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Laredo Petroleum First Quarter 2021 Results

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   |    Thursday,May 06,2021

Laredo Petroleum, Inc. announced its first-quarter 2021 financial and operating results.

Q1 2021 Highlights:

• Generated $71 million of cash flows from operating activities and $22 million of Free Cash Flow¹
• Sold 723,579 shares at an average price of $38.75 for net proceeds of $26.9 million through the Company's at-the-market equity program ("ATM program")
• Reduced Net Debt¹ by $30 million during the quarter
• Produced an average of 24,261 barrels of oil per day ("BOPD"), an increase of 11% from fourth-quarter 2020
• Produced an average of 78,989 barrels of oil equivalent ("BOE") per day, a decrease of 4% from fourth-quarter 2020
• Reduced drilling, completions and equipment costs for a 10,000-foot well to $525 per foot and held costs incurred during first-quarter 2021 to $70 million
• Reduced total lease operating expenses ("LOE") by 3% versus fourth-quarter 2020; unit LOE increased by 4% to $2.66 per BOE, but well below expectations of $3.45 per BOE

Jason Pigott, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "Our results in the first quarter are reflective of the solid, consistent execution that underpins the Company's strategic transformation. We maintained a disciplined approach to personnel expenses, continued to drive well costs lower, substantially outperformed our assumptions for lease operating expenses and quickly and safely overcame disruptions that arose from adverse weather in the Permian Basin. We again delivered on our commitment to improve our balance sheet, generating Free Cash Flow¹ and opportunistically selling equity through our ATM program to pay down debt. Our transition to Howard County is driving an inflection point in the Company's capital efficiency and we are continuing to optimize our land position and development plan to facilitate further improvements."

First-Quarter 2021 Financial Results

For the first quarter of 2021, the Company reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $75.4 million, or $6.33 per diluted share, including a $122.2 million non-cash loss on derivatives. Adjusted Net Income¹ for the first quarter of 2021 was $20.3 million, or $1.69 per adjusted diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the first quarter of 2021 was $93.3 million.

Operations Summary

In the first quarter of 2021, Laredo's total production averaged 78,989 BOE per day, including oil production of 24,261 BOPD. Winter storms in the Permian Basin during February 2021 temporarily disrupted both production activities and drilling and completions operations, impacting total and oil production for first-quarter 2021 by an estimated 5,700 BOE per day and 1,700 BOPD, respectively. Despite the weather impact, first-quarter 2021 oil production was positively impacted by the Company's first package of wells in Howard County, the 15-well Gilbert/Passow package, which was the primary driver of oil production growth of 11% from the fourth quarter of 2020.

Unit LOE for the first quarter of 2021 was $2.66 per BOE, an increase of 4% from the fourth quarter of 2020, but below expectations of $3.45 per BOE. The difference versus expectations was a result of reduced activity levels related to winter storms and higher than anticipated production.

Late in first-quarter 2021, Laredo completed the 12-well Trentino/Whitmire package in Howard County, with all wells currently cleaning up or early in their production history. This is the Company's second well package to be completed in Howard County. Oil production in the second quarter of 2021 is expected to be positively impacted by production from the package, resulting in expected 9% - 13% oil production growth versus first-quarter 2021.

The Company is currently operating two drilling rigs and one completions crew in Howard County and expects to complete the 13-well Davis package during the second quarter of 2021. Beginning with the Davis package, Laredo has widened development spacing in the Wolfcamp formation to further enhance the capital efficiency of the Company's Howard County development program. Future development spacing is expected to utilize eight wells per unit in the Wolfcamp formation and four wells per unit in the Lower Spraberry formation.

Costs Incurred

During the first quarter of 2021, total costs incurred were $70 million, comprised of $57 million in drilling and completions activities, $3 million in land, exploration and data related costs, $5 million in infrastructure, including Laredo Midstream Services investments, and $5 million in other capitalized costs.

Laredo continues to drive drilling, completions and equipment costs per well lower through efficiency gains and savings realized by utilizing the Company-owned sand mine in Howard County. Costs for the Company's first two well packages in Howard County were $525 per lateral foot, below initial estimates of $540 per lateral foot.

Environmental, Social, Governance

In February 2021, Laredo further demonstrated the Company's commitment to responsible and sustainable operations, committing to significant reductions in greenhouse gas intensity, methane emissions and the elimination of routine flaring by 2025. Supporting these goals, Laredo's Board of Directors again integrated targets for the reduction of flaring and reportable spills into the Company's executive compensation program, linking 15% of the short-term incentive program payout to these metrics.

During the first quarter of 2021, Laredo flared/vented just 0.22% of produced natural gas, down from 1.52% in the first-quarter of 2020 and 0.71% for full-year 2020.

Liquidity

At March 31, 2021, the Company had outstanding borrowings of $220 million on its $725 million senior secured credit facility, resulting in available capacity, after the reduction for outstanding letters of credit, of $461 million. Including cash and cash equivalents of $44 million, total liquidity was $505 million.

At May 3, 2021, the Company had outstanding borrowings of $230 million on its $725 million senior secured credit facility. Available capacity, after the reduction for outstanding letters of credit, was $451 million. Including cash and cash equivalents of $48 million, total liquidity was $499 million.

At March 31, 2021, Laredo had executed $26.9 million of the $75 million authorized under the Company's ATM program. Proceeds from the share sales were utilized to reduce borrowing on the Company's senior secured credit facility.

Q2 and Full-Year 2021 Guidance

The table below reflects the Company's guidance for total and oil production for second-quarter and full-year 2021.