DENVER, CO--(Marketwire - November 9, 2007) - Rancher Energy Corp. (
Second Quarter Summary
The Company reported revenue of $1.7 million in the second quarter as compared with no revenue in the same quarter last year. Second quarter revenue was up 24% over first quarter revenue, reflecting higher oil prices and increased production. In the second quarter Rancher Energy sold 23,622 barrels of oil -- its net interest -- at an average price of $69.88 per barrel versus 22,434 net barrels at an average price of $59.31 in the first quarter. Gross oil production from the Company's Cole Creek South, South Glenrock B, and Big Muddy Fields in the Powder River Basin in the second quarter was approximately 341 BOPD. Over the past six months the Company has increased production from its three fields from approximately 307 BOPD to a current gross production of 341 BOPD.
Total operating expenses in the second quarter increased to $2.9 million from $791,000 in the same quarter last year when operating expenses were relatively modest because the Company had not yet acquired any producing properties. With the acquisitions of three oil fields during December 2006 and January 2007, customary operating expenses increased significantly. The largest expense category was general and administrative, which grew to $1.5 million in the second quarter from $395,000 a year ago as the Company increased its workforce to support oil & gas infrastructure investments and incurred higher costs associated with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, audit and legal fees, and reservoir engineering. The $1.5 million in general and administrative expense included $327,000 in non-cash expenses related to stock-based and restricted stock compensation expense.
The Company incurred more than $1.3 million in mostly non-cash net other expense during the second quarter, primarily as a result of nearly $1.3 million in non-cash liquidated damages associated with delayed effectiveness of the registration statement relating to the December 2006 and January 2007 private placement. With the registration statement declared effective on October 31 of this year, the Company expects to incur a final, although smaller, expense in this category in the third quarter. Net loss in the second quarter was $2.7 million, or $0.02 per basic and fully diluted share, versus a net loss of $767,000, or $0.02 per basic and fully diluted share, in the same quarter last year.
Six-Month Summary
Revenue through six months increased to nearly $3.0 million from no revenue in the same period last year. For the year-to-date period the Company has sold 46,056 barrels of oil at an average price of $64.73.
Total operating expenses in the six-month period were $6.7 million versus $1.4 million in the same period last year when the Company had no oil & gas operations. General and administrative expense increased to $4.1 million from $1.0 million in the same period last year. This increase is comprised primarily of costs associated with building the Company's oil & gas infrastructure. Additional factors included higher personnel costs, professional fees and reservoir engineering. Nearly $1.0 million of the $4.1 million in general and administrative expense was non-cash expense related to stock-based and restricted stock compensation.
Total other expense in the six-month period was $2.7 million, a figure that included $2.6 million in non-cash charges related to delayed effectiveness of the registration statement. Net loss in the six-month period was $6.4 million, or $0.06 per basic and diluted share, as compared with $1.4 million, or $0.04 per basic and diluted share, in the same period last year.
The Company closed the second quarter with $1.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. However, subsequent to the end of the quarter, on October 17, 2007, the Company raised net proceeds of $11.6 million in a debt financing that, in addition to strengthening available working capital, is planned to fund the Company's initial operational and growth initiatives beginning in the fourth quarter of 2007.
"Our recent debt financing enables us to move forward on a number of important projects designed to increase near-term production and lay critical groundwork for our major CO2 recovery program over the long term," said John Works, President & CEO of Rancher Energy. "We are currently working on a larger financing to fund completion of the Big Muddy waterflood project beginning in the first half of 2008. We expect to follow that with a significant permanent financing to fund our CO2 program commencing in 2009. We believe the steady increase in crude oil prices will enhance our capital formation plans. We have key elements of our CO2 program already in place, including a long-term CO2 supply agreement and engagement of pipeline engineering and surface facilities consultants Trigon EPC, LLC and Nicholas Consulting Group, Inc. (NCG), respectively."
About Rancher Energy Corp.
Rancher Energy is an innovative oil & gas exploration & development company with a targeted strategy to reinvigorate older, historically productive oil fields in the hydrocarbon-rich Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Using waterflood injection and CO2 flooding, coupled with other leading edge hydrocarbon recovery techniques such as 3-D seismic data and directional drilling, Rancher Energy expects to extract proven in-place oil that remains behind in mature fields. Rising energy demand and strong oil & gas prices combined with advances in oil recovery have made this strategy profitable. Rancher Energy is taking advantage of this convergence by acquiring low risk, high quality, historically productive plays with under-exploited reserves and developing customized enhanced recovery strategies to maximize production.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements as determined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events, or developments that the Company believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include the Company's ability to obtain financing to implement its waterflood plan, to construct pipeline and other infrastructure, and for other operational and working capital purposes, the uncertainty of recovery factors for the enhanced oil recovery projects, the volatility of oil prices, general economic and business conditions, and other factors over which the Company has little or no control. The Company does not intend (and is not obligated) to update publicly any forward-looking statements. The contents of this press release should be considered in conjunction with the warnings and cautionary statements contained in the Company's recent filings with the SEC.
