Press Release

TULSA, OK, Nov. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Laredo Petroleum, Inc. (NYSE: LPI) ("Laredo" or the "Company") today announced its third-quarter 2022 financial and operating results. Supplemental slides have been posted to the Company's website and can be found at www.laredopetro.com. A conference call and webcast to discuss the results is planned for 7:30 a.m. CT, Friday, November 4, 2022. Complete details can be found within this release.

Third-Quarter 2022 Highlights

• Reported net income of $337.5 million and cash flows from operating activities of $182.6 million, generating Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $222.8 million and Free Cash Flow¹ of $51.4 million
• Reduced Net Debt¹/Consolidated EBITDAX¹ ratio to 1.25x from 1.39x in second-quarter 2022
• Repurchased $152.5 million face value of term-debt at 98% of par value
• Repurchased $17.5 million of common stock at an average price of $71.56 per share

"We have continued to deliver on our commitment to utilize Free Cash Flow to strengthen our balance sheet and return cash to shareholders," said Jason Pigott, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We repurchased a combined $170 million of debt and equity, further reduced our leverage ratio and maintained liquidity of more than $1 billion. In 2023, we will remain focused on disciplined, capital-efficient development, Free Cash Flow generation, debt reduction and returning cash to shareholders."

Third-Quarter 2022 Financial and Operations Summary

Financial Results. The Company reported net income attributable to common stockholders of $337.5 million, or $20.08 per diluted share. Adjusted Net Income¹ was $89.2 million, or $5.30 per adjusted diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA was $222.8 million.

Production. Consistent with preliminary volumes previously reported on October 18, 2022, Laredo's total and oil production during the period averaged 79,613 BOEPD and 34,994 BOPD, respectively.

Capital Investments. Laredo completed 11 wells and turned-in-line ("TIL") 12 wells during third-quarter 2022. Consistent with preliminary investments previously reported, total incurred capital expenditures were $140 million, excluding non-budgeted acquisitions and leasehold expenditures. Investments included $120 million in drilling and completions activities, inclusive of $6 million of non-operated activities, $2 million in land, exploration and data related costs, $10 million in infrastructure, including Laredo Midstream Services investments, and $8 million in other capitalized costs. Non-budgeted acquisitions and leasehold expenditures totaled $4 million.

¹Non-GAAP financial measure; please see supplemental reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures at the end of this release.

Operating Expenses. Consistent with preliminary amounts previously reported, lease operating expenses ("LOE") during the period were $6.04 per BOE.

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative ("G&A") expenses, excluding long-term incentive plan ("LTIP") expenses, for third-quarter 2022 were $2.02 per BOE. G&A cash and G&A non-cash LTIP expenses were $(0.52) per BOE and $0.11 per BOE, respectively, each of which includes reductions associated with the forfeiture of LTIP awards by the Company's former Chief Operating Officer. One-time charges related to payments for the forfeited LTIP awards are reflected in Organizational restructuring expenses.

Equity and Debt Repurchases. During the third quarter of 2022, Laredo repurchased 244,687 shares of its common stock for $17.5 million at an average price of $71.56 per share. As of November 2, 2022, the Company has repurchased 441,897 shares for $34.1 million at an average price of $77.06.

During third-quarter 2022, Laredo purchased $152.5 million face value of term-debt at 98% of par value. As of November 2, 2022, the Company has purchased $245.3 million face value of term-debt at 99% of par value in 2022.

Liquidity. At September 30, 2022, the Company had $40 million drawn on its $1.0 billion senior secured credit facility and cash and cash equivalents of $50 million.

On November 1, 2022, the borrowing base of the Company's senior secured credit facility was increased to $1.3 billion from $1.25 billion. The elected commitment was maintained at $1.0 billion.

At November 2, 2022, the Company had no outstanding borrowing on its senior secured credit facility and cash and cash equivalents of $54 million.

