Hess Says Retail Asset Divestiture Advancing

4/30/2014

NEW YORK -- Nearly a year after charting a course to divest its retail options, Hess Corp. CEO John Hess said today that plans are moving along, although there is no news yet.

"The divestiture of the retail and marketing trade business is well advanced," the chief executive reported during this morning's first-quarter earnings call.

He declined to go into specifics. However, he did acknowledge -- in light of this week's Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) and Susser Holdings Corp. merger deal -- that the oil company is preparing to move forward with a possible spinoff as it continues to explore other options, including an "outright sale."

On Monday, ETP and Susser made headlines with a $1.8-billion merger agreement. Under the terms of the pact, Sunoco owner ETP plans to "drop down" its retail assets into Susser Petroleum Partners LP, which will continue to operate as a publicly traded master limited partnership, as CSNews Online previously reported.

"Overall, we remain very enthusiastic about the prospects for our company in 2014 and beyond," John Hess said.

Hess Corp. reported net income of $386 million for its 2014 first quarter. Adjusted earnings were $446 million.

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