ProPetro Holding PUMP reported fourth-quarter 2023 loss per share of 16 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 8 cents per share. The bottom line also declined from the year-ago quarter's reported profit of 31 cents. The underperformance could be primarily attributed to a 7.7% increase in costs and expenses year over year.

Revenues of $347.8 million missed the consensus mark of $360 million. The figure also decreased 0.3% from the year-ago quarter's level of $348.9 million. This was due to a decline in hydraulic fracturing utilization.

Adjusted EBITDA amounted to $64.3 million, down 40.3% from $107.7 million reported in the previous quarter.The reported figure also missed our estimate of $84.8 million. This underperformance was primarily due to lower hydraulic fracturing utilization caused by higher-than-expected seasonality, holiday and customer budget exhaustion impacts.

PUMP completed the acquisition of Par Five Energy Services LLC, a Permian Basin-focused provider of cementing services in the Delaware Basin, during the fourth quarter of 2023.

ProPetro Holding Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

ProPetro Holding Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ProPetro Holding Corp. Quote

Pressure Pumping

ProPetro provides hydraulic fracturing, cementing and acidizing functions through its Pressure Pumping segment. The business contributed 100% to PUMP's total revenues in the quarter under review.

Service revenues from this unit slightly decreased 0.3% to $347.8 million from the prior-year quarter's level. This was mainly due to additional deferred activity later, as well as seasonal fluctuations and the depletion of customer budgets.However, the figure was lower than our estimate of $360.9 million.

Costs & Financial Position

Total costs and expenses were $356.1 million for the fourth quarter, up 7.7% from the prior-year quarter's level. The service cost was $261 million compared with $242.6 million in the comparable period of 2022. Depreciation and amortization totaled $62.2 million compared with $43.5 million in the comparable period of 2022. The company recorded $39 million in capital expenditure.

As of Dec 31, PUMP had approximately $33 million in cash and cash equivalents. Including cash and $134 million under its revolving credit facility, the company had total liquidity worth $101 million at December-end 2023. Long-term debt amounted to $45 million. The total debt-to-total capital was 4.3%.

The company repurchased and retired 1.6 million shares during the fourth quarter of 2023. During the same period, the net cash used for investing activities totaled $71 million.