Albert Chao on distribution

About Albert Chao

Albert Chao, executive chairman at Westlake, discussed the company's 2019 financial performance on a February 2020 earnings call, describing it as "a very successful year for Westlake Partners." He reported record net income of $61 million and record MLP distributable cash flow of $73 million for the 12 months ending December 31, 2019, which he attributed to record production at OpCo and higher third-party sales margins. Chao noted that the partnership's long-term ethylene sales agreement with Westlake Chemical, a take-or-pay arrangement covering 95% of sales, "protects the partnership's cash flows from the margin volatility associated with the ethylene business." He stated that the partnership continues to evaluate growth through periodic drop downs of OpCo, acquisitions of other qualified income streams, organic expansions, and negotiating a higher fixed margin in the ethylene sales agreement. In earlier years, Chao represented the Air Quality Egg community at sensor journalism workshops in 2013 and 2014, describing the project as "an experiment both scientific and social." He explained that the project uses low-cost, uncalibrated sensors to make air quality data visible, acknowledging that the sensors "constantly get criticized" for their lack of precision. Chao stated that the goal is to deploy many sensors to cover more ground and identify trends, rather than replace expensive regulatory monitors. He also participated in the T.T. Chao Symposium on Innovation, where he thanked organizers and noted that the event brought together leading innovators in energy and hosted a student forum with Nobel laureate Yuan Lee for nearly 400 Houston high school students.

Profile compiled from Albert Chao's verified public interviews and appearances. See all quotes & transcripts →