EX-99.1 2 up3862ex991.htm EXHIBIT 99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Ultra Petroleum Reports Record Third Quarter 2005 Results

 

*

Achieves record earnings of $60.9 million, up 118 percent from the same quarter in 2004.

 

 

 

 

*

Accomplishes record cash flow of $108.3 million, up 110 percent from the same period in 2004.

 

 

 

 

*

Attains record production of 18.7 Bcfe, up 44 percent over third quarter 2004 levels.

          HOUSTON, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ultra Petroleum Corp. (Amex: UPL) today reported earnings for the three month period ended September 30, 2005, increased 118 percent to $60.9 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, up from $27.9 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, for the same period in 2004.  Operating cash flow(1) for the third quarter of 2005 increased 110 percent to $108.3 million or $0.67 per diluted share, compared to $51.4 million or $0.32 per diluted share for the same period in 2004.  All historical per share data information has been adjusted to reflect the company’s two-for-one stock split effective May 2, 2005.

          Production for the third quarter of 2005 increased 44 percent to 18.7 Bcfe, compared to 13.0 Bcfe, for the same period in 2004.  Including effects of hedging, average realized natural gas prices for the third quarter increased to $6.86 per Mcf compared to $4.91 per Mcf during the same period in 2004 while average Wyoming oil prices increased to $65.20 per bbl compared to $42.12 per bbl in 2004.  Oil prices in China averaged $48.44 per bbl during the third quarter of 2005 compared to $36.72 per bbl for the same period in 2004.

          Net income for the nine month period ended September 30, 2005 was $146.1 million, or $0.90 per diluted share, up 121 percent from $66.2 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, for the same period in 2004.  Operating cash flow(1) for the nine month period increased to $264.5 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, up 116 percent from $122.4 million, or $0.77 per diluted share, for the same period in 2004.

          Production for the nine month period increased to 52.0 Bcfe, compared to 32.3 Bcfe, a 61 percent increase from 2004.  Including the effects of hedging, average realized natural gas prices were $6.14 per Mcf during the nine month period, compared to $4.87 in 2004.  China oil prices for the nine months ended September 30, 2005 averaged $41.98 per bbl compared to $36.72 per bbl in 2004 while Wyoming oil prices averaged $56.92 per bbl compared to $38.83 per bbl in 2004.

          “Ultra Petroleum’s industry leading growth coupled with the industry’s lowest cost structure continues.  Our record earnings and cash flow mirror our growth rates in excess of 100 percent.  Once again we have established a new production record which I am confident will be exceeded by fourth quarter results,” commented Mike Watford, Chairman, President and CEO.  “We remain enthusiastic about the preliminary results from the deep test well and our work on eventual down spacing in the Pinedale Field continues.”


Ultra Petroleum Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Operations and Deficit

 

 

For the Nine Months Ended

 

For the Quarter Ended

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept. 30,
2005

 

Sept. 30,
2004

 

Sept. 30,
2005

 

Sept. 30,
2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volumes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oil liquids (Bbls) - WY

 

 

331,241

 

 

241,787

 

 

123,797

 

 

92,820

 

Oil crude (Bbls) - China

 

 

1,105,036

 

 

210,923

 

 

306,783

 

 

210,923

 

Natural Gas (Mcf) - WY

 

 

43,417,882

 

 

29,596,982

 

 

16,139,491

 

 

11,160,300

 

MCFE

 

 

52,035,544

 

 

32,313,242

 

 

18,722,971

 

 

12,982,758

 

Revenues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oil sales - WY

 

$

18,853,522

 

$

9,387,668

 

$

8,071,402

 

$

3,910,036

 

Oil sales - China

 

 

46,389,035

 

 

7,745,093

 

 

14,859,184

 

 

7,745,093

 

Natural Gas sales

 

 

266,692,797

 

 

144,037,747

 

 

110,665,181

 

 

54,786,316

 

Total Revenues

 

 

331,935,354

 

 

161,170,508

 

 

133,595,767

 

 

66,441,445

 

Expenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Production Costs - WY

 

