Yahoo Finance Antero's (AR) Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates on Lower Gas Price
Antero Resources Corporation AR reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 48 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 54 cents. The bottom line declined from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $1.14 per share.
Total quarterly revenues of $1,408 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,206 million. Also, the top line increased from the year-ago quarter’s $787 million.
Weak quarterly earnings can be attributed to a decline in natural-gas-equivalent price realization. This was partially offset by higher production.
Antero Resources Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Antero Resources Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Antero Resources Corporation Quote
Overall Production
Total production through the March quarter was 295 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), which increased 4% from 285 Bcfe a year ago. Natural gas production (accounting for 65.8% of the total output) fell 3% year over year to 194 Bcf.
Oil production in the first quarter was 831 thousand barrels (MBbls), up 15% from 724 MBbls. Its production of 6,141 MBbls of C2 Ethane was 53% higher than 4,005 MBbls in the year-ago quarter. The company’s output of 9,857 MBbls of C3+ NGLs in the quarter was 2% higher than 9,638 MBbls a year ago.
Realized Prices (Excluding Derivative Settlements)
Weighted natural-gas-equivalent price realization in the quarter was $4.13 per thousand cubic feet equivalent (Mcfe), lower than the year-earlier figure of $6.04. Realized prices for natural gas declined 31% to $3.45 per Mcf from $5.01 a year ago.
The company’s oil price realization in the quarter was $62.35 per barrel (Bbl), down 29% from $87.45 a year ago. Its realized price for C3+ NGLs declined to $42.95 per Bbl from $61.55. Realized price for C2 Ethane decreased 30% to $11.73 per Bbl from $16.74 a year ago.
Operating Expenses
Total operating expenses increased to $1,076.9 million from $991.4 million in the year-ago period.
Average lease operating costs were 10 cents per Mcfe, up 67% year over year. The same for gathering and compression increased 1% to 72 cents per Mcfe.
Transportation expenses declined 6% from the prior-year quarter to 66 cents per Mcfe. Processing costs increased 21% year over year to 81 cents.
Capex & Financials
In first-quarter 2023, Antero Resources spent $267 million on drilling and completion operations. As of Mar 31, 2023, it had no cash and cash equivalents. It had long-term debt of $1.3 billion.
Guidance
For 2023, Antero Resources has guided its net daily natural gas-equivalent production at 3.25-3.3 Bcfe/d. Of the total, 185-195 MBbl/d will likely be liquids. Also, AR projects its net daily natural gas production at 2.1-2.15 Bcf/d.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, Antero Resources carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked players in the energy space include Marathon Petroleum Corporation MPC, Sunoco LP SUN and Enterprise Products Partners LP EPD. While Marathon Petroleum and Sunoco sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Enterprise Products carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Marathon Petroleum operates the largest refining system in the nation. In the past seven days, MPC has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2023.
Sunoco has a stable business model while distributing motor fuel to approximately 10,000 convenience stores. For this year, SUN has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions in the past seven days.
Enterprise Products has a stable business model and is not significantly exposed to the volatility in oil and gas prices. It generates stable fee-based revenues from its extensive pipeline network that spreads across more than 50,000 miles, transporting natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil petrochemicals and refined products.
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