ITEM 1. CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

See accompanying notes to consolidated condensed financial statements.

 

* General and administrative expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 included non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $484,326 and $275,184 , respectively. For the corresponding six month periods, non-cash stock-based compensation expense was $971,810 and $586,872 , respectively.

 See accompanying notes to consolidated condensed financial statements.

 See accompanying notes to consolidated condensed financial statements.

  Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

Note 1 — Organization and Basis of Preparation

 

Nature of Operations.   Evolution Petroleum Corporation ("EPM"), together with its subsidiaries (the "Company", "we", "our" or "us"), is an independent petroleum company headquartered in Houston, Texas and incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada. We are engaged primarily in the development and production of oil and gas reserves.

 

Interim Financial Statements.   The accompanying unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the appropriate rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations.  All adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position and results of operations for the interim periods presented have been included. The interim financial information and notes hereto should be read in conjunction with the Company’s 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 , as filed with the SEC. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for a full fiscal year.

 

Principles of Consolidation and Reporting.   Our consolidated financial statements include the accounts of EPM and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The consolidated financial statements for the previous year may include certain reclassifications to conform to the current presentation. Any such reclassifications have no impact on previously reported net income or stockholders' equity.

 

Use of Estimates.  The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant estimates include (a) reserve quantities and estimated future cash flows associated with proved reserves, which significantly impact depreciation, depletion and amortization expense and potential impairments of oil and natural gas properties, (b) asset retirement obligations, (c) stock-based compensation, (d) fair values of derivative assets and liabilities, (e) income taxes and the valuation of deferred tax assets and (f) commitments and contingencies. We analyze our estimates based on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable. While we believe that our estimates and assumptions used in preparation of the consolidated financial statements are appropriate, actual results could differ from those estimates.

New Accounting Pronouncements.

In August 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update 2015-14, which defers the effective date of ASU 2014-09 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (" ASU 2014-09") by one year and allows entities the option to early adopt the new revenue standard as of the original effective date. Issued in May 2014, ASU 2014-09 provided guidance on revenue recognition on contracts with customers to transfer goods or services or on contracts for the transfer of nonfinancial assets. ASU 2014-09 requires that revenue recognition on contracts with customers depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. For public companies, ASU 2014-09 is now effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2017. The standard provides for either the full retrospective or modified retrospective transition methods. We expect to adopt this standard using the modified retrospective method. The Company expects that additional disclosures will be required as a result of adopting ASU 2014-09 and is currently assessing the impact of the guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities ("ASU 2016-01").  The pronouncement requires equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting, or those that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income, requires public business entities to use the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes, requires separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset, and eliminates the requirement for public business entities to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost. These changes become effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. The expected adoption method of ASU 2016-01 is being evaluated by the Company and the adoption is not expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations. 

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 , Leases (“ASU 2016-02”), which relates to the accounting for leasing transactions. This standard requires a lessee to record on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by leases with lease terms of more than twelve months. In addition, this standard requires both lessees and lessors to disclose certain key information about lease transactions. This standard will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years.  We are evaluating the impact the adoption of ASU 2016-02 will have on our consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (“ASU 2016-15”), which is intended to reduce diversity in practice in how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. The guidance addresses eight specific cash flow issues for which current GAAP is either unclear or does not include specific guidance. This standard will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years with early adoption permitted, provided that it is adopted in its entirety in the same period. Currently, the Company does not expect the impact of adopting ASU 2016-15 to have a material effect on its consolidated statements of cash flows.

Evolution Petroleum Corporation And Subsidiaries

  Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

Note 4 — Property and Equipment

 

As of December 31, 2017 and June 30, 2017 , our oil and natural gas properties and other property and equipment consisted of the following:

 

During the six months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , the Company incurred capital expenditures of $1.4 million and $6.5 million , respectively, in the Delhi field.

