Devon Energy Reports Second-Quarter 2018 Results

Highlights

• Delaware Basin and STACK drive U.S. oil production beat
• Light-oil production growth on track to expand 16 percent in 2018
• EnLink ownership interests monetized at 12 times cash flow
• Industry-leading share-repurchase program increased to $4 billion
• Field-level cash margins expand by 31 percent year over year
• Corporate cost structure to improve by $475 million annually

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) today reported operational and financial results for the second quarter of 2018. Also included within the release is the company’s guidance outlook for the third quarter and full-year 2018.

“Devon is executing at a very high level on our 2020 Vision,” said Dave Hager, president and CEO. “Operationally, our second-quarter performance was headlined by strong well productivity in the Delaware Basin and STACK, which drove light-oil production above the high end of our guidance expectations. Importantly, we converted this volume growth into higher profits with our access to premium pricing in advantaged markets and through our success in driving both field-level and corporate costs lower.

“With the strong well productivity we’ve achieved year to date in the U.S., light-oil production growth is on track to advance 16 percent in 2018, which is 200 basis points above our original budget expectations,” said Hager. “We expect to deliver this improved outlook without any increase to our planned activity, and this disciplined investment program positions us to generate substantial amounts of free cash flow at today’s market prices.

“In addition to our strong operating results, we took a significant step forward in achieving our 2020 Vision by further simplifying our asset portfolio through our monetization of EnLink,” said Hager. “This highly accretive transaction provides a strategic exit from EnLink at a value of 12 times cash flow, and we’re returning the sales proceeds to our shareholders through our industry-leading $4 billion share-repurchase program.”

Delaware Basin and STACK Drive U.S. Oil Production Beat

Production results in the quarter were highlighted by oil growth from Devon’s U.S. resource plays, which are attaining the highest margins and returns in Devon’s portfolio. In the quarter, light-oil production in the U.S. averaged 136,000 barrels per day, a 12 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2018. This result exceeded the top end of guidance by 2,000 barrels per day.

The strongest asset-level performance during the second quarter was from the company’s Delaware Basin assets. Light-oil production increased 54 percent year over year in the quarter, driving total volumes in the Delaware to 79,000 oil-equivalent barrels (Boe) per day. Growth in the Delaware was driven by prolific well productivity, where the top 10 wells in the quarter averaged initial 30-day rates of approximately 3,000 Boe per day.

Devon’s STACK assets also delivered strong results during the quarter. Total production in the STACK advanced 26 percent compared to the second quarter of 2017. Driven by several strong wells across the play, oil production delivered the highest growth rate, increasing 41 percent year over year.

In Canada, net oil production averaged 109,000 barrels per day in the second quarter. Scheduled maintenance at the company’s Jackfish facility curtailed production by approximately 15,000 barrels per day. Also contributing to lower production was a 2 percentage point increase in royalty rates because of higher commodity prices and improved profitability.

Overall, total companywide production averaged 541,000 Boe per day in the second quarter. Oil accounted for the largest component of the product mix at 45 percent of total volumes. For additional details on Devon’s E&P operations in the quarter, please refer to the company’s second-quarter 2018 operations report at www.devonenergy.com.

Light-Oil Production Growth on Track to Increase 16 Percent in 2018

With the strong well productivity Devon has achieved year to date in the U.S., light-oil production growth is on track to advance 16 percent in 2018. This growth rate is trending at approximately 200 basis points above the company’s original budget expectations.

The incremental oil growth in the U.S. is expected to be delivered without an increase to Devon’s capital activity. This disciplined investment program positions the company to generate free cash flow in the second half of 2018 at today’s market prices.

EnLink Ownership Interests Monetized at 12 Times Cash Flow

In mid-July, Devon completed the sale of its ownership interests in EnLink Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: ENLK) and EnLink Midstream, LLC (NYSE: ENLC) for $3.125 billion. The company’s interests in EnLink generated $265 million of cash distributions over the past year, valuing the investment at approximately 12 times cash flow. Devon expects no incremental corporate cash taxes resulting from this sale.

With the closing of the EnLink transaction, combined with other minor asset sales achieved to date, total proceeds from Devon’s divestiture program have now reached $4.2 billion. The company expects to monetize an additional $1 billion of minor, non-core assets across the United States by year-end. These divestiture packages include undeveloped leasehold in the southern Delaware Basin, enhanced oil recovery projects in the Rockies and Midland Basin along with Wise County acreage in the Barnett Shale. Data rooms are open for the majority of these packages and bids are expected throughout the second half of 2018.

Industry-Leading Share-Repurchase Program Increased to $4 Billion

In conjunction with closing the EnLink transaction, Devon’s board of directors authorized an increase in the company’s share-repurchase program to $4 billion. This authorization represents the largest share-repurchase program in the upstream industry when measured as a percentage of market capitalization. At the end of July, Devon had repurchased 24 million shares, or nearly 5 percent of outstanding shares, at a total cost of approximately $1 billion.

For the remaining share-repurchase authorization, the company plans to utilize a series of accelerated stock repurchase programs (ASR) that are expected to commence in early August. With these ASR programs, Devon expects to complete its $4 billion share-repurchase program during the first half of 2019. Detailed forward-looking guidance on share count is provided later in this release.

Financial Reporting Impact of EnLink Monetization

With the closing of the EnLink transaction, the financial results of EnLink Midstream will no longer be consolidated with Devon’s upstream business, and historical results related to EnLink will be presented as discontinued operations in the company’s consolidated financial statements.

To assist with this financial reporting transition, Devon has provided pro forma financial statements for its upstream business in a Form 8-K filing in July. Additionally, updated detailed forward-looking guidance for financial statement line items impacted by this transaction in 2018 is provided later in this release.

Upstream Revenue Benefits from Premium Gulf Coast Pricing

Devon’s upstream revenue, excluding commodity derivatives, totaled $1.6 billion in the second quarter, a 15 percent improvement compared to the previous quarter. The strong growth in revenue was driven by growth in higher-margin, light-oil production coupled with improved price realizations across the company’s asset portfolio.

Also contributing to the improving price realizations in the quarter were Devon’s firm transport and marketing agreements that provide the majority of U.S. oil production direct access to premium Gulf Coast markets. Combined with the price protection provided by regional basis swaps, second-quarter oil realizations in the U.S. averaged approximately 98 percent of the West Texas Intermediate benchmark. Importantly, the company is positioned to maintain these strong U.S. oil price realizations through the end of the decade.

In Canada, Devon continues to benefit from Western Canadian Select (WCS) basis swaps on approximately 50 percent of its estimated oil production in 2018. These attractive WCS basis swaps are locked in at $15 off the WTI benchmark price and have generated cash settlements of $109 million year to date.

U.S. Operating Costs Improve and Field-Level Margins Expand

Devon continued to effectively manage operating costs during the second quarter. Production expense, which represents field-level operating costs, totaled $572 million in the second quarter. The largest components of production expense are lease operating expense and transportation, which totaled $493 million in the quarter. Taxes also contributed $79 million to production expense during the second quarter.

The company’s U.S. resource plays delivered the strongest cost performance, where lease operating expense and transportation costs declined 3 percent on a per-unit basis compared to the first quarter. In Canada, production expense in the quarter was impacted by $21 million of non-recurring costs associated with maintenance work at the Jackfish complex.

Overall, the benefits of higher-margin oil production, improved price realizations and a lower cost structure resulted in expanded margins for Devon. Field-level cash margin reached $20.19 per Boe in the second quarter, a 31 percent increase compared to the year-ago period. Field-level cash margin is computed as upstream revenues, excluding commodity derivatives, less production expenses with the result divided by oil equivalent production volumes.

Corporate Cost Structure to Improve by $475 Million Annually

Further expanding Devon’s profitability is its improving general and administrative (G&A) cost structure. Upstream-related G&A expenses totaled $153 million, a 22 percent improvement compared to the first quarter. The significantly lower overhead costs were driven by reduced personnel expenses.

The company has also reduced financing costs. With the early retirement of $807 million of debt early in the year, the company expects to reduce net financing costs by approximately $64 million on an annual basis.

The aforementioned cost savings, combined with the financial benefits related to the sale of EnLink Midstream, position Devon’s go-forward G&A and interest expense to improve by approximately $475 million annually.

