Callon Petroleum Company Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2014 Financial and Operating Results

NATCHEZ, Miss., March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE: CPE) ("Callon" or the "Company") today reported results of operations for the three and twelve month periods ended December 31, 2014.

The Company highlighted financial and operating results for the fourth quarter of 2014:

• Net daily production of 7,270 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("BOE/d"), an increase of 29% over the third quarter of 2014, comprised of 79% oil volume
• Adjusted EBITDA and discretionary cash flow, non-GAAP financial measures⁽ⁱ⁾, of $32.9 million and $27.6 million, respectively
• "Drill-bit" finding and development costs⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ of $13.91 per barrel of oil equivalent ("BOE") for the year ended December 31, 2014 related to a 15.7 million BOE increase in total proved reserves which resulted in the replacement of 759% of 2014 production volumes

"While we have tempered our growth expectations in the current commodity price environment, we remain focused on delivering value to shareholders through a two-rig horizontal drilling program across our concentrated asset base in the Midland Basin," commented Fred Callon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are encouraged by our initial wells targeting the Lower Spraberry zone, providing further evidence of our asset quality and adding a fourth horizontal zone to our production profile. Importantly, we have exceeded our initial expectations for capital cost reductions, and also preserved the continuity of high-quality service crews as we continue to work closely with our service partners. We have already secured a 40% reduction in drilling rig costs and average cost reductions of over 20% for completion and ancillary services, which collectively translate into an estimated total completed well cost of $6 million per 7,500' well for near-term activity. As a result, the expected cost environment in 2015, combined with our initiatives to enhance reserve recoveries, provides the opportunity to further improve finding and development costs as we continue to grow our asset base in the Midland Basin." 

Operating and Financial Results

Total Revenue. For the quarter ended December 31, 2014, Callon reported total revenues of $38.4 million, excluding the $7.1 million impact of settled derivative contracts, comprised of oil revenues of $34.4 million and natural gas revenues of $4.0 million. Average daily production for the quarter was 7,270 BOE/d compared to average daily production of 5,641 BOE/d in the third quarter of 2014. As discussed in the Company's prior operations update release, weather conditions at the end of December 2014 adversely impacted sales volumes for the quarter. Average realized prices were $65.05 per barrel of oil and $4.78 per Mcf of natural gas in the fourth quarter of 2014, representing a weighted average of $57.44 per BOE produced, excluding the impact of settled derivative contracts.

Hedging impacts. For the quarter ended December 31, 2014 Callon recognized gains on the settlement of its oil and gas derivatives totaling $7.1 million (or $10.57 per BOE), comprised of $7.0 million for oil (or $13.25 per Bbl) and $0.1 million for natural gas (or $0.07 per Mcf). Average realized prices including the impact of cash settled derivatives during the fourth quarter were $78.29 per barrel of oil and $4.78 per Mcf of natural gas, or $68.01 per BOE. Similarly, Callon recognized fair value adjustment gains on its oil and gas derivative positions totaling $21.9 million, comprised of $20.6 million related to oil hedges and $1.3 million related to natural gas hedges.

Lease Operating Expenses, including workover expense ("LOE"). LOE for the three months ended December 31, 2014 was $11.23 per BOE, compared to LOE of $12.08 per BOE in the third quarter of 2014, and $10.85 per BOE for the year ended December 31, 2014. Higher production volumes contributed to the 7% per BOE decrease in the fourth quarter.

Production Taxes, including ad valorem taxes. Production taxes were $3.80 per BOE in the fourth quarter of 2014, representing approximately 6.6% of total revenue before the impact of derivative settlements.

Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization ("DD&A"). DD&A for the three months ended December 31, 2014 was $27.05 per BOE compared to $31.05 per BOE in the third quarter of 2014, with the decrease in per unit DD&A being attributable to our increase in proved reserves relative to our depreciable asset base. DD&A for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $27.51 per BOE.

