GULFPORT EARNINGS

Gulfport Energy Corp. on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter profit of $134 million

Gulfport Energy Corp. officials on Wednesday highlighted several recent steps the company has taken to improve shareholder value as they reported operational and financial results for the fourth quarter of 2018 and for the entire year. Gulfport CEO David M. Wood said the company's goals for 2019 are to maximize results within the core assets while operating within existing cash flow, “shifting the target from top-line production growth to leading bottomline debt-adjusted per share growth rates.” The company reported a net income of about $134 million on revenue of about $416 million in the final quarter of 2018. That compares to a net income of about $157 million on revenue of about $398 million during the same quarter in 2017. The company reported that its 2018 net income was about $431 million on revenue of about $1.36 billion, compared to a net income of about $435 million on revenue of about $1.32 billion in 2017. Fourth-quarter 2018 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $303 million, compared to about $299 million the same period in 2017. Full-year 2018 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was about $1.1 billion, compared to about $911 million the previous year. “During this year, we are building an organization that is focused on disciplined capital allocation, cash flow generation and a commitment to executing a thoughtful, clearly-communicated business plan that enhances value for all of our shareholders,” Wood stated in the company's earnings release. The company spent $695 million to drill and complete wells in 2018, and spent $119 million to acquire leasehold during the year. It also retired more than 10 percent of its outstanding shares during the year, and intends to acquire another $400 million of outstanding shares off the market during the next two years as it aims to boost share prices for investors. The company expects to produce between 1.36 billion and 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent daily during the year, consisting of about 90 percent natural gas, 7 percent natural gas liquids and 3 percent oil. Gulfport's core assets are the Utica Shale field and the SCOOP play in Oklahoma's Anadarko Basin. The company said it expects to operate one rig in the Utica during 2019 that will drill between 13 and 15 wells. The company expects to bring online between 47 and 51 wells during the year. As for the SCOOP (South Central Oklahoma Oil Province) play, officials expect Gulfport will run between one and two rigs there in 2019 that will drill at least nine wells. The company expects to bring online between 15 and 17 wells in 2019. The company's 2019 capital expenditures budget is between $565 million and $600 million (between $525 million and $500 million for drilling and completions), which it expects to fund entirely from within its current cash flow. “With the challenging near-term outlook for North American natural gas and the market increasingly focused on shareholder returns and cash flow generation, we feel that prudent capital spending and disciplined capital allocation are distinguishing features in our business,” Wood stated as part of the earnings release.