Drilling & Completions | Quarterly / Earnings Reports | Second Quarter (2Q) Update | Financial Results | Capital Markets | Capital Expenditure | Drilling Activity

Ring Energy Second Quarter 2022 Results

Email    |    Print    |    Bookmark

You Need to login first

   |    Monday,August 08,2022

Ring Energy, Inc. reported operational and financial results for the second quarter of 2022.

In addition, Ring provided third quarter guidance and increased its full year 2022 sales volumes outlook.

Second Quarter 2022 Highlights:

• Recorded quarterly sales revenue of $85.0 million, which was the highest in the Company's history;
• Produced sales volumes of 9,341 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("Boe/d") (86% oil) were 5% higher than the first quarter of 2022 and at the higher end of Ring's guidance range of 9,000 to 9,400 Boe/d (86% oil);
• Increased Net Income nearly six-fold to $41.9 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, from $7.1 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2022;
• Reported Adjusted Net Income¹ of $31.3 million, or $0.29 per share, which was a 40% increase from $22.3 million, or $0.22 per share, in the first quarter of 2022;
• Increased Adjusted EBITDA¹by 33% to $47.4 million from $35.6 million for the first quarter of 2022;
  • Represents the highest level of quarterly Adjusted EBITDA in the Company's history:
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $82.9 million in first half of 2022, which was nearly equal to the $83.3 million generated in full year 2021;
• Generated Cash Flow from Operations¹ of $44.3 million and Free Cash Flow¹ of $2.5 million;
• Paid down $10.0 million of debt on the Company's revolving credit facility;
  • Reduced the debt to trailing 12-month Adjusted EBITDA ("Leverage") ratio to 2.1x compared to 3.5x at year end 2021;
  • Increased liquidity to $81.5 million, a 32% increase from year-end 2021;
• Drilled nine wells, placed on production seven wells (two of which were drilled in first quarter), and began the completion process on four wells all on the Company's Northwest Shelf ("NWS") acreage;
• Converted four wells (three in the NWS and one in the Central Basin Platform ("CBP")) from downhole electrical submersible pumps to rod pumps ("CTRs"), thereby reducing costly workovers and long-term operating costs; and
• Provided third quarter guidance and an improved outlook for full year sales volumes and operating costs, while leaving capital spending guidance unchanged.

Subsequent Events

On July 5, 2022, the Company announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of privately-held Stronghold Energy II Operating, LLC and Stronghold Energy II Royalties, LP. Stronghold's operations are focused on the development of approximately 37,000 net acres in the Permian Basin's CBP, where Ring also conducts operations. The effective date of the Transaction is June 1, 2022 and closing is anticipated during the third quarter. As a result, the impact from the Transaction will not be included in Ring's financial and operational results until following the closing of the transaction.

Mr. Paul D. McKinney, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The continued strong performance of our drilling and completions program, bolstered by significantly higher commodity prices, enhanced our second quarter results and led to record quarterly revenue and Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA increased 33% from this year's first quarter and we have generated nearly as much Adjusted EBITDA in the first half of 2022 as we did in the entire prior year. We also generated Free Cash Flow for the 11^th consecutive quarter, as well as reduced debt by $10 million. We have now paid down $20 million in debt in 2022 and lowered our leverage ratio to 2.1x, which was almost a full turn and a half lower than at year-end 2021. We believe our strong operational and financial results for this quarter clearly reflect the merits of our value-focused and proven strategy and is a direct reflection of the hard work of our workforce. I want to thank our entire team for their dedication and commitment to generating value for our stockholders."

Mr. McKinney continued, "During the second quarter, our development program was focused on our NWS acreage on which we drilled nine wells, completed and placed on production seven wells, and initiated the completion of four additional wells. I am pleased to report that our production results from the wells brought online in the second quarter have met or exceeded our expectations, and we will continue to leverage industry-leading drilling and completion technologies that best exploit the unique geologic opportunities afforded by our attractive acreage. We intend to drill seven to nine wells and complete eight to ten wells during the third quarter and have increased our full year sales volumes guidance to reflect the enhanced performance of our capital spending program."

Mr. McKinney concluded, "In the coming weeks, we look forward to completing the Stronghold acquisition and providing additional details regarding our combined outlook. The Transaction strategically enhances our size and scale, complements our existing operations, materially grows our long-term inventory of high rate-of-return projects, and is immediately accretive on all key metrics. The credit facility will provide new benefits to our stockholders, including the ability to pay dividends and buy back stock in the future under certain conditions. The Ring team has extensive experience operating these types of stacked-pay, multi-zone assets and consider this opportunity as going home to our roots'. Through the acquisition, we expect to nearly double production, reserves and projected Free Cash Flow, lower our lifting costs, and optimize our future capital spending program. The result will be an enhanced financial position that accelerates our ability to pay down debt, which will benefit our stockholders and allow Ring to more effectively and profitably grow our business."

