The Company is affiliated by common management and ownership with Mesquite Minerals, Inc. (Mesquite), Mid-American Oil Company (Mid-American) and Lochbuie Limited Liability Company (LLTD). The Company also owns interests in certain producing and non-producing oil and gas properties as tenants in common with Mesquite, Mid-American and LLTD.
Jerry Crow, a director of the Company, is a director of Mesquite and Mid-American. Kyle McLain and Cameron McLain are brothers and directors of the Company. Kyle McLain and Cameron McLain each own more than 7% of the common stock of the Company and are officers. Kyle McLain and Cameron McLain are officers and directors of Mesquite and Mid-American. Kyle McLain and Cameron McLain each own an approximate 11% interest in LLTD.
The above named officers, directors, and employees as a group beneficially own approximately 19% of the common stock of the Company, approximately 13% of the common stock of Mesquite, and approximately 10% of the common stock of Mid-American. Each of these three corporations have only one class of stock outstanding. See Item 8, Note 12 to the accompanying financial statements for additional disclosures regarding these relationships.
For equity method investments, the Company records the original investment in the entities as an asset and adjusts the asset balance for the Company’s share of any income or loss, as well as any additional contributions to or distributions from the entities. The Company does not have actual or effective control of the entities. The management of the entities could, at any time, make decisions in their own best interests that could affect the Company’s net income or the value of the Company’s investments. These investments include Broadway Sixty-Eight, LLC (“Broadway”), Grand Woods Development, LLC (the “LLC”), and QSN Office Park (“QSN”).
Other Investments are mostly investments in limited liability companies (“LLC’s”) with smaller ownership interests that do not allow the Company to significantly influence the operations or management of the LLC’s. These investments are recorded at cost, less any impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer. Cash distributions from the investment are recognized as income when received. These investments include OKC Industrial Properties (“OKC”), Bailey Hilltop Pipeline (“Bailey”), Cloudburst Solutions (“Solutions”), now Cloudburst International (“Cloudburst”), and Ocean’s NG (“Ocean”).
See Item 8, Note 7 to the accompanying financial statements for related disclosures and additional information regarding all investments.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
To supplement the following discussion, please refer to the balance sheets and the statements of cash flows included in this Form 10-K.
In 2019, as in prior years, the Company funded its business activity through the use of internal sources of capital. For the most part, these internal sources are cash flows from operations, cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale debt securities. When cash flows from operating activities are in excess of those needed for other business activities, the remaining balance is used to increase cash, cash equivalents and/or available-for-sale debt securities. When cash flows from operating activities are not adequate to fund other business activities, withdrawals are made from cash, cash equivalents and/or available-for-sale debt securities. Cash equivalents are highly liquid debt instruments purchased with a maturity of three months or less. All of the available-for-sale debt securities are U.S. Treasury Bills.
In 2019, net cash provided by operating activities was $2,855,424. Sales (including lease bonuses), net of production costs and general and administrative costs were $2,484,708, which accounted for 87% of net cash provided by operations. The remaining components provided 13% of cash flow. In 2019, net cash applied to investing activities was $4,286,780. In 2019, dividend payments and treasury stock purchases totaled $2,258,805 and accounted for all of the cash applied to financing activities.
Other than cash and cash equivalents, other significant changes in working capital include the following:
Equity securities increased $91,017 (20%) to $545,075 in 2019 from $454,058 in 2018. The net increase is due to $101,247 in unrealized gains, which represent the change in the fair value of the securities from their original cost, less $10,230 of 2019 losses on sales.
Refundable income taxes increased $105,656 to $122,043 from $16,387 in 2018.
Accounts payable decreased $161,619 (51%) to $156,768 in 2019 from $318,387 in 2018, due to decreased drilling activity.
Discussion of Selected Material Line Items in Cash Flows.
The following is a discussion of material changes in cash flow by activity between the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. Also, see the discussion of changes in operating results under “Results of Operations” below in this Item 7.
