share of these amounts on  
their individual tax returns, as though the unitholder had  
incurred these items directly. 

SCHEDULE K-1 
Unitholders of record receive Schedule K-1 packages that 
summarize their allocated share of the partnership’s reportable 
tax items for the fiscal year. It is important to note that cash 
distributions received should not be reported as taxable income. 
Only the amounts provided on the Schedule K-1 should be 
entered on each unitholder’s tax return.

Schedule K-1 information also is available on our website at  
www.arlp.com. 

Unitholders should refer questions regarding their  
Schedule K-1 as follows:

By Mail

K-1 Support 
P.O. Box 799060 
Dallas, TX 75379-9060

By Phone/Fax

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. 
Phone (800) 485-6875  Fax (866) 554-3842

TRANSFER AGENT AND REGISTRAR
Direct requests regarding transfer of units, lost certificates,  
lost distribution checks or address changes to:

American Stock Transfer and Trust Company 
Attn: Shareholder Services 
59 Maiden Lane – Plaza Level 
New York, NY 10038 
(800) 937-5449  

INVESTOR INFORMATION  
AND FORM 10-K
For more information or free copies of the 2018 Form  
10-K, please contact the e-mail address or phone number 
listed below. Form 10-K also may be downloaded from the 
Partnership’s website.

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.

E-mail: 
Phone:  
Website: 

investorrelations@arlp.com 
(918) 295-7674 
www.arlp.com

11

ARLP
2018

THE RIGHT

MOVES

THE RIGHT

STRATEGY
THE RIGHT

TIMING

THE RIGHT

PLACES
THE RIGHT

DIRECTION
THE RIGHT

LEADERSHIP

12

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP “NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO ARLP” TO NON-GAAP 
“EBITDA,” “ADJUSTED EBITDA” AND “DISTRIBUTABLE CASH FLOW”

(in thousands)

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Net income attributable to ARLP

$    366,604

$    303,638

$    339,398

$    306,198

$    497,229

Depreciation, depletion and amortization

 280,225 

268,981

336,509

323,983

274,566

Year Ended December 31

Interest expense, net

Capitalized interest

Income tax expense 

EBITDA

Asset impairment

Acquisition gain, net

Settlement gain

Debt extinguishment loss

Adjusted EBITDA

Interest expense, net

Income tax expense

 41,365 

 (1,306)

22

39,842

31,017

30,389

(551)

210

(358)

13

(695)

21

32,746

(833)

-

 686,910 

612,120

706,579

659,896

803,708

40,483

-

(80,000)

-

-

-

-

8,148

-

-

-

-

100,130

(22,548)

-

-

-

-

-

-

 647,393 

620,268

706,579

737,478

803,708

 (41,365)

(39,842)

(31,017)

(30,389)

(32,746)

 (22)

(210)

(13)

(21)

-

Estimated maintenance capital expenditures 1

 (190,056)

(159,838)

(167,409)

(204,243)

(240,419)

Distributable Cash Flow

Distributions paid to partners

Distribution Coverage Ratio

$    415,950 

$    420,378

$    508,140

$    502,825

$    530,543

$    275,902 

$     240,812

$     247,915

$    346,799

$    317,626

 1.51 

1.75

2.05

1.45

1.67

1 Our maintenance capital expenditures, as defined under the terms of our partnership agreement, are those capital expenditures required to maintain, over the long-term, the operating capacity of our capital 
assets. We estimate maintenance capital expenditures on an annual basis based upon a five-year planning horizon.  

P.O. Box 22027, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74121-2027  |  www.arlp.com