Financial Overview

For the second quarter of 2022, the Company reported net income of $41.9 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, which included a $12.2 million before tax non-cash unrealized commodity derivative gain and $1.9 million in before tax share-based compensation. Excluding the estimated after-tax impact of the adjustments, the Company's Adjusted Net Income was $31.3 million, or $0.29 per share. In the first quarter of 2022, the Company reported net income of $7.1 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, which included a $13.5 million before tax non-cash unrealized commodity derivative loss and $1.5 million in before tax share-based compensation. Excluding the estimated after-tax impact of the adjustments, the Company's Adjusted Net Income was $22.3 million, or $0.22 per share. In the second quarter of 2021, Ring reported a net loss of $15.9 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, which included a $22.8 million before tax non-cash unrealized commodity derivative loss, and $0.4 million in before tax share-based compensation. Excluding the estimated after-tax impact of these adjustments, Adjusted Net Income in the second quarter of 2021 was $7.3 million, or $0.07 per share.

Adjusted EBITDA grew by 33% to $47.4 million for the second quarter of 2022 from $35.6 million in the first quarter of 2022, with the increase primarily driven by higher realized pricing and sales volumes. Second quarter of 2021 Adjusted EBITDA was $20.6 million.

Free Cash Flow was $2.5 million for the second quarter of 2022 versus $12.6 million in the first quarter of 2022 and $5.6 million for the second quarter of 2021. Impacting Free Cash Flow for the second quarter of 2022 was the timing of capital spending for the Company's 2022 drilling program.

Sales volumes for the second quarter of 2022 were 9,341 Boe/d (86% oil), or 850,017 Boe, compared to 8,870 Boe/d (85% oil), or 798,262 Boe, for the first quarter of 2022, and 8,709 Boe/d (89% oil), or 792,551 Boe, in the second quarter of 2021 a 5% and 7% increase, respectively, on a Boe/d basis. Second quarter 2022 sales volumes were comprised of 729,484 barrels ("Bbls") of oil and 723,196 thousand cubic feet ("Mcf") of natural gas.

For the second quarter of 2022, the Company realized an average sales price of $109.24 per barrel of crude oil (before the impact of hedging) and $7.29 per Mcf for natural gas. The combined average realized sales price for the period was $99.95 per Boe, up 17% from $85.41 per Boe for the first quarter of 2022, and 66% higher than $60.26 per Boe in the second quarter of 2021. The average oil price differential the Company experienced from WTI NYMEX futures pricing in the second quarter of 2022 was a positive $0.81 per barrel of crude oil, while the average natural gas price differential from NYMEX futures pricing was a negative $0.23 per Mcf.

Revenues were $85.0 million for the second quarter of 2022 compared to $68.2 million for the first quarter of 2022 and $47.8 million for the second quarter of 2021. Primarily driving the comparative period increases of 25% and 78%, respectively, were higher realized oil and natural gas pricing as well as increased oil sales volumes.

 LOE, which includes expensed workovers and facilities maintenance, was $8.3 million, or $9.77 per Boe, in the second quarter of 2022 versus $9.0 million, or $11.22 per Boe, in first quarter of 2022 and $7.4 million, or $9.37 per Boe, for the second quarter of 2021. Primarily contributing to the sequential decrease in second quarter 2022 LOE was a lower level of workover expense.

GTP costs, which are associated with natural gas sales, were $0.65 per Boe in the second quarter of 2022 versus $1.62 per Boe in the first quarter and $1.13 per Boe in the second quarter of 2021. Due to a contractual change effective May 1, 2022, the Company no longer maintains ownership and control of the natural gas through processing. As a result, GTP costs moving forward will be reflected as a reduction to the natural gas sales price and not as an expense line item.

Ad valorem taxes were $1.12 per Boe for the second quarter of 2022 compared to $1.19 per Boe in the first quarter of 2022 and $0.89 per Boe for the second quarter of 2021. The year-over-year quarterly increase was primarily due to higher commodity prices.

Production taxes were $4.89 per Boe in the second quarter of 2022 compared to $4.03 per Boe in the first quarter of 2022 and $2.77 per Boe in first quarter of 2021. Production taxes remained steady at 4.5% to 5.0% of revenue for all three periods.

 DD&A was $12.65 per Boe in the second quarter of 2022 versus $12.25 per Boe for the first quarter of 2022 and $11.70 per Boe in the second quarter of 2021. Asset retirement obligation accretion was $0.22 per Boe in the second quarter of 2022 compared to $0.24 per Boe for the first quarter of 2022 and $0.23 per Boe in the second quarter of 2021.

Operating lease expense was $83,590 for the second and first quarters of 2022, and $84,790 in the second quarter of 2021. Operating lease expenses are primarily associated with the Company's office leases.

