Devon Energy Reports First-Quarter 2015 Results

• Exceeded production guidance for third consecutive quarter
• Achieved Company record 272,000 barrels of oil per day
• Reduced operating costs 9 percent year over year
• Completed accretive EnLink transactions
• Increased 2015 oil production growth outlook to a range of 25 to 35 percent
• Reduced 2015 capital spending 6 percent

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE:DVN) today announced core earnings of $89 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2015. The Company’s total cash inflows for the quarter reached $2.2 billion, consisting of $1.6 billion of operating cash flow and $569 million of proceeds received from the sale of EnLink common units.

“Devon delivered outstanding operational results in the first quarter as we continued to deliver superior execution across our repositioned asset portfolio,” said John Richels , president and CEO. “Our focused drilling activity has generated production growth that exceeded our guidance for the third consecutive quarter, our capital programs benefited from substantial service cost savings and we did an exceptional job controlling operating expenses.

“Additionally, the proceeds from the sale of EnLink units allow us to further strengthen our investment-grade balance sheet and enhance our liquidity position,” Richels said. “Combined with our recent sale of the Victoria Express Pipeline to EnLink, which closed early in the second quarter, we generated approximately $870 million of value for our shareholders at a substantial premium to Devon’s current trading multiple.”

On a reported basis, due to a non-cash, full-cost ceiling charge, Devon had a net loss of $3.6 billion for the first-quarter 2015. This compares with first-quarter 2014 reported net earnings of $324 million.

Production Exceeds Guidance for Third Consecutive Quarter

Total production from Devon’s retained asset base averaged 685,000 oil-equivalent barrels (Boe) per day during the first quarter of 2015. This result exceeded the top end of the Company’s guidance range by 12,000 Boe per day and represents a 22 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2014. Liquids accounted for 60 percent of the Company’s production mix.

Devon delivered record oil production of 272,000 barrels per day in the first quarter. This result also exceeded the top end of the Company’s guidance range by 12,000 barrels per day and represents a 55 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2014. The most significant growth came from the Company’s U.S. operations, where oil production increased a substantial 72 percent for the quarter year over year.

The strong growth in U.S. production was largely attributable to prolific well results from the Company’s world-class Eagle Ford assets. Net production in the Eagle Ford averaged 122,000 Boe per day in the first quarter, a 23 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2014 and nearly a 140% increase in production compared to Devon’s first month of ownership in March 2014. In addition, the Company achieved another quarter of strong production growth in the Delaware Basin, where net production averaged 53,000 Boe per day, an increase of 15 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.

Devon’s heavy-oil operations in Canada also delivered impressive production growth. In aggregate, net oil production from the Company’s heavy-oil projects increased to a record 104,000 barrels per day in the first quarter. Driven by the continued ramp-up of the Jackfish 3 facility, net oil production in Canada increased 33 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014.

Devon Raises 2015 Production Outlook; Lowering E&P Capital Budget

Detailed forward-looking guidance for the second quarter and full-year 2015 is provided later in the release. A notable update from this revised outlook is Devon raising its total oil production growth to a range of 25 to 35 percent, a substantial increase from the Company’s previous full-year growth guidance of 20 to 25 percent. Due to the improving outlook for oil production, the Company has also raised its top-line production growth guidance in 2015 to a range of 5 to 10 percent.

In addition to higher production, Devon is also benefiting from lower capital requirements. The Company’s 2015 E&P capital program is now expected to range from $3.9 to $4.1 billion. This represents a $250 million reduction in capital spending compared to the Company’s previous guidance.

Operations Report

For additional details on Devon’s E&P operations, please refer to the Company’s first-quarter 2015 Operations Report at www.devonenergy.com. Highlights from the report include:

• Eagle Ford delivers significant production growth
• Bone Spring and Powder River Basin type curves raised
• Jackfish 3 ramp-up drives growth in Canada
• Emerging Meramec potential expands

Hedges Increase Upstream Revenue; Midstream Profit Rises

Revenue from oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids sales totaled $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2015, with oil revenue increasing to 64 percent of total upstream revenues. This increased oil sales weighting was attributable to the Company’s substantial growth in both U.S. and Canadian oil production during the quarter.

Cash settlements related to the Company’s oil and natural gas hedges increased revenue by nearly $600 million, or approximately $10 per Boe, in the first quarter. At the end of March, Devon’s commodity hedges had a fair-market value of $1.6 billion.

The Company’s midstream operating profit reached $193 million in the first quarter. This result represents a 6 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2014 and was right in line with guidance. The year-over-year increase in midstream operating profit was driven by continued growth from EnLink Midstream.

Cost Reduction Initiatives Delivering Strong Results

The Company has several cost reduction initiatives underway that positively impacted first-quarter results. Field-level operating costs, which includes both lease operating expenses (LOE) and production taxes, declined 9 percent to $10.73 per Boe compared to the first quarter of 2014.

The most significant operating cost savings came from LOE, which is the Company’s largest field-level cost. LOE declined 7 percent compared to the year-ago period to $8.97 per Boe and was 7 percent below the low end of Devon’s guidance range. These LOE cost savings were realized across all regions of the Company’s portfolio.

Based on year-to-date cost savings, Devon now expects the midpoint of its full-year 2015 LOE to decline to around $9.30 per Boe. Compared to previous guidance, this implies a full-year cash cost savings of around $170 million.

Production and property taxes were $108 million in the first quarter of 2015, a 21 percent decline year over year. The decline was driven by lower production taxes resulting from lower upstream revenue.

General and administrative expenses (G&A) totaled $251 million in the first quarter of 2015, essentially flat compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Of this first-quarter G&A expense, $41 million was attributable to non-cash related items. Excluding non-cash items, G&A declined 7 percent sequentially.