Fourth-Quarter 2022 Guidance

The table below reflects the Company's guidance for total and oil production and incurred capital expenditures for fourth-quarter 2022. Fourth-quarter 2022 production guidance has incorporated increased expectations for production downtime associated with offset operator completions. The Company is currently operating two drilling rigs and one completions crew and expects to complete 13 wells and TIL 11 wells during the fourth quarter of 2022.

The table below reflects the Company's guidance for select revenue and expense items for fourth-quarter 2022.

Conference Call Details

On Friday, November 4, 2022, at 7:30 a.m. CT, Laredo will host a conference call to discuss its third-quarter financial and operating results and management's outlook, the content of which is not part of this earnings release. A slide presentation providing summary financial and statistical information that will be discussed on the call will be posted to the Company's website and available for review. The Company invites interested parties to listen to the call via the Company's website at www.laredopetro.com, under the tab for "Investor Relations | Event Calendar." Portfolio managers and analysts who would like to participate on the call should dial 800.715.9871, using conference code 1804797. A replay will be available following the call via the Company's website.

About Laredo

Laredo Petroleum, Inc. is an independent energy company with headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Laredo's business strategy is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas.

Additional information about Laredo may be found on its website at www.laredopetro.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any oral statements made regarding the contents of this release, including in the conference call referenced herein, contain forward-looking statements as defined under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities that Laredo assumes, plans, expects, believes, intends, projects, indicates, enables, transforms, estimates or anticipates (and other similar expressions) will, should or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on management’s current belief, based on currently available information, as to the outcome and timing of future events. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties.
General risks relating to Laredo include, but are not limited to, the decline in prices of oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas and the related impact to financial statements as a result of asset impairments and revisions to reserve estimates, the ability of the Company to execute its strategies, including its ability to successfully identify and consummate strategic acquisitions at purchase prices that are accretive to its financial results and to successfully integrate acquired businesses, assets and properties, oil production quotas or other actions that might be imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producing countries ("OPEC+"), the outbreak of disease, such as the coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic, and any related government policies and actions, changes in domestic and global production, supply and demand for commodities, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, actions by OPEC+ and the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict, long-term performance of wells, drilling and operating risks, the increase in service and supply costs, including as a result of inflationary pressures, increases to interest rates as a result of the Federal Reserve's tightening monetary policy, tariffs on steel, pipeline transportation and storage constraints in the Permian Basin, the possibility of production curtailment, hedging activities, the impacts of severe weather, including the freezing of wells and pipelines in the Permian Basin due to cold weather, possible impacts of litigation and regulations, the impact of the Company's transactions, if any, with its securities from time to time, the impact of new laws and regulations, including those regarding the use of hydraulic fracturing, the impact of new environmental, health and safety requirements applicable to the Company's business activities, the possibility of the elimination of federal income tax deductions for oil and gas exploration and development and other factors, including those and other risks described in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and those set forth from time to time in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). These documents are available through Laredo's website at www.laredopetro.com under the tab "Investor Relations" or through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering and Analysis Retrieval System at www.sec.gov. Any of these factors could cause Laredo's actual results and plans to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, Laredo can give no assurance that its future results will be as estimated. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. Laredo does not intend to, and disclaims any obligation to, correct, update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

The SEC generally permits oil and natural gas companies, in filings made with the SEC, to disclose proved reserves, which are reserve 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, and certain probable and possible reserves that meet the SEC's definitions for such terms. In this press release and the conference call, the Company may use the terms "resource potential," "resource play," "estimated ultimate recovery" or "EURs," "type curve" and "standardized measure," each of which the SEC guidelines restrict from being included in filings with the SEC without strict compliance with SEC definitions. These terms refer to the Company’s internal estimates of unbooked hydrocarbon quantities that may be potentially discovered through exploratory drilling or recovered with additional drilling or recovery techniques. "Resource potential" is used by the Company to refer to the estimated quantities of hydrocarbons that may be added to proved reserves, largely from a specified resource play potentially supporting numerous drilling locations. A "resource play" is a term used by the Company to describe an accumulation of hydrocarbons known to exist over a large areal expanse and/or thick vertical section potentially supporting numerous drilling locations, which, when compared to a conventional play, typically has a lower geological and/or commercial development risk. "EURs" are based on the Company’s previous operating experience in a given area and publicly available information relating to the operations of producers who are conducting operations in these areas. Unbooked resource potential and "EURs" do not constitute reserves within the meaning of the Society of Petroleum Engineer’s Petroleum Resource Management System or SEC rules and do not include any proved reserves. Actual quantities of reserves that may be ultimately recovered from the Company’s interests may differ substantially from those presented herein. Factors affecting ultimate recovery include the scope of the Company’s ongoing drilling program, which will be directly affected by the availability of capital, decreases in oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas prices, well spacing, drilling and production costs, availability and cost of drilling services and equipment, lease expirations, transportation constraints, regulatory approvals, negative revisions to reserve estimates and other factors, as well as actual drilling results, including geological and mechanical factors affecting recovery rates. "EURs" from reserves may change significantly as development of the Company’s core assets provides additional data. In addition, the Company's 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. "Type curve" refers to a production profile of a well, or a particular category of wells, for a specific play and/or area. The "standardized measure" of discounted future new cash flows is calculated in accordance with SEC regulations and a discount rate of 10%. Actual results may vary considerably and should not be considered to represent the fair market value of the Company’s proved reserves.
This press release and any accompanying disclosures include financial measures that are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), such as Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Free Cash Flow. While management believes that such measures are useful for investors, they should not be used as a replacement for financial measures that are in accordance with GAAP. For a reconciliation of such non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable measure in accordance with GAAP, please see the supplemental financial information at the end of this press release.
Unless otherwise specified, references to "average sales price" refer to average sales price excluding the effects of the Company's derivative transactions.

All amounts, dollars and percentages presented in this press release are rounded and therefore approximate.

Laredo Petroleum, Inc.
Selected operating data

_______________________________________________________________________________

(1) BOE is calculated using a conversion rate of six Mcf per one Bbl.

(2) The numbers presented are calculated based on actual amounts that are not rounded.

(3) Price reflects the average of actual sales prices received when control passes to the purchaser/customer adjusted for quality, certain transportation fees, geographical differentials, marketing bonuses or deductions and other factors affecting the price received at the delivery point.

(4) Price reflects the after-effects of the Company's commodity derivative transactions on its average sales prices. The Company's calculation of such after-effects includes settlements of matured commodity derivatives during the respective periods and an adjustment to reflect premiums incurred previously or upon settlement that are attributable to commodity derivatives that settled during the respective periods.

Laredo Petroleum, Inc.
Consolidated balance sheets

Laredo Petroleum, Inc.
Consolidated statements of operations

Laredo Petroleum, Inc.
Consolidated statements of cash flows

Laredo Petroleum, Inc.
Supplemental reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures

Non-GAAP financial measures

The non-GAAP financial measures of Free Cash Flow, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Consolidated EBITDAX, Net Debt and Net Debt to Consolidated EBITDAX, as defined by the Company, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Furthermore, these non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP measures of liquidity or financial performance, but rather should be considered in conjunction with GAAP measures, such as net income or loss, operating income or loss or cash flows from operating activities.

Free Cash Flow (Unaudited)

Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company defines as net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) before changes in operating assets and liabilities, net, less incurred capital expenditures, excluding non-budgeted acquisition costs. Management believes Free Cash Flow is useful to management and investors in evaluating operating trends in its business that are affected by production, commodity prices, operating costs and other related factors. There are significant limitations to the use of Free Cash Flow as a measure of performance, including the lack of comparability due to the different methods of calculating Free Cash Flow reported by different companies.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) to Free Cash Flow (non-GAAP) for the periods presented:

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1) Includes capitalized share-settled equity-based compensation and asset retirement costs.

Adjusted Net Income (Unaudited)

Adjusted Net Income is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company defines as net income or loss (GAAP) plus adjustments for mark-to-market on derivatives, premiums paid or received for commodity derivatives that matured during the period, impairment expense, gains or losses on disposal of assets, income taxes, other non-recurring income and expenses and adjusted income tax expense. Management believes Adjusted Net Income helps investors in the oil and natural gas industry to measure and compare the Company's performance to other oil and natural gas companies by excluding from the calculation items that can vary significantly from company to company depending upon accounting methods, the book value of assets and other non-operational factors.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss) (GAAP) to Adjusted Net Income (non-GAAP) for the periods presented:

_______________________________________________________________________________

(1) Reflects net premiums paid previously or upon settlement that are attributable to derivatives settled in the respective periods presented.

(2) Adjusted income tax expense is calculated by applying a statutory tax rate of 22% for each of the periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021.

Adjusted EBITDA (Unaudited)

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company defines as net income or loss (GAAP) plus adjustments for share-settled equity-based compensation, depletion, depreciation and amortization, impairment expense, gains or losses on disposal of assets, mark-to-market on derivatives, premiums paid or received for commodity derivatives that matured during the period, accretion expense, interest expense, income taxes and other non-recurring income and expenses. Adjusted EBITDA provides no information regarding a company's capital structure, borrowings, interest costs, capital expenditures, working capital movement or tax position. Adjusted EBITDA does not represent funds available for future discretionary use because it excludes funds required for debt service, capital expenditures, working capital, income taxes, franchise taxes and other commitments and obligations. However, management believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful to an investor in evaluating the Company's operating performance because this measure:

• is widely used by investors in the oil and natural gas industry to measure a company's operating performance without regard to items that can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods, the book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired, among other factors;
• helps investors to more meaningfully evaluate and compare the results of the Company's operations from period to period by removing the effect of its capital structure from its operating structure; and
•  is used by management for various purposes, including as a measure of operating performance, in presentations to the Company's board of directors and as a basis for strategic planning and forecasting.

There are significant limitations to the use of Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of performance, including the inability to analyze the effect of certain recurring and non-recurring items that materially affect the Company's net income or loss and the lack of comparability of results of operations to different companies due to the different methods of calculating Adjusted EBITDA reported by different companies. The Company's measurements of Adjusted EBITDA for financial reporting as compared to compliance under its debt agreements differ.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss) (GAAP) to Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) for the periods presented:

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1) Reflects net premiums paid previously or upon settlement that are attributable to derivatives settled in the respective periods presented.

Consolidated EBITDAX (Unaudited)

Consolidated EBITDAX is a non-GAAP financial measure defined in the Company's Senior Secured Credit Facility as net income or loss (GAAP) plus adjustments for share-settled equity-based compensation, depletion, depreciation and amortization, impairment expense, gains or losses on disposal of assets, mark-to-market on derivatives, accretion expense, interest expense, income taxes and other non-recurring income and expenses. Consolidated EBITDAX is used by the Company’s management for various purposes, including as a measure of operating performance and compliance under the Company's Senior Secured Credit Facility. Additional information on the calculation of Consolidated EBITDAX can be found in the Company's Eighth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility as filed with the SEC on April 19, 2022.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss) (GAAP) to Consolidated EBITDAX (non-GAAP) for the periods presented:

Net Debt (Unaudited)

Net Debt, a non-GAAP financial measure, is calculated as the face value of long-term debt plus any outstanding letters of credit, less cash and cash equivalents. Management believes Net Debt is useful to management and investors in determining the Company's leverage position since the Company has the ability, and may decide, to use a portion of its cash and cash equivalents to reduce debt. Net Debt as of September 30, 2022 was $1.14 billion.

Net Debt to Consolidated EBITDAX (Unaudited)

Net Debt to Consolidated EBITDAX, a non-GAAP financial measure, is calculated as Net Debt divided by Consolidated EBITDAX for the previous four quarters, as defined in the Company's Senior Secured Credit Facility. Net Debt to Consolidated EBITDAX is used by the Company’s management for various purposes, including as a measure of operating performance, in presentations to its board of directors and as a basis for strategic planning and forecasting.

Investor Contact:
Ron Hagood
918.858.5504
rhagood@laredopetro.com

Source: Laredo Petroleum, Inc.