Asphalt Firm Shrinks Losses to $3 Million

Huntway Partners L.P., a Newhall-based company that processes crude oil to produce liquid asphalt for road construction, reported a $3-million loss for the year ended Dec. 31, although that was far less than the $18.7-million loss recorded for 1993.

The 1993 loss reflected a $19.3-million charge related to the closure of the company’s Arizona refinery. Revenues for 1994 totaled $75.4 million, down 25% from $101 million in 1993. The company attributed the decline partly to last year’s Northridge earthquake. The quake destroyed one of the two pipelines that carry the heavy crude oil Huntway purchases, said Juan Forster, chief executive.

For the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31, Huntway reported a $1.18-million loss, compared to a year-earlier profit of $1.09 million. Fourth-quarter revenues slipped to $18.6 million, down 8% from $20.2 million in the same three-month period in 1993.

“The decline reflects lower asphalt revenues due to comparatively weak prices and reduced volume due to unusually cold, wet weather in the fourth quarter,” Forster said.

Forster added that the company expects to report a loss for the first quarter of 1995, again partly due to wet weather in California. But the heavy rains damaged many California roads, Forster said, and repair work in the second and third quarters could boost Huntway’s revenues.