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Battalion Oil Corporation First Quarter 2023 Results

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   |    Tuesday,May 16,2023

Battalion Oil Corporation announced first quarter 2023 results.

Highlights

  • Substantial progress on acid gas treating facility as we ramp up gas delivery toward bringing the facility fully online
  • Generated first quarter 2023 sales volumes of 16,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("Boe/d")
  • Continued excellent results from our most recent wells
  • Completed corporate initiative to reduce general and administrative costs in April
  • Generated net income of $22.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $26.1 million in the first quarter of 2023
  • Per unit operating cost metrics down year over year for the first quarter as we continue to more than offset inflationary forces
Battalion Oil Corp. announced financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2023.

The Company has begun testing procedures and initial processing for its previously announced acid gas injection ("AGI") project. The facility has been ramping up its throughput processing over the last few weeks. When this project is fully online, the Company will benefit from savings of up to $2.5MM per month through reduced treating fees and operational efficiencies at the Monument Draw central production facilities. These savings not only represent significant bottom line financial improvement, but also substantiate Monument Draw's ability to compete with top tier acreage in the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring.

Initial work on the second acid gas injection well has begun; providing significant optionality to the Company through the ability to expand to as much as 100 MMCFD inlet treating capacity.

Danny Rohling, Chief Operating Officer, commented, "The Brazos Amine Treatment Facility will be a huge milestone for Battalion and we're excited by its progress as our latest wells continue to outperform expectations. To marry those production results with a substantially reduced cost structure paves the way for strong cashflow from our PDP wells, and a very economic development for our 200+ primary locations."

The latest two wells are furthest East in the program after the first three full calendar months online, the Fortress well's cumulative production is over 106,000 BOE, while the Parnassus well has produced over 125,000 BOE.

"Since coming online, the performance of these wells continue to prove that the wells in Monument Draw buck the industry perception of the Eastern side of the Delaware Basin. Because our acreage is wholly-contiguous and in a few production reporting blocks, public data aggregated by industry platforms does not accurately represent our stellar well performance. We and our neighboring operators continue to put top tier wells online in the Wolfcamp, Bone Spring and deeper Woodford/Barnett benches."

Mr. Rohling continued, "We are looking forward to a continuation of development across our 40,000+ net acres in Monument Draw, West Quito Draw and Hackberry Draw."

The Company has also substantially completed its corporate initiative of reducing overhead costs. In April, the Company executed a 44% reduction of its corporate office workforce. The Company has also completed a thorough review of all non-staff general and administrative ("G&A") expenses and is executing reductions where appropriate. The combination of these efforts will reduce overall cash G&A run rate by up to 40% as compared to 2022 actuals.

Matt Steele, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Since I arrived at Battalion, the Company has been keenly focused on operational excellence and reduction of our cost structure. When the AGI facility is fully online, we will greatly reduce our operating costs. The corporate cost reductions are immediately accretive. In short, the actions we have taken continue to position the Company for success. As we move forward, we are continuing to prioritize free cash flow generation and the strengthening of our balance sheet along with meeting our CDC drilling obligations in our Monument Draw area. I am very proud of our talented team and thank our Board of Directors for their guidance and support."

Results of Operations

Average daily net production and total operating revenue during the first quarter of 2023 were 16,200 Boe/d (50% oil) and $65.1 million, respectively, as compared to production and revenue of 14,767 Boe/d (50% oil) and $81.6 million, respectively, during the first quarter of 2022. The decrease in revenues in the first quarter of 2023 as compared to the first quarter of 2022 is primarily attributable to an approximate $17.18 decrease in average realized prices (excluding the impact of hedges), partially offset by an increase in average production volumes over the periods. Excluding the impact of hedges, Battalion realized 95% of the average NYMEX oil price during the first quarter of 2023. Realized hedge losses totaled approximately $1.5 million during the first quarter 2023.

Lease operating and workover expense was $8.94 per Boe in the first quarter of 2023 versus $9.32 per Boe in the first quarter of 2022. The decrease in lease operating and workover expense per Boe year-over-year is primarily attributable to an increase in average daily production as a large portion of our lease operating expenses are fixed costs. Gathering and other expense was $11.33 per Boe in the first quarter of 2023 versus $11.48 per Boe in the first quarter of 2022. The decrease was due primarily to streamlining the Valkyrie facility and increasing throughput to our lower cost gas takeaway option. General and administrative expense was $3.53 per Boe in the first quarter of 2023 and $3.75 per Boe in the first quarter of 2022. After adjusting for selected items, Adjusted G&A was $3.24 per Boe in the first quarter of 2023 compared to $3.30 per Boe in the first quarter of 2022.

The Company reported net income for the first quarter of 2023 of $22.8 million and a net income per diluted share available to common stockholders of $1.28. After adjusting for selected items, the Company reported an adjusted net loss available to common stockholders for the first quarter of 2023 of $0.7 million, or an adjusted net loss of $0.04 per diluted common share (see Reconciliation for additional information). Adjusted EBITDA during the quarter ended March 31, 2023 was $26.1 million as compared to $11.8 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2022 (see Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation table for additional information).

Liquidity and Balance Sheet

As of March 31, 2023, the Company had $230.3 million of indebtedness outstanding and approximately $1.4 million of letters of credit outstanding. Total liquidity on March 31, 2023, made up of cash and cash equivalents, was $23.2 million.

In March 2023, the Company issued 25,000 shares of redeemable convertible preferred stock to certain of its existing equity shareholders and received approximately $24.4 million in net proceeds to improve liquidity and address concerns around covenant compliance. For further discussion on our liquidity and balance sheet, refer to Management's Discussion and Analysis and Risk Factors in the Company's Form 10-K.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements that are not strictly historical statements constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements about anticipated production, liquidity, capital spending, drilling and completion plans, and forward guidance. Forward-looking statements may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words such as "expects", "believes", "intends", "anticipates", "plans", "estimates", "projects," "potential", "possible", or "probable" or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "will", "should", or "could" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations and involve certain assumptions or estimates that involve various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, those set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and other filings submitted by the Company to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), copies of which may be obtained from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or through the Company's website at www.battalionoil.com. Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which are made only as of the date hereof. The Company has no duty, and assumes no obligation, to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or changes in the Company's expectations.


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