Operating Activities
As noted above, net cash flows provided by operating activities in 2019 were $2,855,424, which, when compared to the $4,846,100 provided in 2018, represents a net decrease of $1,990,676. The decrease was mostly due to a decrease in lease bonus cash flows of $424,957 and a decrease in oil and gas sales of $1,397,529. Additional discussion of the significant items follows.
The $1,397,529 (18%) decrease in cash received from oil and gas sales to $6,392,842 in 2019 from $7,790,371 in 2018 was the result of a decrease in oil and gas sales prices and a decrease in gas sales volumes, partially offset by an increase in oil sales volumes. See “Results of Operations” below for a price/volume analysis and the related discussion of oil and gas sales.
Cash received for lease bonuses decreased $424,957 (76%) to $137,227 in 2019 from $562,184 in 2018.
The 2019 cash distribution of $49,500 from our equity method investment in Broadway Sixty-Eight, LLC was primarily for our share of operating profits versus $24,750 in 2018. See Item 8, Note 7 to the accompanying financial statements for additional information regarding Broadway Sixty-Eight, LLC.
Investing Activities
Net cash applied to investing activities increased $2,125,672 (98%) to $4,286,780 in 2019 from $2,161,108 in 2018. This increase was primarily due to an increase in purchases of available-for-sale debt securities of $5,031,961 and a decrease in property dispositions of $565,893, offset by an increase in the maturity of available-for-sale debt securities of $2,641,337 and a decrease in property purchases of $704,047. See “Equity Method and Other Investments” discussion on page 9 for additional information regarding the investments purchased in 2019 and 2018.
In 2019, the Company received $43,158 for a 2018 Note Receivable.
Financing Activities
Cash applied to financing activities increased $1,234,502 (121%) to $2,258,805 in 2019 from $1,024,303 in 2018. Cash applied to financing activities consist of cash dividends on common stock and cash used for the purchase of treasury stock. In 2019, cash dividends paid on common stock amounted to $1,479,081 as compared to $959,499 in 2018. Dividends of $7.00 per share were paid in 2019 compared to $5.00 per share paid in 2018. Dividends payable of $687,048 represents dividends due to shareholders held by the Company’s transfer agent. Cash applied to purchase treasury stock increased $27,872 to $92,676 in 2019 from $64,804 in 2018.
Forward-Looking Summary
The Company’s latest estimate of business to be done beyond 2019 indicates the projected activity can be funded from cash flow from operations and other internal sources, including net working capital. The Company is engaged in exploratory drilling. If this drilling is successful, substantial development drilling may result. Also, should other exploration projects which fit the Company’s risk parameters become available or other investment opportunities become known, capital requirements may be more than the Company has available. If so, the Company could require external sources of financing.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
As disclosed in the statements of operation in Item 8 of this Form 10-K, in 2019 the Company had a net loss of $(266,763) as compared to net income of $2,313,692 in 2018. Net income/(loss) per share, basic and diluted, was $(1.70) in 2019, a decrease of $16.39 per share from $14.69 in 2018. Material line item changes in the statements of operation will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
Operating Revenues
Operating revenues decreased $1,699,209 to $6,628,289 in 2019 from $8,327,498 in 2018. Oil and gas sales decreased $1,274,252 (16%) to $6,491,062 in 2019 from $7,765,314 in 2018. Lease bonuses and other revenues decreased $424,957 (76%) to $137,227 in 2019 from $562,184 in 2018. The decrease in oil and gas sales is discussed in the following paragraphs.
The $1,274,252 decrease in oil and gas sales was the result of a $581,340 decrease in gas sales, a $605,034 decrease in oil sales and an $87,878 decrease in miscellaneous oil and gas product sales. The following price and volume analysis is presented to explain the changes in oil and gas sales from 2018 to 2019. Miscellaneous oil and gas product sales of $180,051 in 2019 and $267,929 in 2018 are not included in the analysis.
