Chesapeake Energy Corporation reported financial and operational results for the 2014 full year and fourth quarter and announced details of its 2015 Outlook and capital expenditure program.
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Chesapeake is budgeting total capital expenditures (including capitalized interest) of $4 – $4.5 billion for 2015.
Using the midpoint of the range, this represents a 26% reduction from the company's 2014 capital expenditures before acquisitions of $5.8 billion, and a 37% reduction from the company’s 2014 total capital expenditures of approximately $6.7 billion .
The company is targeting 2015 production of 235 – 240 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), or average daily production of 645 – 655 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (mboe), which represents 3 – 5% production growth after adjusting for 2014 asset sales.
Of the 2015 projected production, approximately 39 – 40 mmboe is estimated to be crude oil, 1,035 – 1,055 billion cubic feet (bcf) natural gas and 23 – 24 mmboe natural gas liquids (NGL).
Chesapeake plans to operate 35 – 45 rigs in 2015, which represents the company's lowest operated rig activity level since 2004 and a decrease of approximately 38% (using the midpoint of the range) from an average of 64 rigs in 2014.
The company intends to spud approximately 790 gross operated wells and connect to sales approximately 800 gross operated wells in 2015, a decrease from approximately 1,175 and 1,150 wells, respectively, in 2014.
For the 2014 full year, Chesapeake reported net income available to common stockholders of $1.273 billion, or $1.87 per fully diluted share. Items typically excluded by securities analysts in their earnings estimates increased net income available to common stockholders for the 2014 full year by approximately $316 million and are presented on Page 14 of this release.
The primary component of this increase was unrealized gains on the company's oil and natural gas commodity derivatives, partially offset by the redemption of all the outstanding preferred shares of a subsidiary.
Adjusting for these items, 2014 full-year adjusted net income available to common stockholders was $957 million, or $1.49 per fully diluted share, compared to adjusted net income available to common stockholders of $965 million, or $1.50 per fully diluted share, in the 2013 full year.
Adjusted ebitda was $4.945 billion for the 2014 full year, compared to $5.016 billion for the 2013 full year. Operating cash flow, which is defined as cash flow provided by operating activities before changes in assets and liabilities, was $5.026 billion for the 2014 full year, compared to $4.958 billion for the 2013 full year.
Adjusted net income available to common stockholders, operating cash flow, ebitda and adjusted ebitda are non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures to comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles are provided on pages 13 – 17 of this release.
Chesapeake’s daily production for the 2014 full year averaged 706,300 barrels of oil equivalent (boe), a year-over-year increase of 9%, adjusted for asset sales.
Average daily production consisted of approximately 115,800 barrels (bbls) of oil, 3.0 bcf of natural gas and 90,500 bbls of NGL. Adjusted for asset sales, 2014 full-year average daily oil production increased 7%, average daily natural gas production increased 6% and average daily NGL production increased 42%.
For the 2014 fourth quarter, Chesapeake reported net income available to common stockholders of $586 million, or $0.81 per fully diluted share. Items typically excluded by securities analysts in their earnings estimates increased 2014 fourth quarter net income by approximately $552 million on an after-tax basis. The primary component of this increase was unrealized gains on oil and natural gas commodity derivatives.
Adjusting for these items, 2014 fourth quarter net income available to common stockholders was $34 million, or $0.11 per fully diluted share, which compares to adjusted net income available to common stockholders of $161 million, or $0.27 per fully diluted share, in the 2013 fourth quarter.
For the 2014 fourth quarter, Chesapeake reported adjusted ebitda of $916 million, compared to $1.132 billion in the 2013 fourth quarter. Operating cash flow was $873 million in the 2014 fourth quarter, compared to $995 million in the 2013 fourth quarter.
The quarter-over-quarter decreases in adjusted ebitda and operating cash flow were primarily the result of lower realized oil, natural gas and NGL prices, partially offset by higher production volumes.
Chesapeake’s daily production for the 2014 fourth quarter averaged approximately 729,000 boe, a year-over-year increase of 12%, adjusted for asset sales.
Average daily production in the 2014 fourth quarter consisted of approximately 121,200 bbls of oil, 3.1 bcf of natural gas and 97,600 bbls of NGL, which represent year-over-year increases of 7%, 9% and 40% respectively, adjusted for asset sales. ■