Halcon reports first quarter results

Staff report

Halcon Resources Corp. reported $275.1 million in total revenue for the first quarter of 2014, a 44 percent increase from the same period a year ago, as production exceeded the company’s expectations.

Net income was $11.9 million, or 3 cents per diluted share, Halcon said in its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“First-quarter results exceeded expectations. Our persistent focus on improving returns via technological innovation and good old-fashioned hard work is beginning to pay off. We are firing on all cylinders from an operational standpoint and are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead,” said Floyd C. Wilson, chairman and CEO.

The Houston-based energy company reported a net loss available to common stockholders of $77.9 million, which includes a $61.2 million charge related to noncore-asset sales.

Wilson said in a Thursday conference call that Halcon plans to announce the closing of a roughly $450 million sale of noncore assets — mostly in Texas — in the next couple of days.

There was no mention of the company’s plans for the Utica either in its SEC filing or on the conference call. Halcon has about 140,000 acres of leased land in Ohio and western Pennsylvania, which it considers to be noncore.

The company said in March that it has no immediate plans to move new rigs into the region, as it assesses results from two wells. Those results were expected by the end of the first quarter, the company said at the time.

Of the eight wells that Wilson on Thursday said Halcon had operating, none was in the Utica.

Wilson has expressed displeasure with well results in Trumbull County, in the play’s troubled northern tier. The company has been focusing its attention on more- successful and oil-rich plays in Texas, Mississippi and North Dakota.

“Results are excellent in all the core areas,” Wilson said. “Costs are under a microscope, and we’ll continue to reduce costs.”