ProPetro Holding Corp. on Nov. 14 said it had not lost customers and did not expect to restate prior results amid a board probe in financial disclosures and an investigation by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Midland, Texas-based company, which provides services to complete oil and gas wells, declined to discuss the investigations on a call with Wall Street analysts. The probes began this year after ProPetro revised public statements on its hydraulic fracturing fleet purchases.
Shares of ProPetro whipsawed on Nov. 14, rising as much as 8% early in the morning and later falling about 3%. It was recently trading up 3% at $7.58
The company said it had spent close to $11 million so far on administrative expenses related to its internal probe. On Nov. 13, it said it found material weaknesses in internal controls and a previously unreported related party transaction involving its former chief accountant.
Analysts said ProPetro's third-quarter results released on Nov. 13 topped expectations, but some voiced concern about the probes.
The company's $132 million pre-tax earnings beat expectations by about $20 million, said analysts at Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. However, it also wrote the ongoing review was not "going to induce comfort, nor is formal acknowledgement of an open SEC investigation."
ProPetro said it expected to roll out its first DuraStim electric fracturing fleet by the end of this year. So far, the company has spent $120.8 million on the fleets, and anticipates spending another $58.3 million, executives said. That includes a third turbine that it has not yet decided if it will purchase.
Disclosures around its purchases of AFGlobal's electric fracturing equipment were part of what sparked the company's internal probe. ProPetro initially said it would purchase two fleets, but revised that statement to say it would buy three fracturing spreads with options to make additional purchases.
ProPetro said that while it anticipated a slight increase in next year's activity, it did not expect any uptick in profitability per frac fleet.
"We expect the E&P space that we serve to remain very disciplined with their capital through the end of the year and into 2020," CEO Dale Redman told investors during the Nov. 14 call.
The company reported net income fell to $34.4 million, or 33 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, from $46.3 million, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier.
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