NCS Multistage Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
August 1, 2023

There are 5 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q2 2023 NCS Multistage Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question and answer to ask a question. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

Operator

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Mike Morrison, CFO. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Call. Thank you, Didi, and thank you for joining the NCS Multistage Second Quarter 2023 Conference Call.

Speaker 2

Call today will be led by

Speaker 1

our CEO, Ryan Hummer, and I will also provide comments. I want to remind listeners that some of today's comments include forward looking statements such as comments regarding our future expectations for financial results and business operations. These statements, including our financial guidance and expectations, are subject to many risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from any expectation expressed herein, Call, including the impacts of inflation, Central Bank's actions to combat inflation, the stress at U. S. Regional banks, the Canadian wildfires and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine on the global economy, oil and natural gas demand and our company.

Speaker 1

Please refer to our most recent annual report on Form 10 ks and our latest SEC filings for risk factors and cautions regarding forward looking statements. Our comments today also include non GAAP financial measures, including adjusted of EBITDA, free cash flow and net working capital. The underlying details and reconciliations of non GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures are included in our Q2 earnings release, which can be found on our website, ncsmultistage.com. I'll now turn the call over to Ryan.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Mike, and welcome to our investors, analysts and employees joining our Q2 2023 earnings conference call. Our performance in the Q2 of 2023 was mixed relative to the guidance we provided in early May, with revenue below the low end of the range, with adjusted EBITDA near the higher end of the range. I'll briefly discuss our results and the outlook for each of our U. S, Canadian and International markets. Conference.

Speaker 2

Starting with the U. S, our revenue of $9,400,000 in the 2nd quarter fell below the low end of our guidance of $12,000,000 to $13,000,000 and represented a sequential decline from the Q1 of 2023. The sequential revenue decline in the U. S. Reflected the impact of falling industry and Drilling and Completion activity, which affected all NCS product lines except for Repeat Precision for which revenues improved by 13% sequentially.

Speaker 2

Conference Call. We expect to return to sequential growth in the Q3, particularly in our fracturing systems and tracer diagnostics product lines. A customer of ours that operates in the Northeast recently discussed that they had set a new record by drilling out 262 plugs in a single run-in a 3 mile lateral. We're proud to have been a part of that success and believe that the customers use of our technology in that well speaks to the robust performance of our plugs, which pump down efficiently, securely hold pressure during the fracturing treatment and have fast and consistent drill out and wash time performance. I'll also highlight one interesting project for the quarter.

Speaker 2

We were engaged by a customer in West Texas to provide our sliding sleeves for use in a project to assess the capacity to permanently store CO2 in an underground reservoir. For this project, we are able to modify our sliding sleeves to provide a channel for cabling and downhole instrumentation that will be used to assess reservoir performance. This is the first use of our technology for a CO2 storage project and our sliding sleeve completion technology is ideal to run with permanently installed downhole instrumentation as this may prevent damage to the cabling that could otherwise be caused by perforating guns. Moving to Canada. Our revenue in Canada of $14,300,000 in the second quarter was slightly above the top of our guidance range of $13,000,000 to $14,000,000 and represented an increase of 11% as compared to the Q2 of 2022, outpacing industry activity growth for the respective periods.

Speaker 2

The increase was driven by higher sales of composite plugs, which was the result of a concerted effort by a team spanning sales, operations and technical services in Canada, with direct support from Repeat Precision as well as higher service activity from our fracturing systems product line, especially in June. In addition, during the quarter, we moved to a new operations facility at Red Deer in Canada. This allows us to integrate liner hanger activity with our fracturing systems and tracer diagnostics operations. A strategic partner of ours is also co located at this facility, which is sized to accommodate future volume growth and to support future product line additions. Call.

