AM Antero Midstream Corporation

DENVER, Oct. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Antero Midstream Corporation (NYSE: AM) ("Antero Midstream" or the "Company") today announced its third quarter 2023 financial and operating results. The relevant unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are included in Antero Midstream's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Third Quarter 2023 Highlights:

• Gathering and compression volumes increased by 13% and 17%, respectively, compared to the prior year quarter
• Net Income was $98 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, an 18% per share increase compared to the prior year quarter
• Adjusted Net Income was $111 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, a 15% per share increase compared to the prior year quarter (non-GAAP measure)
• Adjusted EBITDA was $251 million, a 12% increase compared to the prior year quarter and 3% sequentially (non-GAAP measure)
• Capital expenditures were $57 million
• Free Cash Flow before dividends was $138 million and Free Cash Flow after dividends was $30 million (non-GAAP measures)
• Leverage declined to 3.4x at September 30, 2023 (non-GAAP measure)

Full Year 2023 Guidance Update:

• Increasing Adjusted EBITDA by $10 million at the midpoint to a range of $970 to $990 million (non-GAAP measure)
• Increasing Free Cash Flow after dividends by $5 million at the midpoint to a range of $135 to $155 million (non-GAAP measures)
  
  

Paul Rady, Chairman and CEO, said, "During the third quarter, Antero Midstream delivered double-digit year-over-year throughput growth that set company records. The combination of well outperformance, acceleration of wells serviced by the fresh water delivery system, and operational success have resulted in year-to-date results that have exceeded expectations. Our organic growth strategy, supplemented by high-visibility, accretive acquisitions over the last year, has resulted in increased scale at Antero Midstream while maintaining a strong balance sheet and liquidity position."

Brendan Krueger, CFO of Antero Midstream, said, "The third quarter marked the fifth consecutive quarter that Antero Midstream has generated Free Cash Flow after dividends. Our disciplined approach utilizing Free Cash Flow after dividends to reduce debt has resulted in over $100 million of absolute debt reduction year-to-date and leverage declining to 3.4x."

Mr. Krueger further added, "Looking ahead to 2024, we expect this Free Cash Flow to continue to increase compared to 2023, resulting in further absolute debt reduction and declining leverage towards our 3.0x target. This positions Antero Midstream to evaluate further return of capital to our shareholders in 2024."

For a discussion of the non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, Leverage, and Free Cash Flow before and after dividends please see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."

2023 Guidance Update

The following is a summary of Antero Midstream's updated 2023 guidance ($ in millions):

Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results

Low pressure gathering volumes for the third quarter of 2023 averaged 3,323 MMcf/d, a 13% increase as compared to the prior year quarter. Low pressure gathering volumes subject to the growth incentive fee were in excess of the threshold target of 2,900 MMcf/d, resulting in a $12 million rebate to Antero Resources. Compression volumes for the third quarter of 2023 averaged 3,271 MMcf/d, a 17% increase compared to the prior year quarter. High pressure gathering volumes averaged 2,935 MMcf/d, a 5% increase compared to the prior year quarter. Fresh water delivery volumes averaged 106 MBbl/d during the quarter, a 3% increase compared to the prior year.

Gross processing volumes from the processing and fractionation joint venture with MLPX, LP ("Joint Venture") averaged 1,616 MMcf/d for the third quarter of 2023, a 10% increase compared to the prior year quarter. Joint Venture processing capacity was approximately 100% utilized during the quarter based on nameplate processing capacity of 1.6 Bcf/d. Gross Joint Venture fractionation volumes averaged 40 MBbl/d, an 11% increase compared to the prior year quarter. Joint Venture fractionation capacity was also 100% utilized during the quarter based on nameplate fractionation capacity of 40 MBbl/d.

For the three months ended September 30, 2023, revenues were $264 million, comprised of $206 million from the Gathering and Processing segment and $58 million from the Water Handling segment, net of $18 million of amortization of customer relationships.  Water Handling revenues include $26 million from wastewater handling and high rate water transfer services.

Direct operating expenses for the Gathering and Processing and Water Handling segments were $24 million and $28 million, respectively. Water Handling operating expenses include $23 million from wastewater handling and high rate water transfer services. General and administrative expenses excluding equity-based compensation were $9 million during the third quarter of 2023. Total operating expenses during the third quarter of 2023 included $31 million of depreciation and $8 million of equity-based compensation expense. 

Net Income was $98 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, an 18% per share increase compared to the prior year quarter. Net Income adjusted for amortization of customer relationships and loss (gain) on asset sale, net of tax effects of reconciling items, or Adjusted Net Income, was $111 million. Adjusted Net Income was $0.23 per share, a 15% per share increase compared to the prior year quarter.

The following table reconciles Net Income to Adjusted Net Income (in thousands):

Adjusted EBITDA was $251 million, a 12% increase compared to the prior year quarter. Interest expense was $55 million, a 15% increase compared to the prior year quarter. Capital expenditures were $57 million, a 54% increase compared to the prior year quarter.  Free Cash Flow before dividends was $138 million, in line with the prior year quarter. Free Cash Flow after dividends was $30 million, in line with the prior year quarter.

The following table reconciles Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow before and after dividends (in thousands):

The following table reconciles net cash provided by operating activities to Free Cash Flow before and after dividends (in thousands):

Third Quarter 2023 Operating Update

Gathering and Processing — During the third quarter of 2023, Antero Midstream connected 20 wells to its gathering system.

Water Handling— Antero Midstream's water delivery systems serviced 15 well completions during the third quarter of 2023.

Capital Investments

Accrued capital expenditures were $57 million during the third quarter of 2023. The company invested $42 million in gathering and compression and $15 million in water infrastructure primarily in the liquids-rich midstream corridor of the Marcellus Shale.

