Core Laboratories Inc (CLB) News

JUST IN: $CLB Why Core Laboratories Stock Jumped 7% at the Open Today

Shares of digitally focused energy services provider Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB) rose 7% out of the gate on Nov. 16. The stock was holding on to most of that gain at 11 a.m. EST, too, as it was still up about 6% or so. Why? The easy answer here is that oil prices were on the rise ...

Got this from CLB - Why Core Laboratories Stock Jumped 7% at the Open Today

CLB 4Q19 CC transcript:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/edited-transcript-clb-earnings-conference-213613531.html

CLB’s incoming CEO* bought $100K of stock on the open market yesterday:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1000229/000120919120006188/xslF345X03/doc4.xml

*Incoming CEO, Lawrence Bruno takes over on 5/20/20; he is currently the COO.

CLB’s CEO is retiring, which is consistent with my musings on buyout vig in #msg-153050277.

From the 4Q19 PR: David Demshur, after more than 25 years as Core Lab’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, a tenure rarely achieved in any industry, is announcing his plans to retire effective 31 December 2020. Mr. Demshur will transition from the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on 20 May 2020, coinciding with Core Lab’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. Mr. Demshur will not seek re-nomination to the Company’s Supervisory Board of Directors in 2020. I’m not clear on what Demshur’s role will be between 5/21/20 and 12/31/20.

CLB 4Q19 results/1Q20 guidance:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1000229/000156459020002491/clb-ex991_6.htm

4Q19 revenue was $156.8M, -9% YoY and -9% QoQ, slightly above CLB’s revised guidance of $154-156M issued on 12/30/19 (#msg-153049893).

4Q19 GAAP EPS ex-items was $0.38, -21% YoY and -24% QoQ, consistent with CLB’s revised guidance of $0.37-0.38 issued on 12/30.19.

1Q20 guidance is for revenue of $159-164M (+1% to +5% QoQ) and GAAP EPS of $0.39-0.41 (+3% to +8% QoQ).

So, the good news, such as it is, is that 1Q20 should be a little better than 4Q19. The stock is essentially flat in AH trading.

CLB 2Q19 results/3Q19 outlook:

https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=150119013

CLB 4Q18 CC transcript:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/edited-transcript-clb-earnings-conference-213518760.html

CLB 4Q18 results/1Q19 guidance:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1000229/000100022919000018/exhibit99-1_pressreleaseq4.htm Core Lab anticipates a slowing in further project announcements until confidence in the balance of global crude-oil markets is restored. Core believes there will be a positive correction to the temporary oversupply of crude oil by the end of the first quarter 2019, which should encourage additional FID approvals for projects announced in 2018.

…Therefore, Core expects consolidated first quarter 2019 revenue of approximately $164,000,000 to $168,000,000 and operating income of approximately $26,000,000 to $27,000,000, yielding operating margins of 16%. EPS for the first quarter of 2019 is expected to be approximately $0.42 to $0.45. 4Q18 revenue was $173.2M (+2% YoY, -5% QoQ). 4Q18 non-GAAP EPS was $0.48. The first calendar quarter is seasonally slower than the fourth quarter, so the above 1Q19 guidance is broadly consistent with the 4Q18 results.

CC tomorrow at 8:30am ET.

News: $CLB Core Lab Announces Q1 2019 Quarterly Dividend

AMSTERDAM , Jan. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Supervisory Directors of Core Laboratories N.V. (NYSE: "CLB US" and Euronext Amsterdam Exchange: "CLB NA") has announced a cash dividend of $0.55 per share of common stock payable in the first quarter of 2019. This first quarte...

In case you are interested https://marketwirenews.com/news-releases/core-lab-announces-q1-2019-quarterly-dividend-6861352.html

CLB reports 3Q18 results/4Q18 outlook—note that CLB already downgraded expectations in a webcast on 10/4/18 (#msg-144073152):

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1000229/000100022918000115/clb-2018q3_exhibit99x1xpre.htm

CC tomorrow at 8:30am ET.

Transcript of prepared answers at investment panel today:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1000229/000100022918000110/exhibit991qa.htm

CLB 2Q18 CC transcript:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/edited-transcript-clb-earnings-conference-170845162.html

Transcript of CLB 1Q18 CC:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/edited-transcript-clb-earnings-conference-195016822.html

CLB 1Q18 results: #msg-140316681.

CLB reports 4Q17 results—forecasts 38% growth in 1Q18:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1000229/000100022918000020/exhibit99-1_pressreleaseq4.htm

CLB reports 3Q17 results: #msg-135632793.

CLB reports 2Q17 results: #msg-133261322.

David Einhorn's Short Thesis on CLB

Great summary of Einhorn's SOHN Conf Presentation

Core Laboratories (CLB)

@ $113.43/share, $5B market cap and $5.2B enterprise value
Oilfield service business that helps energy companies analyze their reservoirs and increase their oil and gas recovery
Two segments: Reservoir Description and Production Enhancement
Reservoir Description: asset-light, lab-based business that analyzes reservoir rocks and fluids (71% of Revenue and 89% of EBIT in 2016)
Considered the technological leader in the field
Major oil companies rely on Core for analysis of their most complex reservoirs, where Core has earned a reputation for being best in class
Revenues and margins have been fairly stable because it specializes in multi-year projects, especially offshore and deepwater
Production Enhancement: provides tools and services related to well completion and production (29% of Revenue and 11% of EBIT in 2016)
Business sells perforating guns and charges primarily to frackers and offer well diagnostic services to E&P companies
Guns and charges are a competitive market in which Core competes against Titan, Schlumbuerger, and others
2/3+ of this segment’s revenue comes from products rather than services which makes this segment a typical commodity price-sensitive OFS
Valuation

On consensus estimates, stock trades at 35x next year’s earnings and nearly 29x 2019 estimates
Trades at a massive premium to its OFS peers – more than twice the multiple of prior peak earnings
Two reasons bulls give to justify CLB’s valuation are Core’s seemingly secular growth and its industry-leading ROIC
Core is a non-capital-intensive business; analytically, the ROIC in a non-capital-intensive business is irrelevant because you can’t reinvest your profits to grow your earnings at the stated ROIC
Core could have twice as much lab equipment without gaining any new customers – it is flawed to value the stock based on its “industry leading ROIC”
As for the secular growth, think this is a misunderstanding that dates back to 2009 and still persists today
Last cycle: when oil price briefly collapsed in 2008, revenue of most OFS companies collapsed along with it; Core’s revenue fell too but only barely and much less than others in the industry; Core managed to maintain sales and even grow margins and subsequently, revenues and margins continued to climb
Core’s stability through the down-cycle followed by growth in the recovery gave the false impression that Core is a secular growth company
Analysts began hyping the company as a secular growth story generally immune to oil price volatility and investors agreed and re-rated Core to a non-cyclical growth stock multiple
Analysts were so convinced that at year-end 2014 after oil prices had already been cut in half, still projected that Core could maintain earnings through the downturn
Analysts and their projections were wrong – a 74% decline in earnings over 2 years should have made analysts and investors reconsider the narrative but they have not; they continue to value the company as a secular grower
Right place, right time?

In reality, Core is a cyclical business whose particular product suite was less affected by the 2009 downturn than other companies in the industry
Like all OFS businesses, Core has two primary revenue drivers: price of oil and end markets where investment dollars are being spent
Reading the annual reports, Core happens to be steeped in the hottest parts of the energy market in any given year
2007: “Core will continue to emphasize execution of its time-proven strategies to produce additional growth internationally and in the natural resource plays of North America, which includes the Canadian oil sands, as well as tight-gas sand and gas-shale reservoirs”
2009: “Over the past seven years, we have focused on international crude oil developments to capitalize on our peak-oil theory… The Company has focused on international development and production-related crude oil projects almost to the exclusion of more cyclical, exploration-related activities”
2011: “Our continued focus on international crude-oil-related developments and unconventional oil from shale reservoirs enabled Core’s earnings per share growth to outpace almost all energy-related entities and industrial companies”
2012: “The Company’s laser focus on international crude oil related developments, especially those located in deepwater, continue to serve our shareholders well… Core Laboratories will continue to laser focus its attention on worldwide deepwater developments, and that will position us very well for success and growth over the next decade”
2013: “The Company’s laser focus on crude-oil developments, especially those in the deepwater and unconventional tight-oil plays that are primarily in shale reservoirs, continue to serve our shareholders well, as over 80% of Core’s revenue is now derived from oil-related projects. This percentage is likely to continue to grow as development of unconventional tight-oil shale reservoirs gain traction, not only in North America, but in the UK, Russia, North Africa, the Middle East, China, and Australia, among other places”
2014-2015: “Our continued focus on worldwide crude oil related and large natural gas liquefaction projects, especially those related to the development of deepwater fields off West and East Africa, the eastern Mediterranean region and increased activity in the Gulf of Mexico”
Reading Core’s annual reports is like opening a time capsule preserving the history of energy market hype

CLB reports 4Q16 results—sees 1H17 market bottom for deepwater and ex-US activity:

#msg-128144789

Guggenheim downgraded CLB today. Fundamentals support stock's rating:

Valuation

CLB presentation at Johnson Rice conference tomorrow: #msg-125284098.

CLB reports 3Q15 results/4Q15 guidance: #msg-117892269.

I agree but it will rebound with grace when the market turns in my opinion.

CLB was a monster stock, growing 8-fold from the 2008 to the 2014 high (including reinvested dividends). It's a fine company, but I doubt that another run like that will ever happen.

Looks a lot better now. I feel this will become on of the really big growth stocks as the rebound in crude begins.

CLB managed to close down only 3.3%. Please see #msg-117337130 and #msg-117346545 for related info.

Core Labs (CLB -8.5%) sinks after filing an investor update with presentation details; while CLB still anticipates the worldwide crude oil markets balancing in early 2016 and a V-shaped recovery in operating activities to follow, the company says it will continue to right size its cost basis for current activity levels.

But CLB says it now sees a weakening environment in Q3 industry activity, but no change to its Q3 EPS guidance, and now projects a significant decrease in Q4 operating activities, especially in North American shale plays due to E&P budget constraints and lower free cash flow levels for E&P companies due to low commodity prices.

CLB says "the slowing activity level is anticipated to be significant, so the company is currently reducing cost levels to maintain operating margins and returns on invested capital going into 2016."

CLB forecasts weak 4Q15: #msg-117335355.

Hey guys, I'm thinking about purchasing a small position here in CLB. Can somebody give me the downlow on this stock?

CLB 2Q15 CC notes: #msg-115635443.

CLB reports 2Q15 results: #msg-115614707.

CLB’s UBS webcast on 3/18/15 was a good listen, IMO:

https://event.webcasts.com/viewer/event.jsp?ei=1059132
http://www.corelab.com/investors/webcast

Two independent directors made open-market purchases of $250-300K each in February at prices of $95-102:

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1000229/000100022915000030/xslF345X03/wf-form4_142299751492720.xml
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1000229/000100022915000028/xslF345X03/wf-form4_142291110967610.xml

Sorry for the late reply. Service businesses will get hit hard 1H but it will make for a great entry.

CLB increases dividend 10% to annualized rate of $2.10/sh: #msg-109848687.

Musings on CLB’s sell-off today: #msg-107469836.

CLB reports 3Q14 results: #msg-107449167.

It stops when oil prices stabilize.

I'm wondering when it stops...

Wondering if this is a buying opportunity now? Hmmm...

Third recent insider buy ($75K by independent dirctor):

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1000229/000100022914000097/xslF345X03/wf-form4_140718272279686.xml

The protracted 2Q14-related sell-off may finally be over.

Small open-market purchase by CLB director: #msg-104864845.

CLB’s CFO bought $1M worth of stock on the open market today: #msg-104746277.

Crunching the 2Q14 and full-year numbers: #msg-104703454.

Morningstar thinks CLB sell-off was overdone: #msg-103619396.

CLB hammered on lowered 2Q14 and full-year guidance: #msg-101873399.

CLB misses 1Q14 guidance and lowers full-year 2014 guidance; weather blamed:

#msg-101014003

Morningstar gushes about CLB: #msg-99021953.

CLB posts record 4Q13 (+3% in AH trading): #msg-96549970.