FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION (NYSE: RRC) today announced its fourth quarter and year-end 2018 financial results. 

Commenting on the results and 2019 plans, Jeff Ventura, the Company’s CEO said, “Range made solid progress on key strategic objectives in 2018.  Our capital spending was disciplined, coming in $31 million under budget due to efficient operations, longer laterals and innovative water recycling.  For the year, Range generated free cash flow, reduced absolute debt, and also made good progress on our leverage targets with contribution of the royalty sale announced in late 2018.

“I believe the Company is positioned well, with a high-quality resource base capable of generating sustainable free cash at current strip prices.  Our economic resilience is further demonstrated in the year-end PV₁₀ reserve value of $9.9 billion using futures strip pricing from year-end, which equates to approximately $24 per share, net of debt.  Going forward, Range is committed to translating well-level returns from our high-quality asset base into corporate-level returns, including a free cash flow yield that is competitive not only within energy, but across the broader market.” 

2019 Capital Spending Plans

Range’s 2019 capital budget is approximately $756 million.  At strip pricing, cash flow is projected to exceed spending for the year.  Excess cash flow is expected to be used to reduce debt.  In addition, asset sales are being pursued to further strengthen the balance sheet.

The Company expects production to average between 2,325 to 2,345 Mmcfe per day in 2019, with 30% attributed to liquids production.  Approximately 90% of the capital budget is expected to be allocated to the Appalachia division and the remainder to the North Louisiana division.  In Appalachia, over 60% of activity is planned to be directed towards liquids-rich drilling, where Range’s acreage has an extensive inventory of existing pads that reduce capital costs and gathering expenses.  The liquids-rich acreage is also in close proximity to recently built infrastructure for both natural gas takeaway and natural gas liquids (“NGL”) processing. 

The 2019 capital budget includes approximately $685 million for drilling and recompletions (91% of the total), $51 million for leasehold, and $20 million for pipelines, facilities and other capital expenditures.  The budget includes 88 wells expected to be brought on line during the year in the Marcellus and eight wells in North Louisiana.  Similar to the 2018 program, approximately half of the 2019 Marcellus wells are planned to be drilled from existing pads.

2018 Capital Expenditures

Fourth quarter 2018 drilling expenditures of $158 million funded the drilling of 17 wells.  Drilling expenditures for the full year totaled $836 million and funded the drilling of 104 (100 net) wells during 2018.  A 100% success rate was achieved.  In addition, during 2018, $62 million was spent on acreage purchases and $10 million on gas gathering systems.  Total capital expenditures in 2018 were approximately $910 million, which was $31 million under budget for the year.

2018 Proved Reserves Results

Range previously announced 2018 proved reserves results on February 11, 2019.   Highlights from the announcement were:

• 2018 PV₁₀ value of reserves using year-end future strip prices was $9.9 billion
• Year-end 2018 SEC PV₁₀ value of proved reserves was $13.2 billion, up $5.1 billion from prior year
• Proved reserves increased by 18% from the prior-year to 18.1 Tcfe
• Drill-bit finding cost of $0.22 per mcfe, including performance revisions
• Future development costs for proved undeveloped reserves estimated to be $0.40 per mcfe

Financial Discussion

Except for generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) reported amounts, specific expense categories exclude non-cash impairments, unrealized mark-to-market adjustment on derivatives, non-cash stock compensation and other items shown separately on the attached tables.  “Unit costs” as used in this release are composed of direct operating, transportation, gathering, processing and compression, production and ad valorem taxes, general and administrative, interest and depletion, depreciation and amortization costs divided by production.  See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a definition of each of the non-GAAP financial measures and the tables that reconcile each of the non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Full Year 2018

