Whiting Petroleum (WLL) Tops Q4 EPS by 4c

Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL) reported Q4 EPS of ($0.28), $0.04 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.32).

James J. Volker, Whiting’s Chairman, President and CEO, commented, “Whiting delivered another strong quarter. Production grew sequentially when adjusted for asset sales and exceeded the high end of our forecast. Operating expense was at the low end of guidance. We achieved this while generating operating cash flow that exceeded our capital expenditures.Also, our efforts to reshape our balance sheet came to fruition this quarter. We announced the $375 million sale of our North Dakota midstream assets. We received the proceeds on January 3, 2017 and used $275 million to redeem all of our outstanding 2018 notes on February 2, 2017. Since the beginning of 2016, we have sold $725 million of non-core properties and used the proceeds to improve our balance sheet. Asset sales combined with innovative debt exchange transactions and free cash flow reduced debt by $2.4 billion or 42% since March 2016.”

Mr. Volker continued, “In 2016, we worked to position the company for strong growth through balance sheet improvement and a focus on operational improvements that resulted in a 42% increase in per well productivity over 2015. In 2017, we are focused on increasing production, reserves and net asset value through a capital efficient plan that further enhances our balance sheet metrics through growth. We project a total capital budget of $1.1 billion in 2017. Based on this capital plan, we forecast that production grows 23% from first quarter to fourth quarter 2017.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Whiting Petroleum (WLL) click here.

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