Benton Oil and Gas Company Reports Second Quarter 1998 Financial and Operating Results.CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 1998--Benton Oil and Gas Company (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BNO BNO Beroepsorganisatie Nederlandse Ontwerpers BNO Boys' Night Out (band) BNO Boyz Nite Out BNO Big Night Out (band) BNO Bau- und Nutzungsordnung BNO Baksan Neutrino Observatory ) today reported a loss of $50.0 million, or $1.69 per share, on a diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. basis for the quarter ended June June: see month. 30, 1998, compared to net income of $4.5 million, or 15 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. , on a diluted basis for the second quarter 1997. The loss was primarily due to a $42.4 million non-cash charge Non-Cash Charge A charge off, made by a company against earnings, that does not require an initial outlay of cash. Notes: Non-cash charges are typically against the depreciation, amortization, and depletion accounts on a company's balance sheet. , net of income tax and minority interest effects, related to the impact of dramatically lower worldwide crude oil prices and a subsequent full cost ceiling write-down Write-Down Reducing the book value of an asset because it is overvalued compared to the market value. Notes: This is usually reflected in the company's income statement as an expense, thereby reducing net income. of the Company's oil and gas properties, as well as a write-down of capitalized Capitalized Recorded in asset accounts and then depreciated or amortized, as is appropriate for expenditures for items with useful lives longer than one year. costs associated with certain exploration activities. Adjusting for the non-cash charge, the loss was $7.6 million, or 26 cents per diluted share. Revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, 1998 were $28.2 million compared to $41.0 million for the same quarter in 1997. Cash flow from operations Cash flow from operations A firm's net cash inflow resulting directly from its regular operations (disregarding extraordinary items such as the sale of fixed assets or transaction costs associated with issuing securities), calculated as the sum of net income plus noncash expenses before working capital changes was $.5 million, or 2 cents per diluted share, for the period ended June 30, 1998, compared to $21.1 million, or 69 cents per diluted share, for the second quarter 1997. Oil sales for the second quarter were 3.4 million barrels, or 37.8 thousand barrels of oil per day, compared to 3.8 million barrels, or 41.3 thousand barrels of oil per day in the year earlier quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depletion depletion n. when a natural resource (particularly oil) is being used up. The annual amount of depletion may, ironically, provide a tax deduction for the company exploiting the resource because if the resource they are exploiting runs out, they will no longer be able , depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become ") for the period ended June 30, 1998 was $8.2 million compared to EBITDA of $21.4 million for the second quarter 1997. For the six month period ended June 30, 1998 Benton Benton, city (1990 pop. 18,177), seat of Saline co., central Ark.; founded 1836. Once a significant aluminum producer, the city manufactures fabricated-metal and wood products. reported a loss of $71.0 million, or $2.41 per diluted share compared to net income of $13.1 million, or 43 cents per diluted share for the period ended June 30, 1997. Adjusting for the non-cash charge, the loss was $12.5 million, or 43 cents per diluted share for the six-month period ended June 30, 1998. Revenues for the six-month period ended June 30, 1998 were $61.5 million compared to revenues of $ 87.3 million for the year earlier period. Cash Flow from operations, before working capital changes, was $6.6 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, as compared to $42.7 million, or $1.38 per share, for the first six months in 1997. EBITDA for the six-month period ended June 30, 1998 was $20.6 million compared to $47.7 million for the same period in 1997. "Benton's results for the second quarter continued to be negatively impacted by world crude oil prices, which were the lowest in the Company's history," stated A. E. Benton, Chairman, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Benton Oil and Gas Company. "However, our strong financial health and capital spending capital spending Spending for long-term assets such as factories, equipment, machinery, and buildings that permits the production of more goods and services in future years. flexibility leave us well positioned to weather this period of industry uncertainty. We see considerable opportunity to prosper, not only from high quality projects in our own inventory but from other potential investments within the industry." Benton Oil and Gas Company, headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif., is an independent oil and gas exploration and development company with operations worldwide. Conference Call: 11:00 AM PDT PDT abbr. Pacific Daylight Time PDT Pacific Daylight Time PDT n abbr (US) (= Pacific Daylight Time) → hora de verano del Pacífico PDT (2:00 PM EDT EDT abbr. Eastern Daylight Time EDT Eastern Daylight Time EDT n abbr (US) (= Eastern Daylight Time) → hora de verano de Nueva York EDT ) Wednesday Wednesday: see week. , August 12, 1998 Phone 913-981-5507 Confirmation # 518367 Replay # 402-220-0112 This press release may contain "Forward-Looking Statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. " within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Actual results may differ materially from the Company's expectations due to changes in operating performance, project schedules, oil and gas demands and prices, and other technical and economical factors. -0-
BENTON OIL AND GAS COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
($ millions)
June 30, December 31,
1998 1997
ASSETS:
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and equivalents $ 22.7 $ 11.9
Restricted cash -- --
Marketable securities 90.5 156.4
Accounts receivable 36.8 53.5
Prepaid expenses and other 6.9 2.5
Total current assets 156.9 224.3
RESTRICTED CASH 74.4 74.3
OTHER ASSETS 15.3 12.5
PROPERTY
AND EQUIPMENT, (net) 251.0 273.2
TOTAL ASSETS $ 497.6 $ 584.3
LIABILITIES AND
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable $ 40.0 $ 43.6
Accrued interest 5.5 5.5
Other liabilities 1.0 1.8
Income taxes payable 3.1 4.5
Short term borrowings -- 1.5
Current portion of
long term debt 0.2 1.5
Total current liabilities 49.8 58.4
DEFERRED INCOME TAXES 13.6 24.8
LONG TERM DEBT 287.6 280.0
MINORITY INTEREST 19.1 23.4
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Common stock and
paid-in capital 147.2 146.4
Retained earnings (19.0) 52.0
Treasury stock (0.7) (0.7)
Total stockholders'
equity 127.5 197.7
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 497.6 $ 584.3
BENTON OIL AND GAS COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands except per BOE and per share amounts)
THREE MONTHS ENDED: June 30, 1998 June 30, 1997
Barrels of oil sold: 3,438 3,752
Mcf of gas sold: 0 0
Barrel of oil equivalents
(BOE) sold: 3,438 3,752
Average price/barrel $6.87 $9.86
Average price/mcf
$ $/BOE $ $/BOE
REVENUES:
Oil and gas sales $23,626 $6.87 $37,000 $9.86
Gain (loss) on
exchange rates 886 0.26 967 0.26
Investment earnings
and other 3,696 1.08 3,010 0.80
28,208 8.21 40,977 10.92
EXPENSES:
Lease operating costs 10,965 3.19 8,383 2.23
Production taxes 536 0.16 516 0.14
Depletion 9,589 2.79 10,124 2.70
Write-down of oil and
gas properties 53,967 15.70 0 0.00
Depreciation and
amortization 290 0.08 205 0.05
General and
administrative 6,046 1.76 5,404 1.44
Interest 8,030 2.33 5,786 1.54
89,423 26.01 30,418 8.10
INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE
TAXES AND MINORITY
INTEREST (61,215) (17.80) 10,559 2.82
Income taxes
(benefit) (7,294) (2.12) 4,432 1.19
INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE
MINORITY INTEREST (53,921) (15.68) 6,127 1.63
Minority interest in
Venezuela (3,878) (1.12) 1,639 0.43
NET INCOME (LOSS) ($50,043) ($14.56) $4,488 $1.20
NET INCOME (LOSS)
PER SHARE:
Basic ($1.69) $0.15
Diluted ($1.69) $0.15
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS,
BEFORE WORKING CAPITAL
CHANGES $493 $0.14 $21,080 $5.62
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS,
BEFORE WORKING CAPITAL
CHANGES, Per Share $0.02 $0.69
Weighted average shares
outstanding:
Basic 29.6 million 29.0 million
Diluted 29.6 million 30.6 million
EBITDA $8,231 $21,397
BENTON OIL AND GAS COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands except per BOE and per share amounts)
SIX MONTHS ENDED: June 30, 1998 June 30, 1997
Barrels of oil sold: 7,211 7,675
Mcf of gas sold: 0 0
Barrel of oil equivalents
(BOE) sold: 7,211 7,675
Average price/barrel $7.23 $10.49
Average price/mcf
$ $/BOE $ $/BOE
REVENUES:
Oil and gas sales $52,127 $7.23 $80,476 $10.49
Gain (loss) on
exchange rates 1,499 0.21 961 0.13
Investment earnings
and other 7,840 1.08 5,839 0.75
61,466 8.52 87,276 11.37
EXPENSES:
Lease operating costs 23,888 3.31 15,914 2.07
Production taxes 854 0.12 1,266 0.16
Depletion 20,378 2.83 19,646 2.56
Write-down of oil and
gas properties 71,467 9.91 0 0.00
Depreciation and
amortization 567 0.08 394 0.05
General and
administrative 11,452 1.59 10,893 1.42
Interest 16,110 2.23 11,271 1.48
144,716 20.07 59,384 7.74
INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE TAXES
AND MINORITY INTEREST (83,250) (11.55) 27,892 3.63
Income taxes (benefit) (7,964) (1.11) 10,416 1.35
INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE
MINORITY INTEREST (75,286) (10.44) 17,476 2.28
Minority interest in
Venezuela (4,257) (0.59) 4,360 0.57
NET INCOME (LOSS) ($71,029) ($9.85) $13,116 $1.71
NET INCOME (LOSS) PER SHARE:
Basic ($2.41) $0.45
Diluted ($2.41) $0.43
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS,
BEFORE WORKING
CAPITAL CHANGES $6,565 $0.91 $42,658 $5.56
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS,
BEFORE WORKING
CAPITAL CHANGES,
Per Share $0.22 $1.38
Weighted average shares
outstanding:
Basic 29.5 million 29.0 million
Diluted 29.5 million 0.8 million
EBITDA $20,566 $47,702
CONTACT: Benton Oil and Gas, Carpenteria n. 1. a California evergreen shrub (Carpenteria californica) having glossy opposite leaves and terminal clusters of a few fragrant white flowers. Noun 1. Linda A set of parallel processing functions added to languages, such as C and C++, that allows data to be created and transferred between processes. It was developed by Yale professor David Gelernter, when he was a 23-year old graduate student. Blount-Strauss, Vice President - Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. , 805/566-5600 |
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