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EXCO Resources, Inc. Streamlines Board Of Directors With Concentrated Equity Ownership

May 24, 2016 6:00 AM EDT

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- EXCO Resources, Inc. (NYSE: XCO) (“EXCO” or the “Company”) today reiterated its commitment to improving its financial flexibility and enhancing long-term value for shareholders through the continued execution of a comprehensive consensual restructuring program (the “Restructuring Program”). EXCO currently has approximately $250 million of liquidity and, after giving effect to the reduction of its 2016 capital budget to $85 million, the Company expects liquidity utilization to average $10 million per month during 2016. EXCO has no debt maturities prior to July 2018.

EXCO’s Restructuring Program will target an aggressive restructuring of gathering and transportation contracts, decreasing corporate overhead and operating costs, modifying unprofitable contracts, and reducing debt. The Restructuring Program will be directed by a streamlined Board of Directors (the “Board”) that represent institutions that own or direct 140 million common shares that equal approximately 50% of the total shares outstanding. These institutions historically supported EXCO through providing debt and equity. EXCO intends to continue to leverage the flexible capital, restructuring expertise and support of these investors to implement the Restructuring Program to drive value for its stakeholders through the dislocation in the market.

Thirteen months ago, EXCO announced Phase One of the Restructuring Program (“Phase One”) focused on three core areas:

1) Restructuring EXCO’s balance sheet to enhance its capital structure and extend structural liquidity, including restructuring gathering and transportation contracts to improve liquidity;

2) Transforming EXCO into the lowest cost producer; and

3) Optimizing and repositioning EXCO’s portfolio.

To date, EXCO has made significant progress with Phase One of the Restructuring Program including:

1) Reduced Debt And Fixed Charges To Improve Financial Flexibility: (i) reduced net debt 28% to $1.1 billion as of March 2016 compared to $1.5 billion as of September 2015; (ii) reduced principal outstanding on the senior unsecured notes by $923 million, or 73%; (iii) achieved Credit Agreement covenant flexibility reducing the interest coverage ratio to 1.25 times from 2.00 times and removing the total leverage ratio; and (iii) extended weighted average debt maturity by 17%;

2) Materially Reduced Costs To Enhance Financial Performance: (i) reduced workforce by over 50% as part of an overall plan to reduce costs and better align the workforce with the needs of the business; (ii) lowered general and administrative expenses by approximately 50%; (iii) renegotiated service contracts and optimized completion designs, achieving a 20% drilling and completion cost reduction while improving estimated ultimate recovery targets, reducing finding and development costs and lowering breakeven prices to achieve a 25% internal rate of return to $2.27/Mcf in EXCO’s core North Louisiana area; and (iv) reduced lease operating expenses by 40%.

3) Repositioned Asset Portfolio To Highest Capital Return Projects: (i) reduced total capital expenditures by 69% in 2016 compared to 2015; (ii) improved overall targeted returns by increasing well deliverability efficiency and enhancing completion designs; and (iii) executed a liquidity productivity prioritization process for all capital projects to ensure achievement of the highest possible liquidity outcome from the use of capital.

C. John Wilder, EXCO’s Executive Chairman, commented, “We have made solid progress transforming EXCO into a leaner, more efficient company. We are asking our employees and key contractors and suppliers to do more with less. Our Board needs to set the tone at the top to do more with less and guide EXCO with a hands-on approach emphasizing total alignment with our concentrated equity ownership. EXCO’s leaner Board expects to reach a consensual restructuring solution with our equity owners, secured and unsecured debt holders, gathering and transportation providers, and certain contractual counterparties. It is clearly in the best interest of all of these key parties to reach commercial solutions given the current commodity price environment. We must make more progress in restructuring EXCO’s gathering and transportation contracts, and, given recent court decisions, we strongly believe our gathering and transportation providers will prefer consensual solutions that result in our contracts representing market rates for actual utilization rather than having all noncompetitive gathering and transportation contracts cancelled.”

Regarding Jeffrey D. Benjamin’s and Jeffrey S. Serota’s recent decisions to not stand for reelection, Mr. Wilder continued, “We want to thank Jeff Benjamin and Jeff Serota for their long-tenured service to the EXCO Board. Mr. Benjamin joined the Board in 2005, and Mr. Serota joined the Board in 2007. They have provided significant insight and made valuable contributions to the Company’s leadership, including Mr. Benjamin’s prior service as the Company’s non-executive Chairman of the Board. We wish them continued success in their future endeavors.”

Annual Meeting Results

The three proposals presented by EXCO in the proxy statement have received the affirmative vote of more than a majority of EXCO’s shares of common stock outstanding. Set forth below are the voting results on each of the proposals:

           
Table 1: Tabulation Summary
Voting Results                        
  % Voted For
Proposal Unit For Against Withhold/Abstain Cast Outstanding
1 Election of directors
    B. James Ford #, % 182,039,663 N/A 7,467,444 96.1% 64.2%
    Samuel A. Mitchell #, % 182,846,288 N/A 6,660,819 96.5% 64.5%
    Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. #, % 174,269,833 N/A 15,237,274 92.0% 61.5%
    Robert L. Stillwell #, % 183,149,651 N/A 6,357,456 96.6% 64.6%
    C. John Wilder #, % 183,249,056 N/A 6,258,051 96.7% 64.6%
2   Advisory vote to approve executive compensation #, % 174,058,807 14,790,639 757,661 91.8% 61.4%
3   Ratification of the appointment of KPMG   #, %   258,398,902   1,167,526   435,902   99.4%   91.2%
 

About EXCO

EXCO Resources, Inc. is an oil and natural gas exploration, exploitation, acquisition, development and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas with principal operations in Texas, North Louisiana and the Appalachia region.

Additional information about EXCO Resources, Inc. may be obtained by contacting Chris Peracchi, EXCO’s Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations, and Treasurer, at EXCO’s headquarters, 12377 Merit Drive, Suite 1700, Dallas, TX 75251, telephone number (214) 368-2084, or by visiting EXCO’s website at www.excoresources.com. EXCO’s Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings and press releases can be found under the Investor Relations tab.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future financial results, business expectations and strategic and financial alternatives and other business transactions. Actual results may differ materially from those predicted as a result of factors over which EXCO has no control. Such factors include, but are not limited to: EXCO’s ability to implement or execute on any strategic or financial alternatives, adjust its capital structure, or increase its liquidity; the continued volatility of, or depressed prices in, the oil and gas markets; the estimates of reserves; commodity price changes; regulatory changes; and general economic conditions. These and other risk factors are included in EXCO’s reports on file with the SEC. Except as required by applicable law, EXCO undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

EXCO Resources, Inc.
Investor Relations Contact:
Chris Peracchi, 214-368-2084

Source: EXCO Resources, Inc.



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