Icahn Enterprises L.P. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Financial Results

• Full year 2017 net income attributable to Icahn Enterprises of $2.4 billion, or $14.80 per depositary unit
  
  
• Board approves increase in quarterly distribution to $1.75 per depositary unit (an increase from $6.00 to $7.00 in the annualized distribution)
  
  
• Statement by Carl Icahn

NEW YORK, March 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Icahn Enterprises L.P. (NASDAQ:IEP) is reporting full year 2017 revenues of $21.7 billion and net income attributable to Icahn Enterprises of $2.4 billion, or $14.80 per depositary unit. For the year ended December 31, 2016 revenues were $16.3 billion and net loss attributable to Icahn Enterprises was $1.1 billion, or a loss of $8.07 per depositary unit. For the year ended December 31, 2017, Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Icahn Enterprises was $1.7 billion compared to $842 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. For the year ended December 31, 2017, Adjusted EBIT attributable to Icahn Enterprises was $856 million compared to $74 million for the year ended December 31, 2016.

For the fourth quarter of 2017, revenues were $4.7 billion and net income attributable to Icahn Enterprises was $298 million, or $1.72 per depositary unit. For the three months ended December 31, 2016 revenues were $4.0 billion and net loss attributable to Icahn Enterprises was $206 million, or a loss of $1.42 per depositary unit. For the three months ended December 31, 2017, Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Icahn Enterprises was $167 million compared to $145 million for the three months ended December 31, 2016. For the three months ended December 31, 2017, Adjusted EBIT attributable to Icahn Enterprises was a loss of $41 million compared to a loss of $66 million for the three months ended December 31, 2016.

For the year ended December 31, 2017 indicative net asset value increased to $7.9 billion compared to $5.6 billion as of December 31, 2016.

Statement by Carl Icahn

Carl Icahn, the Chairman of the Board of Icahn Enterprises stated:

"I am very pleased with IEP's performance for 2017. Our net income of $14.80 per depositary unit is the highest in our history. The Investment segment performed satisfactorily, especially in light of the fact that this performance would have been much greater if it were not negatively impacted by our substantial hedging activities, which we use to mitigate down-side risk. Additionally, the majority of our operating subsidiaries also performed admirably.

"IEP's performance since 2000 (when we began to fully embrace our activist strategy) gives testimony to my belief that activism, when practiced properly, meaningfully enhances value for all shareholders as well as the economy in general. An investment in IEP depositary units made at the beginning of 2000 has increased by approximately 1,124%, or an annualized return of 15%, through December 31, 2017 (assuming reinvestment of dividends). This compares favorably to an investment in the S&P 500 Index over the same 18-year period, where, even assuming the reinvestment of dividends, the investment would have increased by only approximately 158%, or an annualized return of 5%.

"A major contributor to our 2017 performance was the sale of certain of our portfolio companies for well above our acquisition cost. Over the past 18 years we have been able to acquire controlling interests in companies for attractive prices when they were out of favor for various reasons, often because top management was not doing an adequate job. As activists, we work assiduously to bring in good management where needed, as well as making other changes. Through this 18-year period, as certain of these companies have prospered as a result of our nurturing, we have been able to sell a number of these companies for very large profits. While there can be no assurances, we believe that we will be able to continue this trend, hopefully in the near term. We believe that our portfolio may present attractive opportunities for future transactions, especially in light of the current interest rate environment and robust market conditions.   

"We are fully wedded to the activist model across all of our segments. This strategy has served us well over the last 18 years and we expect to continue this trend long into the future.”

Increased Distribution

On February 27, 2018, the Board of Directors of the general partner of Icahn Enterprises declared a quarterly distribution in the amount of $1.75 per depositary unit (an increase from $6.00 to $7.00 in the annualized distribution). The quarterly distribution is payable in either cash or additional depositary units, at the election of each depositary unit holder and will be paid on or about April 16, 2018 to depositary unitholders of record at the close of business on March 12, 2018. Depositary unit holders have until April 5, 2018 to make an election to receive either cash or additional depositary units; if a holder does not make an election, it will automatically be deemed to have elected to receive the distribution in cash. Depositary unit holders who elect to receive additional depositary units will receive units valued at the volume weighted average trading price of the units on NASDAQ during the 5 consecutive trading days ending April 12, 2018. No fractional depositary units will be issued pursuant to the distribution payment. Icahn Enterprises will make a cash payment in lieu of issuing fractional depositary units to any holders electing to receive depositary units. Any holders that would only be eligible to receive a fraction of a depositary unit based on the above calculation will receive a cash payment.