General and Administrative, net of amounts capitalized ("G&A"). G&A for the three months ended December 31, 2014 was $1.4 million compared to $3.3 million in the third quarter of 2014. The $1.9 million decrease primarily relates to a net decrease in the fair value adjustment of cash-settled restricted stock unit awards period over period. G&A excluding certain non-recurring items and non-cash incentive share-based compensation valuation adjustments ("Adjusted G&A", a non-GAAP measure⁽ⁱ⁾) was $3.9 million, or $5.89 per BOE, for the current period compared to $4.7 million, or $8.98 per BOE, for the third quarter of 2014. Adjusted G&A for the fourth quarter of 2014 excludes the following items from reported G&A:

• $0.1 million in non-recurring, cash expense related to a withdrawn proxy contest
• $2.6 million in non-cash gain related to the fair value adjustment of cash-settled restricted stock unit awards

For the fourth quarter of 2014, the cash component of Adjusted G&A included $2.9 million, or $4.35 per BOE, compared to $3.8 million or $7.27 per BOE for the third quarter of 2014. Adjusted G&A on a cash basis excludes the amortization of share-based incentive awards and corporate depreciation and amortization.

Interest Expense. Interest expense incurred during the three months ended December 31, 2014 increased to $4.8 million compared to $2.2 million in the third quarter of 2014, primarily due to the issuance of our Second Lien Loan.

Income (Loss) Available to Common Shareholders. The Company reported net income available to common shareholders of $17.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and Adjusted income, a non-GAAP measure⁽ⁱ⁾, of $3.1 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, which excludes (net of tax effects): (a) $16.0 million in expenses related to the non-cash, mark-to-market valuation of the Company's derivative positions and phantom stock equity awards, (b) $0.1 million of non-recurring G&A expenses and (c) $2.0 million of loss on the early redemption of debt.

The Company's effective tax rate for the fourth quarter was 36%, representative of the statutory rate of 35% adjusted for non-deductible executive compensation expense and state income taxes. Adjusted income reconciling items are reflected net of tax at the 35% statutory tax rate.

Discretionary Cash Flow. Discretionary cash flow, a non-GAAP measure⁽ⁱ⁾, for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $27.6 million. The fourth quarter of 2014 included $0.5 million for retained asset retirement obligation expenditures related to Gulf of Mexico properties that were divested in the fourth quarter of 2013. Excluding this expenditure attributable to the sold properties, discretionary cash flow from continuing operations was $28.1 million or $0.50 per diluted share.

Liquidity

As of December 31, 2014, the Company had total liquidity of $216 million, including $215 million of credit facility availability.

Operations Update

The following table summarizes the Company's drilling activity for the three months ended December 31, 2014:

For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company incurred a total of $217.7 million of operational capital expenditures, including facilities, on a cash basis. Based on extensions and discoveries of 15.7 million BOE in 2014, Callon's "drill-bit" F&D costs ⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ were $13.91 per BOE.

First Quarter 2015 Outlook

Production. Production volumes are anticipated to sequentially increase approximately 10% in the first quarter of 2015 over the fourth quarter of 2014. Guidance includes the impact of adverse weather conditions on operations and marketing that was experienced in early January and, recently, in late February. 

LOE, including workovers. Lease operating expenses in the first quarter of 2015 are expected to reflect the impact of lower workover expenses due to a reduced level of remediation investment into mature vertical wells in a lower commodity price environment, combined with service cost reductions that are forecast to be increasingly realized over the course of the year.

Adjusted G&A. Adjusted G&A (which excludes certain non-recurring expenses and non-cash incentive share-based compensation valuation adjustments) is anticipated to be lower on a per unit basis due to increased production volumes combined with the partial realization of recently implemented corporate cost reduction initiatives. These initiatives include staffing level reductions that are forecast to reduce total cash G&A (including expensed and capitalized components) by approximately 20% in future quarters. The cash component of Adjusted G&A in the first quarter of 2015 is expected to be 85% after adjusting for corporate depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation expense.