Note 5 — Other Assets

As of December 31, 2017 and June 30, 2017 , other assets consisted of the following:

Our royalty rights and investment in Well Lift, Inc. ("WLI") resulted from the separation of our artificial lift technology operations in December 2015. We conveyed our patents and other intellectual property to WLI and retained a 5% royalty on future gross revenues associated the technology. We own 17.5% of the common stock of WLI and account for our investment under the cost method. Any dividends paid are recorded as income and any return of capital reduces our cost basis in the investment. Our investment in WLI is evaluated for impairment at least quarterly or when management identifies any events or changes in circumstances that might have a significant adverse effect on the fair value of the investment. There is no published market value for this private investment, so it is not practicable to value it at fair market value on a periodic basis.

Evolution Petroleum Corporation And Subsidiaries

  Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

Note 6 — Accrued Liabilities and Other

 

As of December 31, 2017 and June 30, 2017 , our other current liabilities consisted of the following:

 

 

Note 8 — Stockholders’ Equity

  Common Stock

 

As of December 31, 2017 , we had 33,171,514 sh ares of common stock outstanding.

The Company began paying quarterly cash dividends on common stock in December 2013. We paid dividends of $4,969,335 and $3,801,962 to our common shareholders during the six months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. These dividend payments consisted of two quarterly dividends of $0.075 per share each during the six months ended December 31, 2017 and quarterly dividend payments of $0.05 and $0.065 per share during the six months ended December 31, 2016.

In May 2015, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program covering up to $5 million of the Company's common stock. Between June 2015 and December 2015, the Company spent $1,609,008 to repurchase 265,762 common shares at an average price of $6.05 per share. There have been no shares repurchased in the open market since December 2015. Under the program's terms, shares are repurchased only on the open market and in accordance with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such shares are initially recorded as treasury stock, then subsequently canceled. The timing and amount of repurchases depends upon several factors, including financial resources and market and business conditions. There is no fixed termination date for this repurchase program, and it may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

Evolution Petroleum Corporation And Subsidiaries

  Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

During the six months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , the Company acquired treasury stock from holders of newly vested stock-based awards to fund the recipients' payroll tax withholding obligations. The treasury shares were subsequently canceled. Such shares were valued at fair market value on the date of vesting, as reflected in the following table:

  Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock Called for Redemption

In September 2016, the Company announced the decision to redeem all 317,319 outstanding shares of its 8.5% Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock. The redemption occurred in November 2016 at the stated value of $25.00 per share plus all accumulated and unpaid distributions, for an aggregate redemption cost of $7,932,975 .

On September 30, 2016, in connection with the planned redemption, the Company recorded a deemed dividend of $1,002,440 , representing the difference between the redemption consideration paid and the historical net issuance proceeds of the preferred shares. Accordingly, net income was adjusted for this deemed dividend to determine net income attributable to common shareholders and earnings per common share.

Dividends on the Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock were paid at a fixed rate of 8.5% per annum on the $25.00 per share liquidation preference, payable monthly. During the six months ended December 31, 2016, we paid cash dividends of $250,990 to holders of our Series A Preferred Stock prior to the November 2016 redemption date.

Expected Tax Treatment of Dividends

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, all preferred and common dividends were treated for tax purposes as qualified dividend income to recipients. Based on our current projections for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, we expect all common dividends for such period to be treated as qualified dividend income. Such projections are based on our reasonable expectations as of December 31, 2017 and are subject to change based on our final tax calculations at the end of the fiscal year.

Note 9 — Stock-Based Incentive Plan

 

At the December 8, 2016 annual meeting, the stockholders approved the adoption of the Evolution Petroleum Corporation 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2016 Plan”), which replaced the Evolution Petroleum Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Plan (the "2004 Plan"). The 2016 Plan authorizes the issuance of 1,100,000 shares of common stock prior to its expiration on December 8, 2026. Incentives under the 2016 Plan may be granted to employees, directors and consultants of the Company in any one or a combination of the following forms: incentive stock options and non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards and restricted stock unit awards, performance share awards, performance cash awards, and other forms of incentives valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, our common stock, including its appreciation in value. As of December 31, 2017 , 987,845 shares remained available for grant under the 2016 Plan.