(in thousands, except
per Unit prices)
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Variance
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Production
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2019
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Price
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Volume
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2018
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|
Gas –
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|
|
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MCF
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815
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|
|
|
|
|
|
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(22
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)
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|
|
837
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$
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$
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1,806
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$
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(520
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)
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$
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(62
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)
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$
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2,388
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Unit Price
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$
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2.22
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|
|
$
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(0.63
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)
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|
|
|
|
|
$
|
2.85
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|
Oil –
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|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
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|
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Bbls
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84
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
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|
|
|
83
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|
$
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|
$
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4,505
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|
|
$
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(661
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)
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$
|
56
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|
|
$
|
5,110
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Unit Price
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$
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53.59
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$
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(7.86
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)
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|
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$
|
61.45
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|
The $581,340 (24%) decrease in natural gas sales to $1,806,271 in 2019 from $2,387,611 in 2018 was the result of a decrease in gas sales volumes and a decrease in the average price received per thousand cubic feet (MCF). The average price per MCF of natural gas sales decreased $0.63 per MCF to $2.22 per MCF in 2019 from $2.85 per MCF in 2018, resulting in a negative gas price variance of $519,532. A negative volume variance of $61,808 was the result of a decrease in natural gas volumes sold of 21,687 MCF to 815,251 MCF in 2019 from 836,938 MCF in 2018. The decrease in the volume of gas production was the net result of new 2019 production of about 17,000 MCF, offset by a decline of about 39,000 MCF in production from previous wells. As disclosed in Supplemental Schedule 1 of the Unaudited Supplemental Financial Information included in Item 8 below, working interests in natural gas extensions and discoveries were not adequate to replace working interest reserves produced in 2019 or 2018.
The gas production for 2019 and 2018 includes production from about 105 royalty interest properties drilled by various operators in Robertson County, Texas. These properties accounted for approximately 233,000 MCF and $653,000 of the 2019 gas sales and approximately 277,000 MCF and $802,000 of the 2018 gas sales. These properties accounted for about 34% of the Company’s gas revenues in 2019 versus 35% in 2018. The Company has no control over the timing of future drilling on the acreage in which we hold mineral interests.
The $605,034 (12%) decrease in crude oil sales to $4,504,739 in 2019 from $5,109,773 in 2018 was the result of a decrease in the average price per barrel (Bbl) and an increase in oil sales volumes. The average price received per Bbl of oil decreased $7.86 to $53.59 in 2019 from $61.45 in 2018, resulting in a negative oil price variance of $660,738. An increase in oil sales volumes of 907 Bbls to 84,057 Bbls in 2019 from 83,151 Bbls in 2018 resulted in a positive volume variance of $55,704. The increase in the oil volume production was the net result of new 2019 production of about 4,000 Bbls, offset by a 3,100 Bbl decline in production from previous wells. As disclosed in Supplemental Schedule 1 of the Unaudited Supplemental Financial Information included below in Item 8, working interests in oil extensions and discoveries were not adequate to replace working interest reserves produced in 2019 or 2018.
For both oil and gas sales, the price change was mostly the result of a change in the spot market prices upon which most of the Company’s oil and gas sales are based. These spot market prices have had significant fluctuations in the past and these fluctuations are expected to continue.
Operating Costs and Expenses
Operating costs and expenses increased $1,263,589 (20%) to $7,633,745 in 2019 from $6,370,156 in 2018, primarily due to an increase in exploration expense and an increase in lease impairment. The material components of operating costs and expenses are discussed below.
Production Costs. Production costs decreased $57,403 (2%) to $2,334,253 in 2019 from $2,391,656 in 2018. The decrease was the result of a $59,756 (15%) decrease in gross production tax to $330,807 in 2019 from $390,563 in 2018. Gross production taxes are state taxes, which are calculated as a percentage of gross proceeds from the sale of products from each producing oil and gas property, therefore, they fluctuate with the change in the dollar amount of revenues from oil and gas sales.
