Turnaround Year At Williams As Investors See Fourth Quarter, Annual Growth At Williams

By Jack MoneyBusiness writer money@oklahoman.comTULSA — Williams announced this week it delivered significant growth in value to its investors year-over-year through its natural gas-focused business model. In the final quarter of 2019, the company posted a net income of $138 million, or 11 cents per share, on an operational cash flow of $991 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of about $1.3 billion. “Williams achieved yet another year of record results in 2019, once again delivering impressive year-over-year growth and exceeding guidance midpoints in our key financial metrics while dramatically reducing capital expenditures,” Alan Armstrong, the company’s CEO, stated as part of this week’s announcement. In the final quarter of 2018, it reported a net loss of $572 million, or 47 cents per share, on an operational cash flow of $962 million and EBITDA of about $1.2 billion. For 2019, the company reported a net income of $862 million, or 71 cents per share, on an operational cash flow of about $3.7 billion and EBITDA of about $5 billion. In 2018, it reported a net loss of $156 million, or 16 cents per share, on an operational cash flow of about $3.3 billion and EBITDA of about $4.7 billion. “These results were underpinned by our strong operations — we set records for both gathered volumes and firm reserved transportation capacity, and our safety metrics continue to improve," Armstrong said. “We also generated cash in excess of dividends and capital expenditures, reflecting the combined impact of strong business performance, capital discipline and our ongoing portfolio optimization efforts.” Armstrong said the company continues to believe that natural gas will continue to be a cornerstone fuel in helping the nation meet its energy needs during the 21st century. Armstrong added 2019’s results generate confidence that the company will be able to fully fund 2020 forecast dividends of $1.60 a share and capital expenditures using internally generated cash flow. "Williams remains extremely well-positioned to capture long-term sustainable growth with our natural gas focused strategy,” he said. Read more on NewsOK.com