Investment-Grade Financial Position Continues to Strengthen

Devon’s financial position remains exceptionally strong, with investment-grade credit ratings and excellent liquidity. The company exited the second quarter with $1.5 billion of cash on hand. Adjusted for the sale of EnLink Midstream in July, pro forma cash balances reached $4.6 billion and the company’s consolidated debt declined by 40 percent to $6.1 billion.

Second-Quarter Earnings and Cash-Flow Results

The company reported a net loss attributable to Devon of $425 million or $0.83 per diluted share in the second quarter. Excluding the impact of noncontrolling interests, the company reported a net loss of $335 million. Devon’s results were impacted by certain items securities analysts typically exclude from their published estimates. After excluding adjusting items, the company’s core earnings totaled $177 million or $0.34 per diluted share. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached $1.0 billion in the quarter.

Devon’s operating cash flow from continuing operations totaled $269 million in the second quarter. Operating cash flow in the quarter was impacted by several non-recurring or unusual items, including a non-cash foreign exchange loss, restructuring charges, EnLink’s reclassification to discontinued operations and working capital changes. The most significant item was related to a non-cash, foreign exchange loss. This impact was driven by foreign currency denominated intercompany loan activity resulting in a realized loss of $244 million as a result of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar in relation to the Canadian dollar. For more understanding of the company’s cash flow performance during the quarter please refer to the explanations and reconciliations provided later in this release.

Pursuant to regulatory disclosure requirements, Devon is required to reconcile non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) financial measures to the related GAAP information. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures are provided within the tables of this release.

Conference Call Webcast and Supplemental Earnings Materials

Also provided with today’s release is the company’s detailed operations report that is available on the company’s website at www.devonenergy.com. The company’s second-quarter conference call will be held at 10 a.m. Central (11 a.m. Eastern) on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, and will serve primarily as a forum for analyst and investor questions and answers.

Forward-Looking Statements

This 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 “expects,” “believes,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “forecasts,” “projections,” “estimates,” “plans,” “expectations,” “targets,” “opportunities,” “potential,” “anticipates,” “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 our business and operations 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, gas and NGL prices; uncertainties inherent in estimating oil, gas and NGL reserves; the extent to which we are successful in acquiring and discovering additional reserves; the uncertainties, costs and risks involved in oil and gas operations; regulatory restrictions, compliance costs and other risks relating to governmental regulation, including with respect to environmental matters; risks related to our hedging activities; counterparty credit risks; risks relating to our indebtedness; cyberattack risks; our limited control over third parties who operate our oil and gas properties; midstream capacity constraints and potential interruptions in production; the extent to which insurance covers any losses we may experience; competition for leases, materials, people and capital; our ability to successfully complete mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; and any of the other risks and uncertainties 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 release are made as of the date of this 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, potential locations, risked and unrisked locations, estimated ultimate recovery (or EUR), exploration target size and other similar terms. 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. 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 achieving strong returns and capital-efficient cash flow growth. For more information, please visit www.devonenergy.com.

DEVON ENERGY CORPORATION
FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL INFORMATION

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

This press release includes non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP measures are not alternatives to GAAP measures, and you should not consider these non-GAAP measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Below is additional disclosure regarding each of the non-GAAP measures used in this press release, including reconciliations to their most directly comparable GAAP measure.

CORE EARNINGS

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 share attributable to Devon. 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 second-quarter 2018 earnings.

NET DEBT

Devon defines net debt as debt less cash and cash equivalents. Devon believes that netting these sources of cash against debt provides a clearer picture of the future demands on cash from Devon to repay debt.

DEVON ENERGY CORPORATION
FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL INFORMATION

ADJUSTED EBITDA

We define Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, as EBITDA adjusted for certain items presented in the accompanying reconciliation. We believe that EBITDA is widely used by investors to measure a company’s performance without regard to items such as interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA generally excludes certain other items that management believes affect the comparability of operating results or are not related to Devon’s ongoing operations. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate the company’s operational trends and performance relative to other oil and gas companies.

PRO FORMA CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS

Devon defines pro forma cash and cash equivalents as cash and cash equivalents plus proceeds from the recently closed EnLink Midstream sale. Devon believes adjusting for this item provides a clearer picture of Devon’s financial position.

DEVON ENERGY CORPORATION
FORWARD LOOKING GUIDANCE