ProFrac Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
November 9, 2023

There are 8 speakers on the call.

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the ProFac Holding Corporation Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, This conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Michael Messina, Director of Finance.

Operator

Thank you. You may begin, sir.

Speaker 1

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for Pro Frac Holding Corp. Conference call and webcast to review our Q3 2023 results. With me today are Matt Wilkes, Executive Chairman Ladd Wilkes, Chief Executive Officer and Lance Turner, Chief Financial Officer.

Speaker 1

Following my remarks, management will provide a high level commentary on the financial highlights of the Q3 of 2023 as well as the business outlook before opening the call up to your questions. There will be a replay of today's call available by webcast on the company's website atpfholdingscorp.com as well as a telephonic recording available until November 16, 2023. More information on how to access these replay features is included in the company's earnings release. Please note that information reported on this call Speaks only as of today, November 9, 2023. And therefore, you're advised that any time sensitive information and may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay listening or transcript reading.

Speaker 1

Also, comments on this call may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws, including management's expectations of future financial and business performance. These forward looking statements reflect the current views of Profrak's management and are not guarantees of future performance. Various risks, uncertainties and contingencies could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in management's forward looking statements. The listener or reader is encouraged to read Profrac's Form 10 ks and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be found at sec.gov or on the company's Investor Relations website section under the SEC filings tab to understand those risks, uncertainties and contingencies. The comments today also include certain non GAAP financial measures as well as other adjusted figures to exclude the contribution of Flotek.

Speaker 1

Additional details and reconciliations to the most directly comparable consolidated and GAAP financial measures Are included in the quarterly earnings press release, which can be found on the company's website. And now, I would like to turn the call over to ProFrac's Executive Chairman, Mr. Matt Wilkes.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Michael, and good morning, everyone. After my prepared remarks, Ladd will take a deeper dive into the performance of our subsidiaries and Lance will provide additional insight into our financial performance. Our Q3 results were challenged, but we took the necessary actions to position ProFrac for future success. Despite these challenges, we generated $149,000,000 in adjusted EBITDA, reduced our net debt by $123,000,000 and generated $73,000,000 of free cash flow. As we grew through acquisitions and scaled up our stimulation segment, We maintained a commercial strategy that was focused on flexibility, which ultimately put ProFrac at a disadvantage as the industry softened.

Speaker 2

We have now adapted with a multi pronged strategy suited for all customer types and have built a more dedicated business model with more through cycle resiliency. We continue to operate with utilization and cost control in mind, further reducing our number of active fleets In the Q3 and believe the actions we have taken will position ProFrac for the Q4 and beyond. I am also encouraged To see the industry moderate utilization by prudently managing deployed horsepower, these actions give us a strong foundation for 2024 and a positive outlook to reactivate some of the fleets that we idled in the second half of twenty twenty three. Over the past 18 months, we have built ProFrac into the premier vertically integrated pressure pumping service provider in the market. With a robust platform including electric, dual fuel and traditional diesel frac equipment complemented by our dominant market position in proppants.

Speaker 2

We offer customers best in class industry leading services. This has earned us the reputation as one of the safest and most efficient pressure pumping providers Combined with our persistent cost control priorities across the organization, we are also focused on how we can best realize The full value of our assets. On October 2, we announced that we are evaluating strategic options meant to unlock the full value of our proppant production segment, which operates through our wholly owned subsidiary Alpine Silica. The first step of this process is to increase throughput and diversify the customer base of the Sand Mines. We are confident that we will have a significant amount of volume contracted with 3rd party customers in 20 Our confidence stems from the fact that we have already received commitments for 52% of our capacity with 3rd party customers and are in final discussions with other independent customers that will leave us sold out in 2024.

Speaker 2

We see tremendous potential at Alpine, which should significantly improve profitability and facilitate a more stable earnings profile with higher cash conversion. The second step of this process is to explore and pursue asset level financing. Positive conversations with lenders around this topic are currently underway, and we believe the risk profile of the proppant production segment is very different in the Stimulation Services segment. This in turn opens the proppant segment up to a different lender base as well as credit requirements. We believe an asset level financing will simplify our capital structure and extend our current maturities.

Speaker 2

We anticipate being able to announce further details before year end. The 3rd step of this process is to exploit the captive value at Alpine for our shareholders, which could take various forms, including an IPO of the proppant segment. Our objective here is to recapitalize the business, Not to divest the business away from our control. We are actively evaluating the options and we'll take the best path forward to accomplish this objective for all stakeholders. Now I would like to discuss our vertical integration strategy.

Speaker 2

Our vertical integration strategy Has always been part of our vision for ProFrac, which we believe provides a unique competitive advantage. We want To be the preferred pressure pumper in the industry and we also want to provide materials to our customers because we believe the supply chain of frac materials Represents value that should be optimized and accretive for customers. That has not changed. We have already begun positioning What I mean by that is if Alpine can sell sand at a higher price to a third party, then they will sell it to that 3rd party. If ProFREC can buy sand at a lower price or at a more optimal location, they will do so.

Speaker 2

This will ensure that we secure the best product for our customers. The goal of this strategy is to build a sustainable foundation of volumes Customers of our Stimulation Services segment as well as 3rd party proppant customers and competitors enabling Alpine to maximize utilization and reduce its cost per ton. We will continue to execute upon our strategic goals and maintain focus on our key priorities. That is to create long term value for our stakeholders and provide best in class services to our customers. We believe the moves of the last year, this year and our positioning into 2024 will enable us to accomplish our objectives.

Speaker 2

With that, I'll turn the call over to Ladd.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Matt. As always, I'd like to thank our team for their hard work and dedication is ProFrac in the market and is a direct result of the strong culture within our teams to continually serve our customers. Starting with the Stimulation Services segment, we announced that we reduced our fleet count to accommodate full utilization. As a result of these fleet reductions, we experienced improved efficiencies thus far and are focused on minimizing any impacts from the holidays and seasonal weather to maintain these efficiencies through the Q4. Additionally, we have already begun gearing up and preparing fleets for reactivation As early as December to accommodate customer demand.

Speaker 3

We remain focused on dedicated agreements with operators at favorable prices. Current pricing levels have been stable over the last couple of quarters and are expected to remain at similar levels in the Q4 and heading into next year. The visibility we have now suggests we will be operating at least 30 fleets in Q1 of next year, and we continue to pursue additional fleets. As Matt alluded to, the customer mix will be different next year to provide more resiliency. After the acquisitions made in 2022, We maintained a similar commercial approach and entered 2023 with approximately 30% to 40% dedicated fleets.

Speaker 3

As we look into 2024, most of the fleets that we have been awarded are dedicated fleets. We're targeting approximately 75% of our fleets to be working for customers with larger programs on a dedicated basis. We've also maintained good relationships with the smaller private spot focused operators. We see those customers increase their activity levels. We believe we will be in great position to deploy fleets for those customers as well.

Speaker 3

Our pumping efficiencies are best in class. We offer a robust portfolio of Tier 4 dual fuel and electric fleets capable of simultaneously delivering cost savings and emissions reductions for our customers, differentiating us from our peers. Matt provided our strategic plans regarding alpine silica at a high level. On a more granular level, we have been busy integrating the mines And getting the organizational structure aligned to achieve our objectives. We assembled a Proppant commercial team, Brought our 3rd party sales to an all time high and have the entire organization focused on improving utilization.

Speaker 3

Last year at this time, we had 2 mines that we were marketing and we had limited staff focused on selling sand. With this being the 1st year that Alpine is in the market for the RFP season with such a substantial logistical footprint, We expect 2024 to meaningfully improve over 2023. Today, we are actively marketing 8 mines As it relates to the 3rd quarter, Sam pricing was down slightly, but discussions around 2024 suggest that it is expected to hover at current levels. Despite the lower fleet count during the Q3, we were able to keep total volumes relatively flat. Utilization is our key priority as we have been operating below our target levels.

Speaker 3

Alpine is a profit market leader and next year should illustrate the transformation with higher throughput, higher utilization, lower cost per ton and ultimately We believe we are well positioned to be the preferred pressure pumping prop vent provider for large multi basin operators who require service providers with equivalent scale and who have custody over the supply chain of materials. I'll now hand it over to Lance to provide more detail on our financial results.

Speaker 4

Thank you, Lad. As Matt mentioned, we generated $149,000,000 in adjusted EBITDA, dollars 73,000,000 in free cash flow and we reduced our net debt by approximately 100 and $23,000,000 On a consolidated basis, revenue for the Q3 totaled $574,000,000 a sequential decrease driven primarily by the lower fleet count. Despite this, we were able to reduce costs very quickly and limit our decrementals. In addition, We brought our CapEx down considerably, enabling us to increase our EBITDA less CapEx quarter over quarter. Selling, general and administrative costs were $61,000,000 in the 3rd quarter, down $9,000,000 from the 2nd quarter largely due to lower stock compensation expense as well as lower G and A spend related to the cost reductions.

Speaker 4

The Stimulation Services segment generated revenues of $490,000,000 in the 3rd quarter, down from the 2nd quarter primarily due to lower fleet count. Efficiency on the fleets was up slightly and pricing was flat compared to the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was $93,000,000 Compared to $123,000,000 in the second quarter. The profit production segment generated revenues of $98,000,000 in the 3rd quarter, Down sequentially driven by lower realized pricing in the quarter. Approximately 70% of the volumes were sold to third party customers similar to the last quarter.

Speaker 4

Adjusted EBITDA for the profit production segment totaled approximately $52,000,000 down from $58,000,000 in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturing segment generated revenues of $44,000,000 in the 3rd quarter, up approximately 41% from the 2nd quarter. Approximately 97% of this segment was intercompany revenue for products and services provided to the Stimulation Services segment. The increase in sales represents a more normalized level of fluid in sales to simulation services following the Q2, where Simulation reduced purchases and focused on utilizing inventory on hand. Adjusted EBITDA for the Manufacturing segment was 1,600,000 Down from the Q2, primarily due to product mix.

Speaker 4

As Stimulation Services exhausts its inventory and Cash capital expenditures totaled $52,600,000 in the 3rd quarter, down 46% from the Q2. When we reduce our fleet count, CapEx usually takes more time to be reduced. Overall, we are happy with the Q3 level of spin and the actions that we have taken. We expect to incur Total CapEx of approximately $280,000,000 to $290,000,000 for 2023. This continues to reflect the deferral of our fleet upgrade program, which we expect will be resumed at some point in 2024 will remain focused on allocating capital where it can achieve the best return on investment.

Speaker 4

For next year, we believe maintenance CapEx will run approximately 3 point $5,000,000 per fleet per year for the Stimulation Services segment and $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 per mine per year for the profit production segment. As we solidify our calendar for next year, we will be defining our growth initiatives and we'll have more to share as we develop our comprehensive CapEx plan. Operating cash flow was $123,600,000 during the quarter. Working capital was reduced by approximately $27,000,000 while we continue to manage our receivables and payables. In addition, we remain focused on utilizing our inventory on hand and we expect to see continued reductions for the remainder of the year, particularly as we prepare to deploy fleets.

Speaker 4

Total cash and cash equivalents as of The end of the 3rd quarter was $25,100,000 including $4,500,000 attributable to Flotek. Total liquidity at quarter end was approximately $137,000,000 consisting of a combination of $20,600,000 in cash, excluding Flotek and $116,000,000 of availability under ProFrac's asset based credit facility. Borrowings under the ABL ended the quarter at 136,000,000 after the application of the preferred equity proceeds. At the end of the 3rd quarter, we had approximately $1,100,000,000 of debt outstanding. Our primary focus in the near term remains on generating free cash flow for delevering the balance sheet and refinancing our existing debt.

Speaker 4

We again demonstrated our flexibility in the Q3 as we produced free cash flow of $73,000,000 which we used to pay down approximately $112,000,000 of In connection with our strategic review, we also announced that entities affiliated with our largest shareholder, the Wilks Brothers, Invested $50,000,000 in perpetual convertible preferred equity securities issued by the company, which demonstrates the Wilks' confidence in ProFrac. Regarding our overall capital structure, we are looking at a fleet count, pricing level and CapEx plan that will A meaningful amount of free cash flow to be used for debt reduction. We believe these debt reductions combined with the improved results that we expect next We have taken on Alpine should make this segment a high utilization, low cost sand operation that will also generate meaningful free cash flow. When taken together, we believe we will see 2024 EBITDA grow meaningfully higher than what was achieved in 2023. That concludes our formal remarks.

Speaker 4

Operator, please open the line for questions.

Operator

Thank you. We will now conduct a question and answer A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question Our first question comes from Stephen Gengaro with Stifel. Please proceed.

Speaker 5

Thanks. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. I guess 2 for me, please. First, Can you just give us kind of a quick update on your Fleet profile as far as gas burning versus non and what are you seeing in the market as you talk about 24 RFPs as far as the preference and maybe the price bifurcation between the two types of assets?

Speaker 5

Yes,

Speaker 2

certainly. The majority of our fleets are fuel efficient fleets that burn gas in some form or fashion, whether that's Fleets or dual fuel, it's well over half of our total footprint. And with the active fleets, it's easily the majority, the super majority of our active fleets.

Speaker 5

And then just from a pricing and demand perspective, I mean, I I've been hearing, I mean, there's a pretty big price premium for those assets. Are you seeing similar as you sort of talk to customers about next year?

Speaker 2

There is charges associated with that capability. Ultimately, this About creating the best value by eliminating the diesel expense. The total spend for the operator is lower on fuel efficient fleets and That's why these have seen the commercial success across the industry that they have.

Speaker 5

Great. Thanks. And then just as a follow-up, you mentioned sand prices were down a little bit in the quarter and we've heard kind of mixed About spot versus contracted sand pricing, what are you seeing and thinking about For 2024 as far as supply demand fundamentals, and I know you do have a lot in certain basins, but are I think you mentioned sort of stable pricing from here, But are you concerned at all about new capacity coming online in any markets?

Speaker 2

No, we're not concerned about New capacity coming on, I think that We're not really too worried about it at all. What we're looking at is that we've got 52% of our We're in final discussions. We're either redlining or have verbal commitments that will take us to Being completely sold out. So we like our position on the sand market, and I think that it provides a really good backdrop on how robust The services side of our segment is going to do as well. So we've got really good visibility with our broad footprint in the supply chain, And we like where that's leading us.

Speaker 5

Great. Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from John Daniel with Daniel Energy. Please proceed.

Speaker 6

Hi, guys. Thanks for including me on the call. I know you mentioned a lot of volumes are contracted for 2024, but in the theme of energy Security, Matt or Ladd, have customers started coming up to talk about multiyear arrangements or are we a little bit early on that?

Speaker 2

There is definitely customers that are looking for multi year arrangements, Looking to secure pricing over a longer timeframe and understand that the return on capital need To be there for any sort of multiyear arrangement. These customers, when we meet with them, they're interested in being able to take the volatility out of the market More so than bottom ticking the market. They ask us to sit down with them and figure out a structure that works for both sides and can take some volatility Out of the overall risk profile that would be presented by a multiyear contract. So we're seeing a few situations like that. It's leading to very constructive conversations.

Speaker 6

Okay, that's good. And then as you look out to sort of the end of next year, A lot of optimism with respect to LNG and what the potential call on service could be in the Haynesville, places like that. I'm just curious, When do you start either rehiring or sort of preparing for what might be a ramp? I know it's a long ways out, but just how will you approach that?

Speaker 2

Yes. I mean, we're looking at this demand wall that's coming from LNG export facilities, and we're really excited to see There will be some relief from a captive market that's pegged to Henry Hub and seeing access to that larger These larger demand centers is really encouraging. It's one of the reasons that we stuck. So we were so dedicated to staying in these gassy markets and we'll continue to do so. We hit a low in Q3 with our fleet count where we ended up in the low Low to mid-20s at one point with the Northeast falling to only a couple of fleets at one point.

Speaker 2

South Texas fell to only a few fleets and then East Texas fell To about half of our total availability that we make to that market, but we stay Dedicated to that area each of those areas because we know what's coming. We're excited about those markets and we want our customers to know that we're dedicated to the basin and we're not going to just Cut and run whenever it gets tough. They want and we also owe that to our workforce. And so we're really excited to be bouncing back at this point, where overall we expect to see our fleet in Q1 at 30 and expected to climb higher throughout Q1. So we're positioned well And we stayed committed to these gassy markets, specifically because we see the opportunities presented by the increase in demand from LNG exports.

Speaker 3

Yes, John, as we lowered our fleet count, we instead of laying off our guys, We furloughed them. And as we're ramping up into December going into Q1, we're just bringing those people back from furlough. And it's looking like 1st the next year, we're going to have to start more people than the people that we furloughed.

Speaker 6

Okay. Any issues bringing those folks back? And I'll turn it over to others.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from Tom Curran with Seaport Research Partners. Please proceed.

Speaker 7

Good morning. Could you provide us with some updated color on your Clean Fleet program? Specifically, how many different operators do you have active eSpreads And then are you still in ongoing discussions about upfront contracts to justify incremental clean fleet new builds? And What's your stance or criteria at this point for pulling the trigger on 1?

Speaker 2

Yes. So really it just comes down to getting an agreement in place. We're not going to build anything on spec. We love these programs. They have very good cost profile internally, especially as you compare it to a conventional fleet, But it provides tremendous savings for each customer.

Speaker 2

One of the challenges is going through and securing The gensets, which we've gone in and gone through the planning and Making sure that we have what we need when we need it. And so now it's marrying up those schedules with our customers to make sure that We're not left just working with customers that have their own power. And so, going in and lining up The lead times in a very tight market for power is a critical part of our growth strategy, which we hope

Speaker 7

And then For Alpine, Lance, can you just give us a rough idea of where utilization was at across the 8 mines exiting 3Q? And then for 3Q, 4 tons sold, the split between internal consumption and third party sales?

Speaker 4

Yes. So on the latter, it was about 70% third party sales, With the remainder going to the pro frac fleets. And I think when we look at utilization, we've been hovering, Like Glad mentioned, below our targets, probably in the 50% range and recognize that that really needs to kind of ramp up and That's really one of the drivers behind getting this base load of 3rd party contracts coming into next year. And as we look at 2024,

Speaker 2

we're only seeing about 12% of our overall capacity going to pro frac. With the final negotiations having this thing completely sold out, We like how we're positioned and we like the backlog that we have and Knowing exactly what these mines are capable of and deploying capital appropriately to extend beyond that It's something that we're very excited to be in a position to do and to show the market, our customers and our workforce Exactly what these assets are capable of.

Speaker 7

And just given the visibility you have now, especially with The volume of third party commitments you've put in place, how close do you think you are to That step up in incremental margin where you really get the big chunk of fixed cost absorption and see the surge in the incremental margin, per ton sold.

Speaker 2

So, I mean, when you look at these businesses, your fixed costs, I mean, all of your expenses are pretty much fixed. I mean, there's some variability. But Essentially, there's we don't expect to see an increase in our expenses going forward with the higher volumes. So at this point, Every incremental ton that we sell goes straight to the bottom line, which is a really good spot to be in. So at the roughly 50% utilization where we exited Q3, We are seeing a ramp up through Q4.

Speaker 2

And as we go into 2024, this we're expecting this to be Completely sold out, as those final discussions are underway currently. With 52% Of our capacity already being committed away from pro frac.

Speaker 7

Got it. So just confirming, You're essentially at that threshold now and now crossing above it. So very encouraging. Thanks for the answers.

Speaker 2

Definitely. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. We have a follow-up from Stephen Gengaro with Stifel. Please proceed.

Speaker 5

Thanks, gentlemen, for taking the follow-up. Just quickly, when you talk about 52% of your capacity Basically contracted. What capacity are you alluding to? Are you alluding to sort of the total nameplate capacity or Some percentage of that that you would expect to sell

Speaker 6

next year?

Speaker 2

Same plate.

Speaker 5

Okay. And am I right that's around 21,000,000 tons?

Speaker 2

Yes, it's right at that 21%, maybe a little bit higher, but that's a good number to use.

Speaker 5

Great. And then just one other follow-up for me. When you think about activity levels in general next year, Can you just give us sort of your thoughts on what you're expecting as far as a potential recovery in the U. S. Land side on the oil front, but also maybe Ahead of LNG export capacity coming on stream later, what you're expecting and how you expect the gas markets to respond to that?

Speaker 2

I'm not going to get into the macro. I just know that every time you see any sort of takeaway Constraints, it has a huge impact on local markets. And so, seeing access to the global markets And stepping away from what has largely been a domestic commodity It's always a good thing, but I'm not going to get into speculating on where global prices are going to be in 2024 or In the next week, but we look at this as a very positive development that gives Tremendous optionality for where the market can go and we're positioning ourselves appropriately.

Speaker 5

Okay. That's fair. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the

Speaker 2

We're very excited about our business. We look at putting them bottom in and we're excited to be heading the other way. Looking forward To the coming year and very excited about each one of our subsidiaries and appropriately developing them into A very powerful business in their own right. And so we look forward to our next call and we appreciate our stakeholders.

Powered by Quartr

Key Takeaways

  • Despite industry headwinds, ProFrac generated $149 million in adjusted EBITDA, $73 million in free cash flow and reduced net debt by $123 million in Q3 2023.
  • Management is pursuing a strategic review of its Alpine Silica proppant segment—52 percent of capacity is already committed to third-party customers—and is exploring asset-level financing and a potential IPO to unlock shareholder value.
  • ProFrac reduced its active pressure pumping fleets in Q3 to improve utilization and cost control, and expects to operate at least 30 fleets in Q1 2024 with approximately 75 percent on dedicated contracts.
  • The company’s vertical integration strategy combines electric, dual-fuel and diesel pumping equipment with a proppant production platform to offer customers lower supply-chain costs and enhanced service resiliency.
  • With a $50 million perpetual convertible preferred equity investment by the Wilks Brothers and plans to prioritize free-cash-flow generation, ProFrac anticipates meaningful EBITDA growth in 2024 and continued debt reduction.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
ProFrac Q3 2023
00:00 / 00:00