G&A, excluding share-based compensation, was $3.9 million, or $4.63 per Boe, for the second quarter of 2022 versus $4.0 million, or $5.01 per Boe, for the first quarter of 2022 and $3.4 million, or $4.30 per Boe, in the second quarter of 2021.

Interest expense was $3.3 million in the second quarter of 2022 versus $3.4 million for the first quarter of 2022 and $3.7 million for the second quarter of 2021. Interest expense decreased for both comparative periods substantially due to a lower average daily balance of long-term debt.

In the second quarter of 2022, Ring recorded a net loss of $7.4 million on its commodity derivative contracts, including a realized $19.6 million cash commodity derivative loss and an unrealized $12.2 million non-cash commodity derivative gain. This compared to a net loss of $27.6 million in the first quarter of 2022, including a realized $14.1 million cash commodity derivative loss and an unrealized $13.5 million non-cash commodity derivative loss, and a net loss of $35.3 million in the second quarter of 2021, including a realized $12.5 million cash commodity derivative loss and an unrealized $22.8 million non-cash commodity derivative loss.

The Company does not have any hedges in place on its natural gas production.

The Company recorded a non-cash income tax provision of $1,472,209 in the second quarter of 2022, compared to a provision of $78,752 in the first quarter of 2022 and $190,644 for the second quarter of 2021.

Total liquidity at the end of the second quarter of 2022 was $81.5 million, a 32% increase from December 31, 2021 and up 58% from June 30, 2021. Liquidity at June 30, 2022 consisted of cash and cash equivalents of $2.2 million and $79.2 million of availability under Ring's revolving bank credit facility, which includes a reduction of $0.8 million for letters of credit. On June 30, 2022, the Company had $270.0 million in borrowings outstanding on its revolving credit facility that has a current borrowing base of $350.0 million. Ring paid down $10.0 million of debt during the second quarter of 2022 and is targeting further debt reduction during the remainder of the year depending on market conditions, the timing of capital spending and other considerations. Ring is currently in compliance with all applicable covenants under its revolving credit facility agreement.

In early April 2022, a total of 6.5 million of the Company's common warrants were exercised at a price of $0.80 per warrant. Accordingly, second quarter results reflect the issuance of 6.5 million shares of common stock and the receipt of $5.2 million of cash. There are currently approximately 23 million common warrants that remain unexercised.

During the second quarter of 2022, capital expenditures on an accrual basis were $41.8 million as the Company drilled nine wells, completed seven wells, and began the completion process on four wells all in the NWS. Two of the wells completed were 1.0-mile horizontal wells that were drilled in the first quarter with a working interest of 100%. In addition, the Company drilled and completed three 1-mile horizontal wells with a working interest of 100% and two 1.5-mile horizontal wells with a working interest of approximately 98.7%. Ring also drilled and accelerated the completion process of four 1.0-mile horizontal wells (previously anticipated for the third quarter) that were placed online in early July. Two of the wells have a working interest of 100%, one has a working interest of 87.5%, and the fourth has a working interest of 75%. During the second quarter of 2022, the Company also performed four CTR projects, including three in the NWS and one in the CBP.

2022 CapEx, Sales Volumes, and Operating Expense Guidance

For full year 2022, excluding the impact of the pending Stronghold acquisition, Ring reiterates its previous standalone outlook of total capital spending in the range of $120 million to $140 million, which includes the estimated cost to drill 25 to 33 horizontal wells and complete 25 to 30 horizontal wells. Ring's full year capital spending outlook includes targeted well reactivations, workovers, infrastructure upgrades, and continuing its CTR program. Also included in the full year estimate is anticipated spending for leasing, contractual drilling obligations and non-operated drilling, completion and capital workovers. Based on the $130 million mid-point of spending guidance, the Company expects the following estimated allocation of capital investment, including:

• 82% for drilling, completion, and related equipment and facilities;
• 13% for CTRs, recompletions and capital workovers; and
• 5% for land, non-operated capital and other investments.

The Company remains focused on generating free cash flow in 2022, after all expenses, costs and capital expenditures. All 2022 planned capital expenditures will be fully funded by cash on hand and cash from operations, and excess free cash flow is currently targeted for further debt reduction. The combination of anticipated growth in Adjusted EBITDA resulting from higher prices and growth in sales volumes, along with planned further debt reduction, is expected to significantly reduce Ring's leverage ratio by year-end 2022.

Supported by the success of its targeted development program and continued focus on operational excellence, the Company has increased its full year 2022 sales volumes forecast to 9,300 to 9,700 Boe/d (86% oil), compared with its prior full year 2022 guidance of 9,000 to 9,600 Boe/d. Ring currently expects third quarter 2022 sales volumes to range between 9,500 and 9,900 Boe/d (86% oil).