GAAP revenues for 2018 totaled $3.3 billion (26% increase compared to 2017), GAAP net cash provided from operating activities including changes in working capital was $991 million, compared to $816 million in 2017. GAAP net income was a loss of $1.75 billion ($7.10 per diluted share) versus earnings of $333 million ($1.34 per diluted share) in 2017.  Full year 2018 results include a $1.6 billion impairment of goodwill associated with the 2016 MRD merger, and a $515 million impairment of unproved properties compared to $270 million in 2017, reflecting a shift in capital allocation related to North Louisiana properties.  Full year 2018 results also included a loss of $11 million from asset sales compared to a gain of $24 million in 2017, $51 million in derivative losses due to increases in future commodity prices compared to a $213 million gain in the prior year and a $19 million mark-to-market gain related to the deferred compensation plan compared to a $51 million gain in the prior year.

Non-GAAP revenues for 2018 totaled $3.2 billion, an increase of 33% compared to 2017 and cash flow from operations before changes in working capital, a non-GAAP measure, was $1.05 billion, compared to $916 million in 2017.  Adjusted net income comparable to analysts’ estimates, a non-GAAP measure, was $279 million ($1.13 per diluted share), compared to $143 million ($0.58 per diluted share) in 2017. 

The following table details Range’s average production and realized pricing for full year 2018:

Full year 2018 natural gas, NGLs and oil price realizations (including the impact of cash-settled hedges and derivative settlements which correspond to analysts’ estimates) averaged $3.39 per mcfe.  Additional detail on commodity price realizations can be found in the Supplemental Tables provided on the Company’s website. 

• The 2018 average natural gas price, including the impact of basis hedging, was $3.02 per mcf, or a ($0.05) per mcf differential to NYMEX, which was significantly better than the ($0.32) differential in the prior year.  The improvement in natural gas differentials compared to last year is a result of increased pipeline connectivity and compressed basis across the Appalachian and Midwest regions.
   
• Pre-hedge NGL realizations were $24.30 per barrel, or 37% of West Texas Intermediate (“WTI”) in 2018.  Hedging decreased NGL prices by $1.69 per barrel in 2018 compared to a decrease of $2.04 per barrel in the prior year.  
   
• Crude oil and condensate price realizations, before realized hedges, averaged $60.52 per barrel, or $4.97 below WTI, compared to $4.77 below WTI in the prior year.  Hedging decreased price by $8.92 per barrel in 2018, compared to hedge gains of $3.19 per barrel in the prior year.

2018 Unit Costs

The following table details Range’s unit costs per mcfe^(a):

(a)  Excludes stock-based compensation, legal settlements and amortization of deferred financing costs.
(b)  2018 transportation, gathering, processing and compression expense reflects the change in accounting method made at the beginning of the year.  As a result of adopting the new accounting standard, expenses increased by approximately $0.22 per mcfe in 2018.  There was an equal increase to NGL revenue, resulting in zero net impact to cash flow as a result of the change in accounting method.
(c)  May not add due to rounding.

Fourth Quarter 2018

The following table details Range’s average production and realized pricing for fourth quarter 2018:

Fourth quarter 2018 natural gas, NGLs and oil price realizations (including the impact of cash-settled hedges and derivative settlements which correspond to analysts’ estimates) averaged $3.37 per mcfe.  Additional detail on commodity price realizations can be found in the Supplemental Tables provided on the Company’s website. 

• The average natural gas price, including the impact of basis hedging, was $3.53 per mcf, or an ($0.08) per mcf differential to NYMEX, which was significantly better than the ($0.35) differential during the prior-year quarter.  The improvement in natural gas differentials compared to last year is a result of increased pipeline connectivity and compressed basis across the Appalachian and Midwest regions.
   
• Pre-hedge NGL realizations were $24.21 per barrel, or 40% of WTI.  Hedging decreased NGL prices by $0.12 per barrel compared to a decrease of $4.06 per barrel in the prior-year quarter.  
   
• Crude oil and condensate price realizations, before realized hedges, averaged $54.51 per barrel, or $6.28 below WTI, compared to $4.63 below WTI in the prior-year quarter.  Hedging decreased price by $4.82 per barrel compared to hedge gains of $0.27 per barrel in the prior-year quarter.

