Expro Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results

Business Wire 25-Feb-2025 7:00 AM

Fourth quarter revenue of $437 million, up 3% sequentially and up 7% year-over-year. Full-year 2024 revenue of $1,713 million, up 13% year-over-year.

Fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $100 million, up 18% both sequentially and year-over-year. Fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA margin¹ of 23%, up sequentially from 20% and up year-over-year from 21%. Full-year Adjusted EBITDA of $347 million as compared to $249 million for 2023, a 40% increase. Full-year Adjusted EBITDA margin¹ of 20% up from 16% for 2023.

Fourth quarter net income of $23 million as compared to third quarter of 2024 net income of $16 million and fourth quarter of 2023 net loss of $12 million. Full-year 2024 net income of $52 million as compared to net loss of $23 million for 2023.

Board approved an extension of $100 million stock repurchase program; Company repurchased 1.2 million shares in the fourth quarter of 2024, or approximately 1% of total shares outstanding, for a total cost of $14 million.

Management provides 2025 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA margin outlook.

Expro Group Holdings N.V. (NYSE:XPRO) (the "Company" or "Expro") today reported financial and operational results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights

• Revenue was $437 million compared to revenue of $423 million in the third quarter of 2024, a sequential increase of $14 million, or 3%, primarily driven by increased activity and revenue in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
• Adjusted EBITDA was $100 million, a sequential increase of $15 million, or 18%, as compared to $85 million for the third quarter of 2024, driven by higher subsea well access revenue in ESSA, increased well flow management activity in MENA and a non-repeat of losses recognized on our Congo production solutions project in the third quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the fourth and third quarter of 2024 was 23% and 20%, respectively.
• Net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $23 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to net income of $16 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2024. Adjusted net income¹ for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $43 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, an increase compared to adjusted net income for the third quarter of 2024 of $28 million, or $0.23 per diluted share.
• Net cash provided by operating activities for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $97 million compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $55 million for the third quarter of 2024. The increase was primarily due to an increase in Adjusted EBITDA and decreases in working capital and taxes paid during the quarter.

Full Year 2024 Financial Highlights

• Revenue was $1,713 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $200 million, or 13%, compared to $1,513 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Activity and revenue across all geography-based operating segments increased during the year ended December 31, 2024, most notably in North and Latin America (NLA), ESSA and MENA. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 includes $88 million of revenue from the acquisition of Coretrax.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased by $99 million, or 40%, to $347 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $249 million for the prior year. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA is primarily attributable to higher revenue, including revenue from the Coretrax acquisition, and a more favorable activity mix. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 20% in 2024, up year-over-year from 16% in 2023.

1. A non-GAAP measure.

Full Year 2024 Financial Highlights (continued)

• Net income was $52 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, or $0.45 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $23 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted net income for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $111 million, or $ 0.96 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income for the year ended December 31, 2023, of $20 million, or $ 0.19 per diluted share.
• Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $169 million compared to $138 million for year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to an increase in Adjusted EBITDA and lower taxes paid during the year, partially offset by an increase in working capital and an increase in cash paid for severance and other expenses.

Michael Jardon, Chief Executive Officer, noted "We are pleased to report solid fourth quarter and full-year financial results, reflecting the continued strength of our business and the resilience of our team. Fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin of $100 million and 23%, respectively, represent our best quarterly performance since we completed the Expro/Frank's merger in the fourth quarter of 2021. Full-year 2024 Adjusted EBITDA margin, at 20%, was up approximately 400 basis points year-over-year and up approximately 800 basis points relative to combined results for legacy Expro and Frank's International over the four quarters prior to our completing the merger. Organic investment and a successful M&A strategy continue to enable margin expansion and improve relevancy to our customers. As a result, we should be well-positioned for the year ahead on a relative basis, and we remain optimistic about the outlook for our business over the next several years.

"We recently resolved outstanding variation orders related to our Congo production solutions project, allowing us to successfully close out the construction and commissioning phase of the project. Our customer also approved an adjustment to the contract rate for the multi-year operations and maintenance (O&M) phase of the project to incentivize higher through-put from the Expro-built onshore pre-treatment plant and our provision of additional services for the facility. Our customers continue to highlight their desire to optimize production from existing wells and assets and reduce their emissions, and the Congo project is an excellent example of how we enable our customers to achieve these objectives. I congratulate our team on developing and delivering a cost-competitive, differentiated solution for this important customer, and doing so within a very ambitious timeline. With 800 team members working onsite for over 22 months, we also achieved nearly 1.9 million man-hours without an HSE-related lost time incident. This is a significant milestone in which all my Expro colleagues can take pride.