Excluding non-recurring items, Devon’s income tax rate was 36 percent of pre-tax earnings for the first quarter of 2015. Of this adjusted rate, the Company incurred a current tax rate of 8 percent, with a deferred tax rate of 28 percent for the quarter.

Accretive Midstream Transactions Strengthen Balance Sheet

Devon recently utilized its strategic investment in EnLink to further strengthen its financial position through a series of highly accretive transactions. In aggregate, the total value of these transactions for Devon was approximately $870 million.

The first of these transactions occurred on March 23, with the announced sale of its Victoria Express Pipeline in the Eagle Ford to EnLink Midstream Partners (NYSE: ENLK). Total consideration for this highly accretive transaction was approximately $215 million or about 10 times 2015 estimated EBITDA. This asset transaction closed on April 1, 2015, with cash proceeds received in the second quarter.

On March 24, Devon commenced a secondary offering of 22.8 million ENLK partnership units. This offering settled in late March, with the Company realizing total cash proceeds of $569 million. Subsequent to quarter end, underwriters fully exercised their option to purchase an additional 3.4 million ENLK partnership units from Devon. This resulted in an incremental $85 million of proceeds received in the second-quarter.

With investment-grade credit ratings and cash balances of $1.9 billion at the end of the first quarter, Devon’s financial position remains exceptionally strong. At March 31, the Company’s net debt, excluding non-recourse EnLink obligations, totaled $7.5 billion.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

Pursuant to regulatory disclosure requirements, Devon is required to reconcile non-GAAP financial measures to the related GAAP information (GAAP refers to generally accepted accounting principles). Core earnings and net debt are non-GAAP financial measures referenced within this release. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures are provided later in this release.

Conference Call Webcast and Supplemental Earnings Materials

Please note that as soon as practicable today, Devon will post additional information, consisting of an operations report and management commentary with associated slides, to its website at www.devonenergy.com. The Company’s first-quarter 2015 conference call will be held at 10 a.m. Central (11 a.m. Eastern) on Wednesday, May 6, 2015, and will serve primarily as a forum for analyst and investor questions and answers.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Such statements include those concerning strategic plans, expectations and objectives for future operations, and are often identified by use of the words “forecasts”, “projections”, “estimates”, “plans”, “expectations”, “targets”, “opportunities”, “potential”, “outlook” and other similar terminology. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Statements regarding future drilling and production are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally incident to the exploration for and development and production of oil and gas. These risks include, but are not limited to, the volatility of oil, natural gas and NGL prices; uncertainties inherent in estimating oil, natural gas and NGL reserves; the extent to which we are successful in acquiring and discovering additional reserves; unforeseen changes in the rate of production from our oil and gas properties; uncertainties in future exploration and drilling results; uncertainties inherent in estimating the cost of drilling and completing wells; drilling risks; competition for leases, materials, people and capital; midstream capacity constraints and potential interruptions in production; risk related to our hedging activities; environmental risks; political changes; changes in laws or regulations; our limited control over third parties who operate our oil and gas properties; our ability to successfully complete mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; and other risks identified in our Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, even if subsequently made available by Devon on its website or otherwise. Devon does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The SEC permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved, probable and possible reserves that meet the SEC's definitions for such terms, and price and cost sensitivities for such reserves, and prohibits disclosure of resources that do not constitute such reserves. This release may contain certain terms, such as resource potential and exploration target size. These estimates are by their nature more speculative than estimates of proved, probable and possible reserves and accordingly are subject to substantially greater risk of being actually realized. The SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from including these estimates in filings with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 10-K, available at www.devonenergy.com. You can also obtain this form from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330 or from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

About Devon Energy

Devon Energy is a leading independent energy Company engaged in finding and producing oil and natural gas. Based in Oklahoma City and included in the S&P 500, Devon operates in several of the most prolific oil and natural gas plays in the U.S. and Canada with an emphasis on a balanced portfolio. The Company is the second-largest oil producer among North American onshore independents. For more information, please visit www.devonenergy.com.

DEVON ENERGY CORPORATION
FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL INFORMATION

(1) The reported Canadian gas volumes include volumes that are produced from certain of our leases and then transported to our Jackfish operations where the gas is used as fuel. However, the revenues and expenses related to this consumed gas are eliminated in our consolidated financials.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted disclosure requirements for public companies such as Devon concerning Non-GAAP financial measures (GAAP refers to generally accepted accounting principles). The Company must reconcile the Non-GAAP financial measure to related GAAP information.

CORE EARNINGS
(in millions)

Devon’s reported net earnings include items of income and expense that are typically excluded by securities analysts in their published estimates of the Company’s financial results. Accordingly, the company also uses the measures of core earnings and core earnings per diluted share. Devon believes these non-GAAP measures facilitate comparisons of its performance to earnings estimates published by securities analysts. Devon also believes these non-GAAP measures can facilitate comparisons of its performance between periods and to the performance of its peers. The following table summarizes the effects of these items on first-quarter 2015 earnings.

NET DEBT
(in millions)

Devon defines net debt as debt less cash and cash equivalents and net debt attributable to the consolidation of EnLink Midstream as presented in the following table. Devon believes that netting these sources of cash against debt and adjusting for EnLink net debt provides a clearer picture of the future demands on cash from Devon to repay debt.

DEVON ENERGY CORPORATION
FORWARD LOOKING GUIDANCE

Devon’s oil derivatives settle against the average of the prompt month NYMEX West Texas Intermediate futures price. Devon’s natural gas derivatives settle against the Inside FERC first of the month Henry Hub index.

Source: Devon Energy Corporation