3 Things Williams Companies Inc’s CEO Wants You to Know About Its Remarkable Transformation

Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) and its majority-owned MLP Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ) seemed to take a step back in the third quarter. That's because it was the first time in the last 15 quarters that Williams Partners failed to increase adjusted EBITDA, which declined $88 million to $1.101 billion.

However, one thing CEO Alan Armstrong made clear on the accompanying conference call was that the company didn't see the decline as a step back. Instead, it was all part of the significant leap forward the company has taken this year to strengthen its financial situation and growth prospects. Overall, he pointed out three things on the call that show just how far the company has come since it started on this journey.

Our underlying business has improved dramatically

The first thing Armstrong pointed out on the call is that:

Armstrong noted two things that demonstrate its improvement over the past year. First, he said that Williams' year-to-date earnings have risen versus the same period of 2016 despite selling $3 billion in assets and battling two hurricanes. This result shows that the company's underlying business has continued to grow even if earnings slipped last quarter due to the timing of asset sales. He also pointed out that those sales reduced the company's direct exposure to commodity price volatility, which should enable Williams to generate steadier cash flow growth in future quarters. In fact, the percentage of earnings coming from fees has increased from around 90% to 97% thanks to a combination of asset sales and its investments in new fee-based assets.

Our growth projects are producing results

Next, Armstrong turned his attention to what's fueling the company's growth, stating that:

While Williams Partners operates a diverse set of midstream assets, its crown jewel is the Transco system, which is a natural gas pipeline that runs along the East Coast from Texas to New York City. Thanks to growing gas demand in those regions, the company has steadily expanded the pipeline to meet that need. Meanwhile, the most recent expansions have already had a notable impact on the company's earnings, which should continue next year given that the bulk of the projects only recently started service.

We've significantly strengthened our balance sheet

In addition to spending money on expanding Transco, Armstrong stated that:

One of the things Williams Partners did with the asset sale proceeds was to shore up its balance sheet. Because of that, the company now has the financial flexibility it needs to fund its current growth project backlog without issuing any more equity. By eliminating that risk, the company has one less issue that could prevent it from delivering on its growth plan.

It all adds up to steady income growth for investors

The central theme of Armstrong's comments is that the transformation of Williams Companies and Williams Partners is taking shape. Williams Partners' ability to self-fund growth, when combined with increasing cash flow visibility and a stronger balance sheet, suggests that it's on a sustainable path. Because of that, it's becoming increasingly likely that the MLP can achieve the 5% to 7% annual distribution growth it promised investors, which would in turn fuel 10% to 15% yearly dividend growth for Williams Companies. Because of that, income seekers should have increasing confidence in both companies.

10 stocks we like better than Williams CompaniesWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Williams Companies wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017

Matthew DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.