Exploration and Development Costs. Under the successful efforts method of accounting used by the Company, geological and geophysical costs are expensed as incurred as are the costs of unsuccessful exploratory drilling. The costs of successful exploratory drilling and all development costs are capitalized. Total costs of exploration and development, excluding asset retirement obligations but inclusive of geological and geophysical costs, were $1,082,804 in 2019 and $2,392,239 in 2018. See Item 8, Note 8 to the accompanying financial statements for a breakdown of these costs. Exploration and acquisition costs charged to operations were $709,753 in 2019 and $195,111 in 2018, inclusive of geological and geophysical costs of $54,317 in 2019 and $162,514 in 2018, and mineral acquisition costs of $471,251 in 2019. Mineral acquisition costs for 2019 were costs associated with unsuccessful efforts in 2018 and 2019.
Update of Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Activity from December 31, 2018. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company participated in the drilling of 8 gross exploratory working interest wells (including 2 in progress at the end of 2018) and 2 gross development working interest wells (both in progress at the end of 2018), with working interests ranging from a high of 18% to a low of 8.4%. Of the 8 exploratory wells, 5 were completed as producing wells, 1 as a dry hole and 2 were in progress. Both development wells were completed as producing wells.
The following is a summary as of March 20, 2020, updating both exploration and development activity from December 31, 2018, for the period ended December 31, 2019.
The Company participated with a 9.5% working interest in the completion of a development well that was drilled in 2018 on a Woods County, Oklahoma prospect. The well is a commercial oil and gas producer. Capitalized costs for the period were $37,989.
The Company is participating with its 14% interest in the acquisition of additional leasehold and exploratory drilling on a Creek County, Oklahoma 3-D seismic project. There are currently seven active prospects within the project. Exploratory wells were drilled on two of the prospects. One well has been completed as a commercial oil and gas producer and a completion is in progress on the other. Five additional exploratory wells are planned for 2020. Leasehold costs for the period were $9,800. Additional capitalized costs were $63,665.
The Company owns a 35% interest in 16,472.55 net acres of leasehold on a Crockett and Val Verde Counties, Texas prospect. The Company and its partners entered into an agreement with a third party to drill two strat tests on the prospect, earning the option to drill three additional wells, purchase a 50% interest in the acreage and conduct a thermal recovery pilot test. The strat tests were drilled, but the third party decided not to proceed with additional drilling. A new partner group is in place, and the Company will participate with a 10.5% interest in the drilling of two additional test wells with the intention of conducting a pilot test at one of the locations.
The Company is participating with a 13% interest in a 3-D seismic project covering approximately 35,000 acres in San Patricio County, Texas. A 3-D seismic survey of the project area has been completed and fourteen prospects have been identified. Exploratory wells were drilled on two of the prospects. One well was completed as a commercial oil and gas producer and the other as a commercial gas and condensate producer. Leasing is complete on six additional prospects and exploratory wells have been proposed on two, with additional proposals anticipated. Lease acquisition is in progress on two other prospects. Leasehold costs for the period were $93,220. Additional capitalized costs were $313,906.
The Company has been participating with a 50% interest in an attempt to develop oil prospects in the Permian Basin. Lease acquisition is in progress on four prospects, one in Crane County, Texas, two in Crockett County, Texas and one in Nolan County, Texas. Most of the effort has been concentrated on the Nolan County prospect and the Company is currently involved in negotiations to sell a portion of its interest in that prospect. Geological costs for the period were $53,680 and leasehold costs were $100,836.
The Company participated with its 16% working interest in the drilling of an exploratory well on a Barber County, Kansas prospect. The well was completed as a commercial oil producer. Capitalized costs for the period were $68,542.
