RPC (RES) 2026 年第三季財報電話會議：利潤率擴張與 7,450 萬美元減損

重點總覽

• RPC Inc. (NYSE: RES) 公佈 2026 年第三季營收為 4.68 億美元，儘管完井活動相對低迷，季增幅度仍達 1%。
• 調整後 EBITDA 從第二季的 6,600 萬美元升至 7,150 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率擴張 100 個基點至 15.3%。
• 調整後稀釋每股盈餘 (EPS) 為 0.10 美元。調整項目合計為每股 0.30 美元，主要反映與 Pintail Wireline 相關的 7,450 萬美元非現金減損，以及與收購相關的員工費用。
• 連續管 (Coiled Tubing) 營收季增 20%，壓井 (Snubbing) 營收成長 12%，包含酸化在內的壓裂 (Pressure Pumping) 營收增加 3%。電纜測井 (Wireline) 營收則下滑 8%。
• 營運現金流為 4,100 萬美元。扣除 4,000 萬美元的資本支出後，自由現金流為 100 萬美元，部分原因是營運資金增加了 2,500 萬美元。
• 管理層預期年底的正常季節性因素將影響第四季活動，但對 2027 年保持樂觀，同時強調在重啟額外的壓裂產能之前，需要更高的價格與客戶的明確承諾。

關鍵財務數據

預計該減損將使未來每季的折舊及攤銷減少約 300 萬美元。RPC 將常規季度股利維持在每股 0.04 美元，今年迄今支付的股利總額為 2,700 萬美元。

業務與營運績效

壓裂服務是 RPC 最大業務線，佔第三季營收 30.8%，其次為井下工具 (Downhole Tools) 佔 24.6%、電纜測井 (Wireline) 佔 17.5%、連續管 (Coiled Tubing) 佔 10.4%、固井 (Cementing) 佔 5.7% 以及租賃工具 (Rental Tools) 佔 3.8%。這些業務合計占總營收的 93%。

所有區域的連續管營收季增 20%，這得益於有利的作業與設備組合，管理層表示這可能難以持續複製。RPC 接收了第三台 2 7/8 英吋捲筒拖車以升級現有設備，並有另外兩台設備符合類似升級資格。

壓井營收成長 12%。第二季投入營運的大口徑壓井設備完成首個完整季度的作業。其鹽穴儲存檢測作業具備多年可見度，但預計在第二和第三季最為活躍。

井下工具營收下降 2%，主要是因為經歷幾個強勁季度後打撈作業減少。核心產品以及洛磯山脈 (Rocky Mountain)、東北部、東南部與海外區域持續成長。MetalMax 金屬對金屬動力段的採用率有所擴大，部分早期採用的區域有超過一半的作業使用該產品。RPC 還報告了在巴肯 (Bakken) 和蒙特尼 (Montney) 地層創下的井下工具深度新紀錄。

電纜測井營收下滑 8%。Pintail 的 EBITDA 利潤率維持在個位數中段，持續的價格軟弱與較高成本降低了管理層對該業務的長期獲利預期，從而導致 7,450 萬美元的減損。

包含酸化在內的壓裂營收增加 3%，原因是價格略微改善被幫浦作業時數微幅減少部分抵銷。客戶延遲與第三方物流問題導致了非生產時間。管理層表示燃氣設備利用率依然良好，但在重啟閒置產能之前，投資報酬率必須有所改善。

管理層展望與指引

RPC 預計 2026 年資本支出為 1.55 億至 1.75 億美元。先前預定於 2026 年交付的部分設備已推遲至 2027 年。假設沒有進一步延遲，管理層目前預計 2027 年資本支出將與 2026 年相近。

管理層預期正常的年底季節性因素將影響第四季的多個服務領域，儘管目前的客戶時程顯示假期放緩程度可能不如近年嚴重。客戶的排程仍具變動性。

對於 2027 年，管理層將其展望描述為「整體偏向正面」，並表示勘探與生產 (E&P) 業者似乎對大宗商品價格受到鼓舞。然而，公司並未看到全面性的加速成長，也沒有提供具體的營收或盈餘指引。

風險與關注領域

• 電纜測井持續的價格軟弱與成本壓力，削弱了 Pintail 預期的長期盈餘貢獻。
• 勞動力供應趨緊並影響成本，但管理層表示，該挑戰並未比過往嚴峻的勞動力市場顯著惡化。
• 通膨、需求疑慮與地緣政治發展持續為 E&P 活動帶來不確定性。
• 正常的假期季節性因素可能會減少第四季的活動，而客戶排程仍有變動可能。
• 部分服務領域需要價格進一步改善，才能支撐設備的重新投資。
• 自由現金流受到策略性庫存採購、稀缺零件，以及客戶收款與供應商付款時程的限制。

分析師問答集錦

在被問及 2027 年的早期跡象時，管理層表示態度樂觀，但也坦承不確定性依然存在。若第四季放緩程度較輕，活動可能在 2027 年初更迅速復甦。

針對來自資料中心建設與其他產業的勞動力競爭，管理層確認人力供應確有趨緊且成本上升，但將其歸類為產業週期性挑戰，而非異常嚴重的干擾。

關於閒置的壓裂設備，管理層表示可能存在對額外產能的需求，但價格需要大幅上調。RPC 在重啟另一組作業團隊之前，也需要客戶給予明確承諾，目前並未積極恢復設備營運。

電話會議完整逐字稿

完整財報電話會議逐字稿

管理層陳述

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.

分析師問答

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.