Speaker 2

Activity has improved nicely as we've emerged from spring breakup, so the impact of the wildfires in Alberta earlier this year have impacted customer cash flows, result in company specific impacts on activity. These impacts could cause a delay in industry rig counts returning to the highs reached during the Q1 of 2023. Internationally, our operations continue to be slow for us in the 2nd quarter with revenue of $1,700,000 coming in below the bottom of our guided range of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 During the Q2, we delivered sliding sleeves to a new customer in Norway with the completion of that well scheduled for later this month. We've also made significant progress with other potential new customers in the region and expect to continue to add to our regional customer base in the North Sea, which may lead to an increase in activity for this region in 2024.

Speaker 3

Conference Call.

Speaker 2

During July, we completed our 1st revenue generating tracer diagnostics project for a leading national oil company in the Middle East. I want to thank our TRACER Diagnostics and international team members that have supported this opportunity as there were significant logistical hurdles to overcome to make the project a success. Conference. We are now bidding on projects for several different regional assets with this national oil company and expect to be able to grow this business profitably over time. Call.

Speaker 2

Our gross margin performance as a company continues to be a bright spot for us. The benefit of price increases realized over the last year has allowed us to generate a gross margin percentage of 39% for the first half of twenty twenty three, which compares to 36% for the first half of twenty twenty two. Conference Call. We continuously assess opportunities to streamline our operations and to improve profitability. We initiated efforts in June 2023 to consolidate certain operations and Facilities for our TRACER diagnostics product line and also consolidated Repeat Precision's manufacturing footprint in Mexico into a single facility.

Speaker 2

Conference Call. We expect to start recognizing the full benefit of these consolidation efforts in the Q4 of this year with an expected annualized benefit of over $1,500,000 on a consolidated basis. We maintain our strong balance sheet with $5,000,000 of net cash and an undrawn revolver as of June 30, 2023. In addition, our consolidated net working capital, excluding cash and short term debt at June 30, 2023 was over $55,000,000 and exceeds our current market capitalization by approximately $7,000,000 Our net capital expenditures for the quarter were $500,000 highlighting both the capital light nature of our business and our continued financial discipline. Call.

Speaker 2

Before I ask Mike to discuss our financial results in more detail, I'll provide an update to our litigation provision. We increased this provision by $24,900,000 during the Q2 of 2023 to a total of $42,400,000 as of June 30. Conference Call. This primarily reflects the judgment rendered against us in Texas on May 15, 2023. We intend to appeal this Texas judgment and believe that we have strong arguments that may lead to a reversal of some or all of the awarded damages.

Speaker 2

We continue to expect a large portion up to Call of any remaining damages to be covered by insurance and would therefore expect that this matter once resolved will not have a significant impact on our liquidity or our operations. Call. Both parties have agreed to non binding mediation on the Texas matter currently scheduled for the end of August. Over to you, Mike.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Ryan. Call. As reported in yesterday's earnings release, our 2nd quarter revenues of $25,400,000 an 8% decrease compared to last year's Q2. While our revenues in Canada increased by 11%, this was more than offset by declines in our U. S.

Speaker 1

And international revenues of 23% and 32%, respectively. Call. On a sequential basis, revenue in the 2nd quarter decreased by 42%, with Canada declining by 53% and the U. S. Declining by 17%.

Speaker 1

Conference Call. The decrease in Canada was primarily related to the normal seasonal decline due to spring breakup and the decrease in the U. S. Was due to a decline in rig and completion activity driven by lower commodity pricing, especially for natural gas. Our revenues for the first half of twenty twenty three were $68,900,000 up 4% compared to the first half of twenty twenty two, primarily due to higher product sales in Canada.

Speaker 1

2023, representing a gross profit percentage of 33%, similar to our gross profit percentage for the same period in 2022. Conference. Despite the decline in revenues, we maintained our gross margin percentage due to improved pricing of our products and services, which countered the effect of the decline in volumes and the increased cost of our operations. Our first half of twenty twenty three, our gross margin percentage improved to 39%, Conference Call, up from 36% in the first half of twenty twenty two. Selling, general and administrative costs were $14,500,000 in the 2nd quarter, Conference Call, up by $700,000 compared to the Q2 of last year.

