Natural Resource Partners L.P. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results and Announces Special Distribution
HOUSTON, Feb. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Natural Resource Partners L.P. (NYSE:NRP) today reported fourth quarter and full year 2025 results as follows:
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2025 Highlights:
“In 2025, NRP generated $169 million of free cash flow and retired $109 million of debt,” said Craig Nunez, NRP's president & chief operating officer. “Our business continues to be negatively impacted by cyclically-low prices for metallurgical and thermal coal and generationally-low prices for soda ash, but we continue to generate robust free cash flow and pay down debt.”
NRP's liquidity was $211.2 million at December 31, 2025, consisting of $30.1 million of cash and $181.1 million of borrowing capacity available under its revolving credit facility.
NRP also announced today that the board of directors of its general partner declared a special cash distribution of $0.12 per common unit to be paid on March 17, 2026, to unitholders of record on March 10, 2026. This special distribution is to help cover unitholder tax liabilities associated with owning NRP's common units during 2025. Future distributions on NRP's common units will be determined on a quarterly basis by the board of directors. The board of directors considers numerous factors each quarter in determining cash distributions including profitability, cash flow, debt service obligations, market conditions and outlook, estimated unitholder income tax liability and the level of cash reserves that the board determines is necessary for future operating and capital needs.
Segment Performance
Mineral Rights
Mineral Rights net income in the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 decreased $12.6 million and $40.8 million, respectively, as compared to the prior year periods. Operating cash flow in the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 decreased $13.4 million and $59.8 million, respectively, as compared to the prior year periods. Free cash flow in the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 decreased $13.3 million and $59.5 million, respectively, as compared to the prior year periods. These decreases were primarily due to lower metallurgical coal sales prices and volumes in 2025, as well as one-time carbon neutral revenues and cash flow received in the fourth quarter of 2024. Approximately 70% of coal royalty revenues and approximately 45% of coal royalty sales volumes were derived from metallurgical coal in the fourth quarter of 2025, and approximately 65% of coal royalty revenues and approximately 45% of coal royalty sales volumes were derived from metallurgical coal in the full year of 2025.
Metallurgical and thermal coal prices remained weak throughout 2025 due to sluggish steel demand impacting metallurgical coal and low natural gas prices and ample thermal coal supply at power plants impacting thermal coal. Due to these ongoing factors, NRP does not expect any material changes to pricing in 2026.
No meaningful developments have occurred over the past quarter regarding NRP's carbon neutral initiatives across its mineral and surface assets. NRP believes the burdens on the carbon sequestration industry, including insufficient revenue streams, high operational and capital costs, and an uncertain regulatory environment, continue to create formidable barriers that operators have yet to overcome.
Soda Ash
Soda Ash net income in the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 decreased $2.6 million and $15.1 million, respectively, as compared to the prior year periods. Operating cash flow and free cash flow in the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 each decreased $10.6 million and $30.9 million, respectively, as compared to the prior year periods. These decreases were due to lower soda ash sales prices in 2025, and as a result, NRP has not received a distribution from Sisecam Wyoming since the second quarter of 2025.
The soda ash market continues to be significantly oversupplied from the influx of new capacity from China and sales prices remain below the cost of production for most producers. NRP expects soda ash prices to remain at these lower levels for the foreseeable future and does not expect distributions from Sisecam Wyoming to resume for several years until high-cost capacity is forced to retire.
Additionally, in February 2026, NRP and Sisecam Wyoming's managing partner agreed to make a capital investment into Sisecam Wyoming ($39.2 million for NRP’s 49%) to reduce outstanding amounts under Sisecam Wyoming's bank credit facility and better position Sisecam Wyoming to compete in the current environment. NRP evaluated this investment as it would any other capital allocation opportunity, with the goal of maximizing NRP’s intrinsic value per unit.
Corporate and Financing
Corporate and Financing costs in the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 decreased $3.4 million and $8.6 million, respectively, as compared to the prior year periods. Operating cash flow and free cash flow in the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 each improved $2.6 million and $8.1 million, respectively, as compared to the prior year periods. These improvements were primarily due to lower interest expense and cash paid for interest due to less debt outstanding in 2025.
NRP's consolidated leverage ratio was 0.2x at December 31, 2025.
In February 2026, NRP declared and paid a fourth quarter 2025 cash distribution of $0.75 per common unit. As previously mentioned, today NRP declared a special distribution of $0.12 per common unit to help cover unitholder tax liabilities associated with owning NRP's common units during 2025.
Conference Call
A conference call will be held today at 9:00 a.m. ET. To register for the conference call, please use this link: https://events.q4inc.com/analyst/470948487?pwd=dU%5E%7BZ5xg. After registering a confirmation will be sent via email, including dial in details and unique conference call codes for entry. Registration is open through the live call, however, to ensure you are connected for the full conference call we suggest registering at minimum 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. Investors may also listen to the call via the Investor Relations section of the NRP website at www.nrplp.com. To access the replay, please visit the Investor Relations section of NRP’s website.
