Kodiak Oil & Gas (NYSE: KOG) announced its first-quarter results after markets closed tonight. The Williston Basin focused driller reported net income of $29.1 million, or $0.11 per diluted share. While that was ahead of the $19.4 million, or $0.07 per share the company earned in last year's first quarter, it missed analysts' estimates by $0.07 per share.
First-quarter production averaged 34,025 BOE/d, which was a 57% increase from the first quarter of 2013. However, this was actually down 6% from the 36,000 BOE/d just last quarter. A colder than normal winter really affected the company's operations this past quarter.
Overall, this was a "challenging quarter" for Kodiak Oil & Gas as the weather really had a negative impact on the company's activity levels. CEO Lynn Peterson noted the company's troubles in a statement in its earnings press release. He said, "Although the team worked tirelessly through the weather conditions, the impact on our operations was of a meaningful enough size that we believed it to be prudent to reset our full year production guidance." Because of that, the company is reducing its full-year production guidance to a range of 39,000-42,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or BOE/d. The company's previous guidance range was 42,000-44,000 BOE/d.
That being said, Kodiak Oil & Gas remains excited about the remainder of the year. The company is moving its drilling focus from drilling to hold acreage in weaker areas to focusing on drilling in the heart of its core acreage position. This should enable the company to deliver better consistency in its well results -- along with higher rates of return.
