You are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Our actual results, performance, or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. We can give no assurance that any of the events anticipated will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what benefits we will derive from them. The forward-looking information contained in this document is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Our policy for updating forward-looking statements is to update our key operating assumptions quarterly and, except as required by law, we do not undertake to update any other forward-looking statements.
You are further cautioned that the preparation of financial statements in accordance with IFRS requires management to make certain judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. These estimates may change, having either a positive or negative effect on net income, as further information becomes available and as the economic environment changes.
Conversion of Natural Gas To Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE)
To provide a single unit of production for analytical purposes, natural gas production and reserves volumes are converted mathematically to equivalent barrels of oil (boe). We use the industry-accepted standard conversion of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one barrel of oil (6 Mcf = 1 bbl). The 6:1 boe ratio is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip. It does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead and is not based on either energy content or current prices. While the boe ratio is useful for comparative measures and observing trends, it does not accurately reflect individual product values and might be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. As well, given that the value ratio, based on the current price of crude oil to natural gas, is significantly different from the 6:1 energy equivalency ratio, using a 6:1 conversion ratio may be misleading as an indication of value.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Within this news release, references are made to terms commonly used as key performance indicators in the oil and gas industry, such as operating income, netback, funds from operations, funds from operations per share, finding, development and acquisition (FD&A) costs, recycle ratio, and net asset value. We believe that these measures are useful supplemental measures for management and investors to analyze operating performance, financial leverage, and liquidity, and we use these terms to facilitate the understanding and comparability of our results of operations and financial position. However, these terms do not have any standardized meanings prescribed by GAAP and therefore may not be comparable with the calculations of similar measures for other entities.
Operating income, which is calculated as gross revenue less royalties and operating expenses, represents the cash margin for product sold. Operating netback, which is calculated as average unit sales price less royalties and operating expenses, represents the cash margin for product sold, calculated on a per boe basis
Funds from operations is a financial term commonly used in the oil and gas industry. It is a key measure of our ability to generate cash, finance operations, and pay monthly dividends. Funds from operations as presented is not intended to represent operating cash flow or operating profits for the period nor should it be viewed as an alternative to net income or other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with GAAP. We define funds from operations as net income adjusted for non-cash depletion and depreciation, share based and other compensation, deferred tax expense/recovery, accretion of asset retirement obligation, and management fee, and further adjusted for expenditures on reclamation. We consider funds from operations to be a key measure of operating performance as it demonstrates Freehold's ability to generate the necessary funds to fund capital expenditures and repay debt. We believe that such a measure provides a better assessment of Freehold's operations on a continuing basis by eliminating certain non-cash charges. From a business perspective, the most directly comparable measure of funds from operations calculated in accordance with GAAP is net income. Funds from operations per share is calculated based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding consistent with the calculation of net income per share. A reconciliation of funds from operations to net income is provided below.
Reconciliation of Net Income to Funds from Operations Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended December 31 December 31 ------------------------------------------------ 2012 2011 2012 2011----------------------------------------------------------------------------Net income 13,431 16,033 46,328 55,259Adjust for non-cash items: Depletion and depreciation 16,372 13,603 64,576 49,251 Share based and other compensation 999 1,268 (1,512) (250) Deferred income tax (recovery) (425) 6,443 (9,175) 20,470 Accretion of asset retirement obligation 107 83 381 344 Management fee 1,072 857 3,808 3,401Adjust for cash item: Expenditures on reclamation (81) (42) (524) (245)----------------------------------------------------------------------------Funds from operations 31,475 38,245 103,882 128,230 Per share 0.48 0.63 1.60 2.14--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, we refer to various per boe figures, such as revenues and costs, operating netback, FD&A costs, and NAV, also considered non-GAAP financial measures, which provide meaningful information on our operational performance. We derive per boe figures by dividing the relevant revenue or cost figure by the total volume of oil and gas production during the period, with natural gas converted to equivalent barrels of oil as described above.
Availability on SEDAR
Freehold's 2012 audited financial statements and accompanying Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) are being filed today with Canadian securities regulators and will be available at www.sedar.com and on our website at www.freeholdroyalties.com. Our Annual Information Form (including reserves disclosure required under National Instrument NI 51-101) is expected to be filed next week.
Contacts:
Freehold Royalties Ltd.
Karen Taylor
Manager, Investor Relations and Corporate Secretary
403.221.0891 or Toll Free: 1.888.257.1873
403.221.0888 (FAX)
ktaylor@rife.com
www.freeholdroyalties.com