Speaker 1

The increase was primarily due to salary and wage related expenses, resulted from increases in our headcount and merit raises, partially offset by a reduction in our professional fees compared to 1 year ago. Call. For the Q2, we reported a net loss of $32,200,000 or a loss per share of $0.132 Call. As Ryan mentioned moments ago, our 2nd quarter results were impacted by an incremental charge of $24,900,000 primarily related to the judgment rendered against us in May. Call.

Speaker 1

Including the charge we took in the Q1, our long term accrual for legal contingencies is $42,400,000 as of June 30, 2023. Aside from the amounts previously paid by the insurance carrier to the plaintiff, we have not yet recorded the expected benefit from insurance recoveries as an asset to offset this legal contingent liability. We would expect to record insurance recoveries in future quarters as they become realizable for GAAP accounting purposes. Call. Excluding this litigation charge, our adjusted net loss was $6,200,000 or an adjusted net loss per share of $2.50 compared to an Adjusted net loss $5,100,000 or an adjusted net loss per share of $2.09 in the Q2 of 2022.

Speaker 1

Conference Call. Our adjusted EBITDA for the 2nd quarter was a negative $2,200,000 a slight decline compared to the negative $2,000,000 for the same period in 2022 and within our guided range for the quarter. For the first half of twenty twenty three, our adjusted EBITDA was a positive $2,600,000 Conference Call, an improvement compared to the $300,000 of adjusted EBITDA in the first half of twenty twenty two. Turning now to cash flow items and the balance sheet. Call.

Speaker 1

During the Q2, our cash flow from operations and free cash flow were approximately $500,000 $100,000 respectively, Call, which continue to anticipate being free cash flow positive for the full year of 2023. On June 30, we had $13,700,000 in cash and total debt of $8,800,000 resulting in a positive net cash position of 5,000,000 Conference. As of June 30, the borrowing base available under our undrawn ABL facility was 12,600,000 Turning now to a few points of guidance for the Q3. We currently expect 3rd quarter total revenues of $47,000,000 to 52,000,000 Conference Call. We expect U.

Speaker 1

S. Revenue of $10,500,000 to $12,000,000 international revenue of $1,500,000 to $2,500,000 and we expect Canadian revenue of $35,000,000 to $37,500,000 each representing sequential increases from the Q2 of 2023. We expect our gross margin percentage to be between 41% 43%, consistent with our gross margin percentage in the Q3 of 2022. Conference Call. We expect our adjusted EBITDA to be between $8,000,000 $10,000,000 We expect our 3rd quarter depreciation and amortization expense to be approximately 1,100,000 Call.

Speaker 1

I'll hand it over to Ryan to discuss our 2023 full year guidance and for closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Mike. So So we are adjusting our full year guidance for 2023 as follows. We currently expect full year revenue to be between $160,000,000 $175,000,000 and full year adjusted EBITDA to be between $18,000,000 $22,000,000 consistent with the calculations in our earnings release. Conference Call. Midpoint of this new revenue range is $10,000,000 below the prior range and the midpoint of the adjusted EBITDA range has been reduced by $2,500,000 Call.

Speaker 2

These adjustments primarily reflect lower expected industry activity levels in North America and the deferral of certain expected work in international markets into 2024. We expect gross capital expenditures for 2023 of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 reducing the midpoint of the range by $1,500,000 we will continue to exercise capital discipline and retain our asset light business model. With very low maintenance capital requirements, we expect our capital spending to support our growth. Call. We continue to expect to be free cash flow positive in 2023 after accounting for both capital spending and investments in networking capital again to support our growth.

Speaker 2

Conference Call. We expect our spending on litigation matters to moderate in the second half of twenty twenty three, but we will incur some cash severance and relocation costs in the second half of the year related to our operational and corporate restructuring efforts. As these costs abate, we would expect to convert a higher percentage of our adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow going forward. Underpinning our revenue expectations is an anticipated year over year decline in average annual industry activity of 5% to 10% in the U. S.