"Expro continues to accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies to increase automation and drive demand for our services and solutions, which is reflected in fourth quarter contract wins totaling $314 million across product lines. Notable wins in our well construction business include tubular running services (TRS) and cementing solutions to support a multi-year, deepwater campaign on the Mexico side of the Gulf of America, valued at approximately $35 million, and for TRS, flowback and well clean up services for one of the largest gas fields in the Norwegian Continental Shelf, valued at more than $40 million. In our well intervention and integrity business, we were awarded muti-year contracts to provide plug and perforation solutions in Argentina, valued at more than $50 million. Finally, our Coretrax team successfully won a contract onshore Australia for casing remediation with the RelineMNS expandables solution, with an initial value of more than $10 million. We are encouraged by these positive trends, and we remain focused on executing our strategy to drive sustainable growth and long-term value for our stakeholders.

"We expect to make demonstrable progress in 2025 toward our medium-term target of mid-20s Adjusted EBITDA margin and a ten percent free cash flow margin, despite near-term headwinds attributed to whitespace in deepwater activity and a full-year, flattish revenue outlook. In the evolving macro environment, we are currently focused on executing our "Drive25" operating efficiency campaign, which combined with a continued positive shift in activity mix, will support further margin expansion. Drive25 is focused on standardizing practices across geo-markets, product lines and job functions, resulting in improved profitability and better operating leverage. A positive shift in activity mix will be supported by a full-year contribution and pull-through revenue opportunities from the acquired Coretrax business as well as improved margins from the Congo production solutions project as we shift to the O&M phase.

"For 2025, we currently anticipate full-year revenues to be stable to up modestly year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to improve over 100 bps year-on-year. Like prior years, first quarter revenue is expected to be down sequentially by approximately 15% and relatively flat year-on-year. The quarterly sequential decrease is largely due to Northern hemisphere seasonality and the non-repeat of subsea well access projects delivered in the fourth quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the first quarter of 2025 is expected to be sequentially lower by about 400 bps but up 50-100 bps year-on-year. We expect the traditionally softer first quarter to be followed by an activity rebound in the second quarter. The international and offshore markets should build momentum as the year progresses, and we continue to expect that several significant offshore projects will be sanctioned in late 2025 and throughout 2026. Fundamentally, the multi-year outlook for the services and solutions that Expro provides remains compelling."

Notable Awards and Achievements

In the fourth quarter, Expro signed a technology agreement with Petrobras for the development of a new non-intrusive flowmeter. This technology will provide flow rates and identify flow patterns, generating online and real-time data availability for control and monitoring of slug instabilities to increase efficiency and optimize production of wells. The key requirement in this technology development is the non-intrusive aspect of the clamp-on design, as well as the absence of any radioactive source.

In the NLA region, well construction market share in the Gulf of America remains robust having secured a three-rig, five-year contract for the development of a deepwater field. Our services and solutions will include TRS and cementing solutions, including our proprietary cure technologies.

Good business momentum continued in ESSA in the fourth quarter of 2024. In Ivory Coast, we successfully deployed iTONG™, the industry's most advanced tubular make-up solution that allows operators to complete an entire connection makeup with a single touch of the remote, digital control screen, significantly reducing operational risk and keeping personnel out of the red zone while ensuring connection integrity. While this is our first deployment of iTONG in West Africa, in previous campaigns, our operator customer came to value the technology and its ability to lower costs through improved efficiency. In particular, using AI-enabled technology, iTONG removes the human element of accepting or rejecting each joint makeup and continuously looks for way to improve efficiencies in real-time, reducing connection makeup times by 50% and saving approximately 15 hours of rig time per month.

In MENA, despite recently announced curtailment of offshore activities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Expro successfully displaced conventional plug manifolds through its first deployment of Blackhawk™ Wireless Plug Dropping Cement Head with SKYHOOK™ in the Arabian Gulf. Like iTONG, the system creates operational efficiencies while improving safety by removing personnel from the red zone (in particular, by eliminating the need to send personnel up the derrick). The technology enables cementing with full tensile, torque and pressure capacity, alongside increased pumping and displacement rates. This successful deployment has resulted in additional opportunities, including planned 2025 projects aimed at addressing well integrity and zonal isolation challenges across critical offshore wells.

Lastly, in APAC, Expro secured an approximate $6 million contract for the provision of upgrades to a client's platform topside to support incremental production over three years in Malaysia. The project includes establishing a permanent facility to increase the fields output to 30,000 barrels of oil per day by the third quarter of 2025.

Segment Results

Unless otherwise noted, the following discussion compares the quarterly results for the fourth quarter of 2024 to the results for the third quarter of 2024.

