Strong 4Q reported by Ascent Resources

Ascent Resources

 

“An extremely strong note,” is how leadership at Ascent Resources characterized the fourth quarter and full-year 2022 financial reports.

Ascent had fourth quarter net income of $1.6 billion while its adjusted net income was $148 million and adjusted EBITDAX was $388 million. The company generated $106 million in Adjusted Free Cash flow during the quarter despite commodity hedge loss settlements of nearly $473 million.

The company also managed to reduce debt by more than $434 million during the quarter and ended the year with a liquidity of nearly $1.5 billion.

“We ended the year on an extremely strong note, averaging nearly 2.2 bcfe/d of production in the fourth quarter, despite significant weather related impacts during the last week of December,” commented Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Fisher.

Jeff Fisher | Ascent Resources

“Moving into the new year, our strategy remains steadfast with a focus on capital discipline and cash flow generation. We are well positioned to weather the recent market volatility, with our balance sheet and hedge position providing near-term support while allowing us to generate sustainable free cash flow,” he added.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, Ascent reported net income of $361 million, Adjusted Net Income of $813 million and Adjusted EBITDAX of $1.7 billion. Ascent incurred a total of $970 million of capital expenditures during the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 consisting of $830 million of D&C costs, $96 million of land and leasehold costs, and $44 million of capitalized interest. The Company generated $541 million of Adjusted Free Cash Flow during the year ended December 31, 2022, despite commodity hedge loss settlements of approximately $2.3 billion.

As of December 31, 2022, Ascent had total debt of approximately $2.5 billion, with $370 million of borrowings and $169 million of letters of credit issued under the credit facility. Liquidity as of December 31, 2022 was approximately $1.5 billion, comprised of $1.5 billion of available borrowing capacity under the credit facility and $4 million of cash on hand. 

Ascent Resources Strengthens Position in Utica | Business Journal Daily

Ascent reported it spud 17 operated wells during the fourth quarter of 2022. In addition, it fractured 17 wells and turned-in-line 28 other wells with an average lateral length of about 12,000 feet. For the full-year period Ascent spud 75 operated wells, hydraulically fractured 75 wells, and turned-in-line 82 wells with an average lateral length of approximately 13,400 feet. As of December 31, 2022, Ascent had 811 gross operated producing Utica wells.

. As of December 31, 2022, Ascent had hedged 1,395,000 mmbtu per day of natural gas production in 2023 at an average downside price of $3.19 per mmbtu. In addition, Ascent had also hedged 6,000 bbls per day of crude oil production at an average price of $72.30 per bbl in 2023. 

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