At December 8, 2016, there were no shares available for future grants under the 2004 Plan. All outstanding awards granted under the 2004 Plan continue to be subject to the terms and conditions as set forth in the agreements evidencing such awards and the terms of the 2004 Plan. Under these agreements, we have outstanding grants of restricted common stock awards ("Restricted Stock") and contingent restricted common stock awards ("Contingent Restricted Stock") to employees and directors of the Company.

Restricted Stock and Contingent Restricted Stock

The Company awards grants of both Restricted Stock and Contingent Restricted Stock as part of its long-term incentive plan. Such grants, which expire after a maximum of four years if unvested, contain service-based, performance-based and market-based vesting provisions. The common shares underlying the Restricted Stock grants are issued on the date of grant. Contingent Restricted Stock grants vest only upon the attainment of higher performance-based or market-based vesting

thresholds and are issued only upon vesting. Shares underlying Contingent Restricted Stock awards are reserved from the Plan they were granted under.

Service-based awards vest with continuous employment by the Company, generally in annual installments over a four-year period. Certain awards contain other vesting periods, including quarterly installments and one-year vesting. Restricted Stock grants which vest based on service are valued at the fair market value on the date of grant and amortized over the service period. During the six months ended December 31, 2017, we granted 112,155 service-based Restricted Stock awards, including 45,211 awards to employees and 66,944 awards to directors, substantially all of which have a one -year vesting period. We did not grant any performance-based or market based awards, nor any Contingent Restricted Stock awards, during this period.

Performance-based grants vest upon the attainment of earnings, revenue and other operational goals and require that the recipient remain an employee or director of the Company through the vesting date. The Company recognizes compensation expense for performance-based awards ratably over the expected vesting period based on the grant date fair value when it is deemed probable, for accounting purposes, that the performance criteria will be achieved. The expected vesting period may be deemed to be shorter than the four -year term. As of December 31, 2017 , certain contingent performance-based awards were not considered probable of vesting for accounting purposes and no compensation expense has been recognized with regard to these awards. If these awards are later determined to be probable of vesting, cumulative compensation expense would be recorded at that time and amortization would continue over the remaining expected vesting period.

Market-based awards vest if the three-year trailing total return on the Company’s common stock exceeds the corresponding total returns of various quartiles of indices consisting of either peer companies or a broad market index of companies in our industry. The fair values and expected vesting periods of these awards are determined using a Monte Carlo simulation based on the historical volatility of the Company's total return compared to the historical volatilities of the other companies in the index. Compensation expense for market-based awards is recognized over the expected vesting period using the straight-line method, so long as the holder remains an employee or director of the Company. Total compensation expense is based on the fair value of the awards at the date of grant and is independent of vesting or expiration of the awards, except for termination of service.

Unvested Restricted Stock awards at December 31, 2017 consisted of the following:

The following table sets forth the Restricted Stock transactions for the six months ended December 31, 2017 :

Evolution Petroleum Corporation And Subsidiaries

  Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

Unvested Contingent Restricted Stock awards at December 31, 2017 consisted of the following:

The following table sets forth Contingent Restricted Stock transactions for the six months ended December 31, 2017 :

(1) Excludes $115,665 of potential future compensation expense for contingent performance-based awards for which vesting is not considered probable at this time for accounting purposes.

Stock-based compensation expense related to Restricted Stock and Contingent Restricted Stock grants for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $484,326 and $275,184 , respectively. For the corresponding six month periods, non-cash stock compensation expense was $971,810 and $586,872 , respectively.

Note 10 — Derivatives

From time to time, the Company may use derivative instruments to reduce its exposure to crude oil price volatility of its near-term forecasted production. The Company's objectives are to achieve a more predictable level of cash flows to support the Company’s capital expenditure programs and to provide better financial visibility for the payment of dividends on common stock. The Company may use both fixed price swap agreements and costless collars to manage its exposure to crude oil and other commodity price risk. While these derivative instruments are intended to limit the downside risk of adverse price movements, they may also limit future revenues from favorable price movements. The Company does not intend to enter into derivative instruments for speculative or trading purposes.

