Williams Partners Raises Cash Distribution to 76.25 Cents Per Unit

Published on Monday, 23 January 2012 16:12 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

TULSA, Okla.-( Business Wire )-

Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) announced today that the regular quarterly cash distribution its unitholders receive has been increased to $0.7625 per unit.

The board of directors of the partnership’s general partner has approved the quarterly cash distribution, which is payable on Feb. 10, 2012, to unitholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 3.

The new per-unit amount is an 8.5-percent increase over the partnership’s distribution of $0.7025 per unit that was paid in February 2011. It is also a 2-percent increase over the partnership’s third-quarter 2011 distribution of $0.7475 per unit.

Year-End Financial Results

Williams Partners plans to report its year-end 2011 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

The earnings package to be released on Feb. 22 will include the news release; presentation on the results and outlook with audio commentary from Alan Armstrong, chief executive officer of Williams Partners’ general partner; data book; and analyst package.

The partnership will host the year-end Q&A live webcast on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. EST. Participants are encouraged to access the webcast at www.williamslp.com.

A limited number of phone lines also will be available at (888) 481-2849. International callers should dial (719) 325-2268. Replays of the year-end webcast in both streaming and downloadable podcast formats will be available for two weeks following the event at www.williamslp.com.

This announcement is intended to be a qualified notice to nominees under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b)(4) and (d), with 100 percent of the partnership’s distributions to foreign investors attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business. Accordingly, the partnership’s distributions to foreign investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at the highest effective tax rate. Nominees, and not Williams Partners L.P., are treated as the withholding agents responsible for withholding on the distributions received by them on behalf of foreign investors.

About Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ)

Williams Partners L.P. is a leading diversified master limited partnership focused on natural gas transportation; gathering, treating, and processing; storage; natural gas liquid (NGL) fractionation; and oil transportation. The partnership owns interests in three major interstate natural gas pipelines that, combined, deliver 14 percent of the natural gas consumed in the United States. The partnership's gathering and processing assets include large-scale operations in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and both onshore and offshore along the Gulf of Mexico. Williams (NYSE: WMB) owns approximately 75 percent of Williams Partners, including the general-partner interest. More information is available at www.williamslp.com.

Portions of this document may constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined by federal law. Although the partnership believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. Any such statements are made in reliance on the “safe harbor” protections provided under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in the partnership’s annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Williams Partners L.P.Media Contact:Jeff Pounds, 918-573-3332orInvestor Contact:Sharna Reingold, 918-573-2078