HighPeak Energy, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2023 Financial and Operating Results

FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HighPeak Energy, Inc. (“HighPeak” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HPK) today announced financial and operating results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Highlights
Third Quarter 2023

• Sales volumes, consisting of 84% crude oil and 93% liquids, averaged 52,708 barrels of crude oil equivalent per day (“Boe/d”), representing a 25% increase over second quarter 2023 and a 101% increase over third quarter 2022.
• Net income and EBITDAX (a non-GAAP financial measure defined and reconciled below) were $38.8 million and $266.2 million, respectively.
• Generated $75.7 million of free cash flow (a non-GAAP financial measure defined and reconciled below).
• Completed a $1.2 billion term loan financing, which streamlined and extended the Company’s debt maturities to September 2026.
• Realized price averaged $71.27 per Boe, or 87% of the weighted average of NYMEX WTI crude oil prices, excluding the effects of derivatives.
• Cash operating margin averaged $59.17 per Boe, or 83% of the average realized price per Boe, excluding the effects of derivatives.

Recent Event

• On November 1, 2023, the Company closed a $100 million super priority revolving credit facility with $75 million of initial commitments, providing additional liquidity and flexibility.
  

HighPeak Chairman and CEO, Jack Hightower, said, “We are thrilled to announce this quarter has been nothing short of transformational for our company. We achieved a production milestone of over 50,000 barrels per day which is proof of the high quality of our asset base. Not only did we unlock significant value through increased production, but we also started generating positive free cash flow, a vital sign of our financial health. Furthermore, in the midst of a volatile banking environment, we have taken proactive steps to secure the financing necessary to accomplish our development program. This prudent approach ensures that our financial stability and liquidity will remain intact by removing the risks associated with standard borrowing base redeterminations. This success is a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, and sustainability.

“Consistent with our development strategy, we recently introduced a third rig, which will continue to support our responsible growth profile. Additionally, should market conditions support, we may expand our operations further. Regardless, our primary objectives for the future include generating free cash flow, reducing debt levels significantly, ensuring we maintain a net debt to EBITDA ratio well below one turn, and enhancing the return of capital to our shareholders.”

Third Quarter 2023 Operational Update
HighPeak’s sales volumes during the third quarter of 2023 averaged 52,708 Boe/d, an increase of approximately 25% compared with the second quarter of 2023. Third quarter sales volumes consisted of approximately 84% crude oil and 93% liquids.

The Company averaged two drilling rigs and one frac crew, respectively, during the third quarter, drilled 18 gross (14.4 net) horizontal wells and completed 16 gross (16.0 net) operated producing wells. At September 30, 2023, the Company had 32 gross (25.6 net) horizontal wells in various stages of drilling and completion. In early November 2023, the Company added a third drilling rig and is currently running three drilling rigs and two frac crews.

HighPeak President, Michael Hollis, commented,

“We have increased our production over 100% year over year while maintaining a low leverage ratio. This is a testament to HighPeak’s rock quality and relentless pursuit of excellence and capital efficiency. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our remarkable team of employees who have been the driving force behind our success. Their perseverance, innovation, and unwavering commitment to our mission have made these achievements possible.

“Our dedication to financial discipline and prudent management is reflected in the generation of over $75 million in free cash flow last quarter, which demonstrates our strong financial health and stability. We maintain a keen focus on capital discipline, reducing our debt and ensuring continued return of capital to our stakeholders.

“As a result of our successful drilling program and generation of significant free cash flow, we have now picked up a third drilling rig. At this pace of development, we will continue to grow our average production in 2024 and further reduce our debt.”

Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results
HighPeak reported net income of $38.8 million for the third quarter of 2023, or $0.28 per diluted share, and EBITDAX of $266.2 million, or $1.90 per diluted share.

Third quarter average realized prices were $82.87 per barrel (“$/Bbl”) of crude oil, $20.08 per barrel of NGL and $1.89 per Mcf of natural gas, resulting in an overall realized price of $71.27 per Boe, or 87% of the weighted average of NYMEX crude oil prices, excluding the effects of derivatives. HighPeak’s cash costs for the third quarter were $13.53 per Boe, including lease operating expenses of $7.87 per Boe, workover expenses of $0.34 per Boe, production and ad valorem taxes of $3.89 per Boe and G&A expenses of $1.43 per Boe. The Company’s cash margin was $57.74 per Boe, or 81% of the overall realized price per Boe for the quarter, excluding the effects of derivatives.

HighPeak’s third quarter 2023 capital expenditures to drill, complete, equip, provide facilities and for infrastructure were $161.2 million. In addition, the Company incurred capital expenditures of approximately $1.8 million primarily related to leasehold acquisitions.

Comprehensive Refinancing
On September 12, 2023, HighPeak completed a $1.2 billion term loan financing, of which a portion of the proceeds were used to fully repay the Company’s outstanding borrowings of $1.0 billion associated with our prior senior notes and reserve-based credit facility. Subsequently, on November 1, 2023, the Company closed a $100.0 million super priority revolving credit facility with $75.0 million of initial commitments. The comprehensive refinancing streamlines the Company’s capitalization, extends its debt maturities to September 30, 2026, and provides long-term liquidity and flexibility to support the Company’s strategic plan.

