Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB) reported Q4 EPS of $0.19, $0.05 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.24.

• Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Williams Available to Common Stockholders of ($572) Million for 4Q 2018 and ($156) Million for Full-Year 2018 (impacted by certain asset impairments and gains as described in this press release)
• Net Income (Loss) Per Share of ($0.47) for 4Q 2018 and ($0.16) for Full-Year 2018
• 4Q 2018 Cash Flow From Operations of $962 Million; Up $104 Million over 4Q 2017
• 4Q 2018 Adjusted Income Per Share of $0.19; Full-Year 2018 Adjusted Income Per Share of $0.79
• 4Q 2018 Adjusted EBITDA of $1.197 Billion; Up $37 Million over 4Q 2017
• Full-Year 2018 Adjusted EBITDA of $4.638 Billion; Up $107 Million over Full-Year 2017
• 4Q 2018 DCF of $748 Million; Coverage Ratio is 1.82; Full-Year 2018 DCF of $2.872 Billion; Coverage Ratio is 1.69
• Consolidated Net Debt/ 2018 Adjusted EBITDA Leverage Ratio of 4.80x; Well Ahead of the Guided ~5x Ratio
• Placed Atlantic Sunrise Project into Full Service on Oct. 6, 2018; Placed Gulf Connector into Full Service on Jan. 4, 2019
• 4Q 2018 Northeast G&P EBITDA (both Modified and Adjusted) Up Approximately 30% and NE Gathering Volumes Up 13% over 4Q 2017
• Completed Asset Sales Totaling $1.3 Billion during 4Q 2018

CEO Perspective

Alan Armstrong, president and chief executive officer, made the following comments:

"Once again in 2018, our consistent natural gas-focused strategy delivered as expected with solid and predictable growth. In fact, our 2018 Adjusted EBITDA was a new record even in the face of asset sales totaling $4.6 billion over the past two and a half years that dramatically reduced commodity exposure and improved leverage metrics for WMB. Thanks to strong execution by our teams, we again delivered at the top end of the range for nearly all of our key guidance metrics for the year. Bringing the Atlantic Sunrise project online and dramatically increasing gathering volumes in our Northeast G&P segment were just a couple of the many achievements during the year.

"The quality and predictability of our cash flows, even in times of commodity swings, combined with the accelerating demand for natural gas, point to continued growth for us in 2019 as we enjoyed strong execution on all of our major projects in 2018 and the beginning of 2019."

Armstrong added, "With the expected 15 percent compounded annual growth rate for gathered volumes in our Northeast G&P segment expected through 2021, Transco\'s continued string of expansion projects, our recently announced Bluestem Pipeline project, our joint venture in the Permian with Brazos Midstream, the growing Rocky Mountain Midstream in the DJ Basin and a growing list of deepwater discoveries, it\'s easy to see why Williams is poised for additional growth in 2019 and beyond. And, Williams is well-positioned for sustained growth as we continue to capitalize on significant opportunities to connect low-cost natural gas supplies to premier demand markets.

"The combined impact of strong business performance, capital discipline and our ongoing portfolio optimization efforts continues to improve our credit metrics. We finished 2018 with overall leverage of 4.80x, and we are very focused on further improvement in 2019.”

2019 Guidance

Current guidance for 2019, originally announced at Analyst Day on May 17, 2018, remains unchanged with the exception of Growth Capital Expenditures. Growth capital expenditure guidance has increased from prior guidance of $2.6 billion to a range of $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion primarily due to timing shifts from 2018 to 2019.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Williams Cos. (WMB) click here.