North and Latin America (NLA)

Revenue for NLA was approximately $139 million for both the three months ended December 31, 2024, and the three months ended September 30, 2024. There was a decrease in well construction revenue in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and in Coretrax revenue, mostly offset by an increase in well flow management revenue in the U.S. and Brazil.

Segment EBITDA for NLA was $30 million, or 22% of revenue, during the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $33 million, or 24% of revenue, during the three months ended September 30, 2024. The decrease of $3 million in Segment EBITDA was largely attributable to a seasonal reduction in activity on higher margin well construction projects in the Gulf of America during the three months ended December 31, 2024.

Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA)

Revenue for ESSA was $143 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $11 million, or 9%, compared to $131 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The increase in revenue was primarily driven by higher subsea well access revenue in Angola, partially offset by lower well flow management in the U.K., Norway and Denmark, and lower well construction revenue in Senegal and Angola.

Segment EBITDA for ESSA was $53 million, or 37% of revenue, for the three months ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $21 million, or 65%, compared to $32 million, or 24% of revenue, for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The increase in Segment EBITDA and Segment EBITDA margin was primarily attributable to higher subsea well access revenue in Angola and the resolution of certain variation orders on our Congo project (as discussed above).

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Revenue for MENA was $93 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $6 million, or 7%, compared to $87 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The increase in revenue was driven by higher well flow management services revenue in Algeria, Iraq and the KSA, partially offset by lower well intervention and integrity revenue in Qatar.

Segment EBITDA for MENA was $33 million, or 35% of revenue, for the three months ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $3 million, or 9%, compared to $30 million, or 35% of revenue, for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The increase in Segment EBITDA was primarily due to higher well flow management activity during the three months ended December 31, 2024.

Asia Pacific (APAC)

Revenue for APAC was $62 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $3 million, or 5%, compared to $65 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The decrease in revenue was primarily due to lower well flow management revenue in Malaysia and Australia and lower well intervention and integrity revenue in Brunei, partially offset by higher subsea well access revenue in China and India.

Segment EBITDA for APAC was $15 million, or 25% of revenue, for the three months ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $1 million compared to $16 million, or 25% of revenue, for the three months ended September 30, 2024.

Other Financial Information

The Company's capital expenditures totaled $44 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and approximately $144 million for the full year 2024. Expro plans for capital expenditures in the range of approximately $120 million to $130 million for 2025.

As of December 31, 2024, Expro's consolidated cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash, totaled $185 million. The Company had outstanding debt of $121 million as of December 31, 2024. The Company's total liquidity as of December 31, 2024 was $320 million. Total liquidity includes $136 million available for drawdowns as loans under the Company's revolving credit facility.

On December 12, 2024, the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") approved an extension to its stock repurchase program, pursuant to which the Company is authorized to acquire up to $100 million of its outstanding common stock from October 25, 2023 through November 24, 2025 (the "Stock Repurchase Program"). Under the Stock Repurchase Program, the Company may repurchase shares of the Company's common stock in open market purchases, in privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. The Stock Repurchase Program will continue to be utilized at management's discretion and in accordance with federal securities laws. The timing and actual numbers of shares repurchased will depend on a variety of factors including price, corporate requirements, and the constraints specified in the Stock Repurchase Program along with general business and market conditions. The Stock Repurchase Program does not obligate the Company to repurchase any particular amount of common stock, and it could be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we repurchased approximately 1.2 million shares in each year of our common stock under the Stock Repurchase Program for a total cost of approximately $14.2 million and $20.0 million, respectively.

Expro's provision for income taxes was $9 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 and $10 million for the prior quarter, the modest decrease reflects a less favorable mix of taxable profits between jurisdictions. The Company's effective tax rate on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") basis for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, also reflects liability for taxes in certain jurisdictions that tax on an other than pre-tax profits basis, including so-called "deemed profits" regimes.

The financial measures provided that are not presented in accordance with GAAP are defined and reconciled to their most directly comparable GAAP measures. Please see "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and the reconciliations to the nearest comparable GAAP measures.

Additionally, downloadable financials are available on the Investor section of www.expro.com.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss fourth quarter 2024 results on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time).

Participants may also join the conference call by dialing:

US: +1 (833) 470-1428 International: +1 (404) 975-4839 Access ID: 257167

To listen via live webcast, please visit the Investor section of www.expro.com.

The fourth quarter 2024 Investor Presentation is available on the Investor section of www.expro.com.

An audio replay of the webcast will be available on the Investor section of the Company's website approximately three hours after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for a period of two weeks.

