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ProPetro Holding's Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Fall Y/Y

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ProPetro Holding Corp. (PUMP - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of 12 cents which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 3 cents.  This outperformance could be primarily attributed to improved pricing and increased activity in the reported quarter. The bottom line, however, declined from the year-ago quarter’s 31 cents due to a 42.7% year-over-year increase in costs and expenses.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Revenues of $360.9 million beat the consensus mark of $358 million. However, the figure decreased 14.8% from the year-ago quarter’s level of $423.8 million. This was due to a year-over-year decline in service revenues from Hydraulic Fracturing and Wireline operations.

Adjusted EBITDA amounted to $71.1 million, down 34% from $107.7 million reported in the previous quarter.

On April 24, the company revealed a $100 million increase to its share repurchase program, raising the total to $200 million and extending the plan until May 2025. In the third quarter, PUMP repurchased and retired 1.3 million shares at a cost of $10 million. To date, the company has acquired and retired 12.6 million shares, accounting for about 11% of its total outstanding shares.

The net loss was $137 million, a significant increase from a net loss of $4 million in the previous quarter. This third-quarter net loss included a non-cash impairment charge of $189 million related to the company's Tier II diesel-only pumping units and associated conventional equipment in hydraulic fracturing segment, which now represents a decreasing portion of active fleets.

In the third quarter, the company announced that three FORCE electric-powered hydraulic fracturing fleets are currently operating under contract with major customers. A fourth fleet is expected to be deployed by the end of the year, followed by a fifth fleet set for early 2025.

ProPetro Holding Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

ProPetro Holding Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

ProPetro Holding Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ProPetro Holding Corp. Quote

PUMP’s Pressure Pumping Segment

ProPetro provides hydraulic fracturing, cementing and acidizing functions through its Pressure Pumping segment. The business contributed 100% to PUMP's total revenues in the quarter under review.

Service revenues from this unit decreased 14.8% to $360.9 million from the prior-year quarter’s level. However, the figure was higher than our estimate of $355.9 million.

Costs & Financial Position of PUMP

Total costs and expenses were $541 million for the third quarter, which was up 42.7% from the prior-year quarter’s level.  The cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) was $267.6 million compared with $292.5 million in the prior-year quarter. The loss on disposal of assets totaled $2.1 million compared with $12.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

In the third quarter of 2024, the company recorded $37 million in capital expenditures, primarily for maintenance and support equipment for FORCE electric hydraulic fracturing fleets. The statement of cash flows indicated that net cash used in investing activities amounted to $40 million for the quarter.

As of Sept. 30, PUMP had $46.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and $45 million in borrowings under its ABL Credit Facility. Total liquidity stood at $127 million, including $80 million in available credit in September end. Long-term debt amounted to $45 million. The total debt-to-total capital was 5.1%.

Net cash provided by operating activities decreased to $214.4 million in this quarter, which was down from $104.9 million in the last quarter. Free cash flow decreased to approximately negative $5 million, down from $47.9 million in the previous quarter.

PUMP’s Guidance

The company anticipates a reduction in its 2024 capital expenditure guidance for the second time this year, now estimating between $150 million and $175 million, which was down from the previous range of $175 million to $200 million.

In the third quarter, 14 hydraulic fracturing fleets were active and management expects to maintain the same in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The company expects that while some industry softness may be experienced in the fourth quarter due to normal seasonality and budget exhaustion, demand for its services remains strong.

PUMP currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Important Energy Earnings So Far

While it is early in the earnings season, there have been a few key energy releases so far. Let us glance through a couple of them.

Liberty Energy (LBRT - Free Report) , the Denver-CO-based oil and gas equipment company, announced an adjusted net income of 45 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 55 cents. This was primarily due to poor equipment and services execution and lower activity in the reported quarter. Additionally, the bottom line declined from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of 86 cents due to a year-over-year increase in costs and expenses.

Ahead of the earnings release, LBRT’s board of directors announced a dividend of 8 cents per common share payable on Dec. 20, to its stockholders of record as of Dec. 6. This dividend represents a 14% increase from the prior regular quarterly dividend of 7 cents per share. In the quarter, Liberty returned $51 million to its shareholders through a combination of share repurchases and cash dividends.

Energy infrastructure provider,Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI - Free Report) reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 25 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 27 cents. The bottom line was flat year over year. The weakness in quarterly results was caused by lower contributions from the Products Pipelines and CO2 business segments.

KMI also announced a quarterly cash dividend of 28.75 cents per share for the third quarter of 2024 (annualized dividend of $1.15), implying a 2% increase from the third-quarter 2023 level. The dividend is payable on Nov. 15, 2024, to its shareholders of record as of Oct. 31.

Schlumberger Limited (SLB - Free Report) , a Houston, TX-based oil and gas equipment and services provider announced third-quarter earnings of 89 cents per share (excluding charges and credits), which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 88 cents. The bottom line also increased from the year-ago quarter’s 78 cents. The strong quarterly earnings were primarily driven by broad-based earnings growth and margin expansion, especially in the Middle East, Asia and offshore North America. Additionally, cost optimization, greater adoption of digital solutions and contributions from long-cycle deepwater and gas projects played significant roles.

SLB reported a free cash flow of $1.81 billion in the third quarter. As of Sept. 30, the company had approximately $4.46 billion in cash and short-term investments. At the end of the quarter, it registered a long-term debt of $11.86 billion.

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