The Company accounts for derivatives under the provisions of ASC 815 Derivatives and Hedgin g ("ASC 815") under which the Company records the fair value of the instruments on the balance sheet at each reporting date, with changes in fair value recognized in other non-operating income and expense. Given the cost and complexity, the Company has elected not to use cash flow hedge accounting provided under ASC 815. Under cash flow hedge accounting, a portion of the change in fair value of the derivative instruments, if effective in hedging the underlying commodity risk, would be deferred in other comprehensive income and recognized in earnings only when the underlying hedged item impacts earnings.

These derivative instruments can result in both fair value asset and liability positions held with each counterparty. These positions are offset to a single net fair value asset or liability at the end of each reporting period. The Company nets its fair value amounts of derivative instruments executed with the same counterparty pursuant to ISDA master agreements, which provide for net settlement over the term of the contract and in the event of default or termination of the contract. As of June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2017 , the Company had no derivative asset or liability positions.

The Company monitors the credit rating of its counterparties and believes it does not have significant credit risk. Accordingly, we do not currently require our counterparties to post collateral to support the net asset positions of our derivative instruments. As such, the Company is exposed to credit risk to the extent of nonperformance by the counterparties to its derivative instruments.

For the six months ended December 31, 2017 , the Company had no gains or losses from derivatives. For the six months ended December 31, 2016 , the Company recorded a loss on derivative instruments of $14,042 consisting of a realized gain of $90 on settled positions and an unrealized net loss of $14,132 .

Note 11 — Income Taxes

We file a consolidated federal income tax return in the United States and various combined and separate filings in several state and local jurisdictions.

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation under the title of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("Tax Act"). The Tax Act includes a permanent reduction in our federal corporate income tax rate from 34% to 21% . It also provides more favorable tax deductions associated with capital investments and other significant changes to tax law. The Tax Act became effective upon passage, so our statutory rate for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2018 is a blended rate of 27.55% . The permanent reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate resulted in a one-time non-cash income tax benefit of approximately $6.0 million related to the adjustment of our liability for deferred income taxes to the lower rate in the Tax Act. The accounting for the effects of the rate change on the Company’s deferred tax balances is complete and no provisional amounts were recorded.

Income taxes are recorded in our financial statements based on our estimated annual effective income tax rate. The effective rates used in the calculation of our income tax expense were approximately 20% and 35% for the six months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. After adjustment for the $6.0 million discrete benefit resulting from the revaluation of our deferred income tax liabilities, the effective rate for the six months ended December 31, 2017 was a tax benefit of (63)% of income before income taxes.

Our effective tax rate will typically differ from the statutory federal rate as a result of state income taxes, primarily in the State of Louisiana, and differences related to percentage depletion in excess of basis, stock-based compensation and other permanent differences. The effective tax rate for the six months ended December 31, 2017 was significantly lower than the statutory federal rate as a result of percentage depletion in excess of basis and the tax effects of stock-based compensation, partially offset by state income taxes net of the federal benefit. Our quarterly income tax provisions are based on our reasonable estimates of income taxes payable at the end of the year. These estimates and our estimated interim effective tax rates may change significantly as additional financial results and amounts of capital spending become available during the year. In particular, our estimates of the utilization of excess percentage depletion, which is limited to 65% of actual taxable income, are subject to greater fluctuations between interim periods than other components of our tax provision.

There were neither unrecognized tax benefits nor any accrued interest or penalties associated with unrecognized tax benefits during any periods presented in the financial statements. We believe we have appropriate support for the income tax positions taken and to be taken on our tax returns and that the accruals for tax liabilities are adequate for all open years based on our assessment of various factors including past experience and interpretations of tax law applied to the facts of each matter. The Company’s federal and state income tax returns are open to audit under the statute of limitations for the years ended June 30, 2014 through June 30, 2017 for federal tax purposes and for the years ended June 30, 2013 through June 30, 2017 for state tax purposes. To the extent we utilize net operating losses generated in earlier years, such earlier years may also be subject to audit.

