Feb 26, 2016 3 min read

Low commodity prices throughout 2015 spelled a big loss for Range Resources last year.

The oil and gas exploration and drilling company reported after the close of Wednesday’s stock market a net loss of $321.8 million, or $1.93 per share during the fourth quarter of 2015 plummeting from a profit of $284 million, or $1.68 per share, for the comparable period of 2014.

For the full year, Range, which focuses on unconventional shale in the Appalachian Basin,

lost $713.7 million, or $4.29 per share. That contrasted with 2014, when Range had a profit of $634.4 million, or $3.79 per share.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based company, which has its regional headquarters in Southpointe, also announced a reduced capital budget for 2016. The $495 million spending plan represents a 45 percent reduction from 2015 and a 69 percent reduction from its 2014 outlay. It focuses exclusively on the company’s work Marcellus Shale play, where it remains a leading producer of natural gas and natural gas liquids.

Despite the down year just completed, Range Chief Executive Officer Jeff Ventura commented that the company is weathering the storm of low commodity prices.

“Range continued to perform well operationally during the fourth quarter, despite the challenges from declining commodity prices. We will continue to focus on reducing costs, high-grading our operations and staying disciplined financially,” Ventura said in a statement.

During a Friday morning conference call, Ventura noted that the company reduced unit costs by 15 percent during the fourth quarter compared to the prior year quarter.

The company said it achieved record annual average daily production of 1.4 billion cubic feet, and realized a 15 percent reduction in fourth quarter unit costs, or 46 cents per mcfe compared to the prior year quarter.

But a full year of falling prices for its products resulted in some serious belt-tightening.

Ventura said Friday the company reduced employees by nearly one-third — 31 percent — and has its central Oklahoma properties for sale. It also said it has reached an agreement to sell the interest it has in its Bradford County Marcellus properties — 11,000 acres — for $112 million.

The company also completed the sale of its assets in Virginia’s Nora Shale play, using the proceeds of $865 million to reduce its debt at year-end.

Ventura added that the company currently has $53 billion in liquidity with no bond issues due until 2021.

In the near-term, Ventura said Range is hoping to up its income with its planned shipments of ethane and propane on the Mariner East Pipeline, which is in its final phase of commissioning.

“Although we cannot be certain when prices will recover, we believe Range’s relative netbacks will continue to improve with Mariner East, Uniontown to Gas City and other projects that move products to new markets,” he said. “With our high quality, low-cost asset base, Range is well-positioned to not only persevere, but add shareholder value in 2016.”

The company also reduced its dividend to shareholders by 50 percent, from 4 cents per share to 2 cents.