RPC (RES) Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Margenausweitung und 74,5 Mio. USD Wertminderung

Wichtigste Erkenntnisse

• RPC Inc. (NYSE: RES) verzeichnete im 3. Quartal 2026 einen Umsatz von 468 Mio. US-Dollar, was trotz einer relativ verhaltenen Komplettierungsaktivität einem Anstieg von 1 % gegenüber dem Vorquartal entspricht.
• Das bereinigte EBITDA stieg von 66 Mio. US-Dollar im 2. Quartal auf 71,5 Mio. US-Dollar, während die bereinigte EBITDA-Marge um 100 Basispunkte auf 15,3 % zulegte.
• Das bereinigte verwässerte Ergebnis je Aktie lag bei 0,10 US-Dollar. Die Bereinigungen beliefen sich auf insgesamt 0,30 US-Dollar je Aktie, was in erster Linie eine nicht zahlungswirksame Wertminderung von 74,5 Mio. US-Dollar im Zusammenhang mit Pintail Wireline sowie übernahmebedingte Personalkosten widerspiegelt.
• Der Umsatz im Bereich Coiled Tubing stieg im Vergleich zum Vorquartal um 20 %, während Snubbing um 12 % und Pressure Pumping (inklusive Säurebehandlung) um 3 % zulegten. Der Umsatz im Bereich Wireline ging um 8 % zurück.
• Der operative Cashflow lag bei 41 Mio. US-Dollar. Nach Investitionen von 40 Mio. US-Dollar belief sich der Freie Cashflow auf 1 Mio. US-Dollar, was teilweise auf einen Anstieg des Nettumlaufvermögens um 25 Mio. US-Dollar zurückzuführen ist.
• Das Management rechnet damit, dass die gewohnte Saisonalität zum Jahresende die Aktivität im 4. Quartal beeinträchtigen wird, blickt jedoch optimistisch auf 2027. Zugleich betonte das Unternehmen, dass höhere Preise und verbindliche Kundenzusagen erforderlich sind, bevor zusätzliche Kapazitäten im Bereich Pressure Pumping reaktiviert werden.

Wichtige Finanzdaten

Die Wertminderung dürfte die künftigen Abschreibungen um etwa 3 Mio. US-Dollar pro Quartal verringern. RPC behielt seine reguläre Quartalsdividende von 0,04 US-Dollar je Aktie bei; im bisherigen Jahresverlauf belaufen sich die Dividendenausschüttungen auf insgesamt 27 Mio. US-Dollar.

Geschäfts- und operative Entwicklung

Pressure Pumping war mit 30,8 % des Umsatzes im 3. Quartal die größte Dienstleistungssparte von RPC, gefolgt von Downhole Tools (24,6 %), Wireline (17,5 %), Coiled Tubing (10,4 %), Cementing (5,7 %) und Rental Tools (3,8 %). Zusammen erwirtschafteten diese Bereiche 93 % des Gesamtumsatzes.

Der Umsatz im Bereich Coiled Tubing stieg in allen Bezirken im Vergleich zum Vorquartal um 20 %, unterstützt durch einen günstigen Auftrags- und Ausrüstungsmix, der sich laut Management schwer dauerhaft wiederholen lassen dürfte. RPC übernahm einen dritten 2 7/8-Zoll-Haspelauflieger als Upgrade für eine bestehende Einheit und verfügt über zwei weitere Einheiten, die für ähnliche Modernisierungen infrage kommen.

Der Umsatz im Bereich Snubbing stieg um 12 %. Die im 2. Quartal in Dienst gestellte Großbohrungs-Snubbing-Einheit schloss ihr erstes volles Betriebsquartal ab. Ihre Inspektionsarbeiten an Kavernenspeichern bieten eine mehrjährige Visibilität, dürften jedoch im zweiten und dritten Quartal am intensivsten sein.

Der Umsatz im Bereich Downhole Tools sank um 2 %, was hauptsächlich auf eine geringere Fishing-Aktivität nach mehreren starken Quartalen zurückzuführen ist. Das Wachstum bei den Kernprodukten sowie in den Regionen Rocky Mountain, Nordost, Südost und im Ausland setzte sich fort. Die Nutzung des MetalMax-Metall-auf-Metall-Antriebsteils nahm zu, wobei einige Vorreiter-Regionen ihn bei mehr als der Hälfte ihrer Aufträge einsetzten. RPC meldete zudem neue Tiefe-Rekorde für Downhole-Tools in den Bakken- und Montney-Formationen.

Der Umsatz im Bereich Wireline fiel um 8 %. Die EBITDA-Margen von Pintail verblieben im mittleren einstelligen Bereich. Anhaltender Preisdruck und höhere Kosten verringerten die langfristigen Ertragserwartungen des Managements für dieses Geschäft, was zu der Wertminderung von 74,5 Mio. US-Dollar führte.

Der Umsatz im Bereich Pressure Pumping (inklusive Säurebehandlung) stieg um 3 %, da leicht bessere Preise teilweise durch etwas geringere Pumpstunden ausgeglichen wurden. Verzögerungen seitens der Kunden und Logistikprobleme von Drittanbietern führten zu Ausfallzeiten. Laut Management ist die gasbetriebene Ausrüstung weiterhin gut ausgelastet, jedoch müssen sich die Renditen verbessern, bevor stillgelegte Kapazitäten reaktiviert werden.

Prognose des Managements

RPC erwartet für 2026 Investitionen (CapEx) in Höhe von 155 Mio. bis 175 Mio. US-Dollar. Einige ursprünglich für 2026 geplante Ausrüstungslieferungen haben sich nach 2027 verschoben. Sofern keine weiteren Verzögerungen auftreten, rechnet das Management für 2027 derzeit mit Investitionen auf einem ähnlichen Niveau wie 2026.

Das Management geht davon aus, dass die übliche Saisonalität zum Jahresende im 4. Quartal mehrere Dienstleistungssparten beeinträchtigen wird, obwohl aktuelle Kundenzeitpläne darauf hindeuten, dass der feiertagsbedingte Rückgang weniger stark ausfallen könnte als in den Vorjahren. Die Kundenzeitpläne bleiben jedoch dynamisch.

Für 2027 bezeichnete das Management seinen Ausblick als „unter dem Strich positiv“ und erklärte, dass sich E&P-Betreiber von den Rohstoffpreisen ermutigt zeigten. Das Unternehmen sieht jedoch keine flächendeckende Beschleunigung und gab keine spezifische Umsatz- oder Gewinnprognose ab.

Risiken und Beobachtungspunkte

• Anhaltende Preisschwäche und Kostendruck im Bereich Wireline haben den erwarteten langfristigen Ergebnisbeitrag von Pintail verringert.
• Die Verfügbarkeit von Arbeitskräften verknappt sich und belastet die Kosten, wenngleich das Management betonte, dass die Herausforderung nicht wesentlich gravierender ist als in früheren angespannten Arbeitsmärkten.
• Inflation, Nachfragesorgen und geopolitische Entwicklungen sorgen weiterhin für Unsicherheit bei den E&P-Aktivitäten.
• Die übliche feiertagsbedingte Saisonalität könnte die Aktivität im 4. Quartal dämpfen, während Kundenzeitpläne weiterhin Änderungen unterliegen.
• In einigen Dienstleistungssparten sind weitere Preiserhöhungen erforderlich, um Reinvestitionen in Ausrüstung zu rechtfertigen.
• Der Freie Cashflow wurde durch strategische Vorratskäufe, knappe Komponenten sowie den zeitlichen Ablauf von Kundenzahlungseingängen und Lieferantenzahlungen beeinträchtigt.

Wichtigste Punkte aus der Fragerunde für Analysten

Auf die Frage nach ersten Anzeichen für 2027 zeigte sich das Management optimistisch, räumte jedoch weiterhin bestehende Unsicherheiten ein. Ein weniger ausgeprägter Rückgang im 4. Quartal könnte Anfang 2027 eine raschere Wiederaufnahme der Aktivitäten ermöglichen.