Rancher Energy Corp.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(unaudited)
Three months ended Six months ended
September 30, September 30,
2007 2006 2007 2006
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Revenues:
Oil and gas sales $ 1,650,628 $ - $ 2,981,107 $ -
Operating expenses:
Production taxes 201,182 - 362,651 -
Lease operating
expenses 712,195 - 1,312,109 -
Depreciation,
depletion and
amortization 368,724 - 700,256 -
Impairment of
unproved
properties - 395,785 - 395,785
Accretion expense 31,618 - 77,608 -
Exploration expense 89,670 - 130,828 -
General and
administrative
expense 1,545,734 395,214 4,130,160 966,282
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total operating
expenses 2,949,123 790,999 6,713,612 1,362,067
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Loss from operations (1,298,495) (790,999) (3,732,505) (1,362,067)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Other income (expense):
Liquidated damages
pursuant to
registration
rights
arrangement (1,268,283) - (2,645,393) -
Interest expense (41,941) 1,644 (113,180) (33,000)
Write-off of
deferred financing
costs (99,254) - (99,254) -
Interest and other
income 78,943 22,120 183,381 23,485
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total other
income
(expense) (1,330,535) 23,764 (2,674,446) (9,515)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net loss $ (2,629,030) $ (767,235) $ (6,406,951) $ (1,371,582)
============ ============ ============ ============
Basic and fully
diluted net loss
per share $ (0.02) $ (0.02) $ (0.06) $ (0.04)
============ ============ ============ ============
Basic and fully
diluted weighted
average shares
outstanding 108,018,888 37,598,545 105,888,646 33,336,427
Rancher Energy Corp.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
September 30, March 31,
2007 2007
------------ ------------
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,444,420 $ 5,129,883
Accounts receivable 633,029 453,709
Prepaid expenses 49,857 -
------------ ------------
Total current assets 2,127,306 5,583,592
------------ ------------
Oil & gas properties, at cost
(successful efforts method):
Unproved 56,998,862 56,079,133
Proved 18,667,591 18,552,188
Less: Accumulated depletion, depreciation
and amortization (966,951) (347,821)
------------ ------------
Net oil & gas properties 74,699,502 74,283,500
------------ ------------
Other assets, net of accumulated depreciation
of $109,006 and 27,880, respectively 2,144,502 1,610,939
------------ ------------
Total assets $ 78,971,310 $ 81,478,031
============ ============
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,535,611 $ 1,542,840
Accrued oil & gas property costs 291,867 250,000
Asset retirement obligation 180,260 196,000
Liquidated damages pursuant to registration
rights arrangement 1,227,626 2,705,531
------------ ------------
Total current liabilities 3,235,364 4,694,371
------------ ------------
Long-term liabilities:
Accrued liabilities 306,160 -
Asset retirement obligation 1,090,723 1,025,567
------------ ------------
Total long-term liabilities 1,396,883 1,025,567
------------ ------------
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock 1,117 1,021
Additional paid-in capital 89,973,759 84,985,934
Accumulated deficit (15,635,813) (9,228,862)
------------ ------------
Total stockholders’ equity 74,339,063 75,758,093
------------ ------------
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 78,971,310 $ 81,478,031
============ ============
Rancher Energy Corp.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
Six Months Ended September 30,
2007 2006
------------ ------------
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss $ (6,406,951) $ (1,371,582)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash
used for operating activities:
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization 700,256 1,800
Impairment of unproved properties - 395,785
Accretion expense 77,608 -
Settlement of asset retirement obligation (46,665) -
Liquidated damages pursuant to registration
rights arrangement 2,645,393 -
Imputed interest expense 112,488 33,453
Stock-based compensation expense 570,034 529,375
Restricted stock compensation expense 155,095 -
Services exchanged for common stock –
non-employee directors 148,497 -
Services exchanged for common stock –
non-employee 112,499 -
Other - 2,284
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable (179,320) -
Prepaid expenses (49,857) -
Other assets 6,416 -
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 298,930 86,290
------------ ------------
Net cash used for operating activities (1,855,577) (322,595)
------------ ------------
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures for oil & gas properties (1,466,291) (2,800,167)
Proceeds from conveyance of unproved
oil & gas properties 491,500 -
Increase in other assets (619,144) (37,709)
------------ ------------
Net cash used for investing activities (1,593,935) (2,837,875)
------------ ------------
Cash flows from financing activities:
Payment of deferred financing costs (1,951) -
Proceeds from issuance of convertible notes
payable - 150,000
Payments of convertible notes payable - (150,000)
Proceeds from notes payable converted to
common stock - 500,000
Proceeds from sale of common stock and warrants - 8,093,397
Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon
exercise of stock options 12 -
Payment of offering costs (234,012) -
------------ ------------
Net cash provided by (used for) financing
activities (235,951) 8,593,397
------------ ------------
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (3,685,463) 5,432,926
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 5,129,883 46,081
------------ ------------
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 1,444,420 $ 5,479,007
============ ============
Contact Information: Contacts: John Works Chief Executive Officer Rancher Energy Corp. 303-928-7754 Jay Pfeiffer Pfeiffer High Investor Relations, Inc. 303-393-7044