Hunting Regulatory News (HTG)

Hunting PLC

("Hunting" or "the Company" or "the Group")

Results for the year ended 31 December 2016

Hunting PLC (LSE:HTG), the international energy services group, today announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2016.

Financial Summary - from continuing operations1

1 Underlying results are based on continuing operations before amortisation of acquired intangible assets and exceptional items. Reported results are based on the

statutory results for continuing operations as reported under International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU.

Operational and Financial Summary

· New product lines continue to be developed and rolled out to customers to lower their operational costs and increase project efficiencies including:

o further commercialisation of the H-1 Perforating System, which is now being used by major oil companies in the US;

o broadening of the WEDGE-LOCK™ premium connection family to include 14" and 16" variants for commercialisation in 2017; and

o introduction of the EQUAfrac™ charge, providing uniform hole technology in the wellbore.

· Focus on debt reduction with initiatives including:

o $61.7m reduction in inventories since 31 December 2015;

o $31.3m received in net tax refunds; and

o $17.2m capital investment made in year - limited to contracted or essential spend.

· Cost cutting measures continued during the year and include:

o 24% reduction in headcount to 2,107 since 31 December 2015; and

o 3 manufacturing facilities and 10 distribution centres decommissioned during 2016.

· Borrowing facilities' terms revised:

o profit-based covenants for the committed bank facilities suspended up to and including 30 June 2018 bank covenant test date;

o committed facilities reduced from $350m to $200m;

o drawings under the bank facilities secured on assets;

o capping of annual capital investment; and

o no dividend payments until the end of the suspension period.

· Placing of 14.6m new Ordinary shares raising $83.9m net of transaction expenses completed:

o proceeds used to reduce borrowings and increase financial flexibility; and

o placing price of 485.0 pence per share.

· Facility expansion programme now completed:

o commissioning of Ameriport, US, facility in the year; and

o global operational footprint of 3.1m square feet.

Commenting on the results Dennis Proctor, Chief Executive, said:

"Hunting's 2016 results reflect the difficult market conditions facing the global oil and gas industry caused by the sustained low oil price leading to lower demand for our products and services.

"Towards the end of 2016 optimism was seen across the energy market, following the announcements by OPEC to reduce oil production and improving onshore activity levels in the US, particularly in West Texas. While this is positive news for the industry, Hunting is still focused on cost controls and aligning its operations with the short-term outlook. US onshore activity levels are increasing, providing better trading for businesses such as Hunting Perforating Systems, while the international picture remains subdued."

"For the Group as a whole, operating losses have been incurred during the opening months of 2017, however, management anticipate moving back to monthly profitability later in the year, subject to a continuing recovery across the whole market."

Group Performance and Development

For access to narrative on the Group's results (incorporating the Chairman's and Chief Executive's Statements, Outlook, Market Review, Group Performance and Development, and Funding and Position at year end) for the year ended 31 December 2016 please click on the following link.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2897Y_-2017-3-1.pdf 

Financial Statements and Notes to the Accounts

For access to the Financial Statements and Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 please click on the following link.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2897Y_1-2017-3-1.pdf 

Listing Rules / Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules Information

For access to Hunting's Business Model and Strategy, Risk Management (including Principal Risks) and Key Performance Indicators information and the Statement of the Directors' Responsibilities for the year ended 31 December 2016 please click on the following links.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2897Y_2-2017-3-1.pdf 

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2897Y_3-2017-3-1.pdf

Page number references refer to the full Annual Report when available.

The linked documents provide access to all major financial and operational disclosures contained in the Group's 2016 Annual Report and Accounts. The complete 2016 Annual Report and Accounts will be published on 13 March 2017 and can then be accessed at www.huntingplc.com.

The financial information set out in the above links does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2016 or 31 December 2015, but is extracted from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2015 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2016 will be delivered in due course. The auditors have reported on those accounts; their reports were unqualified, did not draw attention to any matter by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and did not contain statements under S498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. Whilst the financial information included in this preliminary announcement has been computed in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRS.

Analyst Briefing and Webcast

Hunting PLC will host an analyst briefing on Thursday 2 March 2017 at 10.30a.m. at the offices of Buchanan, 107 Cheapside, London, EC2V 6DN.

An audio webcast will be available on:

http://vm.buchanan.uk.com/2017/hunting020317/registration.htm 

For further information please contact:

Notes to Editors:

About Hunting PLC

Hunting PLC is an international energy services provider to the world's leading upstream oil and gas companies. Established in 1874, it is a premium listed public company traded on the London Stock Exchange. The Company maintains a corporate office in Houston and is headquartered in London. As well as the United Kingdom, the Company has operations in Canada, China, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.

Hunting PLC's Legal Entity Identifier is 2138008S5FL78ITZRN66

This announcement contains inside information.