 

6,336,316

 

 

4,104,257

 

 

2,318,646

 

 

1,574,589

 

Production Costs - China

 

 

4,699,000

 

 

889,000

 

 

1,079,000

 

 

889,000

 

Severance/Production Taxes

 

 

33,162,191

 

 

17,976,082

 

 

13,935,435

 

 

6,875,586

 

Gathering

 

 

12,318,895

 

 

8,778,545

 

 

4,602,121

 

 

3,259,412

 

Total Lease Operating

 

 

56,516,402

 

 

31,747,884

 

 

21,935,202

 

 

12,598,587

 

DD&A - WY

 

 

32,027,985

 

 

17,573,574

 

 

12,121,758

 

 

6,676,869

 

DD&A - China

 

 

5,138,753

 

 

1,031,413

 

 

1,149,067

 

 

1,031,413

 

General and administrative

 

 

8,440,487

 

 

4,306,767

 

 

2,758,533

 

 

1,562,379

 

Stock compensation

 

 

2,271,832

 

 

773,573

 

 

1,261,173

 

 

150,050

 

Total Expenses

 

 

104,395,459

 

 

55,433,211

 

 

39,225,733

 

 

22,019,298

 

Interest and other income

 

 

371,020

 

 

42,698

 

 

177,463

 

 

20,054

 

Interest and debt expense

 

 

2,856,011

 

 

2,802,381

 

 

787,604

 

 

853,469

 

Net income from continuing operations before income taxes

 

 

225,054,904

 

 

102,977,614

 

 

93,759,893

 

 

43,588,732

 

Income tax provision - deferred

 

 

78,994,271

 

 

36,796,518

 

 

32,909,724

 

 

15,713,358

 

Net Income

 

$

146,060,633

 

$

66,181,096

 

$

60,850,169

 

$

27,875,374

 

Cash Flow

 

$

264,493,474

 

$

122,356,174

 

$

108,291,891

 

$

51,447,064

 

EBITDA

 

$

267,349,485

 

$

125,158,555

 

$

109,079,495

 

$

52,300,533

 

Weighted Average - Basic

 

 

152,515,660

 

 

149,858,392

 

 

153,719,760

 

 

150,127,868

 

Weighted Average - Fully Diluted

 

 

161,538,906

 

 

159,914,880

 

 

162,231,248

 

 

160,181,814

 

Earnings per Share - Basic

 

$

0.96

 

$

0.44

 

$

0.40

 

$

0.19

 

Earnings per Share - Diluted

 

$

0.90

 

$

0.41

 

$

0.38

 

$

0.17

 

Cash Flow Per Share - Basic

 

$

1.73

 

$

0.82

 

$

0.70

 

$

0.34

 

Cash Flow Per Share - Diluted

 

$

1.64

 

$

0.77

 

$

0.67

 

$

0.32

 

Realized Prices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oil liquids (Bbls) - WY

 

$

56.92

 

$

38.83

 

$

65.20

 

$

42.12

 

Oil crude (Bbls) - China

 

$

41.98

 

$

36.72

 

$

48.44

 

$

36.72

 

Natural Gas (Mcf)

 

$

6.14

 

$

4.87

 

$

6.86

 

$

4.91

 

Costs Per MCFE - Corporate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lease Operating

 

$

1.09

 

$

0.98

 

$

1.17

 

$

0.97

 

DD&A

 

$

0.71

 

$

0.58

 

$

0.71

 

$

0.59

 

General and administrative - total

 

$

0.21

 

$

0.16

 

$

0.21

 

$

0.13

 

Interest

 

$

0.05

 

$

0.09

 

$

0.04

 

$

0.07

 

 

 

$

2.06

 

$

1.81

 

$

2.13

 

$

1.76

 

Segment Costs Per MCFE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Production Costs

 

$

0.14

 

$

0.13

 

$

0.14

 

$

0.13

 

Severance/Production Taxes

 

$

0.73

 

$

0.58

 

$

0.83

 

$

0.59

 

Gathering

 