Bezüglich des Wettbewerbs um Arbeitskräfte durch den Bau von Rechenzentren und andere Branchen bestätigte das Management eine gewisse Verknappung des Angebots und höhere Kosten, ordnete dies jedoch eher als wiederkehrende Branchenherausforderung denn als ungewöhnlich schwere Störung ein.

Zu den stillgelegten Pressure-Pumping-Kapazitäten erklärte das Management, dass zwar Nachfrage nach zusätzlicher Kapazität bestehen könnte, die Preise jedoch deutlich steigen müssten. Zudem würde RPC eine verbindliche Kundenzusage benötigen, bevor eine weitere Mannschaft reaktiviert wird, und geht derzeit nicht aggressiv vor, um Ausrüstung wieder in Betrieb zu nehmen.

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Ausführungen des Managements

Operator

Good morning, and thank you for joining us for RPC Inc.'s Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call will be hosted by Ben Palmer, President and CEO; and Mike Schmidt, Chief Financial Officer. [Operator Instructions]

I would like to advise everyone that this conference call is being recorded.

I will now turn the call over to Mr. Schmidt.

Michael Schmit

Thank you, and good morning. Before we begin, I want to remind you that some of the statements that will be made on this call could be forward-looking in nature and reflect a number of known and unknown risks. Please refer to our press release issued today, along with our 10-K and other public filings that outline those risks, all of which can be found on RPC's website at www.rpc.net.

In today's earnings release and conference call, we'll be referring to several non-GAAP measures of operating performance and liquidity. We believe these non-GAAP measures allow us to compare performance consistently over various periods. Our press release and our website contain reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

I'll now turn the call over to our President and CEO, Ben Palmer.

Ben Palmer

Thanks, Mike, and thank you for joining our call this morning. Today, we will talk about our third quarter results and provide you with a few operational highlights. While completion activity levels remained relatively subdued this quarter, RPC overall generated sequential revenue growth and particularly strong margin expansion driven by solid operational execution, strong cost leverage in several product lines, technology adoption and contributions from targeted investments.

Within Technical Services, Cudd Pressure Control's largest service line, Coiled Tubing, was up 20% sequentially. Coiled tubing revenue increased across all districts. Results during the quarter benefited from exceptionally strong job and equipment mix, which will be challenging to consistently replicate. We have taken delivery of the third 2 7/8-inch reel trailer. Recall, this is an upgrade to an existing unit and not an incremental unit.

We now have 2 additional units that are capable of a 2 7/8-inch reel-replacement upgrade. These large-diameter units continue to generate attractive utilization and support our strategy of investing in areas where we see strong full-cycle returns.

Cudd Pressure Control snubbing revenues were up 12% sequentially. The big bore snubbing unit, which went into service during the second quarter, saw its first full quarter of work during the third quarter. The unit is designed for cavern storage inspections, which is regulatory driven. This work has multiyear visibility, but likely has the strongest seasonality in the second and third quarter of each year.

Also within Technical Services, Thru Tubing Solutions downhole tools revenues decreased 2% sequentially, primarily on lower fishing activity after several strong quarters. We continue to experience growth in our core product offerings, resulting in growth in our Rocky Mountain, Northeast, Southeast and foreign districts. Thru Tubing Solutions is a market leader in downhole completion tools with a portfolio of products supported by proprietary technologies in our patent portfolio.

Our R&D team has developed a variety of enhanced tools and products that further our market leadership. Thru Tubing Solutions has introduced new sizes of MetalMax, its metal-on-metal power section, increasing availability and adoption across districts. Some of our early adopter districts have MetalMax utilized on more than half of their jobs.

MetalMax's performance and design characteristics are enabling entry into new markets and applications. The product reduces the number of trips an operator has to make out of hole, reducing nonproductive time and is capable of running in harsher conditions than traditional power sections. Our Thru Tubing Solutions team is pushing the limits with operators. During the quarter, our downhole tools set new depth records in the Bakken and Montney formations.