Conference Call

A conference call is scheduled on Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 10:00 am MT to discuss the financial and operational results. A brief Q&A session for security analysts will immediately follow the discussion of the results. To participate in the call, dial in at 877-407-9126 (U.S.), or 201-493-6751 (International) and reference "Antero Midstream". A telephone replay of the call will be available until Thursday, November 2, 2023 at 10:00 am MT at 877-660-6853 (U.S.) or 201-612-7415 (International) using the conference ID: 13740754. To access the live webcast and view the related earnings conference call presentation, visit Antero Midstream's website at www.anteromidstream.com. The webcast will be archived for replay until Thursday, November 2, 2023 at 10:00 am MT.

Presentation

An updated presentation will be posted to the Company's website before the conference call. The presentation can be found at www.anteromidstream.com on the homepage. Information on the Company's website does not constitute a portion of, and is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Definitions

Antero Midstream uses certain non-GAAP financial measures. Antero Midstream defines Adjusted Net Income as Net Income plus amortization of customer relationships and loss (gain) on asset sale, net of tax effect of reconciling items. Antero Midstream uses Adjusted Net Income to assess the operating performance of its assets. Antero Midstream defines Adjusted EBITDA as Net Income plus interest expense, net, income tax expense, depreciation expense, amortization of customer relationships, loss (gain) on asset sale, loss on settlement of asset retirement obligations, accretion of asset retirement obligations, and equity-based compensation expense, excluding equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, plus distributions from unconsolidated affiliates.

Antero Midstream uses Adjusted EBITDA to assess:

• the financial performance of Antero Midstream's assets, without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis;
• its operating performance and return on capital as compared to other publicly traded companies in the midstream energy sector, without regard to financing or capital structure; and
• the viability of acquisitions and other capital expenditure projects.

Antero Midstream defines Free Cash Flow before dividends as Adjusted EBITDA less interest expense, net and accrual-based capital expenditures. Capital expenditures include additions to gathering systems and facilities, additions to water handling systems, and investments in unconsolidated affiliates. Capital expenditures exclude acquisitions. Free Cash Flow after dividends is defined as Free Cash Flow before dividends less accrual-based dividends declared for the quarter. Antero Midstream uses Free Cash Flow before and after dividends as a performance metric to compare the cash generating performance of Antero Midstream from period to period. 

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, and Free Cash Flow before and after dividends are non-GAAP financial measures. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to these measures is Net Income. Such non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as alternatives to the GAAP measures of Net Income and cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities. The presentations of such measures are not made in accordance with GAAP and have important limitations as analytical tools because they include some, but not all, items that affect Net Income and cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities. You should not consider any or all such measures in isolation or as a substitute for analyses of results as reported under GAAP. Antero Midstream's definitions of such measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

The following table reconciles cash paid for capital expenditures and accrued capital expenditures during the period (in thousands):

Antero Midstream defines Net Debt as consolidated total debt, excluding unamortized debt premiums and debt issuance costs, less cash and cash equivalents. Antero Midstream views Net Debt as an important indicator in evaluating Antero Midstream's financial leverage. Antero Midstream defines leverage as Net Debt divided by Adjusted EBITDA for the last twelve months. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to Net Debt is total debt, excluding unamortized debt premiums and debt issuance costs.

The following table reconciles consolidated total debt to consolidated net debt, excluding debt premiums and issuance costs, ("Net Debt") as used in this release (in thousands):

The following table reconciles Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA for the last twelve months as used in this release (in thousands):

Antero Midstream has not included a reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow before and after dividends to the nearest GAAP financial measures because it cannot do so without unreasonable effort and any attempt to do so would be inherently imprecise. Antero Midstream is able to forecast the following reconciling items between such measures and Net Income (in millions):

Antero Midstream Corporation is a Delaware corporation that owns, operates and develops midstream gathering, compression, processing and fractionation assets located in the Appalachian Basin, as well as integrated water assets that primarily service Antero Resources Corporation's properties.

This release includes "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are not under Antero Midstream's control. All statements, except for statements of historical fact, made in this release regarding activities, events or developments Antero Midstream expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future, such as statements regarding our strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, Antero Midstream's ability to realize the benefits of the Marcellus bolt-on acquisition, including the anticipated capital avoidance and synergies, Antero Midstream's ability to execute its business plan and return capital to its stockholders, information regarding Antero Midstream's return of capital policy, information regarding long-term financial and operating outlooks for Antero Midstream and Antero Resources, information regarding Antero Resources' expected future growth and its ability to meet its drilling and development plan and the participation level of Antero Resources' drilling partner, the impact on demand for Antero Midstream's services as a result of incremental production by Antero Resources, and expectations regarding the amount and timing of litigation awards are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Although Antero Midstream believes that the plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there is no assurance that these plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. Therefore, actual outcomes and results could materially differ from what is expressed, implied or forecast in such statements. Except as required by law, Antero Midstream expressly disclaims any obligation to and does not intend to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Antero Midstream cautions you that these forward-looking statements are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties incident to our business, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Antero Midstream's control. These risks include, but are not limited to, commodity price volatility, inflation, supply chain or other disruptions, environmental risks, Antero Resources' drilling and completion and other operating risks, regulatory changes or changes in law, the uncertainty inherent in projecting Antero Resources' future rates of production, cash flows and access to capital, the timing of development expenditures, impacts of world health events, cybersecurity risks, the state of markets for and availability of verified quality carbon offsets and the other risks described under the heading "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in Antero Midstream's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

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SOURCE Antero Midstream Corporation