Withholding Information for Foreign Investors
Concurrent with this announcement, we are providing qualified notice to brokers and nominees that hold NRP units on behalf of non-U.S. investors under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b) and (d) and Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446(f)-4(c)(2)(iii). Brokers and nominees should treat one hundred percent (100%) of NRP's distributions to non-U.S. investors as being attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business. In addition, brokers and nominees should treat one hundred percent (100%) of the distribution as being in excess of cumulative net income for purposes of determining the amount to withhold. Accordingly, NRP's distributions to non-U.S. investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at a rate equal to the sum of the highest applicable rate plus ten percent (10%).
Company Profile
Natural Resource Partners L.P., a master limited partnership headquartered in Houston, TX, is a diversified natural resource company that owns, manages and leases a diversified portfolio of properties in the United States including coal, industrial minerals and other natural resources, as well as rights to conduct carbon sequestration and renewable energy activities. NRP also owns an equity investment in Sisecam Wyoming LLC, one of the world’s lowest-cost producers of soda ash.
For additional information, please contact Tiffany Sammis at 713-751-7515 or tsammis@nrplp.com. Further information about NRP is available on the Partnership’s website at http://www.nrplp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Partnership expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions made by the Partnership based on its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Partnership. These risks include, among other things, statements regarding: future distributions on the Partnership’s common units; the Partnership's business strategy; its liquidity and access to capital and financing sources; its financial strategy; prices of and demand for coal, trona and soda ash, and other natural resources; estimated revenues, expenses and results of operations; projected future performance by the Partnership's lessees; Sisecam Wyoming LLC’s trona mining and soda ash refinery operations; distributions from the soda ash joint venture; the impact of governmental policies, laws and regulations, as well as regulatory and legal proceedings involving the Partnership, and of scheduled or potential regulatory or legal changes; global and U.S. economic conditions; and other factors detailed in Natural Resource Partners’ Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Natural Resource Partners L.P. has no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
"Adjusted EBITDA" is a non-GAAP financial measure that we define as net income (loss) less equity earnings from unconsolidated investment, net income attributable to non-controlling interest and gain on reserve swap; plus total distributions from unconsolidated investment, interest expense, net, debt modification expense, loss on extinguishment of debt, depreciation, depletion and amortization and asset impairments. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income or loss, net income or loss attributable to partners, operating income or loss, cash flows from operating activities or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP as measures of operating performance, liquidity or ability to service debt obligations. There are significant limitations to using Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of performance, including the inability to analyze the effect of certain recurring items that materially affect our net income, the lack of comparability of results of operations of different companies and the different methods of calculating Adjusted EBITDA reported by different companies. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA presented below is not calculated or presented on the same basis as Consolidated EBITDA as defined in our partnership agreement or Consolidated EBITDDA as defined in Opco's debt agreements. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental performance measure used by our management and by external users of our financial statements, such as investors, commercial banks, research analysts and others to assess the financial performance of our assets without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis.
“Distributable cash flow” or "DCF" is a non-GAAP financial measure that we define as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities of continuing operations plus distributions from unconsolidated investment in excess of cumulative earnings, proceeds from asset sales and disposals, including sales of discontinued operations, and return of long-term contract receivable; less maintenance capital expenditures and distributions to non-controlling interest. DCF is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities. DCF may not be calculated the same for us as for other companies. In addition, distributable cash flow is not calculated or presented on the same basis as distributable cash flow as defined in our partnership agreement, which is used as a metric to determine whether we are able to increase quarterly distributions to our common unitholders. Distributable cash flow is a supplemental liquidity measure used by our management and by external users of our financial statements, such as investors, commercial banks, research analysts and others to assess our ability to make cash distributions and repay debt.
“Free cash flow” or "FCF" is a non-GAAP financial measure that we define as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities of continuing operations plus distributions from unconsolidated investment in excess of cumulative earnings and return of long-term contract receivable; less maintenance and expansion capital expenditures, cash flow used in acquisition costs classified as investing or financing activities and distributions to non-controlling interest. FCF is calculated before mandatory debt repayments. Free cash flow is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities. Free cash flow may not be calculated the same for us as for other companies. Free cash flow is a supplemental liquidity measure used by our management and by external users of our financial statements, such as investors, commercial banks, research analysts and others to assess our ability to make cash distributions and repay debt.
"Leverage ratio" represents the outstanding principal of NRP's debt at the end of the period divided by the last twelve months' Adjusted EBITDA as defined above. NRP believes that leverage ratio is a useful measure to management and investors to evaluate and monitor the indebtedness of NRP relative to its ability to generate income to service such debt and in understanding trends in NRP’s overall financial condition. Leverage ratio may not be calculated the same for us as for other companies and is not a substitute for, and should not be used in conjunction with, GAAP financial ratios.
-Financial Tables and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures Follow-
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