Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call February 3, 2023 11:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Alan Fleming - Senior Vice President of Investor Relations
Cyrus Madon - Chief Executive Officer
Denis Turcotte - Chief Operating Officer
Jaspreet Dehl - Chief Financial Officer
Conference Call Participants
Gary Ho - Desjardins
Jaeme Gloyn - National Bank
Matthew Weekes - Industrial Alliance
Operator
Welcome to Brookfield Business Partners' Fourth Quarter 2022 Results Conference Call and Webcast. As a reminder, all participants are in a listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. [Operator Instructions]
I’d like now like to turn the conference over to Alan Fleming, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Mr. Fleming.
Alan Fleming
Thank you, operator, and good morning to everyone. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that in responding to questions and talking about our growth initiatives and our financial and operating performance, we may make forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, and future results may differ materially. For further information on known risk factors, I encourage you to review our filings with the securities regulators in Canada and the U.S., which are available on our website.
Joining me on the call today are Cyrus Madon, our Chief Executive Officer; Denis Turcotte, our Chief Operating Officer; and Jaspreet Dehl, our Chief Financial Officer.
Cyrus will start with an update on our strategic initiatives, and Denis will then discuss progress on our business improvement plans. Jaspreet will finish with a discussion of our results, and then we'll be available to take your questions.
With that, I'll pass the call over to Cyrus.
Cyrus Madon
Thanks very much, Alan. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us on the call today. 2022 was a great year for our business. We made excellent progress on our growth and capital recycling initiatives, committing $2.7 billion to acquire several high-quality market-leading businesses that should contribute meaningful value to our business.
We also generated $2.3 billion from distributions and business sales, including an agreement to sell Westinghouse. We're also pleased with our solid financial performance, continued resilience of our operations. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $2.3 billion and free cash flow increased to a record $3.40 per unit for the year.
Stepping back, like many, our business has experienced a lot of volatility in the operating environment over the past year. Inflation has been persistent, supply chains continue to be stretched, labor markets remain tight, and energy costs in many developed markets we operate in are far higher than a year ago. We all know that interest rates are also higher and global growth is decelerating.