Speaker 2

And an increase in year over year average annual industry activity in Canada of up to 5%. Conference Call. We continue to expect international industry activity to grow by at least 10% in 2023. We expect our revenue growth to exceed that of the underlying Call. Due to the seasonality of our business and consistent with prior years, the achievement of our annual adjusted EBITDA guidance range is weighted to the second half of the year.

Speaker 2

Call. Also as discussed earlier, we believe that the recent Texas judgment against us will be covered by insurance with the award potentially reduced through appeal in time if the matter does not get settled through mediation or negotiation. We believe that the final resolution of the matter, which could take several quarters or years, will not have a significant impact on our liquidity or operations. Before we open the call up to Q and A, I'll close with a couple of brief comments. First, we expect to continue to grow revenue approximately 5% to 10% in 2023, despite reduced expectations for industry activity levels.

Speaker 2

We have the infrastructure in place to support revenue growth in each of our geographic markets, which provides leverage to grow future earnings. Call. However, we are also proactively assessing opportunities to rationalize this infrastructure and operate more efficiently as we demonstrated through the consolidation efforts with our TRACER diagnostics operations and the manufacturing activity at Repeat Precision. We maintain a strong balance sheet and liquidity position with a cash balance of over $13,000,000 at the end of the second quarter.

Speaker 3

Conference Call. We expect to add to

Speaker 2

that balance by the end of the year by generating positive free cash flow in 2023, providing us with further financial and strategic flexibility. Call. We are taking steps to further enhance the effectiveness of our innovation efforts at NCS, so that we continue to introduce new technologies that meet the needs of our customers, adding to our portfolio and expanding our addressable market over time. With that, we'll welcome any questions on the call.

Operator

Thank Conference. And our first question comes from John Daniel of with Daniel Energy Partners. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Hey, good morning. Thanks for including me, Ryan. Good morning. You all cited You cited what was one of the most impressive sort of D and C efficiencies this earnings season, The drill out with I think 262 or 366 plugs, I can't remember the exact number. As you all know, you didn't hit the customer, but that's one of the more respected operators up in that area, who's likely going to be doing more longer laterals as well as all the other operators in that area.

Speaker 4

I'm just curious, Sorry about that quick commercial for you. When do you get the phone call for the next well like that? And knowing how this industry tends to copy some stuff over time, like what would you expect other operators to see what worked well on that for that project and try to replicate it? And how do you see that playing out for benefiting you guys?

Speaker 2

Sure. Thanks, John. Yes, a couple of points there. I think one, that operator in particular is continuously operating, I believe, 2 completion crews. They had built up some DUCs heading into the year.

Speaker 2

So activity was is pretty heavy coming into the first half, and may slow down a bit in the second. But with continuous activity there, We've got a line of sight to continue to provide them with plugs throughout the remainder of their program. And as you know, there's continued M and A activity and consolidation activity taking place. There's a chance that their completion program that they're utilizing our plug sport has expanded to a broader scope of operations. There are a couple of things that are unique about the program there.

Speaker 2

1 is it uses a size configuration that's a little bit different than most of the operations in the U. S. So most operators are using 5.5 inches casing for completions. These are somewhat specialized and that they utilize 6 inches casing. That's proven to be a very efficient methodology for this customer in particular.

Speaker 2

The other thing that's somewhat unique about this project, if you just do the math is, it's is a 3 mile lateral with 2 62 plugs. So, stage spacing of about 60 feet, which is tighter than a lot of other operators would be doing. So there's a chance that as you get more earnings and other operators see how efficient and effective this completion was, That you could see stage spacing by others in the region move a bit tighter to kind of mimic the operations as well. Call.

Speaker 4

Okay. I don't want to well, I do want you to give the numbers, but I don't think you will. How would you compare the margins on a project like that with other business that you would generate in the states? Like if you get more of that, is it a similar margin uplift to you or no?

Speaker 2

So I think the biggest benefit to us John is with the size of that program and with the number of stages that they're able to complete in Quantity and we can be very efficient in supplying that as opposed to working with call it a handful of operators on the private side that may be running a half a completion crew and going from well to well where it's a bit less efficient to supply them. But once an operation like that gets up and going, it's good business for sure.

Speaker 4

Okay. That's all I got. Thanks for including me.

Speaker 2

Call. All right. Appreciate it, John.

Operator

Thank you. One moment for our next question. And our next question comes from Dave Storms of Stonegate. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

Good morning.

Speaker 2

Good morning, Dave.

Speaker 3

Good morning. Just hoping to get maybe a little additional color on some of the expansion plans you have beyond North America. Great to hear that It sounds like you got a little traction in the tracer diagnostic section in the Middle East. But just wondering if you could talk a little more about maybe what that means going forward and additionally any additional growth and I believe it was the Black Sea as well?

Speaker 2

Sure. Yes. So we've really concentrated our international growth efforts over the last Some good ongoing activity in Oman and it's taken a little bit of a while for us to go through the process of getting qualified with some of the other NOCs in the region. And with what I'd say is the largest NOC in the Middle East, we now have multiple products that are cataloged and which we can we've gone through successful field trials and are available for revenue generating sales going forward. That would include our tracer diagnostics product line as well as a couple of products within our well construction portfolio.

Speaker 2

So with the good performance in the first tracer diagnostics job here that concluded in July, we see a good scope to deploy that tracer diagnostic service across A number of different regions for them, including some conventional activity, but also some unconventional activity. And that's good high volume work for us. We've got the logistics worked out now where we've got Enough chemical in the region to support multiple jobs through the end of the year and have that process worked out where we can serve them on a continuous basis. So we expect to see good uptake on that through the back half of the year and really set the stage for us to grow into 2024 with the tracer diagnostics product line there in the Middle East. The other primary international growth focus area for us has been the North Sea.

Speaker 2

We started working there several years ago. Over the course of the last 4 to 5 years, Aker BP has been our primary customer in the region. We've expanded our customer base there recently over the last few years. Late last year and into this year, we started supplying a second customer who operates on the U. K.

Speaker 2

Side of the North Sea. We have several wells installed with them now that are producing. We expect to be able to install a few more wells with them over the course of the next 6 to 9 months. And then as mentioned earlier, Conference. We supplied sleeves during the Q2 and have completion operations scheduled for later this month with a third customer in the region who operates out of the Norwegian side of the North Underneath that, we've had continuous discussions with several other operators in the region.

Speaker 2

And I'd say we've got pretty positive indications from 2 or 3 other customers about future activity. So we think we're doing The team has done a very good job of building up from really a single anchor customer to having multiple customers operating in the region that could support activity across both the U. K. And the Norwegian North Sea and maybe even the Denmark operating area and some others over time. So we're very optimistic about that opportunity and then we're also looking to find ways that's traditionally been a fracturing systems market for us, working for ways to deploy some of our other product lines in the region as well.

Speaker 3

That's very helpful. Thank you. And I think I called it the Black Sea, but clearly I meant the Black Sea. The other question I just wanted to ask real quick. I know you don't have a lot solidified around some of the litigation.

Speaker 3

I know you mentioned that there's some non binding mediation that will probably take place at the end August. Is there any guesses around when there may be more answers around either insurance payments or the appeals process, anything logistical would be very helpful.

Speaker 2

Yes. I mean, there are certainly there's a timeframe associated with We and our insurance carrier would indicate that we would plan to appeal the case. That would be in the coming months, Assuming that we if we're not successful in reaching the agreement through the mediation or direct settlement, we'd go down the appeals process and that would be within the coming months. But with that, any appeal once filed, It could be up to a year until that appeal gets scheduled. So, unfortunately, if we're not successful through mediation, the timeline for the matter Could take again several quarters up to a few years.

Speaker 2

So we're that's really the best I can give you from a timeline standpoint Right now. So unfortunately, we have the charge that we've taken in the balance sheet liability. However, we continue to believe that Yes, the judgment will be reduced upon appeal and that will continue to have any final resolution will be covered up Most if not all of it will be covered through insurance proceeds. So we don't believe that they'll have a material impact on our liquidity or in our business, was just hanging out there as a charge right now and we'll look to do everything we can together with our insurance carrier to move that towards settlement or to make sure that we're in a position to be able to recognize the benefit of insurance when we can, but that's really a GAAP matter and something that will take time.

Speaker 3

Call. Understood. Thank you very much for taking my questions.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Dave.

Operator

Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from Jeff Robertson of Water Tower Research. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

Thank you for taking my questions. Ryan, just a follow-up on the question about that John asked. Does the applications that you all used in the Northeast have other applications in other basins where operators continue to push lateral lengths?

Speaker 2

Yes, absolutely it does, right? And I think one of the things that's certainly interesting about that project is it's a 3 mile lateral that was completed completely with composite plugs, right, and repeat precision composite plugs. So there's a notion out there that as you get to extend the lateral depths, you might need to utilize dissolvables or some other technology, but I think this helps to prove that you can use composites out to the lateral lengths that leading edge operators are pushing wells today. The other thing I'd say is that while that plug is In a 6 inches casing, the base design of the plug is no different than our 5.5 inches plug that gets used in regions all across the U. S.

Speaker 2

Conference Call? So, yes, I mean, it's got applications for operators in any basin. In addition, we have seen certain operators utilize that larger casing size in the Eagle Ford and start to experiment it with it in the Permian as well. So So I think the short answer is yes. I think the performance of the plug would extend to any geography.

Speaker 1

Call. Great. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference back to Ryan Hummer, CEO, for closing remarks.

Speaker 2

All right. Thank you, Didi. So So on behalf of our management team and our Board, we'd like to thank everyone on our call today, including shareholders, analysts and especially our employees. Conference Call. I truly appreciate the depth and breadth of the expertise of our people at NCS and Repeat Precision and the passion and effort that our people bring to their work.

Speaker 2

Call. I look forward to the continued accomplishments made possible by this great team. We continue to believe that we're in a multiyear cycle of improved growth and earnings prospects for our industry globally Conference, despite the reduction in the U. S. Rig count this year.

Speaker 2

I'm excited by how NCS is positioned to participate in that growth and deliver benefits to our employees, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders as we execute on our strategic plans. We remain focused on delivering on our core strategies of building upon our leading market positions, Capitalizing on international and offshore opportunities and commercializing innovative solutions to complex customer challenges. We appreciate everyone's interest in NCS Multistage and we look forward to updating you again on our next quarterly earnings call.

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Key Takeaways

  • Mixed regional Q2 performance: U.S. revenue of $9.4 million fell below guidance while Canada delivered $14.3 million (+11% YoY) just above its range, and international revenue was $1.7 million below expectations.
  • Gross margin expansion: Price increases and efficiency measures boosted H1 2023 gross margins to 39% from 36% a year ago, with planned facility consolidations expected to yield $1.5 million in annualized savings from Q4.
  • U.S. technology highlights: All product lines were affected by lower activity except Repeat Precision (+13% sequential), and a novel sliding sleeve solution was deployed in West Texas for permanent CO₂ storage assessment.
  • International traction: Completed the first Middle East revenue-generating tracer diagnostics project and secured new North Sea sliding sleeve contracts, positioning the business for growth in 2024.
  • Financial strength & litigation update: The company holds $5 million net cash with net working capital exceeding market cap by $7 million, maintained low capex, and recorded a $42.4 million litigation provision expected to be largely insured.
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Earnings Conference Call
NCS Multistage Q2 2023
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