Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call February 14, 2024 10:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Scott Grischow - SVP, Finance and Treasurer
Karl Fails - EVP and COO
Joe Kim - President and CEO
Conference Call Participants
Robert Mosca - Mizuho Securities
Operator
Greetings and welcome to Sunoco LP's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.
I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Scott Grischow. Thank you. You may begin.
Scott Grischow
Thank you, and good morning, everyone. On the call with me this morning are Joe Kim, Sunoco LP's President and Chief Executive Officer; Karl Fails, Chief Operations Officer; Dylan Bramhall, Chief Financial Officer; Austin Harkness, Chief Commercial Officer; and other members of the management team.
Today's call will contain forward-looking statements that include expectations and assumptions regarding the partnership's future operations and financial performance. Actual results could differ materially and the partnership undertakes no obligation to update these statements based on subsequent events. Please refer to our earnings release as well as our filings with the SEC for a list of these factors.
During today's call, we will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow as adjusted. Please refer to the Sunoco LP website for a reconciliation of each financial measure.
2023 was a record year for the partnership. The combination of a strong and stable base business, coupled with a proven history of financial discipline has allowed us to yet again deliver on the expectations we lay out each year. I would like to start by looking at some of our fourth quarter and full year 2023 highlights.
Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $236 million compared to $238 million a year ago. The partnership sold over 2.2 billion gallons in the fourth quarter, up 11% from the fourth quarter last year. Fuel margin for all gallons sold was $0.123 per gallon compared to $0.128 per gallon a year ago. Total fourth quarter operating expenses were $145 million, an increase of $7 million from the same period last year. During the fourth quarter, we spent $50 million of growth capital and $33 million in maintenance capital.
Fourth quarter distributable cash flow as adjusted was $148 million compared to $153 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, yielding a current quarter coverage ratio of 1.6 times. On January 25, we declared an $0.842 per unit distribution, consistent with last quarter. The stability of our business and history of delivering results continues to support a secure and growing distribution for our unitholders.