Icahn Enterprises L.P., a master limited partnership, is a diversified holding company engaged in ten primary business segments: Investment, Automotive, Energy, Railcar, Gaming, Metals, Mining, Food Packaging, Real Estate and Home Fashion.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results for any full fiscal period. This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, many of which are beyond our ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "will" or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements about the expected future business and financial performance of Icahn Enterprises L.P. and its subsidiaries. Among these risks and uncertainties are risks related to economic downturns, substantial competition and rising operating costs; risks related to our investment activities, including the nature of the investments made by the private funds in which we invest, losses in the private funds and loss of key employees; risks related to our automotive activities, including exposure to adverse conditions in the automotive industry, and risks related to operations in foreign countries; risks related to our energy business, including the volatility and availability of crude oil, other feed stocks and refined products, unfavorable refining margin (crack spread), interrupted access to pipelines, significant fluctuations in nitrogen fertilizer demand in the agricultural industry and seasonality of results; risk related to our gaming operations, including reductions in discretionary spending due to a downturn in the local, regional or national economy, intense competition in the gaming industry from present and emerging internet online markets and extensive regulation; risks related to our railcar activities, including reliance upon a small number of customers that represent a large percentage of revenues and backlog, the health of and prospects for the overall railcar industry and the cyclical nature of the railcar manufacturing business; risks related to our food packaging activities, including competition from better capitalized competitors, inability of its suppliers to timely deliver raw materials, and the failure to effectively respond to industry changes in casings technology; risks related to our scrap metals activities, including potential environmental exposure; risks related to our real estate activities, including the extent of any tenant bankruptcies and insolvencies; risks related to our home fashion operations, including changes in the availability and price of raw materials, and changes in transportation costs and delivery times; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Past performance in our Investment segment is not necessarily indicative of future performance. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures in evaluating its performance. These include non-GAAP EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT. EBITDA represents earnings before interest expense, income tax (benefit) expense and depreciation and amortization. EBIT represents earnings before interest expense and income tax (benefit) expense. We define Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBIT as EBITDA and EBIT, respectively, excluding the effects of impairment, restructuring costs, certain pension plan expenses, OPEB curtailment gains, purchase accounting inventory adjustments, certain share-based compensation, discontinued operations, gains/losses on extinguishment of debt, major scheduled turnaround expenses, FIFO adjustments and unrealized gains/losses on energy segment derivatives and certain other non-operational charges. We present EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT on a consolidated basis and attributable to Icahn Enterprises net of the effect of non-controlling interests. We conduct substantially all of our operations through subsidiaries. The operating results of our subsidiaries may not be sufficient to make distributions to us. In addition, our subsidiaries are not obligated to make funds available to us for payment of our indebtedness, payment of distributions on our depositary units or otherwise, and distributions and intercompany transfers from our subsidiaries to us may be restricted by applicable law or covenants contained in debt agreements and other agreements to which these subsidiaries currently may be subject or into which they may enter into in the future. The terms of any borrowings of our subsidiaries or other entities in which we own equity may restrict dividends, distributions or loans to us.

We believe that providing EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT to investors has economic substance as these measures provide important supplemental information of our performance to investors and permits investors and management to evaluate the core operating performance of our business without regard to interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization and the effects of impairment, restructuring costs, certain pension plan expenses, OPEB curtailment gains, purchase accounting inventory adjustments, certain share-based compensation, discontinued operations, gains/losses on extinguishment of debt, major scheduled turnaround expenses, FIFO adjustments and unrealized gains/losses on energy segment derivatives and certain other non-operational charges. Additionally, we believe this information is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies that have issued debt. Management uses, and believes that investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our operating results, as well as in planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods. Adjusting earnings for these charges allows investors to evaluate our performance from period to period, as well as our peers, without the effects of certain items that may vary depending on accounting methods and the book value of assets. Additionally, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT present meaningful measures of performance exclusive of our capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired and financed.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation, or as substitutes for analysis of our results as reported under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. For example, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT:

• do not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital expenditures, or contractual commitments;
  
• do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs; and
  
• do not reflect the significant interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal  payments on our debt.

Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated or amortized often will have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements. Other companies in the industries in which we operate may calculate EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. In addition, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT do not reflect the impact of earnings or charges resulting from matters we consider not to be indicative of our ongoing operations.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT are not measurements of our financial performance under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP or as alternatives to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. Given these limitations, we rely primarily on our U.S. GAAP results and use EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBIT and Adjusted EBIT only as a supplemental measure of our financial performance.

Use of Indicative Net Asset Value Data

The Company uses indicative net asset value as an additional method for considering the value of the Company’s assets, and we believe that this information can be helpful to investors. Please note, however, that the indicative net asset value does not represent the market price at which the units trade. Accordingly, data regarding indicative net asset value is of limited use and should not be considered in isolation.

The Company's depositary units are not redeemable, which means that investors have no right or ability to obtain from the Company the indicative net asset value of units that they own. Units may be bought and sold on The NASDAQ Global Select Market at prevailing market prices. Those prices may be higher or lower than the indicative net asset value of the units as calculated by management.

See below for more information on how we calculate the Company’s indicative net asset value.

Indicative net asset value does not purport to reflect a valuation of IEP. The calculated Indicative net asset value does not include any value for our Investment Segment other than the fair market value of our investment in the Investment Funds. A valuation is a subjective exercise and Indicative net asset value does not necessarily consider all elements or consider in the adequate proportion the elements that could affect the valuation of IEP. Investors may reasonably differ on what such elements are and their impact on IEP. No representation or assurance, expressed or implied is made as to the accuracy and correctness of indicative net asset value as of these dates or with respect to any future indicative or prospective results which may vary.

Investor Contacts:
SungHwan Cho, Chief Financial Officer
Peter Reck, Chief Accounting Officer
(212) 702-4300