Fourth Quarter Unit Costs

The following table details Range’s unit costs per mcfe^(a):

(a)  Excludes stock-based compensation, legal settlements and amortization of deferred financing costs.
(b)  Fourth quarter 2018 transportation, gathering, processing and compression expense reflects the change in accounting method made earlier this year.  As a result of adopting the new accounting standard, expenses increased by approximately $0.23 per mcfe in fourth quarter 2018.  There was an equal increase to NGL revenue, resulting in zero net impact to cash flow as a result of the change in accounting method.
(c)  May not add due to rounding.

2018 Asset Sale

As previously announced, during fourth quarter 2018, Range sold a proportionately reduced 1% overriding royalty in its Washington County, Pennsylvania leases for gross proceeds of $300 million.

Range’s Washington County properties encompass approximately 300,000 net surface acres. The overriding royalty applies to existing and future Marcellus, Utica and Upper Devonian development on the subject leases, while excluding shallower and deeper formations.  Post-close, Range maintains a net revenue interest of approximately 82% on the subject Washington County acreage. The net proceeds were used to reduce bank debt.

Operational Discussion

Range previously updated its investor presentation with economic calculations. Please see www.rangeresources.com under the Investors tab, “Company Presentations” area, for the presentation entitled, “Company Presentation – February 25, 2019”.

The table below summarizes 2018 activity and estimates for 2019 regarding the number of wells to sales for each area. 

Appalachia Division

Production for the fourth quarter of 2018 averaged approximately 1,893 net Mmcfe per day from the Appalachia division, a 5% increase over the prior year.  The northeast area of the division averaged 113 net Mmcf per day during the quarter.  The southwest area of the division averaged 1,780 net Mmcfe per day during the quarter, a 7% increase over the prior year.  As previously announced, in December, an operational issue at the Houston facility required the extended curtailment of both the Harmon Creek and Houston processing complexes.  As a result of MarkWest’s operational downtime, Range lost approximately 10 Bcfe of production during the quarter.  Both processing complexes were returned to service in early January. 

Range brought on line 16 wells in southwest Appalachia during the fourth quarter, one in the super-rich area, and 15 in the wet area.  During the year, Range turned to sales a total of 86 Marcellus wells with an average lateral length of 9,388 feet.  The Company expects to run an average of three rigs in the Marcellus during 2019, and turn to sales 88 wells with an expected average lateral length of 10,800 feet.

North Louisiana

Production for the division in the fourth quarter of 2018 averaged approximately 256 net Mmcfe per day.  Range expects to turn to sales eight wells in North Louisiana in 2019. 

Marketing and Transportation

Fourth quarter 2018 marked the first full quarter where Range had access to all of its contracted natural gas transportation, as Energy Transfer’s Rover project provided additional outlets to the Midwest and Gulf Coast in September.  The fourth quarter of 2018 natural gas differential of $0.08 under NYMEX is the best fourth quarter differential Range has seen since 2012, due in large part to the addition of transportation out of Appalachia.  Going forward, Range expects to keep its natural gas transportation full and sell incremental gas production into local markets which have improved due to the recently added takeaway infrastructure. 

Range has capacity on the Mariner East 1 pipeline for a combined 40,000 barrels per day of ethane and propane.  As the only producer with propane capacity on Mariner East 1, Range has been able to capture premiums to the Mont Belvieu index price by exporting the majority of its propane to international markets since early 2016.  In addition, the Company sent the majority of its normal butane and remaining propane volumes during the summer to Marcus Hook for export via local rail.  As the Company continues to develop its liquids acreage, additional outlets for NGL production are beneficial in providing stability to NGL price, especially during the summer when in-basin demand is low.  Range has taken capacity on Mariner East 2 for a combined 20,000 barrels per day of propane and butane, starting in April 2020, which gives the Company additional flexibility in marketing NGL production while participating in the expected local market improvements.  Importantly, Range expects to fill the incremental capacity with existing propane and butane volumes, leaving flexibility to sell incremental NGLs in-basin.

