ChampionX Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Results

Revenue of $706.1 million in Q4’20Net income attributable to ChampionX of $7.4 million in Q4’20; adjusted net income of $14.3 millionAdjusted EBITDA of $108.6 million in Q4’20Cash from operating activities of $120.6 million and free cash flow of $107.6 million (15% of revenue) in Q4’20; free cash flow of $115.5 million (16% of revenue) excluding acquisition-related expensesRepaid $79.8 million of debt in Q4’20
THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Feb. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ChampionX Corporation (“ChampionX”) (NASDAQ: CHX) (“the Company”) today announced fourth quarter of 2020 results, our second full quarter following the June 3, 2020 combination of the Company with the legacy ChampionX business, and our full year 2020 results.For the fourth quarter of 2020, revenue was $706.1 million, net income attributable to ChampionX was $7.4 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $108.6 million. Income before income taxes margin was 2.7%, and adjusted EBITDA margin was 15.4%. Cash provided by operating activities was $120.6 million, an increase of $9.2 million sequentially, and free cash flow was $107.6 million.Results on a pro forma basis for ChampionX for prior periods are provided supplementary to the actual results of the Company and represent results on a full-year basis as if legacy ChampionX was combined with the Company for the entire period. For additional information on the pro forma results see the tables included in this release.ⁱCEO Commentary“We are proud of how remarkably well our organization performed in the fourth quarter and during the course of 2020 as we completed our successful transformational merger with ChampionX and demonstrated the resiliency of our portfolio against the backdrop of the global pandemic and one of the most challenging periods in the history of the energy industry. I am grateful to all of our employees for their dedication and commitment to improving the lives of our customers and communities, and we remain committed to taking all necessary steps to protect the health and safety of our employees,“ ChampionX’s President and Chief Executive Officer Sivasankaran “Soma” Somasundaram said.“During the fourth quarter, which marked just our second full quarter as a new company, we delivered adjusted EBITDA of $109 million, which represented a sequential increase of 25%. Benefiting both from the recovery of the 2020 downturn and seasonal tailwinds, we generated fourth quarter revenue of $706 million, which increased 11% sequentially, with both our North American and international revenues posting double-digit sequential growth during the period.“We once again demonstrated the strong positive free cash flow profile of our Company as we generated free cash flow of $108 million in the fourth quarter and we further strengthened our balance sheet by repaying $80 million of debt during the quarter. We ended the quarter with $551 million of liquidity, including $201 million of cash and $350 million of available capacity on our revolver. We remain focused on our free cash flow generation and we intend to continue paying down debt this year.“Our team continues to execute well on our merger integration plans and we still anticipate fully capturing our increased targeted cost synergies of $125 million within 24 months of the merger closing.“As we look to the first quarter, we expect seasonal declines in our international operations, partially offset by anticipated continued positive momentum in our shorter-cycle North American land-oriented businesses. We anticipate some near-term cost pressures as oilfield activity levels normalize versus the pandemic-induced trough levels of last year, but we expect year-over-year margin improvement as we exit 2021. We are currently assessing the first quarter impact of the severe winter storms in major oil producing basins, so our guidance does not include the impact of extreme weather challenges experienced in February. Excluding winter storm impacts, on a consolidated basis, in the first quarter we expect revenue to be between $650 million and $700 million, and we expect adjusted EBITDA of $90 million to $100 million.“We are excited about the prospects for our Company as this year unfolds and we believe that our disciplined operating model, differentiated products and technology, robust free cash flow, and production-oriented portfolio, combined with our strong and motivated team, will enable us to be a long-term winner in the energy transition.”ChampionX Actual ResultsChampionX consolidated actual results in the fourth quarter and third quarter of 2020 include results of operations of the legacy Apergy businesses and results from legacy ChampionX for the entire period. Fourth quarter 2019 results represent results of operations of the legacy Apergy businesses.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, consolidated revenue increased $72.6 million, or 11%, sequentially, due to the continued recovery from the pandemic-induced downturn, as well as seasonal improvements internationally. Sequentially, international revenue increased 12% and North America revenue increased 11%. Fourth quarter 2020 consolidated revenue includes $46.2 million of chemical sales to Ecolab Inc. as compared to $49.5 million in the third quarter. As part of the Merger, the Company entered into a Cross Supply and Product Transfer Agreement with Ecolab in which certain products will be manufactured by one party for the other and sold at cost over a period of no longer than three years from the merger date. Revenue associated with these sales is reported in Corporate and Other within our financial statements.In the fourth quarter of 2020, consolidated net income attributable to ChampionX was $7.4 million, and adjusted net income was $14.3 million. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $108.6 million, which increased $21.8 million, sequentially, or 25%, due to higher volumes.Production Chemical Technologies – Actual ResultsIn the fourth quarter of 2020, Production Chemical Technologies revenue increased $36.5 million, or 9%, sequentially, due to strong Latin America orders, continued recovery in our North America business, and higher seasonal international volumes. Sequentially, international revenue increased 12% and North America revenue increased 5%.In the fourth quarter of 2020, segment operating profit was $49.2 million. Segment adjusted EBITDA was $77.9 million, which increased $6.4 million, sequentially, or 9%, primarily due to higher volume.Production & Automation Technologies – Actual ResultsIn the fourth quarter of 2020, Production & Automation Technologies revenue increased $21.9 million, or 16%, sequentially, due to higher volumes as E&P capital spending continued to recover from the rapid reduction experienced earlier in 2020. Sequentially, North America revenue increased 21% and international revenue decreased 3%. Production & Automation Technologies revenue decreased $44.8 million, or 22%, year-over-year, due to lower volumes driven by the decline in worldwide E&P capital spending.
Revenue from digital products was $21.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, an increase of $3.0 million, or 16%, compared to $18.9 million in the third quarter of 2020.In the fourth quarter of 2020, segment operating loss was $4.7 million. Segment adjusted EBITDA was $29.3 million, which increased $4.4 million sequentially, or 17%, primarily due to higher volume. Segment adjusted EBITDA decreased $6.3 million, or 18%, year-over-year, due to lower volumes, partially offset by cost reduction actions.Drilling Technologies – Actual ResultsIn the fourth quarter of 2020, Drilling Technologies revenue increased by $7.9 million, or 50%, sequentially, driven primarily by the increase in U.S. land drilling activity and customer restocking of polycrystalline diamond cutter inventories. Drilling Technologies revenue decreased $20.6 million, or 47%, year-over-year, driven by the significant decline in worldwide drilling activity and customer destocking of polycrystalline diamond cutter inventories.
Diamond bearings revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020 was $2.2 million, up $0.2 million, or 10%, sequentially.In the fourth quarter of 2020, segment operating profit was $0.2 million, and segment adjusted EBITDA was $2.5 million. Sequentially, segment adjusted EBITDA increased by $5.3 million, due to higher volumes. Year-over-year, segment adjusted EBITDA decreased by $8.9 million, or 78%, as a result of lower volumes, partially offset by cost reduction actions.Sequentially, the average worldwide and U.S. rig counts increased 3% and 22%, respectively. On a year-over-year basis, the average worldwide and U.S. rig counts declined 49% and 62%, respectively.Reservoir Chemical Technologies – Actual ResultsIn the fourth quarter of 2020, Reservoir Chemical Technologies revenue increased by $9.7 million, or 45%, sequentially, driven by the increase in global land well construction and completion activity.In the fourth quarter of 2020, segment operating profit was $0.4 million, and segment adjusted EBITDA was $2.2 million. Sequentially, segment adjusted EBITDA increased by $3.6 million, due to higher volumes.Other Business HighlightsChampionX improved lives in 2020, as we achieved our best safety performance ever in both number of injuries (50% reduction) and severity (30% reduction in lost time injury rate).In our recently concluded global employee engagement survey, ChampionX had a 71% global participation rate from our employees.Production Chemical Technologies was awarded two significant contracts in West Africa with two different global energy companies.Production & Automation Technologies experienced increased customer adoption of our PowerFit motors for ESP applications.Within our Production & Automation Technologies segment, we are seeing early momentum and revenue uplift from Better Together joint sales efforts, including recent wins in the Permian and Latin America regions.Our Digital team signed a global software agreement with an integrated energy company for the use of our XSPOC artificial lift optimization software.During the fourth quarter of 2020, more than 70% of Drilling Technologies revenue was generated from products that were less than three years old.Reservoir Chemical Technologies won incremental work with leading U.S. E&P operators, advancing our direct sales model.ChampionX is on plan to complete remediation of 2019 material weaknesses in internal controls as of December 31, 2020.In developing its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework and roadmap, ChampionX initiated an ESG priorities assessment project.Conference Call DetailsChampionX will host a conference call on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, to discuss its fourth quarter 2020 financial results. The call will begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Presentation materials that supplement the conference call are available on ChampionX’s website at investors.championx.com.To listen to the call via a live webcast, please visit ChampionX’s website at investor.championx.com. The call will also be available by dialing 1-888-424-8151 in the United States and Canada or 1-847-585-4422 for international calls. Please call approximately 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and reference ChampionX conference call number 9069100.A replay of the conference call will be available on ChampionX’s website or at https://onlineexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=3A0F2ACA-3289-48AB-A8E5-87CAB1888BF68&LangLocaleID=1033. Enter passcode 50078440.Results on a Pro Forma BasisOn June 3, 2020, Apergy Corporation closed on the acquisition of ChampionX Holding, Inc. (“the Transaction”) and assumed the name ChampionX Corporation (“ChampionX”). Actual results reflect the respective contributions from each company based on the close of the Transaction. For comparative purposes, management has also presented herein certain unaudited pro forma financial information as if the Transaction was completed on January 1, 2019, including results on a pro forma basis for revenue, income (loss) before income taxes, income (loss) before income taxes margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, segment revenue, segment operating profit (loss), adjusted segment EBITDA, and adjusted segment EBITDA margin for the quarterly periods ended December 31, 2020, September 30, 2020, and December 31, 2019, and for the full year periods ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019. The financial results on a pro forma basis are provided to assist investors in assessing ChampionX’s performance on a basis that includes the combined results of operations of both Apergy Corporation and ChampionX Holding, Inc. for the full reporting period. ChampionX management believes this unaudited pro forma historical financial information helps investors understand the long-term profitability trends of its newly combined business giving effect to the Transaction and facilitates comparisons of our profitability to prior and future periods and to our peers. The historical financial results on a pro forma basis herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.About Non-GAAP MeasuresIn addition to financial results determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), this news release presents non-GAAP financial measures. Management believes that adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted segment EBITDA, adjusted segment EBITDA margin, adjusted net income attributable to ChampionX, adjusted diluted earnings per share attributable to ChampionX, pro forma adjusted EBITDA, pro forma adjusted EBITDA margin, pro forma segment revenue, pro forma segment operating profit (loss), and pro forma adjusted segment EBITDA reflect the core operating results of our businesses and help facilitate comparisons of operating performance across periods. In addition, free cash flow and free cash flow to revenue ratio are used by management to measure our ability to generate positive cash flow for debt reduction and to support our strategic objectives, while adjusted working capital provides a meaningful measure of operational results by showing changes caused by revenue or our operational initiatives. The foregoing non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the comparable GAAP measures is included in the accompanying financial tables.This press release also contains certain forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA. Due to the forward-looking nature of the aforementioned non-GAAP financial measure, management cannot reliably or reasonably predict certain of the necessary components of the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measures, such as net income. Accordingly, we are unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of such forward looking non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures. Amounts excluded from these non-GAAP measures in future periods could be significant. Management believes the aforementioned non-GAAP financial measures are good tools for internal use and the investment community in evaluating ChampionX’s overall financial performance.About ChampionXChampionX (formerly known as Apergy Corporation) is a global leader in chemistry solutions and highly engineered equipment and technologies that help companies drill for and produce oil and gas safely and efficiently around the world. ChampionX’s products provide efficient functioning throughout the lifecycle of a well with a focus on the production phase of wells.To learn more about ChampionX, visit our website at www.championX.com.Forward-Looking StatementsThis news release contains statements relating to future actions and results, which are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements relate to, among other things, ChampionX’s market position and growth opportunities.  Forward-looking statements include, statements related to ChampionX’s expectations regarding the performance of the business, financial results, liquidity and capital resources of ChampionX. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, changes in economic, competitive, strategic, technological, tax, regulatory or other factors that affect the operation of ChampionX’s businesses. You are encouraged to refer to the documents that ChampionX files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the “Risk Factors” in ChampionX’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2020, and in ChampionX’s other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on ChampionX’s forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day they are made and ChampionX undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by applicable law.        Investor Contact: Byron Pope
[email protected]
281-602-0094Media Contact: John Breed
[email protected]
281-403-5751
ⁱ Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to ChampionX, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted segment EBITDA, adjusted segment EBITDA margin, pro forma revenue, pro forma adjusted EBITDA, pro forma adjusted EBITDA margin, pro forma adjusted segment EBITDA, pro forma adjusted segment EBITDA margin, free cash flow, and free cash flow to revenue are non-GAAP measures. See section titled “About Non-GAAP Measures” included herein for details on the non-GAAP measures used in this release.

