EV Energy Partners Announces First Quarter 2015 Results

HOUSTON, May 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- EV Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: EVEP) today announced results for the first quarter of 2015 and the filing of its Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

First Quarter 2015 Results

Adjusted EBITDAX for the first quarter of 2015 was $53.9 million, a 4 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2014, and a 3 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2014.  Distributable Cash Flow for the first quarter of 2015 was $26.1 million, a 9 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2014 and a 3 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2014.  The decreases in Adjusted EBITDAX and Distributable Cash Flow are primarily due to lower realized commodity prices, partially offset by lower expenses and increased EBITDAX from midstream investments.  Adjusted EBITDAX and Distributable Cash Flow are Non-GAAP financial measures and are described in the attached table under "Non-GAAP Measures."

Production for the first quarter of 2015 was 10.6 Bcf of natural gas, 241 MBbls of oil and 582 MBbls of natural gas liquids, or 172.5 MMcfe/day. This represents a 1 percent decrease from first quarter 2014 production of 174.7 MMcfe/d and a 1 percent increase over fourth quarter 2014 production of 170.9 MMcfe/day.   

EVEP reported a net loss of $61.7 million, or $(1.25) per basic and diluted weighted average limited partner unit outstanding, for the first quarter of 2015. Included in net loss were the following items:

• $58.2 million of impairment charges related to the write down of certain oil and natural gas properties due to the effects of commodity prices on expected future net cash flows;
• $6.9 million of non-cash losses on commodity and interest rate derivatives;
• $5.0 million of non-cash costs contained in general and administrative expenses;
• $0.9 million of payroll tax related cash costs contained in general and administrative expenses associated with the annual vesting of phantom units during the first quarter which will not be incurred during the second through fourth quarters;
• $0.5 million gain on the sale of oil and natural gas properties;
• $0.4 million of dry hole and exploration costs; and
• $0.4 million loss on the sale of investment in unconsolidated affiliates, contained in other (expense) income, net.

For the fourth quarter of 2014, EVEP reported net income of $102.4 million, or $2.03 per basic and diluted weighted average limited partner unit outstanding.  For the first quarter of 2014, EVEP reported a net loss of $6.3 million, or $(0.14) per basic and diluted weighted average limited partner unit outstanding.

"For the first quarter, our production was in line with expectations, and we are making progress in working to reduce our operating and capital cost levels in this challenging commodity price environment.  We look forward to closing on the $575 million sale of our interest in UEO and are aggressively pursuing future opportunities to redeploy proceeds from this sale into our core business of acquiring and developing long lived, producing oil and gas assets," said Michael Mercer, President and CEO.

Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q

EVEP's financial statements and related footnotes are available in the first quarter 2015 Form 10-Q, which was filed today and is available through the Investor Relations/SEC Filings section of the EVEP website at http://www.evenergypartners.com.

Conference Call

As announced on April 30, 2015, EV Energy Partners, L.P. will host an investor conference call on May 11, 2015, at 9 a.m. Eastern Time (8 a.m. Central).  Investors interested in participating in the call may dial 1-877-704-5378 (quote conference ID 2270993) at least 5 minutes prior to the start time, or may listen live over the Internet through the Investor Relations section of the EVEP website at http://ir.evenergypartners.com/events.cfm. 

EV Energy Partners, L.P. is a master limited partnership engaged in acquiring, producing and developing oil and natural gas properties.  More information about EVEP is available on the Internet at http://www.evenergypartners.com.

(code #: EVEP/G)

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This press release may include statements that are not historical facts which are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include information about, future plans, our reserve quantities and the present value of our reserves, estimates of maintenance capital and other statements which include words such as "anticipates," "plans," "projects," "expects," "intends," "believes," "should," and similar expressions of forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and necessarily involve risks that may affect the business prospects and performance of EV Energy Partners, L.P. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the press release. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity prices, changes in reserve estimates, requirements and actions of purchasers of properties, exploration and development activities, the availability and cost of financing, the returns on our capital investments and acquisition strategies, the availability of sufficient cash flow to pay distributions and execute our business plan and general economic conditions. Additional information on risks and uncertainties that could affect our business prospects and performance are provided in the most recent reports of EV Energy Partners with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made and EVEP undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Non-GAAP Measures

We define Adjusted EBITDAX as net loss plus income from discontinued operations, EBITDAX from discontinued operations, income taxes, interest expense, net, cash settlements of matured interest rate swaps, depreciation, depletion and amortization, asset retirement obligations accretion expense, (gain) loss on derivatives, net, cash settlements of matured derivative contracts, non-cash equity compensation expense, impairment of oil and natural gas properties, non-cash inventory write down expense, dry hole and exploration costs, gain on sales of oil and natural gas properties, and loss on sale of investment in unconsolidated affiliates, contained in other (expense) income, net. Distributable Cash Flow is defined as Adjusted EBITDAX less cash income taxes, cash interest expense, net, realized losses on interest rate swaps, and estimated maintenance capital expenditures.

Adjusted EBITDAX and Distributable Cash Flow are used by our management to provide additional information and statistics relative to the performance of our business, including (prior to the creation of any reserves) the cash available to pay distributions to our unitholders. We believe these financial measures may indicate to investors whether or not we are generating cash flow at a level that can sustain or support an increase in our quarterly distribution rates. Adjusted EBITDAX and Distributable Cash Flow are also quantitative standards used throughout the investment community with respect to performance of publicly-traded partnerships. Adjusted EBITDAX and Distributable Cash Flow should not be considered as alternatives to net income, operating income, cash flows from operating activities or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDAX and Distributable Cash Flow exclude some, but not all, items that affect net income and operating income and these measures may vary among companies. Therefore, our Adjusted EBITDAX and Distributable Cash Flow may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

EV Energy Partners, L.P., Houston
Nicholas Bobrowski
713-651-1144
http://www.evenergypartners.com 

SOURCE EV Energy Partners, L.P.

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