Panhandle Oil and Gas Reports First Quarter Loss

Panhandle Oil and Gas reported a net loss of $2.8 million for its fiscal first quarter 2016. That’s comes out to a loss of 17 cents a share. During the same time of the previous year, Panhandle had a profit of $10.2 million or 61 cents a share. While the company experienced losses just like many others, Panhandle managed to fund capital expenditures for drilling and equipping wells with cash generated by operating activities as well reduce its debt by $8 million.

“At this point, 2016 is shaping up to be a continuation of difficult times for the energy industry. Product prices remain low; the outlook for oil and natural gas demand growth compared to production growth continues to result in oversupply and high inventory levels,” said Panhandle President and Chief Executive Officer Michael C. Coffman.

The company’s leader contends Panhandle has been making the right moves to get through the tough times.

“The combined result of these factors has been a dramatic reduction in capital expenditures announced by virtually every company in the industry. Panhandle’s capital expenditure level has declined steadily over the last year, and we are fine with that, based on current product prices. We have been able to use the free cash flow to further reduce our debt, which today stands at $53.5 million. The $8 million debt reduction in the first quarter was the largest quarterly debt reduction in Company history, and was accomplished during these very difficult times in the industry.”