HOUSTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Universal Compression Holdings,
Inc. (NYSE: UCO), a leading provider of natural gas compression services,
today reported net income for its fiscal 2002 fourth quarter ended
March 31, 2002 of $12.3 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, on revenues of
$187.9 million. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001, the Company reported
net income of $5.9 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, excluding special
charges, on revenue of $99.1 million. EBITDA (net income plus income taxes,
interest expense, leasing expense, management fees, depreciation and
amortization, excluding non-recurring items and extraordinary gains or losses)
increased 56 percent to $53.6 million from $34.4 million in the prior year
period.
For the year ended March 31, 2002, net income was $49.4 million, or
$1.63 per diluted share, compared to $10.5 million, or $0.70 per diluted
share, excluding special charges, in the prior year. The Company had revenue
of $680.0 million and EBITDA of $207.6 million, compared to revenue of
$232.8 million and EBITDA of $88.6 million in the prior year.
"We are pleased with the progress made throughout fiscal 2002 in the
execution of strategic growth initiatives. We expanded core services, added
complementary business lines and entered new geographic markets, in addition
to integrating the Weatherford Global operation, which generated significant
synergistic benefits," said Stephen A. Snider, Universal's President and Chief
Executive Officer. "Looking ahead, we will continue to seek opportunities to
expand our quality line of compression products and services while seeking to
improve margins through operational and system enhancements. We expect
increased annual earnings in fiscal 2003 as compared to fiscal 2002, with
reduced profitability for one to two quarters followed by improved results in
the second half of the year."
The Company continues to have productive discussions with its customers in
Argentina regarding contract payment terms and expects to reach settlements in
the near future. The impact from the Argentina economic situation reduced
EBITDA by approximately $4.0 million in the three and twelve month periods
ended March 31, 2002. Also, the Company has recorded a non-cash adjustment to
stockholders' equity at March 31, 2002 of approximately $55 million pertaining
to translation of the Argentina balance sheet.
Segment Information
Contract compression revenues in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2002 totaled
$80.7 million, an increase of 39 percent from the prior year period. The
Company's contract compression compressor fleet increased by
350,000 horsepower to over 2.2 million horsepower from March 2001 to
March 2002. Average fleet horsepower utilization for the quarter was
87 percent compared to 89 percent in the year ago period. International
contract compression revenue for the quarter was $13.3 million, an increase of
37 percent from the prior year period. At March 31, 2002, the Company's
international fleet totaled approximately 345,000 horsepower.
The fabrication segment recorded revenue of $66.9 million, an increase of
135 percent from the prior year period. Fabrication backlog was $80 million
at March 31, 2002, $101 at December 31, 2001 and $34 million at
March 31, 2001. The aftermarket services segment recorded revenue of
$40.3 million, including used equipment revenue of $4.8 million, compared to
$12.6 million in the prior year period.
"Compression activity has declined somewhat in a period of reduced energy
service industry activity. The Company's contract compression utilization,
which declined from a recent high of 90% in the second quarter of fiscal 2002,
has been approximately 84% for the past several weeks," added Snider. "In
what we believe may be an early sign of a firming of market conditions,
fabrication backlog has increased to approximately $110 million currently due
to a rise in orders over the last six weeks. Assuming continuing economic
growth and reasonable levels of commodity prices, we are expecting business
activity in general to improve by the second half of fiscal 2003."
Conference Call
Universal will host a conference call on Thursday, May 30, 2002 at
10:00 am Central Time, 11:00 am Eastern Time to discuss the quarter's results
and other corporate matters. The conference call will be broadcast over the
Internet to provide interested persons the opportunity to listen to it live.
The call will also be archived for one week to provide an opportunity to those
unable to listen to the live broadcast. Both the live broadcast and replay of
the archived version are free of charge to the user.
Persons wishing to listen to the conference call live may do so by logging
onto http://www.universalcompression.com (click "Company Overview" in the
"Company Information" section) or http://videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=5420
at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. A replay of the call will
remain available at the Web sites www.universalcompression.com and
http://www.prnewswire.com through June 6, 2002.
Universal Compression, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a leading
natural gas compression services company, providing a full range of contract
compression, sales, operations, maintenance and fabrication services to the
domestic and international natural gas industry.