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (LOSS)
(UNAUDITED)

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED)

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
BUSINESS SEGMENT DATA
(UNAUDITED)

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(UNAUDITED)_______________________
^{(1)  Includes charges for goodwill and long-lived asset impairments of $657.3 million in our Production & Automation Technologies segment during the year ended December 31, 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we incurred an impairment loss of $1.7 million related to the classification of our pressure vessel manufacturing business as held for sale.
(2) Dover Separation and supplemental benefit costs primarily relates to separation costs, and to a lesser extent, enhanced or supplemental benefits provided to employees no longer participating in Dover Corporation benefit and compensation plans. During the year ended December 31, 2019, pursuant to the provisions of the tax matters agreement with Dover Corporation, we recognized approximately $3.4 million of tax indemnification expense. This was settled and paid during the three months ended June 30, 2020.
(3)  Includes costs incurred in relation to business combinations, primarily related to the Merger of legacy ChampionX of $0.9 million and $61.8 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2020, respectively. Additionally, we incurred professional fees related to the integration of legacy ChampionX of $4.9 million and $23.0 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2020, respectively.
(4)  Includes revenue associated with the amortization of a liability established as part of the Merger, representing unfavorable terms under the Cross Supply Agreement with Ecolab. This is partially offset by incremental expense related to the step-up of inventory value resulting from the purchase accounting entries.
(5)  Includes professional fees related to the remediation of material weaknesses identified during 2019 as well as professional fees incurred in connection with the goodwill impairment charge recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2020.
(6) We generally tax effect adjustments using a combined federal and state statutory income tax rate of approximately 23 percent.}



Free Cash Flow

ChampionX is providing the below unaudited supplemental historical financial information of the Company on a non-GAAP adjusted basis for the three months ended December 31, 2020, September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 and the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 as if the Merger was completed on January 1, 2019, to assist investors in assessing ChampionX’s historical performance on a basis that includes the combined results of operations of both legacy Apergy Corporation and legacy ChampionX. The unaudited pro forma historical financial information has been prepared by ChampionX using assumptions that ChampionX believes provide a reasonable basis for presenting the combination of the historical financial information of legacy Apergy and legacy ChampionX. As legacy ChampionX historically was unable to allocate certain charges on a segment basis, we have determined an allocation methodology for historical pro forma information to provide additional comparability amongst the legacy ChampionX segments. ChampionX management believes this unaudited supplemental historical financial information helps investors understand the long-term profitability trends of its newly combined business giving effect to the Merger and facilitates comparisons of our profitability to prior and future periods and to our peers. The supplemental unaudited financial information herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The supplemental unaudited pro forma combined financial information does not purport to represent what the actual results of operations or the financial position of the combined company would have been had the Transactions occurred on the dates assumed, nor are they indicative of future results of operations or financial position of the combined company.

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
PRO FORMA BUSINESS SEGMENT DATA
(UNAUDITED)

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
PRO FORMA – RECONCILIATION GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(UNAUDITED)

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES TO PRO FORMA FINANCIAL MEASURES
(UNAUDITED)



_______________________
^{(1)  Includes the impact of the historical legacy ChampionX business on a stand-alone basis adjusted to give effect to the Merger under the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 805, Business Combinations (“ASC 805”). The adjustments were prepared on the same basis as the adjustments included in our Registration Statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-236379) and include a decrease in amortization and depreciation resulting from the preliminary purchase price adjustments, an increase in interest expense associated with the new term loan facility, removal of acquisition and integration related costs attributable to the Merger as well as the tax impact of those adjustments.}

Wall St Business News, Latest and Up-to-date Business Stories from Newsmakers of Tomorrow