Carbo Ceramics Inc. reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2018. Revenue for 2018 of $211 million increased 12 percent compared to 2017, resulting from solid revenue growth in environmental, industrial and oilfield technology products and services.
As previously announced, the company closed on the sale of the Millen, Ga., plant for $23 million. The company said to expect continued revenue growth in Industrial and Environmental sectors, and Oilfield Technology products.
CEO Gary Kolstad commented, “Our transformation strategy continued to show solid progress during 2018. Gross loss was reduced by $31 million year-on-year and Adjusted EBITDA improved $20 million year-on-year with a $22 million increase in revenue. These improvements were the result of focusing on growing our technology products and services, as well as continued cost reductions. In addition, excluding the sale of the Millen Plant, we maintained cash neutrality in the second half of 2018 during a period of lower oilfield activity. Maintaining healthy cash balances is our highest priority.”
Kryptosphere applications continued to grow during the quarter in the United States, as established users of this ultra-conductive ceramic proppant technology deployed the low-density (LD) and high-density (HD) products in additional Gulf of Mexico projects and in the Northeast, where utilizing the high-performance proppant technology has proven to be critical for maximizing production. The technology also continued to find application in California steam flooding.
“In the Oilfield sector, E&P operators’ focus on free cash flow, coupled with recent oil price volatility, creates a less than certain environment with regard to drilling and completion spend in 2019,” Kolstad said. “Current expectations by some industry analysts are predicting 2019 drilling and completion spend to be down high single digits on a percentage basis compared to 2018. However, we are seeing positive signs internationally that should bode well for our oilfield sector products.”