To access the audio replay telephonically:

Dial-In: US +1 (866) 813-9403 or +1 (929) 458-6194 Access ID: 438374 Start Date: February 25, 2025, 1:00 p.m. CT End Date: March 11, 2025, 10:59 p.m. CT

A transcript of the conference call will be posted to the Investor relations section of the Company's website after the conclusion of the call.

ABOUT EXPRO

Working for clients across the entire well life cycle, Expro is a leading provider of energy services, offering cost-effective, innovative solutions and what the Company considers to be best-in-class safety and service quality. The Company's extensive portfolio of capabilities spans well construction, well flow management, subsea well access, and well intervention and integrity.

With roots dating to 1938, Expro has approximately 8,500 employees and provides services and solutions to leading energy companies in both onshore and offshore environments in approximately 60 countries.

For more information, please visit: www.expro.com and connect with Expro on X @ExproGroup and LinkedIn @Expro.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, forward-looking statements contained in this release include statements, estimates and projections regarding the Company's future business strategy and prospects for growth, cash flows and liquidity, financial strategy, budget, projections, guidance, operating results, environmental, social and governance goals, targets and initiatives, estimates and projections regarding the benefits of the Coretrax acquisition, and the Company's ability to achieve the anticipated synergies as a result of the Coretrax acquisition. These statements are based on certain assumptions made by the Company based on management's experience, expectations and perception of historical trends, current conditions, anticipated future developments and other factors believed to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable and are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these assumptions are accurate or that any of these expectations will be achieved (in full or at all) or will prove to have been correct. Moreover, such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. Such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include the amount, nature and timing of capital expenditures, the availability and terms of capital, the level of activity in the oil and gas industry, volatility of oil and gas prices, unique risks associated with offshore operations (including the ability to recover, and to the extent necessary, service and/or economically repair any equipment located on the seabed), political, economic and regulatory uncertainties in international operations, the ability to develop new technologies and products, the ability to protect intellectual property rights, the ability to employ and retain skilled and qualified workers, the level of competition in the Company's industry, global or national health concerns, including health epidemics, the possibility of a swift and material decline in global crude oil demand and crude oil prices for an uncertain period of time, future actions of foreign oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, inflationary pressures, international trade laws, tariffs, the impact of current and future laws, rulings, governmental regulations, accounting standards and statements, and related interpretations, and other guidance.

Such assumptions, risks and uncertainties also include the factors discussed or referenced in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 to be filed with the SEC, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports the Company files with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, historical practice or otherwise, except as required by applicable law, and we caution you not to rely on them unduly.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release and the accompanying schedules include the non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, contribution, contribution margin, support costs, adjusted net income (loss), and adjusted net income (loss) per diluted share, which may be used periodically by management when discussing financial results with investors and analysts. The accompanying schedules of this press release provide a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures are presented because management believes these metrics provide additional information relative to the performance of the business. These metrics are commonly employed by financial analysts and investors to evaluate the operating and financial performance of Expro from period to period and to compare such performance with the performance of other publicly traded companies within the industry. You should not consider Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, contribution, contribution margin, support costs, adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted net income (loss) per diluted share in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of Expro's results as reported under GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, contribution, contribution margin, support costs, adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted net income (loss) per diluted share may be defined differently by other companies in the industry, the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies, thereby diminishing their utility.

Expro defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted for (a) income tax expense, (b) depreciation and amortization expense, (c) severance and other expense, (d) merger and integration expense, (e) gain on disposal of assets, (f) other (income) expense, net, (g) stock-based compensation expense, (h) foreign exchange (gains) losses and (i) interest and finance (income) expense, net. Adjusted EBITDA margin reflects Adjusted EBITDA expressed as a percentage of total revenue.

Contribution is defined as total revenue less cost of revenue excluding depreciation and amortization expense, adjusted for indirect support costs and stock-based compensation expense included in cost of revenue. Contribution margin is defined as contribution divided by total revenue, expressed as a percentage. Support costs is defined as indirect costs attributable to supporting the activities of the operating segments, research and engineering expenses and product line management costs included in cost of revenue, excluding depreciation and amortization expense, and general and administrative expense, excluding depreciation and amortization expense, which represent costs of running the corporate head office and other central functions, including logistics, sales and marketing and health and safety, and does not include foreign exchange gains or losses and other non-routine expenses.

The Company defines adjusted net income (loss) as net income (loss) before merger and integration expense, severance and other expense, stock-based compensation expense, and gain on disposal of assets, adjusted for corresponding tax benefits of these items. The Company defines adjusted net income (loss) per diluted share as net income (loss) per diluted share before merger and integration expense, severance and other expense, stock-based compensation expense, and gain on disposal of assets, adjusted for corresponding tax benefits of these items, divided by diluted weighted average common shares.

Please see the accompanying financial tables for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures.