41% Increase in Rental Revenue and 18% Increase in Total Revenue for the Year Ended December 31, 2008
28% Increase in EBITDA for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2008
30% Increase Operating Income for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2008
MIDLAND, Texas, March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: NGS), a leading provider of equipment and services to the natural gas industry, announces its financial results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2008.
Natural Gas Services Group Inc. Financial Results:
Revenue: Our total revenue increased from $19.5 million to $22.0 million, or 13%, for the three months ended December 31, 2008, compared to the same period ended December 31, 2007. This increase was primarily the result of a 47% growth in rental revenue. Total revenues for the comparable twelve months increased 18%, to $85.3 million which was mainly the result of 41% growth in our rental revenue.
Operating income: We increased our operating income from $5.0 million to $6.5 million, or 30%, for the three months ended December 31, 2008, compared to the same period ended December 31, 2007. This was a total increase from $18.6 million to $24.6 million, or 32%, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008 compared to the same period ended December 31, 2007. Operating income primarily grew from the increase in rental revenue which generates higher margins. Additionally, operating income was positively affected by greater efficiencies in our field service operations and by an increase in our rental rates.
Net income: Our net income for the three months ended December 31, 2008, increased 9% to $3.9 million, as compared to net income of $3.6 million for the same period in 2007. Net income for the twelve months of 2008 increased 27% to $15.6 million, when compared to net income of $12.3 million for the same period in 2007. This increase was mainly the result of increased operating income and lower interest expense on bank debt.
Earnings per share: Our earnings per diluted share was $0.33 for the three months ending December 31, 2008 as compared to $0.30 for the same 2007 period, a 10% increase. Comparing the twelve months of 2007 versus 2008, our earnings per diluted share grew from $1.01 to $1.28, or 27%.
EBITDA: We increased EBITDA (see discussion of EBITDA at the end of this release) 28% to $9.3 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008, versus $7.3 million for the same period in 2007. EBITDA increased 28% to $34.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 versus $27.4 million for the same period ended December 31, 2007.
Rental fleet: As of December 31, 2008, we had 1,730 natural gas compressors in our rental fleet totaling approximately 217,085 horsepower, as compared to 1,353 natural gas compressors totaling approximately 160,733 horsepower at December 31, 2007. As of December 31, 2008, we had 1,469 natural gas compressors rented compared to 1,194 at December 31, 2007. The average monthly rental rate per unit increased to approximately $2,900 for December 2008 compared to approximately $2,300 for December 2007. This increase resulted from the addition of higher than average horsepower units to our rental fleet, corresponding higher rental rates and a general price increase in August, 2008.
Cash flow: At December 31, 2008, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $1.1 million, working capital of $31.1 million and total debt of $17.0 million, of which approximately $3.4 million was classified as current. We had positive net cash flow from operating activities of approximately $28.3 million during 2008.
Selected data: The table below shows our revenues, percentage of total revenues, gross margin, exclusive of depreciation, and gross margin percentage of each of our segments for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007.
