Frisco, TX, Aug. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- COMSTOCK RESOURCES, INC. REPORTS
SECOND QUARTER 2019 FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS

FRISCO, TEXAS, August 7, 2019 – Comstock Resources, Inc. ("Comstock" or the "Company") (NYSE: CRK) today reported financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2019.  On August 14, 2018, the Company completed transactions in which entities controlled by Dallas businessman Jerry Jones contributed Bakken Shale properties to the Company in exchange for a controlling interest in the Company (the "Jones Contribution") and the Company refinanced its long-term debt.  Results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2019 reflect the Jones Contribution, while results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2018 (the "Predecessor") reflect the historical results of Comstock for that period.  The Company's consolidated financial results are being presented with a blackline division which delineates the lack of comparability between amounts presented for these periods.

Financial Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2019

For the second quarter of 2019, Comstock reported net income of $21.4 million or $0.20 per diluted share as compared to a net loss of $34.0 million or $2.22 per share for the Predecessor second quarter of 2018.  The second quarter 2019 results included an unrealized gain from derivative financial instruments held to manage oil and gas price risks of $12.8 million and Covey Park merger related transaction costs of $1.4 million.  Excluding these items, the net income for the second quarter of 2019 would have been $12.7 million or $0.12 per diluted share. 

Comstock produced 40.9 billion cubic feet ("Bcf") of natural gas and 695,000 barrels of oil or 45.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent ("Bcfe") in the second quarter of 2019.  The Company's natural gas production averaged 450 million cubic feet ("MMcf") per day, an increase of 88% over natural gas production in the Predecessor second quarter of 2018 and 22% higher than the first quarter of 2019.  The growth in natural gas production was primarily attributable to Comstock's Haynesville shale drilling program.  Oil production in the second quarter of 2019, which averaged 7,628 barrels of oil per day, increased from the 990 barrels per day produced in the Predecessor second quarter of 2018 due to production from the Bakken Shale properties.  Oil production in the second quarter of 2018 was primarily attributable to the Company's Eagle Ford shale properties which were sold on April 30, 2018.

Comstock's average realized natural gas price, including hedging gains, decreased 13% to $2.29 per Mcf in the second quarter of 2019 as compared to $2.64 per Mcf realized in the Predecessor second quarter of 2018.  The Company's average realized oil price, including hedging gains, decreased by 9% to $52.12 per barrel in the second quarter of 2019 as compared to $57.56 per barrel in the Predecessor second quarter of 2018.  Oil and gas sales were $130.1 million (including realized hedging gains and losses) in the second quarter of 2019 as compared to the Predecessor 2018 second quarter sales of $62.6 million.  EBITDAX, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization, exploration expense and other noncash expenses, of $93.2 million in the second quarter of 2019 increased by 110% over EBITDAX of $44.3 million for the Predecessor second quarter of 2018.  The Company's operating cash flow generated in the second quarter of 2019 (before working capital changes and the merger related costs) of $66.3 million increased 151% over operating cash flow of $26.4 million in the Predecessor second quarter of 2018.