Elliott Sends Letter and Presentation to the Board of Phillips 66
Highlights Need to Streamline Portfolio, Improve Operating Performance and Enhance Oversight
Discloses a More Than
Full Letter and Presentation Available at Streamline66.com
In its letter, Elliott noted that when it first publicly shared its views on the opportunities and challenges at Phillips in late 2023, investors were hopeful the Company would finally take the necessary actions to improve its operations and realize the significant potential of its underappreciated assets. Unfortunately, this progress has failed to materialize, and it has become evident that urgent changes are needed.
Specifically, Elliott noted Phillips' conglomerate structure, poor operating performance and damaged credibility with shareholders as factors driving the Company's underperformance. The letter highlighted that over the past decade, Phillips' total shareholder returns have lagged peers Valero Energy Corp. by 138% and Marathon Petroleum by 188%, and that the Company trades at a substantial discount to the sum of its parts.
As part of the "Streamline66" plan outlined in its letter and attached presentation, Elliott identified three initiatives that are needed now:
-
Portfolio Simplification – A streamlined Phillips would include the sale or spinoff of the Midstream business, the sale of the Company's interests in CPChem and the sale of the JET retail operations in
Germany andAustria . - Operating Review – Phillips must commit to ambitious refining targets that reflect best-in-class performance.
- Enhanced Oversight – New independent directors are needed to bolster accountability and oversee a comprehensive review of the executive leadership team.
The letter and presentation can be downloaded at Streamline66.com.
The full text of the letter follows:
The Board of Directors
Dear Members of the Board:
We are writing to you on behalf of funds managed by
As you know, this is not the first time we have publicly shared our views on Phillips' opportunities and challenges. In November of 2023, we published a letter to the Board noting the Company's ambitious targets in the areas of operational improvement, portfolio-streamlining and improved capital return to shareholders. To repair Phillips' damaged credibility with investors and ensure the right oversight and accountability, we called for collaboration on the addition of two new directors with refining-operation experience. And if Phillips failed to show material progress, we suggested an alternative path similar to the one taken by Marathon Petroleum ("Marathon") following our engagement there in 2019. In that situation, board and management enhancements led to operational improvement, portfolio-rationalization and significant long-term share-price outperformance. Since our engagement, Marathon's total shareholder return has outperformed Valero Energy Corp. ("Valero") by 120% and Phillips by 178%.1
The 2023 publication of these views put a spotlight on the significant opportunity present at Phillips and initially sparked market optimism for a long-overdue turnaround at the Company. Unfortunately for investors, patience has been punished.
As detailed in the enclosed presentation, available at Streamline66.com, Phillips has failed to make meaningful progress on its targets. It abandoned serious collaboration on Board and corporate governance improvements by failing to honor its commitment to add a second director and reverting to a combined CEO-Chairman role. And despite possessing valuable assets and a clear, achievable path to realizing their full potential, Phillips' total shareholder return has continued to disappoint, lagging well behind peers. Over the past decade, Phillips has underperformed Valero by 138% and Marathon by 188%.2
This experience has been frustrating but has clarified the scale of the problem and reinforced the urgent need for the Company to pursue an alternative path, namely (i) an overhaul of the Company's conglomerate structure, (ii) demonstrable improvements in its operating performance and (iii) a refresh of the Board and executive team.
We remain committed, engaged investors in Phillips due to our conviction in the significant opportunity for value creation represented by the quality of the Company's assets. These underappreciated assets benefit from significant scale and strong competitive positioning across the Company's businesses. In addition to its core refining business, Phillips has a highly valuable midstream business focused on the NGL value chain and a world-class chemicals joint venture.
However, Phillips today trades at a substantial discount to a sum-of-its-parts valuation, and investors have plainly lost confidence in the Company's ability to unlock this value under its current structure.
We believe the factors driving this underperformance are clear:
-
Conglomerate Structure: Phillips' inefficient structure obscures the true value of its assets. Within a single conglomerate, the Company's disparate businesses lack a natural shareholder base and a coherent equity story. Phillips delivers weaker capital returns than leading refiners and slower growth than midstream peers, resulting in the worst of both worlds for investors. This structure hinders management's ability to focus on the unique needs of each business, weakening its ability to drive operational excellence.
-
Poor Operating Performance: Phillips has repeatedly failed to meet key targets. The Company's 2024 refining EBITDA per barrel has trailed best-in-class peer Valero by
$3.75 per barrel, widening to a$4.75 per barrel shortfall in the most recent fourth quarter.3 Former employees and other industry executives have described Phillips as a company unable to control costs or stay commercially competitive, citing a management team and Board that continue to lack refinery operating experience and have outsourced key operational initiatives to management consultants. -
Damaged Credibility: Persistent financial misses and the pursuit of acquisitions instead of portfolio simplification have eroded investor confidence in management. The market still does not appear to take this leadership team's 2025 and new 2027 mid-cycle EBITDA targets seriously. Worse, the management team's continuous claims of a successful turnaround without corresponding tangible financial results have further eroded its credibility. Long-term shareholders recall the 2019 Analyst
Day "AdvantEdge6 6," where management's claims fell far short of Phillips' actual operating performance. Even the Company's recent$3 billion in promised divestitures, initially earmarked for shareholder returns or debt reduction, was immediately redeployed into a near equivalent amount of new acquisitions. The Board has repeatedly failed in its fundamental oversight duties, rewarding management with compensation disconnected from the Company's performance.
As detailed in our "Streamline66" presentation, we believe Phillips can resolve these issues through decisive action. Another year of empty rhetoric and broken promises is unacceptable. We believe that Phillips must pursue the following initiatives without delay:
-
Streamline Portfolio – Phillips' world-class midstream business should be sold or spun off, as we believe it could command a premium valuation in excess of
$40 billion .4 This standout business should separate from a corporate structure that both diminishes and obscures its value. Phillips should also sell its interest in CPChem, an asset that we believe would likely attract significant interest from its existing JV partner or other potential buyers. The Company should execute on the frequently discussed sale of its JET retail operations inGermany andAustria . Divesting non-core assets, such as CPChem and select European retail operations, would allow Phillips to increase capital returns to its shareholders and sharpen its focus on operational excellence within its core business. -
Operating Review – A more focused Phillips can better prioritize refining profitability. The Company should commit to ambitious refining targets that reflect best-in-class performance. We reaffirm our
November 2023 call for Phillips to close the EBITDA-per-barrel gap with its peers, a gap that has actually widened since our initial engagement with the Company. - Enhanced Oversight – Meeting operational targets requires a comprehensive review of the Company's management team. In addition, fresh perspectives on the Board would strengthen this leadership evaluation. Phillips should add new independent directors to bolster accountability and improve oversight of management initiatives.
Taken together, this plan offers a pathway for restored investor credibility and a realization of the full value of the Company's attractive asset base, which is currently obscured by its conglomerate structure. More than a decade ago, after spinning out its refining and midstream assets, Conoco became a purpose-built upstream business that has flourished. The mix of assets that became Phillips in 2012 has since lacked cohesion, limiting the potential of its disparate businesses. A transformation of Phillips is long overdue.
The past year has provided strong evidence that change is needed. In our
Sincerely,
Partner
Senior Portfolio Manager
About Elliott
1 Bloomberg, from
2 Bloomberg, as of
3 Company filings, Q4 2024 earnings, see analysis in enclosed presentation
4 See analysis in enclosed presentation
Contact:
(212) 478-1780
cFriedman@elliottmgmt.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/elliott-sends-letter-and-presentation-to-the-board-of-phillips-66-302373573.html
SOURCE