Production taxes, including ad valorem. The aggregate amount of production taxes, including ad valorem, is estimated to be approximately 7.0% of total unhedged revenues in the first quarter of 2015, similar to recent historical results.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations

This news release refers to non-GAAP financial measures as "discretionary cash flow," "Adjusted income," "Adjusted G&A" and "Adjusted EBITDA." These measures, detailed below, are provided in addition to, and not as an alternative for, and should be read in conjunction with, the information contained in our financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP (including the notes), included in our SEC filings and posted on our website.

• Callon believes that the non-GAAP measure of discretionary cash flow is useful as an indicator of an oil and gas exploration and production company's ability to internally fund exploration and development activities and to service or incur additional debt. The Company also has included this information because changes in operating assets and liabilities relate to the timing of cash receipts and disbursements which the company may not control and may not relate to the period in which the operating activities occurred.
• We believe that the non-GAAP measure of Adjusted income and Adjusted income per diluted share are useful to investors because they provide readers with a meaningful measure of our profitability before recording certain items whose timing or amount cannot be reasonably determined. These measures exclude the net of tax effects of certain non-recurring items and non-cash valuation adjustments, which are detailed in the reconciliation provided below. Prior to being tax-effected and excluded, the amounts reflected in the determination of Adjusted income and Adjusted income per diluted share below were computed in accordance with GAAP.
• Callon believes that the non-GAAP measure of Adjusted G&A is useful to investors because it provides readers with a meaningful measure of our recurring G&A expense and provides for greater comparability period-over-period. The table below details all adjustments to G&A on a GAAP basis to arrive at Adjusted G&A.
• We calculate Adjusted Earnings before Interest, Income Taxes, Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA") as Adjusted income plus interest expense, income tax expense (benefit) and depreciation, depletion and amortization expense. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP. Accordingly, it should not be considered as a substitute for net income (loss), operating income (loss), cash flow provided by operating activities or other income or cash flow data prepared in accordance with GAAP. However, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional information with respect to our performance or ability to meet its future debt service, capital expenditures and working capital requirements. Because Adjusted EBITDA excludes some, but not all, items that affect net income (loss) and may vary among companies, the Adjusted EBITDA we present may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

The following table reconciles net cash flow provided by operating activities to discretionary cash flow for the periods indicated (in thousands):

The following tables reconcile income (loss) available to common stockholders to Adjusted income (in thousands; reconciling items are reflected net of tax):

The following tables reconcile net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods indicated (in thousands):

The following tables reconcile total G&A to Adjusted G&A for the periods indicated (in thousands):

The following table presents summary information for the periods indicated, and are followed by the Company's financial statements.

 

Earnings Call Information

The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, March 5, 2015 to discuss fourth quarter 2014 financial and operating results.

Please join Callon Petroleum Company via the Internet for a webcast of the conference call:

Alternatively, you may join by telephone using the following numbers:

An archive of the conference call webcast will also be available at www.callon.com in the "Investors" section of the website.

About Callon Petroleum

Callon Petroleum Company is an independent energy company focused on the acquisition, development, exploration, and operation of oil and gas properties in the Permian Basin in West Texas.

This news release is posted on the Company's website at www.callon.com and will be archived there for subsequent review. It can be accessed from the "News" link on the top of the homepage.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include all statements regarding wells anticipated to be drilled and placed on production, and associated returns on capital, future increases in production, the Company's 2014 and 2015 guidance, capital budget amounts, reserve quantities and the present value thereof, the implementation of the Company's business plans and strategy, as well as statements including the words "believe," "expect," "plans" and words of similar meaning. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. No assurances can be given, however, that these events will occur or that these projections will be achieved, and actual results could differ materially from those projected as a result of certain factors. Some of the factors which could affect our future results and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include the volatility of oil and gas prices, ability to drill and complete wells, operational, regulatory and environment risks, our ability to finance our activities and other risks more fully discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, available on our website or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

For further information contact:
Joe Gatto
Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and Treasurer
1-800-451-1294

SOURCE Callon Petroleum Company