In January 2019, Range lost access to its capacity on Sunoco’s Mariner East 1 pipeline following the appearance of a subsidence along the pipeline route.  As a result of the outage, Range is utilizing available capacity on the recently commissioned Mariner East 2 pipeline to continue moving its propane to the Marcus Hook terminal. For ethane, Range has multiple options for marketing its production, including the ability to sell ethane as natural gas.  While not materially altering corporate cash flows, the delayed restart of MarkWest plants and the Mariner East outage have reduced production volumes, and as a result, Range’s first quarter guidance of 2,225 Mmcfe per day reflects the estimated production impact.

Guidance – 2019

Production per day Guidance

Production for the full-year 2019 is expected to average approximately 2,325 to 2,345 Mmcfe per day, or 6% year-over-year growth at the midpoint.

First quarter 2019 production is expected to average approximately 2,225 Mmcfe per day.

1Q 2019 Expense Guidance 

Full Year 2019 Price Guidance

Based on current market pricing indications, Range expects to average the following pre-hedge differentials for its production in 2019. 

Hedging Status

Range hedges portions of its expected future production volumes to increase the predictability of cash flow and to help maintain a strong, flexible financial position. At year-end 2018, Range had over 75% of its expected 2019 natural gas production hedged at a weighted average floor price of $2.86 per mmbtu.  Similarly, Range had hedged approximately 70% of its 2019 projected crude oil production at an average floor price of $56.23.   Please see Range’s detailed hedging schedule posted at the end of the financial tables below and on its website at www.rangeresources.com. 

Range has also hedged Marcellus and other basis differentials to limit volatility between NYMEX and regional prices.  The fair value of the basis hedges as of December 31, 2018 was a gain of $4.8 million, compared to a loss of $7.8 million at December 31, 2017.   

Conference Call Information
A conference call to review the financial results is scheduled on Tuesday, February 26 at 9:00 a.m. ET. To participate in the call, please dial 866-900-7525 and provide conference code 6972159 about 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

A simultaneous webcast of the call may be accessed at www.rangeresources.com. The webcast will be archived for replay on the Company's website until March 26.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted net income comparable to analysts’ estimates as set forth in this release represents income or loss from operations before income taxes adjusted for certain non-cash items (detailed in the accompanying table) less income taxes.  We believe adjusted net income comparable to analysts’ estimates is calculated on the same basis as analysts’ estimates and that many investors use this published research in making investment decisions and evaluating operational trends of the Company and its performance relative to other oil and gas producing companies.  Diluted earnings per share (adjusted) as set forth in this release represents adjusted net income comparable to analysts’ estimates on a diluted per share basis.  A table is included which reconciles income or loss from operations to adjusted net income comparable to analysts’ estimates and diluted earnings per share (adjusted).  On its website, the Company provides additional comparative information on prior periods along with non-GAAP revenue disclosures. 

Cash flow from operations before changes in working capital (sometimes referred to as “adjusted cash flow”) as defined in this release represents net cash provided by operations before changes in working capital and exploration expense adjusted for certain non-cash compensation items.  Cash flow from operations before changes in working capital is widely accepted by the investment community as a financial indicator of an oil and gas company’s ability to generate cash to internally fund exploration and development activities and to service debt.  Cash flow from operations before changes in working capital is also useful because it is widely used by professional research analysts in valuing, comparing, rating and providing investment recommendations of companies in the oil and gas exploration and production industry.  In turn, many investors use this published research in making investment decisions.  Cash flow from operations before changes in working capital is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operations, investing, or financing activities as an indicator of cash flows, or as a measure of liquidity.  A table is included which reconciles net cash provided by operations to cash flow from operations before changes in working capital as used in this release.  On its website, the Company provides additional comparative information on prior periods for cash flow, cash margins and non-GAAP earnings as used in this release.

