Diamondback Energy (FANG) Q4 Results - Feb 18

[dan_s]

FANG beat my forecast.
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MIDLAND, Texas, Feb. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diamondback Energy, Inc. (FANG) (“Diamondback” or the “Company”) today announced financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2019.

FOURTH QUARTER 2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Q4 2019 average production of 195.0 MBO/d (301.3 MBOE/d), with average oil production up 5% over Q3 2019 and 50% over Q4 2018

Q4 2019 net loss of $(487) million, which includes a $790 million impairment due to lower SEC commodity pricing; adjusted net income (as defined and reconciled below) of $308 million, or $1.93 per diluted share < Compares to my forecast of $1.75 EPS.

Q4 2019 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (as defined and reconciled below) of $869 million; adjusted EBITDA net of non-controlling interest of $827 million

Q4 2019 capital expenditures of $748 million; turned 78 gross operated horizontal wells to production

Approved a 100% increase in the annual cash dividend policy to $1.50 per common share starting with Q4 2019 payment, subject to discretion of the Board

Declared Q4 2019 cash dividend of $0.375 per share payable on March 10, 2020; implies a 2.0% annualized yield based on the February 14, 2020 share closing price of $74.97

Repurchased 2,415,000 shares in Q4 2019 for ~$199 million

losed inaugural offering of $3.0 billion of investment grade notes; proceeds used to fully redeem $1.25 billion of 4.75% notes and pay down a portion of outstanding credit facility borrowings

Q4 2019 unhedged realized oil prices of $54.74/Bbl, representing ~96% of WTI and up 6% versus Q3 2019; expect to realize ~98-101% of WTI in 2020

Successfully traded majority of operated New Mexico acreage in the Northern Delaware Basin for operated Texas acreage in both the Midland and Delaware Basin; less than 0.1% of current net acreage now on federal land

Closed previously announced Drop-Down transaction to subsidiary Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ: VNOM) ("Viper")

"Diamondback ended 2019 in a position of strength, achieving 5% sequential oil production growth along with our highest oil realizations of the year. This, combined with our industry-leading cost structure, resulted in 18% quarter over quarter Adjusted EBITDA growth and 31% Adjusted EPS growth in the quarter. We repurchased 2.4 million shares in the quarter for approximately $199 million, utilizing free cash flow and a $43 million gain from interest rate swaps unwound as part of our first investment grade bond offering in November to repurchase shares at a depressed valuation. Further, Diamondback did not slow operations in the second half of 2019 and maintained continuous operations with eight completion crews running consistently through the end of the year, setting us up for continued growth and operational momentum in 2020," stated Travis Stice, Chief Executive Officer of Diamondback.