$

0.27

 

$

0.28

 

$

0.27

 

$

0.28

 

DD&A

 

$

0.71

 

$

0.57

 

$

0.72

 

$

0.57

 

 

 

$

1.85

 

$

1.56

 

$

1.96

 

$

1.57

 

China

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Production Costs

 

$

0.71

 

$

0.70

 

$

0.59

 

$

0.70

 

DD&A

 

$

0.78

 

$

0.81

 

$

0.62

 

$

0.81

 

 

 

$

1.49

 

$

1.51

 

$

1.21

 

$

1.51

 

Margins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-tax income

 

 

68

%

 

64

%

 

70

%

 

66

%

Net Income

 

 

44

%

 

41

%

 

46

%

 

42

%

Operating segment margins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

 

82

%

 

80

%

 

82

%

 

80

%

China

 

 

90

%

 

89

%

 

93

%

 

89

%

These statements are unaudited and subject to adjustment.

(1)

“Operating cash flow” refers to cash flow from operations before net change in non-cash working capital.


All amounts expressed in US $
Reconciliation of cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital

 

 

For the Nine Months Ended

 

For the Quarter Ended

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept. 30,
2005

 

Sept. 30,
2004

 

Sept. 30,
2005

 

Sept. 30,
2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

 

278,841,789

 

 

119,758,546

 

 

110,874,554

 

 

59,690,289

 

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

 

 

(16,708,441

)

 

(1,783,174

)

 

9,416,752

 

 

(13,157,993

)

Deferred Revenue

 

 

(137,500

)

 

(3,436,624

)

 

(137,500

)

 

(3,436,624

)

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

(644,321

)

 

2,795,440

 

 

(662,238

)

 

(846,040

)

Accounts Receivable

 

 

7,127,575

 

 

11,882,168

 

 

(7,525,096

)

 

13,470,677

 

Inventory

 

 

292,776

 

 

457,656

 

 

400,883

 

 

(1,750,098

)

Restricted cash

 

 

1,399

 

 

948

 

 

521

 

 

319

 

Other long-term obligations

 

 

(4,474,803

)

 

(7,318,786

)

 

(4,140,985

)

 

(2,523,466

)

Taxation payable

 

 

195,000

 

 

—  

 

 

65,000

 

 

—  

 

Cash flow from operations before changes in non- cash working capital

 

 

264,493,474

 

 

122,356,174

 

 

108,291,891

 

 

51,447,064

 


          Conference Call Webcast Scheduled for October 26, 2005
          Ultra Petroleum’s third quarter 2005 conference call will be available via live audio webcast at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time) Wednesday, October 26, 2005.  To listen, log on to www.ultrapetroleum.com . The webcast will be archived on Ultra Petroleum’s website through February 10, 2006.

          About Ultra Petroleum
          Ultra Petroleum is an independent, exploration and production company focused on developing its long-life natural gas reserves in the Green River Basin of Wyoming, and oil reserves in Bohai Bay, offshore China.  Ultra is listed on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker “UPL” with 154,564,636 shares outstanding as of the date of this release.

          This release can be found at http://www.ultrapetroleum.com

          The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions.  We may use certain terms in this press release, relating to reserves and/or production that the SEC’s guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC.  U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 10-K available from us at 363 North Sam Houston Parkway E., Suite 1200, Houston, TX 77060.  You can also obtain this form from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

          This news release includes “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.  The opinions, forecasts, projections or other statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements.  Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, they can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Certain risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company’s businesses are set forth in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Full details regarding the selected financial information provided above will be available in the Company’s annual report and in the Form 10-K.

SOURCE  Ultra Petroleum Corp.
          -0-                                                   10/25/2005
          /CONTACT:  Kelly L. Whitley, Manager Investor Relations of Ultra Petroleum Corp., +1-281-876-0120, ext. 302, or info@ultrapetroleum.com /
          /Photo:  NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020226/DATU029LOGO
                               AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
                               PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com /
          /Web site:  http://www.ultrapetroleum.com /
          (UPL)