These results further validate the performance advantages of our technology portfolio and support continued market share gains. Overall, our downhole tools business is benefiting from more complex and longer laterals that are well suited for our technology solutions.

Turning to Wireline, revenues declined 8% sequentially. Pintail's EBITDA margins have consistently been in the mid-single-digit range for the last few quarters. While Pintail has maintained its leading Permian market position, persistent pricing weakness combined with increased cost pressures have reduced our initial long-term earnings expectations for this business.

Therefore, during the quarter, we recorded noncash impairment charges of $74.5 million related to Pintail Wireline. Cudd Energy Services' Pressure Pumping revenues, including acid, increased 3% sequentially. Pressure Pumping revenues benefited from slightly improved pricing but was offset by slightly lower pump hours. Pump hours were modestly impacted by non-Cudd nonproductive time, including customer delays, mostly related to third-party logistics issues.

Job mix was relatively consistent with the prior quarter. Both revenue and cost per pump hour increased marginally on a sequential basis. Our gas-burning Pressure Pumping equipment is well utilized with white space created by external factors. Industry spare capacity appears meaningfully lower than it was several quarters ago. We expect to maintain our current working fleets, and we'll wait for returns to further improve before reactivating equipment.

We have seen growing customer interest in our enhanced production techniques on existing wells. We were able to generate these revenues with non-gas-burning equipment and smaller crews. While customer schedules currently indicate holiday impacts may be somewhat less severe than the last several years, we still expect normal year-end seasonality to affect activity levels across many of our service lines and for customer schedules to remain fluid up until the holidays.

Macro volatility has persisted with inflation pressures occurring in multiple areas. E&P operators as a whole appear to be cautiously optimistic regarding commodity prices, although concerns around demand, inflation and geopolitical developments continue to create uncertainty. Overall, the oilfield service market is more constructive, but certain service lines need additional pricing improvements to justify reinvestment. We will continue prioritizing returns and focus on controlling factors we can influence.

With that, Mike will now discuss the quarter's financial results.

Michael Schmit

Thanks, Ben. Our third quarter financial results with sequential comparisons to the second quarter of 2026 are as follows: Revenues increased 1% to $468 million. Breaking down our operating segments, Technical Services, which represented 95% of our total third quarter revenues, were up 1%. Support Services, which represented 5% of revenues, were up 3%.

The following is a breakdown of our third quarter revenues for our largest service lines. Pressure Pumping, 30.8%; Downhole Tools, 24.6%; Wireline, 17.5%; Coiled Tubing, 10.4%; Cementing, 5.7%; Rental Tools, 3.8%. Together, these service lines accounted for 93% of our total revenues. Cost of revenues, excluding depreciation and amortization, was $350 million compared to $346 million in the previous quarter.

SG&A expenses were $51 million, largely unchanged from the $52 million in the prior quarter. Depreciation and amortization was $43 million, similar to the previous quarter. The impairment reduces future depreciation and amortization by approximately $3 million per quarter. The effective tax benefit rate was 19.2% during the quarter. Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.10 in the third quarter.

Adjustments totaled $0.30 per share and related to the impairment charges and acquisition-related employment costs. Adjusted EBITDA was $71.5 million, up from $66 million in the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased 100 basis points sequentially to 15.3%.

Several of our service lines experienced particularly strong activity during the quarter, and we expect normal seasonal patterns to potentially impact results as we move into the fourth quarter. Net cash provided by operating activities during the quarter was $41 million, and after CapEx of $40 million, free cash flow was $1 million. Free cash flow was impacted by working capital increasing $25 million during the quarter, primarily driven by strategic inventory purchases, including key components in short supply, as well as the timing of customer collections and vendor payments.

At quarter end, we had approximately $177 million in cash, a $30 million note payable and no borrowings on our $100 million revolving credit facility. Our regular cash dividend remains unchanged at $0.04 per share. Dividend payments totaled $27 million year-to-date. We expect 2026 capital expenditures in the range of $155 million to $175 million.