Hedging

As of September 30, 2023, HighPeak had the following outstanding crude oil derivative instruments and the weighted average crude oil prices and premiums payable per barrel:

The Company’s crude oil derivative contracts are based on reported settlement prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange for West Texas Intermediate pricing.

Dividends
During the third quarter of 2023, HighPeak’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share, or $3.2 million in dividends paid to stockholders during the quarter. In addition, in October 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share, or $3.2 million in dividends to be paid to stockholders on November 22, 2023.

Conference Call
HighPeak will host a conference call and webcast on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. Central Time for investors and analysts to discuss its results for the third quarter of 2023. Conference call participants may register for the call here. Access to the live audio-only webcast and replay of the earnings release conference call may be found here. A live broadcast of the earnings conference call will also be available on the HighPeak Energy website at www.highpeakenergy.com under the “Investors” section of the website. A replay will also be available on the website following the call.

When available, a copy of the Company’s earnings release, investor presentation and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may be found on its website at www.highpeakenergy.com.

Conference Participation
HighPeak Energy will participate in the upcoming 12th Annual Roth MKM Deer Valley Conference to be held from December 13-16, 2023.

About HighPeak Energy, Inc.
HighPeak Energy, Inc. is a publicly traded independent crude oil and natural gas company, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, focused on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional crude oil and natural gas reserves in the Midland Basin in West Texas. For more information, please visit our website at www.highpeakenergy.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The information in this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. When used in this document, the words “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “continue,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “future,” “potential,” “estimate” or the negative of such terms and similar expressions as they relate to HighPeak Energy, Inc. (“HighPeak Energy,” the “Company” or the “Successor”) are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. The forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry in which the Company operates. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, they involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and, in many cases, beyond the Company's control. For example, the Company’s review of strategic alternatives may not result in a sale of the Company, a recommendation that a transaction occur or result in a completed transaction, and any transaction that occurs may not increase shareholder value, in each case as a result of such risks and uncertainties.

These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the results of the strategic review being undertaken by the Company’s Board and the interest of prospective counterparties, the Company’s ability to realize the results contemplated by the 2023 and 2024 guidance, volatility of commodity prices, product supply and demand, the impact of a widespread outbreak of an illness, such as the coronavirus disease pandemic, on global and U.S. economic activity, competition, the ability to obtain environmental and other permits and the timing thereof, other government regulation or action, the ability to obtain approvals from third parties and negotiate agreements with third parties on mutually acceptable terms, litigation, the costs and results of drilling and operations, availability of equipment, services, resources and personnel required to perform the Company's drilling and operating activities, access to and availability of transportation, processing, fractionation, refining and storage facilities, HighPeak Energy's ability to replace reserves, implement its business plans or complete its development activities as scheduled, access to and cost of capital, the financial strength of counterparties to any credit facility and derivative contracts entered into by HighPeak Energy, if any, and purchasers of HighPeak Energy's oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas production, uncertainties about estimates of reserves, identification of drilling locations and the ability to add proved reserves in the future, the assumptions underlying forecasts, including forecasts of production, expenses, cash flow from sales of oil and gas and tax rates, quality of technical data, environmental and weather risks, including the possible impacts of climate change, cybersecurity risks and acts of war or terrorism. These and other risks are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no duty to publicly update these statements except as required by law.

Use of Projections
The financial, operational, industry and market projections, estimates and targets in this press release and in the Company’s guidance (including production, operating expenses and capital expenditures in future periods) are based on assumptions that are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. The assumptions and estimates underlying the projected, expected or target results are inherently uncertain and are subject to a wide variety of significant business, economic, regulatory and competitive risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the financial, operational, industry and market projections, estimates and targets, including assumptions, risks and uncertainties described in “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” above. These projections are speculative by their nature and, accordingly, are subject to significant risk of not being actually realized by the Company. Projected results of the Company for 2024 are particularly speculative and subject to change. Actual results may vary materially from the current projections, including for reasons beyond the Company’s control. The projections are based on current expectations and available information as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no duty to publicly update these projections except as required by law.

Drilling Locations
The Company has estimated its drilling locations based on well spacing assumptions and upon the evaluation of its drilling results and those of other operators in its area, combined with its interpretation of available geologic and engineering data. The drilling locations actually drilled on the Company’s properties will depend on the availability of capital, regulatory approvals, commodity prices, costs, actual drilling results and other factors. Any drilling activities conducted on these identified locations may not be successful and may not result in additional proved reserves. Further, to the extent the drilling locations are associated with acreage that expires, the Company would lose its right to develop the related locations.

Investor Contact:

Ryan Hightower
Vice President, Business Development
817.850.9204
rhightower@highpeakenergy.com

Source: HighPeak Energy, Inc.