Statements about Universal's outlook and all other statements in this
release other than historical facts are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future
events and are subject to a number of uncertainties and factors, many of which
are outside Universal's control, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from such statements. While Universal believes that the
assumptions concerning future events are reasonable, it cautions that there
are inherent difficulties in predicting certain important factors that could
impact the future performance or results of its business. Among the important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by such forward-looking statements are integration of acquisitions,
the demand for Universal's products and services and worldwide economic and
political conditions. These and other risk factors are discussed in
Universal's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of
which are available to the public. Universal expressly disclaims any
intention or obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements
whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
UNIVERSAL COMPRESSION HOLDINGS, INC.
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Twelve
Months
Three Months Ended Ended
March 31, December 31, March 31, March 31,
2002 2001 2001 2002
Revenue:
Contract compression $80,653 $85,942 $58,108 $327,735
Fabrication 66,942 55,258 28,471 211,265
Aftermarket services 40,346 36,179 12,559 140,989
Total revenue 187,941 177,379 99,138 679,989
Costs and expenses:
Cost of sales -
contract compression 27,551 29,567 21,213 114,432
Cost of sales -
fabrication 59,397 48,703 24,019 186,918
Cost of sales -
aftermarket services 31,552 27,854 10,335 110,293
Depreciation and
amortization 13,275 12,233 11,588 48,600
Selling, general and
administrative 16,267 16,134 9,121 60,890
Operating lease 15,047 14,788 8,220 55,401
Interest expense 5,555 5,357 4,623 23,017
Non-recurring charges --- --- 1,640 ---
Other (331) 194 4 99
Total costs and
expenses 168,313 154,830 90,763 599,650
Income before income taxes 19,628 22,549 8,375 80,339
Income taxes 7,309 8,798 3,482 30,931
Income before
extraordinary items $12,319 $13,751 $4,893 $49,408
Extraordinary loss, net
of income tax benefit --- --- (3,239) ---
Net income $12,319 $13,751 $1,654 $49,408
Weighted average common
and common equivalent
shares outstanding:
Basic 30,590 30,567 22,264 30,008
Diluted 30,823 30,844 22,653 30,250
Earnings per share:
Income before
extraordinary items $0.40 $0.45 $0.22 $1.65
Extraordinary loss --- --- (0.15) ---
Basic $0.40 $0.45 $0.07 $1.65
Income before
extraordinary items $0.40 $0.45 $0.22 $1.63
Extraordinary loss --- --- $(0.14) ---
Diluted $0.40 $0.45 $0.07 $1.63
UNIVERSAL COMPRESSION HOLDINGS, INC.
UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
(In thousands)
Twelve
Months
Three Months Ended Ended
March 31, December 31, March 31, March 31,
2002 2001 2001 2002
Revenue:
Domestic contract
compression $67,336 $69,423 $48,369 $267,550
International contract
compression 13,317 16,519 9,739 60,185
Fabrication 66,942 55,258 28,471 211,265
Aftermarket services 40,346 36,179 12,559 140,989
Total $187,941 $177,379 $99,138 $679,989
Gross Profit:
Domestic contract
compression $42,797 $44,465 $30,177 $169,893
International contract
compression 10,304 11,910 6,718 43,410
Fabrication 7,545 6,555 4,452 24,347
Aftermarket services 8,794 8,325 2,224 30,696
Other --- --- (4) ---
Total $69,440 $71,255 $43,567 $268,346
Selling, General and
Administrative $16,267 $16,134 $9,121 $60,890
% of Revenue 9% 9% 9% 9%
EBITDA, as adjusted * $53,567 $55,097 $34,446 $207,584
% of Revenue 29% 31% 35% 31%
Profit Margin:
Domestic contract
compression 64% 64% 62% 63%
International contract
compression 77% 72% 69% 72%
Fabrication 11% 12% 16% 12%
Aftermarket services 22% 23% 18% 22%
Total 37% 40% 44% 39%
* EBITDA, as adjusted, is defined as net income plus income taxes,
interest expense, leasing expense, management fees, depreciation and
amortization, excluding non-recurring items and extraordinary gains
and losses.
March 31, December 31, March 31,
2002 2001 2001
Debt $227,745 $222,828 $215,107
Operating Leases $708,500 $708,500 $527,500
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SOURCE Universal Compression Holdings, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.universalcompression.com
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CONTACT: David Oatman, Vice President, Investor Relations and Planning of Universal Compression Holdings, Inc., +1-713-335-7460
Audio: http: //videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=5420
CAPTION: UCOLOGO UNIVERSAL COMPRESSION HOLDINGS LOGO Universal, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a leading natural gas compression services company, providing a full range of contract compression, sales, operations, maintenance and fabrication services to the domestic and international natural gas industry. (PRNewsFoto)[TK] HOUSTON, TX USA 10/08/2001