Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2024 Financial and Operating Results; Provides 2025 Guidance

"Looking forward, we see continued strength in the market. We believe our organic growth rate leads the industry and we are taking market share. This was made possible by the hard work of our service technicians and field service team, our leading compressor technology, and strong partnerships with our customers. We expect 2025 will be another year of significant growth in new large horsepower units and we have already signed material new unit contracts for 2026. We are excited for the future and believe we are well positioned to continue to increase shareholder value.”

Corporate Guidance - 2025 Outlook

 In November 2024, the Company noted it expected 2024 Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $67 - $69 million, total growth capital expenditures for the year to be in the range of $65 - $75 million, and total maintenance expenditures for the year to be in the range of $8 - $11 million. For the full year 2024, the Company reported Adjusted EBITDA of $69.5 million, growth capital expenditures of $60.5 million and maintenance capital expenditures of $11.4 million. Additionally, as of December 31, 2024, rented horsepower stood at 491,756, representing year-over-year growth of 17%.

The Company today provides the following commentary regarding its financial expectations for the 2025 Fiscal Year. For the year ending December 31, 2025, the Company expects growth capital expenditures, which are mostly comprised of new units (essentially all of which are under contract), to be in the range of $95 - $120 million. Once all these units are deployed with customers, which is expected by early 2026, the Company expects its rented horsepower to increase by approximately 90,000 horsepower, which represents an increase of approximately 18% versus year-end 2024. The timing of unit deployments is very heavily weighted to the second half of 2025 and early 2026. Accordingly, the majority of the impact of 2024 and 2025 growth capital expenditures will start to be reflected in Adjusted EBITDA in the second half of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.

Based on the timing of contractual orders and deployments in 2025, the Company expects 2025 Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $74 - $78 million, which at the mid-point of the range, represents a 9% increase over 2024. This range is reflective of the timing of anticipated unit deployments.

The Company further notes that once all the 2025 growth capital expenditures are spent and the units are deployed, its "run rate” Adjusted EBITDA should increase at a rate (when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024) well in excess of the Company's anticipated horsepower growth of 18% as noted above. The Company expects 2025 maintenance capital expenditures of $10 - $13 million and its targeted return on invested capital of at least 20% remains unchanged.

2024 Fourth Quarter Financial Results

Revenue: Total revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2024 increased 12% to $40.7 million from $36.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023. This increase was due primarily to an increase in rental revenues. Rental revenue increased 21% to $38.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 from $31.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 due to the addition of higher horsepower packages and pricing improvements. As of December 31, 2024, we had 491,756 horsepower (1,208 rented units) compared to 420,432 horsepower (1,247 rented units) as of December 31, 2023, reflecting a 17% increase in total utilized horsepower. Sequentially, total revenue was essentially flat for the comparable periods, primarily related to lower sales revenue offset by an increase in rental revenue.

Gross Margins: Total gross margins, including depreciation expense increased to $14.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $13.3 million for the same period in 2023 and decreased from $14.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. Total adjusted gross margin, exclusive of depreciation expense, for the three months ended December 31, 2024, increased to $23.0 million compared to $20.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023, and $22.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024.  For a reconciliation of Gross Margin, see Non-GAAP Financial Measures - Adjusted Gross Margin, below.

Operating Income: Operating income for the three months ended December 31, 2024 was $6.0 million compared to operating income of $4.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and operating income of $9.5 million, during the third quarter of 2024.

Net Income: Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was $2.9 million, or $0.23 per diluted share compared to net income of $1.7 million or $0.14 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2023, and $5.0 million or $0.40 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2024. The increase in net income year-over-year was primarily related to higher rental revenue and rental gross margin, while the sequential decline was primarily related to the inventory allowance and decrease in sales gross profit related to the closure of our Midland fabrication operations, the intangible asset impairment, an increase in stock-based compensation, and an increase in depreciation.

Cash Flows: At December 31, 2024, cash and cash equivalents were approximately $2.1 million, while working capital was $30.8 million. For the twelve months of 2024, cash flows provided by operating activities were $66.5 million, while cash flows used in investing activities was $71.4 million. This compares to cash flows provided by operating activities of $18.0 million and cash flows used in investing activities of $153.9 million for the comparable twelve-month period in 2023. Cash flow used in investing activities during 2024 included $71.9 million in capital expenditures.

Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA increased 11% to $18.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, from $16.3 million for the same period in 2023. This increase was primarily attributable to higher rental revenue and rental adjusted gross margin. Sequentially, adjusted EBITDA declined by 1% when compared to $18.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024.

Debt: Outstanding debt on our revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2024 was $170 million. Our leverage ratio at December 31, 2024 was 2.36x and our fixed charge coverage ratio was 2.44x. The Company is in compliance with all terms, conditions and covenants of the credit agreement.

Selected data: The tables below show revenue by product line, gross margin and adjusted gross margin for the trailing five quarters. Adjusted gross margin is the difference between revenue and cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation.

(1) For a reconciliation of adjusted gross margin to its most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance GAAP, please read "Non-GAAP Financial Measures - Adjusted Gross Margin” below.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure - Adjusted Gross Margin: "Adjusted Gross Margin” is defined as total revenue less costs of revenues (excluding depreciation and amortization expense). Adjusted gross margin is included as a supplemental disclosure because it is a primary measure used by our management as it represents the results of revenue and costs (excluding depreciation and amortization expense), which are key components of our operations. Adjusted gross margin differs from gross margin, in that gross margin includes depreciation and amortization expense. We believe Adjusted gross margin is important because it focuses on the current operating performance of our operations and excludes the impact of the prior historical costs of the assets acquired or constructed that are utilized in those operations. Depreciation and amortization expense does not accurately reflect the costs required to maintain and replenish the operational usage of our assets and therefore may not portray the costs from current operating activity. Rather, depreciation and amortization expense reflect the systematic allocation of historical property and equipment costs over their estimated useful lives.

Adjusted gross margin has certain material limitations associated with its use as compared to gross margin. These limitations are primarily due to the exclusion of depreciation and amortization expense, which is material to our results of operations. Because we use capital assets, depreciation and amortization expense is a necessary element of our costs and our ability to generate revenue. In order to compensate for these limitations, management uses this non-GAAP measure as a supplemental measure to other GAAP results to provide a more complete understanding of our performance. As an indicator of our operating performance, Adjusted gross margin should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, gross margin as determined in accordance with GAAP. Our Adjusted gross margin may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure of another company because other entities may not calculate Adjusted gross margin in the same manner.

The following table calculates our gross margin, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, and reconciles it to Adjusted gross margin for the periods presented:

Non-GAAP Financial Measures - Adjusted EBITDA: "Adjusted EBITDA” reflects net income or loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash equity-classified stock-based compensation expense, non-recurring restructuring charges including severance expenses, impairments, increases in inventory allowance and retirement of rental equipment. Adjusted EBITDA is a measure used by management, analysts and investors as an indicator of operating cash flow since it excludes the impact of movements in working capital items, non-cash charges and financing costs. Therefore, Adjusted EBITDA gives the investor information as to the cash generated from the operations of a business. However, Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under accounting principles GAAP, and should not be considered a substitute for other financial measures of performance. Adjusted EBITDA as calculated by NGS may not be comparable to Adjusted EBITDA as calculated and reported by other companies. The most comparable GAAP measure to Adjusted EBITDA is net income (loss).

The following tables reconciles our net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented: