Gulfport Energy Reports Record Second Quarter 2007 Results

OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug. 14, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Gulfport Energy Corporation (Nasdaq:GPOR) today reported financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2007.

For the second quarter of 2007, Gulfport reported net income of $9.6 million on revenues of $25.0 million, or $0.26 per diluted share. Net income increased 31% compared to the first quarter of 2007 and 36% compared to the second quarter of 2006.

EBITDA (as defined below) for the second quarter of 2007 was $17.0 million, an increase of 64% from the second quarter of 2006 due to increased production levels. Cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital was $16.6 million, an increase of 62% versus the same period last year.

Production and Operational Highlights

Net production was 370,000 barrels of oil and 155.4 million cubic feet of natural gas or 395,900 barrels of oil equivalent for the second quarter of 2007. Realized price, which includes transportation, for the quarter was $63.88 per barrel of oil and $8.91 per MCF of natural gas or total equivalent of $63.20 per barrel.

In the second quarter, Gulfport drilled 11 wells in southern Louisiana. The company drilled seven wells at the West Cote Blanche Bay field with six productive wells and one well is awaiting completion. The company drilled four wells at the Hackberry field with one well producing, two wells are in the process of initial completion and one well is awaiting completion. The company also performed 19 recompletions, all at the West Cote Blanche Bay field.

At the Hackberry field, as previously disclosed in May 2007, the 2007 No. 7 well logged 123 feet of apparent net pay in the shallow section of the well. The well was drilled deeper to a total depth of approximately 11,000 feet and logged an additional 174 feet of apparent net pay from the Camerina formation, totaling 297 feet of apparent net pay for the well.

Canada

Gulfport owns a 25% interest in Grizzly Oil Sands ULC, which recently increased total leasehold acreage in Canada to approximately 451,000 gross acres. Grizzly plans further assessment of their acreage in the winter 2007-08 drilling season and intends to drill between 100 and 120 core holes. An updated presentation on Grizzly is available on their new website at grizzlyoilsands.com.

Conference Call

Gulfport will host a conference call today at 1:00 p.m. Central time to discuss its second quarter 2007 financial and operational results. Interested parties may listen to the call via Gulfport's website at www.gulfportenergy.com or by calling 1-866-713-8562. International callers please dial 617-597-5310. The passcode for the conference call is 40343335. A replay of the call will be available for two weeks at 1-888-286-8010 or internationally at 617-801-6888. The replay passcode is 19064688. The webcast will be archived for 30 days on the company's website.

About Gulfport

Gulfport Energy Corporation is an Oklahoma City based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company with its principal producing properties located along the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Gulfport, through a joint venture known as Grizzly Oil Sands ULC, has a sizable acreage position in the Alberta oil sands in Canada and has drilled core samples to further evaluate the acreage. In addition, Gulfport has an indirect interest in the producing Phu Horm gas field in Thailand.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that Gulfport expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as future capital expenditures (including the amount and nature thereof), business strategy and measures to implement strategy, competitive strength, goals, expansion and growth of Gulfport's business and operations, plans, references to future success, reference to intentions as to future matters and other such matters are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Gulfport in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will conform with Gulfport's expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, general economic, market or business conditions; the opportunities (or lack thereof) that may be presented to and pursued by Gulfport; competitive actions by other oil and gas companies; changes in laws or regulations; and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Gulfport. Information concerning these and other factors can be found in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Forms 10-KSB, 10-QSB and 8-K. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and there can be no assurances that the actual results or developments anticipated by Gulfport will be realized, or even if realized, that they will have the expected consequences to or effects on Gulfport, its business or operations. We have no intention, and disclaim any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future results or otherwise.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure equal to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, plus interest expense, income tax expense, accretion expense and depreciation, depletion and amortization. Cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital is a non-GAAP financial measure equal to cash flows from operating activities before changes in working capital. The Company has presented EBITDA because it uses EBITDA as an integral part of its internal reporting to measure its performance and to evaluate the performance of its senior management. EBITDA is considered an important indicator of the operational strength of the Company's business. EBITDA eliminates the uneven effect of considerable amounts of non-cash depletion, depreciation of tangible assets and amortization of certain intangible assets. A limitation of this measure, however, is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in the Company's businesses. Management evaluates the costs of such tangible and intangible assets and the impact of related impairments through other financial measures, such as capital expenditures, investment spending and return on capital. Therefore, the Company believes that EBITDA provides useful information to its investors regarding its performance and overall results of operations. EBITDA and cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital are not intended to be performance measures that should be regarded as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, either net income as an indicator of operating performance or to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. In addition, EBITDA and cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital are not intended to represent funds available for dividends, reinvestment or other discretionary uses, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. The EBITDA and cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital measures presented in this press release may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies, and may not be identical to corresponding measures used in the Company's various agreements.


                     GULFPORT ENERGY CORPORATION
                CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                             (Unaudited)

                    Three Months Ended            Six Months Ended
                         June 30,                    June 30,
                 -------------------------   -------------------------
                    2007          2006          2007          2006
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------
 Revenues:
   Gas sales     $ 1,385,000   $   504,000   $ 2,493,000   $ 1,047,000
   Oil and
    condensate
    sales         23,634,000    13,845,000    42,888,000    17,751,000
   Other income
    (expense)        (10,000)       11,000         9,000        17,000
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------

                  25,009,000    14,360,000    45,390,000    18,815,000
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------

 Costs and
  expenses:
   Lease
    operating
    expenses       3,942,000     2,255,000     7,119,000     3,606,000
   Production
    taxes          3,025,000     1,921,000     5,470,000     2,486,000
   Depreciation,
    depletion, and
    amortization   6,613,000     2,743,000    12,283,000     3,736,000
   General and
    administrative 1,154,000       513,000     2,235,000     1,514,000
   Accretion
    expense          139,000       149,000       277,000       298,000
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------

                  14,873,000     7,581,000    27,384,000    11,640,000
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------

 INCOME FROM
  OPERATIONS:     10,136,000     6,779,000    18,006,000     7,175,000
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------

 OTHER (INCOME)
  EXPENSE:

   Interest
    expense          685,000       397,000     1,325,000       668,000
   Business
    interruption
    insurance
    recoveries            --      (614,000)           --    (3,269,000)
   Interest income  (119,000)      (63,000)     (229,000)     (111,000)
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------

                     566,000      (280,000)    1,096,000    (2,712,000)
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------
 INCOME BEFORE
  INCOME TAXES     9,570,000     7,059,000    16,910,000     9,887,000


 INCOME TAX
  EXPENSE:                --            --        53,000            --
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------


 NET INCOME      $ 9,570,000   $ 7,059,000   $16,857,000   $ 9,887,000
                 ===========   ===========   ===========   ===========

 NET INCOME PER
  COMMON SHARE:

   Basic         $      0.27   $      0.22   $      0.48   $      0.31
                 ===========   ===========   ===========   ===========

   Diluted       $      0.26   $      0.21   $      0.47   $      0.29
                 ===========   ===========   ===========   ===========

   Basic
    weighted
    average
    shares
    outstanding   35,891,902    32,636,144    35,221,924    32,408,098

   Diluted
    weighted
    average
    shares
    outstanding   36,592,348    33,858,619    35,885,714    33,634,212


                     Gulfport Energy Corporation
                Reconcilation of EBITDA and Cash Flow
                             (unaudited)

                     Three Months Ended          Six Months Ended
                   June 30,      June 30,      June 30,      June 30,
                    2007          2006          2007          2006
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------

 Net Income      $ 9,570,000   $ 7,059,000   $16,857,000   $ 9,887,000
 Interest
  expense            685,000       397,000     1,325,000       668,000
 Income tax
  expense                 --            --        53,000            --
 Accretion
  expense            139,000       149,000       277,000       298,000
 Depreciation,
  depletion, and
  amortization     6,613,000     2,743,000    12,283,000     3,736,000
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------
 EBITDA          $17,007,000   $10,348,000   $30,795,000   $14,589,000


                     Three Months Ended          Six Months Ended
                   June 30,      June 30,      June 30,      June 30,
                    2007          2006          2007          2006
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------

 Cash provided
  by operating
  activity       $10,827,000   $ 9,926,000   $24,884,000   $12,354,000
 Adjustments:
   Changes in
    assets and
    liabilities    5,770,000       345,000     5,020,000     2,098,000
                 -----------   -----------   -----------   -----------
 Operating Cash
  Flow           $16,597,000   $10,271,000   $29,904,000   $14,452,000


                      Gulfport Energy Corporation
                          Production Schedule
                              (Unaudited)

 Production Volumes:          2Q2007     2Q2006    YTD 2007   YTD 2006

 Oil (MBbls)                   370.0      215.1      711.5      279.4
 Gas (MMcf)                    155.4      100.1      313.3      192.1
 Oil Equivalents (MBOE)        395.9      231.8      763.7      311.4

 Average Realized Price:

 Oil (per Bbl)                $63.88     $64.37     $60.28     $63.53
 Gas (per Mcf)                $ 8.91     $ 5.03     $ 7.96     $ 5.45
 Oil Equivalents (BOE)        $63.20     $61.91     $59.42     $60.36
CONTACT:  Gulfport Energy Corporation
          Investor & Media Contact:
          John Kilgallon, Director, Investor Relations
          405-242-4474
          jkilgallon@gulfportenergy.com