from newfoil on SH board:
Ithaca - strong Q4 momentum
I was pleasantly surprised by its Q3 operations update. Despite field shutdowns lasting 2-6 weeks during the quarter, it still met its 12K bpd forecast. With all fields now producing (including Ythan), I sense that Ithaca is now hitting its stride with overall current production as high as 14,000bpd. With most of its 2015 capex done, I think mgt is being ultraconservative in forecasting its year-end debt level as unchanged from Q3 at $750MM especially if oil prices stay near current levels. One should also note that starting this month thru June 2017 Ithaca will derive financial benefit from its 5,000 boe/d gas put hedges at 63p/therm (~$10 MMbtu) irrespective of its gas production. These hedges are strongly "in-the-money" with current uk natural gas spot price at around 42p/therm. More cashflow irregardless of where oil prices go from here. All in all ... I believe mgt has done a great job with these oil & gas hedges to protect/deleverage the business even during this low oil price environment. IAE is performing materially better than most of its industry peers and we should expect its share price will trend higher (from analyst upgrades) in the coming months as we draw closer to Stella first oil. The last thing I want is an hostile bid right now... knowing that in 8-12 months it could be producing 25,000 - 30,000bpd at $60-$70 per barrel.
http://www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/t.iae/ithaca-energy-inc?postid=24169856