The cash prices realized for oil and natural gas production, including the amounts realized on cash-settled derivatives and net of transportation, gathering, processing and compression expense, is a critical component in the Company’s performance tracked by investors and professional research analysts in valuing, comparing, rating and providing investment recommendations and forecasts of companies in the oil and gas exploration and production industry.  In turn, many investors use this published research in making investment decisions.  Due to the GAAP disclosures of various derivative transactions and third-party transportation, gathering, processing and compression expense, such information is now reported in various lines of the income statement.  The Company believes that it is important to furnish a table reflecting the details of the various components of each income statement line to better inform the reader of the details of each amount and provide a summary of the realized cash-settled amounts and third-party transportation, gathering, processing and compression expense, which were historically reported as natural gas, NGLs and oil sales.  This information is intended to bridge the gap between various readers’ understanding and fully disclose the information needed.

The Company discloses in this release the detailed components of many of the single line items shown in the GAAP financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.  The Company believes that it is important to furnish this detail of the various components comprising each line of the Statements of Operations to better inform the reader of the details of each amount, the changes between periods and the effect on its financial results.

Finding and development cost per unit is a non-GAAP metric used in the exploration and production industry by companies, investors and analysts. Drill-bit development cost per mcfe is based on estimated and unaudited drilling, development and exploration costs incurred divided by the total of reserve additions, performance and price revisions.  These calculations do not include the future development costs required for the development of proved undeveloped reserves. This reserves metric may not be comparable to similarly titled measurements used by other companies.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) method of computing finding costs contains additional cost components and results in a higher number.  A reconciliation of the two methods is shown on our website at www.rangeresources.com.

The reserve replacement ratio and finding and development cost per unit are statistical indicators that have limitations, including their predictive and comparative value.  As an annual measure, the reserve replacement ratio can be limited because it may vary widely based on the extent and timing of new discoveries and the varying effects of changes in prices and well performance.  In addition, since the reserve replacement ratio and finding and development cost per unit do not consider the cost or timing of future production of new reserves, such measures may not be an adequate measure of value creation. 

We believe that the presentation of PV₁₀ is relevant and useful to our investors as supplemental disclosure to the standardized measure, or after-tax amount, because it presents the discounted future net cash flows attributable to our proved reserves before taking into account future corporate income taxes and our current tax structure. While the standardized measure is dependent on the unique tax situation of each company, PV₁₀ is based on prices and discount factors that are consistent for all companies. Because of this, PV₁₀ can be used within the industry and by creditors and security analysts to evaluate estimated net cash flows from proved reserves on a more comparable basis.

RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION (NYSE: RRC) is a leading U.S. independent oil and natural gas producer with operations focused in stacked-pay projects in the Appalachian Basin and North Louisiana. The Company pursues an organic growth strategy targeting high return, low-cost projects within its large inventory of low risk development drilling opportunities.  The Company is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.  More information about Range can be found at www.rangeresources.com.

Included within are certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are not limited to historical facts, but reflect Range’s current beliefs, expectations or intentions regarding future events.  Words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “outlook”, “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “pursue,” “target,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

All statements, except for statements of historical fact, made within regarding activities, events or developments the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future, such as those regarding future well costs, expected asset sales, well productivity, future liquidity and financial resilience, anticipated exports and related financial impact, NGL market supply and demand, improving commodity fundamentals and pricing, future capital efficiencies, future shareholder value, emerging plays, capital spending, anticipated drilling and completion activity, acreage prospectivity, expected pipeline utilization and future guidance information are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are based on assumptions and estimates that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information; however, management's assumptions and Range's future performance are subject to a wide range of business risks and uncertainties and there is no assurance that these goals and projections can or will be met. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.  Further information on risks and uncertainties is available in Range's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC), including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.  Unless required by law, Range undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events after the date they are made.

The SEC permits oil and gas companies, in filings made with the SEC, to disclose proved reserves, which are estimates that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions as well as the option to disclose probable and possible reserves.  Range has elected not to disclose its probable and possible reserves in its filings with the SEC.  Range uses certain broader terms such as "resource potential,” “unrisked resource potential,” "unproved resource potential" or "upside" or other descriptions of volumes of resources potentially recoverable through additional drilling or recovery techniques that may include probable and possible reserves as defined by the SEC's guidelines.  Range has not attempted to distinguish probable and possible reserves from these broader classifications. The SEC’s rules prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC these broader classifications of reserves.  These estimates are by their nature more speculative than estimates of proved, probable and possible reserves and accordingly are subject to substantially greater risk of actually being realized.  Unproved resource potential refers to Range's internal estimates of hydrocarbon quantities that may be potentially discovered through exploratory drilling or recovered with additional drilling or recovery techniques and have not been reviewed by independent engineers.  Unproved resource potential does not constitute reserves within the meaning of the Society of Petroleum Engineer's Petroleum Resource Management System and does not include proved reserves.  Area wide unproven resource potential has not been fully risked by Range's management.  “EUR”, or estimated ultimate recovery, refers to our management’s estimates of hydrocarbon quantities that may be recovered from a well completed as a producer in the area. These quantities may not necessarily constitute or represent reserves within the meaning of the Society of Petroleum Engineer’s Petroleum Resource Management System or the SEC’s oil and natural gas disclosure rules. Actual quantities that may be recovered from Range's interests could differ substantially.  Factors affecting ultimate recovery include the scope of Range's drilling program, which will be directly affected by the availability of capital, drilling and production costs, commodity prices, availability of drilling services and equipment, drilling results, lease expirations, transportation constraints, regulatory approvals, field spacing rules, recoveries of gas in place, length of horizontal laterals, actual drilling results, including geological and mechanical factors affecting recovery rates and other factors.  Estimates of resource potential may change significantly as development of our resource plays provides additional data. 

In addition, our production forecasts and expectations for future periods are dependent upon many assumptions, including estimates of production decline rates from existing wells and the undertaking and outcome of future drilling activity, which may be affected by significant commodity price declines or drilling cost increases. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, available from our website at www.rangeresources.com or by written request to 100 Throckmorton Street, Suite 1200, Fort Worth, Texas 76102.  You can also obtain this Form 10-K on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.

SOURCE:   Range Resources Corporation

Investor Contacts:

Laith Sando, Vice President – Investor Relations
817-869-4267
lsando@rangeresources.com

Michael Freeman, Director – Investor Relations & Hedging
817-869-4264
mfreeman@rangeresources.com

John Durham, Senior Financial Analyst
817-869-1538
jdurham@rangeresources.com

Media Contact:

Michael Mackin, Director of External Affairs
724-743-6776
mmackin@rangeresources.com

www.rangeresources.com

RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION

(a)  See separate natural gas, NGLs and oil sales information table.
(b)  Included in Brokered natural gas, marketing and other revenues in the 10-K.
(c)  Costs associated with stock compensation and restricted stock amortization, which have been reflected in the categories associated
          with the direct personnel costs, which are combined with the cash costs in the 10-K.
(d)  Reflects the change in market value of the vested Company stock held in the deferred compensation plan.
(e)  Included in interest expense in the 10-K.

RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION

RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION

RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION

(a)  Represents volumes sold regardless of when produced.
(b)  Oil and NGLs are converted at the rate of one barrel equals six mcfe based upon the approximate relative energy content of oil to natural gas, which is not necessarily indicative of the relationship of oil and natural gas prices.
(c)  Excluding third party transportation, gathering and compression costs.
(d)  Net of transportation, gathering, processing and compression costs.

RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION

(a)  Deferred taxes for 2018 are estimated to be approximately 26% and 38% for 2017.

RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION

RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION