Oasis Petroleum’s ([stock_market_widget type=”inline” template=”generic” color=”default” assets=”OAS” markup=”NYSE: {symbol} {currency_symbol}{price} ({change_pct})” api=”yf”]) fourth-quarter results turned out to be a mixed bag as the company beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations but fell short on earnings.
Oasis’ revenue was way ahead of what analysts originally anticipated, thanks to a significant increase in its production. However, that massive top-line jump didn’t translate into bottom line gains as the company slipped into a loss.
Oasis Posts Mixed Production and Revenue Results
Oasis had increased its production guidance twice last year after adjusting for the assets it divested. For the fourth quarter, the company reported average production of 88.3 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day. For the full year, the company’s production stood at 82.5 thousand BOE per day. Approximately 76% of its full-year and fourth-quarter production was crude oil.
For comparison, Oasis’ 2017 output was 66,144 BOE per day, while its output in the same quarter last year was 73,207 BOE per day. Thanks to the higher production, Oasis’ fourth-quarter revenue of $600 million was up nearly 38% from last year, easily beating the analyst estimate by a wide margin of $182 million.
However, the company posted an adjusted net loss of $7.3 million, or $0.02 per share, representing a significant decline over last year’s non-GAAP net income of $27.1 million, or $0.12 per share. That’s not surprising if we consider that Oasis’ average sales price of crude oil fell from $68.33 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2017 to $52.01 per barrel last quarter.
The negative reaction to Oasis’ latest performance indicates that investors are expecting things to get worse this year, which might be true given the company’s guidance.
2019 Guidance Suggests Difficult 2019 for Oasis
Oasis is looking to generate production between 86,000 and 91,000 BOE per day this year, which is not much of an increase compared to 2018. But at the same time, any advantage from this slight increase in the production will be wiped out by a rise in the company’s costs.
Oasis expects lease operating expenses to be between $7.00 and $8.00 per barrel this year, while marketing, transportation, and gathering (MT&G) expenses are slated to fall between $1.50 and $3.50 per barrel. Last year, the company’s lease operating expenses came in at $6.44 per barrel, while MT&G expenses were at $3.41 a barrel.
So, Oasis’ lease operating expenses could increase by 16% at the mid-point of its guidance range. Furthermore, the wide range of the MT&G expenses indicates management isn’t sure it can achieve a substantial reduction on this front as compared to last year.
Oasis has also reduced its capital spending plan for 2019 by 40% as compared to last year. The company’s capital spending will arrive between $540 million and $560 million this year, out of which 75% will be spent in the Williston Basin and the remaining in the Delaware Basin.
In all, analysts expect that a combination of weak production growth, higher costs, and potentially weak oil prices will hurt Oasis big time in 2019. Its revenue is expected to drop this year, and it won’t be surprising to see earnings going the same way.