Noble Energy Announces 2015 First Quarter Results

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE:NBL) announced its first quarter 2015 results, which show a net loss of $22 million or $0.22 per diluted share.

As quoted in the press release:

Excluding the impact of certain items, which would typically not be considered by analysts in published earnings estimates, first quarter 2015 adjusted income(1) was $10 million, or $0.03 per diluted share.  Discretionary cash flow(1)  was $555 million and net cash provided by operating activities was $541 million.  Capital expenditures for the initial quarter of 2015 totaled $919 million.

Total sales volumes for the quarter averaged a record 318 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBoe/d), an increase of 11 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014, or 17 percent after adjusting for non-core assets divested during 2014.  Liquids comprised 43 percent (33 percent crude oil and condensate and 10 percent natural gas liquids) of first quarter 2015 sales volumes, with natural gas the remaining 57 percent.

Total Company sales volumes were higher primarily as a result of continued development of the DJ Basin and Marcellus Shale resource plays, where combined production was up more than 35 percent from the first quarter of last year.  Horizontal production in these core plays increased more than 60 percent versus the similar period.  Internationally, sales volumes in the first quarter of 2015 were lower than the first quarter of last year, primarily as a result of the timing of liftings and facility maintenance in Equatorial Guinea, as well as the impact of the sale of the China asset in 2014.  Israel natural gas sales were up approximately 10 percent versus the initial quarter of 2014.

First quarter 2015 total production costs, including lease operating expense, production and ad valorem taxes, and transportation and gathering averaged $8.56 per barrel of oil equivalent (Boe), and depreciation, depletion, and amortization totaled $15.86 per Boe.  Lease operating expense of $5.49 per Boe is down three percent versus the first quarter of last year and eight percent from the fourth quarter of 2014.  General and administrative costs were $94 million in the quarter, down substantially from prior quarters as a result of lower major project spending and reduced incentive compensation.

Adjustments to the net loss for the first quarter of 2015 included non-cash commodity derivative losses of approximately $60 million, as a result of the value change of the Company’s existing crude oil and natural gas hedge positions as of the end of the quarter.  The Company also adjusted for certain asset impairment charges totaling $27 million pre-tax, which primarily related to changes in abandonment cost expectations for the Noa and Pinnacles fields offshore Israel.  The effective tax rate on adjusted income for the quarter was 82 percent, with 76 percent of the adjusted tax provision being deferred.

David L. Stover, chairman and CEO of Noble Energy, commented:

Noble Energy’s strong operational and financial capacity delivered a very positive start to 2015, and we are increasing our full year volume expectations following on the outperformance in the first quarter.  Our teams have also made substantial progress in bringing costs down, reflecting continued improvement in operating efficiencies, leverage from existing core area infrastructure, and new pricing arrangements with our service partners.  The trends of increasing capital efficiency and decreasing operating costs are expected to continue throughout the year.

Click here to read the full Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE:NBL) press release.