Certain equipment deliveries previously anticipated for 2026 are now expected in 2027, although additional timing changes remain possible. Assuming additional slippage does not occur, we currently expect 2027 CapEx to be similar to 2026. As always, we will evaluate CapEx based on returns and adjust spending based on our opportunities.

I'll now turn it back over to Ben for some closing remarks.

Ben Palmer

Thanks, Mike. While we remain cautious regarding the pace of broader industry improvement and the impact of normal year-end seasonality, we believe RPC is well positioned with a diverse portfolio of businesses, differentiated technologies, a strong balance sheet and the financial flexibility to pursue attractive opportunities while continuing to generate cash and deliver strong full-cycle returns.

I want to thank all of our employees who put in tremendous work to provide high levels of service and value to our customers. Thank you for joining us this morning.

And at this time, we're happy to address any questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Don Crist with Johnson Rice.

Fragen und Antworten

Donald Crist

I wanted to ask about early '27 indications. We're hearing that some of the larger companies are looking to add more services as they, kind of, go into '27. I know most of your services outside of Pressure Pumping are in that realm. Just any, kind of, indication as to what '27 looks like just on an early look today?

Ben Palmer

Don, I appreciate you being on. Early '27, I would say that we are optimistic. As we indicated, we think the E&Ps, both the large and the small, are encouraged by commodity prices. And so we're feeling pretty good about next year. I would say net positive. Obviously, there's always uncertainty. We're not seeing full steam ahead, but clearly, we're set up and positioned and expect things.

Hopefully, the fourth quarter slowdown is going to be a little bit more muted than it has been in some of the past few years. And hopefully, we'll get off to a good start early next year. Oftentimes, when it slows down a lot in the fourth quarter, it takes a while to get cranked back up.

So maybe that slowdown will be a little more muted, and we can get the year started off pretty strongly and capture some of that enthusiasm that we think is out there that you're referring to.

Donald Crist

I appreciate that color. And you touched on this in the press release, but I wanted to ask about labor. We're hearing some pretty strong reports that data center construction and other industries are pulling away from the oilfield. And just wanted to know if you're experiencing any of that and seeing any inflation on the labor side as data centers ramp up.

Michael Schmit

Don, this is Mike. Yes, I think labor is tightening up a little bit and a lot of reasons for that. And we have -- it does impact cost and availabilities, which -- so I think some of the things you're hearing is probably consistent with some of the things we're seeing, too.

Ben Palmer

And I would say, Don, this is Ben, that that we always, over the years, have had competition for labor. So I wouldn't suggest or would say that this particular instance, it's not particularly more difficult than it has been in other past difficult times. So it's just something we deal with.

It's something we actually always have to deal with time to time. It just -- there's different reasons why there's -- labor can be difficult to attain and retain, but we are rocking along okay, but that is something that we do hear anecdotes about.

Donald Crist

Okay. And just the last one for me. You have some spare equipment sitting on the sidelines and some cash to refurbish it if you need to. Any thoughts as to reactivating another crew as we move into '27? Is the demand there?

Ben Palmer

If our additional capacity were ready to go tomorrow, there's a likelihood we could find a place for it to work, but we need pricing to move up quite a bit. We need to have a compelling reason. We would need to have some sort of firm commitment from a customer to be able to move in that direction.

So we're going to keep our additional capacity on the sideline at this point in time. We're doing some -- a little bit of prep behind the scenes over time, but we're not moving aggressively forward to try to reactivate more equipment at this time.

Operator

We have reached the end of the Q&A session. I will now turn the call back to Mr. Ben Palmer for closing remarks.

Ben Palmer

Well, appreciate you listening in this morning, and we're looking forward to a good 2027, and we appreciate you and hope you have a good rest of the day.

Operator

This concludes today's call. A reminder that the conference call will be replayed on www.rpc.net within 2 hours following the completion of the call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.