Evolution Petroleum Corporation And Subsidiaries

  Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

Note 12 — Net Income Per Share

 

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted income per share:

 

Outstanding potentially dilutive securities as of December 31, 2017 were as follows:

 

Outstanding potentially dilutive securities as of December 31, 2016 were as follows:

Note 13 — Senior Secured Credit Agreement

On April 11, 2016, the Company entered into a three -year, senior secured reserve-based credit facility ("Facility") in an amount up to $50 million . The Facility replaces the Company's previous unsecured credit facility which expired in April 2016. The borrowing base under the Facility has been set at $10 million and was subsequently increased to $40 million effective February 1, 2018. As of December 31, 2017 , the Company was in compliance with all covenants contained in the Facility, and no amounts were outstanding under the Facility.

Borrowings from the Facility may be used for the acquisition and development of oil and gas properties and for letters of credit and other general corporate purposes. Availability of borrowings under the Facility is subject to semi-annual borrowing base redeterminations.

The Facility included a placement fee of 0.50% on the initial borrowing base, amounting to $50,000 , and carries a commitment fee of 0.25% per annum on the undrawn portion of the borrowing base. Any borrowings under the Facility will bear interest, at the Company’s option, at either LIBOR plus 2.75% or the Prime Rate, as defined, plus 1.00% . The Facility contains financial covenants including a requirement that the Company maintain, as of the last day of each fiscal quarter, (a) a maximum total leverage ratio of not more than 3.00 to 1.00, (b) a debt service coverage ratio of not less than 1.10 to 1.00, and (c) a consolidated tangible net worth of not less than $40 million , all as defined under the Facility.

In connection with this agreement, the Company incurred $168,972 of debt issuance costs. Such costs were capitalized in Other Assets and are being amortized to expense. The unamortized balance in debt issuance costs related to the Facility was $70,334 as of December 31, 2017 .

Note 14 — Commitments and Contingencies

 

We are subject to various claims and contingencies in the normal course of business. In addition, from time to time, we receive communications from government or regulatory agencies concerning investigations or allegations of noncompliance with laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which we operate. At a minimum we disclose such matters if we believe it is reasonably possible that a future event or events will confirm a loss through impairment of an asset or the incurrence of a liability. We accrue a loss if we believe it is probable that a future event or events will confirm a loss and we can reasonably estimate such loss and we do not accrue future legal costs related to that loss. Furthermore, we will disclose any matter that is unasserted if we consider it probable that a claim will be asserted and there is a reasonable possibility that the outcome will be unfavorable. We expense legal defense costs as they are incurred.

On December 3, 2013, our wholly owned subsidiary, NGS Sub Corp., was served with a lawsuit filed in the 8th Judicial District Court of Winn Parish, Louisiana by Cecil M. Brooks and Brandon Hawkins, residents of Louisiana, alleging that in 2006 a former subsidiary of NGS Sub Corp. improperly disposed of water from an off-lease well into a well located on the plaintiffs’ lands in Winn Parish. The plaintiffs requested monetary damages and other relief. The plaintiffs subsequently filed an amended petition joining the Company as defendants in its capacity as parent company of NGS Sub Corp. NGS Sub Corp. divested its ownership of the property in question along with its ownership of the subsidiary in 2008 to a third party. NGS Sub Corp. and the Company have denied the plaintiffs’ claims. The district court dismissed the claim of Mr. Brooks against NGS Sub Corp. and the Company because Mr. Brooks purchased the land where the well is located subsequent to the divestiture of the property by NGS Sub Corp. The claim of Mr. Hawkins is still being defended. A bench trial is currently scheduled for March 2018. We will continue to vigorously defend the claims and based on the input of our legal counsel, we consider the likelihood of a loss in this matter that is material to the financial position of the Company to be remote.

Lease Commitments.   We have a non-cancelable operating lease for office space that expires on May 31, 2019. Future minimum lease commitments as of December 31, 2017 under this operating lease are as follows: 

 

Rent expense for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $19,198 and $18,569 , respectively. Rent expense for the six months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $39,049 and $53,425 , respectively.