Tulsa-based Williams leaders remain exuberant about the company’s operations in 2019 and what lies ahead even though the company’s revenues of $2.1 billion for the fourth quarter 2019 decreased from $2.2 billion a year ago.
Fourth quarter net income from continuing operations and available to common stockholders was $138 million, up $710 million over the fourth quarter of 2018. Net income per share was 11 cents compared to the 47-cent net loss per share a year earlier. But the adjusted earnings per share were 24 cents.
Total capital expenditure in the fourth quarter was $408 million, down from the $868 million a year ago. As of Dec. 31, 2019, Williams had cash and cash equivalents of $289 million and a long-term debt of $20.1 billion with a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 55.2%.
For the year, Williams saw growth, and a lot of it. Net income was $862 million, an increase of $1 billion over the 2018 net income. The net income per share was 71 cents compared to the loss of 16 cents a share in 2018.
The adjusted income per share was 99 cents, 25% more than 2018. The company’s adjusted EBITDA was $5.02 billion, up $377 million or 8% over 2018.
The record 2019 adjusted EBITDA was driven by strong growth in Atlantic-Gulf and the Northeast as well as record fourth quarter volumes.
“Williams achieved yet another year of record results in 2019, once again delivering impressive year-over-year growth and exceeding guidance midpoints in our key financial metrics while dramatically reducing capital expenditures,”said Alan Armstrong, president and chief executive officer. “These results were underpinned by our strong operations – we set records for both gathered volumes and firm reserved transportation capacity, and our safety metrics continue to improve. We also generated cash in excess of dividends and capital expenditures, reflecting the combined impact of strong business performance, capital discipline and our ongoing portfolio optimization efforts.”
He thinks the company is in good shape looking forward to 2020 operations.
“Williams remains extremely well-positioned to capture long-term sustainable growth with our natural gas focused strategy. We continue to see demand for new transport capacity along our premier interstate transmission systems, and the scale and location of our deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets provide a strong competitive advantage to capture emerging growth opportunities.”
Armstrong added, “Natural gas has been – and will continue to be – a cornerstone of our nation’s prosperity in the 21st century and a critical part of our clean energy future. Abundant, low cost and reliable natural gas has driven significant reductions in U.S. CO2 emissions, lowered consumers’ utility bills and paved the way for investment in renewables. As the American energy leader that safely handles 30% of the nation’s natural gas, Williams’ large-scale infrastructure is ready to meet continued demand growth, both in the U.S. and abroad.”
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