In October 2018, the Company entered into an agreement to acquire mineral rights in Tyler, Doddridge and Ritchie Counties, West Virginia. The Company funded the acquisition of the mineral rights, which were then sold to a third party for a profit, with the Company retaining an interest in the minerals. Several small tracts were acquired and sold, but high title and acquisition costs coupled with a precipitous drop in natural gas prices have made the project unviable, and it has been terminated. Costs for the period, net of sales proceeds, were $298,031, and an expense of $471,251 was taken against the project.
The Company participated with its 10.5% working interest in the completion of an exploratory well on an Oldham County, Texas prospect as a marginal oil producer. The well was drilled in 2018. Capitalized costs for the period were $168,682, including $17,897 of additional leasehold costs, and an impairment expense of $300,000 was taken against the well.
The Company participated with 17.1% and 17.5% working interests in successful recompletions of two wells on a McClain County, Oklahoma prospect. Capital costs for the period were $15,596.
In June 2019, the Company purchased a 10.5% interest in 100 net acres of leasehold, five producing wells and two salt water disposal wells on a Murray County, Oklahoma prospect for $231,000. The Company participated in the drilling of a step-out well on the prospect that was initially completed as a commercial oil producer but has since started producing almost all water. Efforts are underway to restore commercial production. Additional capitalized costs for the period were $104,907.
In October 2019, the Company purchased an 8.4% interest in 998.33 net acres of leasehold on a Custer County, Oklahoma prospect for $18,935. An exploratory horizontal well was drilled on the prospect and completed as a dry hole. Dry hole costs for the period were $149,847.
It is likely that some or all of the planned activity discussed above will be postponed due to the collapse of oil prices, however, there are no definite plans for postponement at this time.
Depreciation, Depletion, Amortization and Valuation Provisions (DD&A). Major DD&A components are the provision for impairment of undeveloped leaseholds, provision for impairment of long-lived assets, depletion of producing leaseholds and depreciation of tangible and intangible lease and well costs. Undeveloped leaseholds are amortized over the life of the leasehold (most are 3 years) using a straight line method, except when the leasehold is impaired or condemned by drilling and/or geological interpretation of seismic data; if so, an adjustment to the provision is made at the time of impairment. The provision for impairment of undeveloped leaseholds was $928,524 in 2019, of which $811,903 were specific impairments, versus $240,635 in 2018.
As discussed in Item 8, Note 10 to the accompanying financial statements, accounting principles require the recognition of an impairment loss on long-lived assets used in operations when indicators of impairment are present. Impairment evaluation is a two-step process. The first step is to measure when the undiscounted cash flows estimated to be generated by those assets, determined on a well basis, is less than the assets’ carrying amounts. Those assets meeting the first criterion are adjusted to estimated fair value. Evaluation for impairment was performed in both 2019 and 2018. The 2019 impairment loss was $912,045 and the 2018 impairment loss was $832,651.
The depletion and depreciation of oil and gas properties are computed by the units-of-production method. The amount expensed in any year will fluctuate with the change in estimated reserves of oil and gas, a change in the rate of production or a change in the basis of the assets. The provision for depletion and depreciation was $997,043 in 2019 and $1,000,945 in 2018. The provision also includes $88,816 for 2019 and $65,615 for 2018 for the amortization of the asset retirement costs. See Item 8, Note 2 to the accompanying financial statements for additional information regarding the asset retirement obligation.
Other Income, Net. See Item 8, Note 11 to the accompanying financial statements for an analysis of the components of this line item for 2019 and 2018. Other income, net decreased $225,534 (27%) to $603,180 in 2019 from $828,714 in 2018. The line items responsible for this net increase are described below.
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on equity securities increased $199,337 to a net gain of $90,469 in 2019 from a net loss of $(108,868) in 2018. Realized gains or losses result when an equity security is sold. Unrealized gains or losses result from adjusting the Company’s carrying amount in equity securities owned at the reporting date to estimated fair value. In 2019, the Company had realized losses of $(10,778) and unrealized gains of $101,247. In 2018, the Company had realized gains of $72,950 and unrealized losses of $(181,818).
Income from other investments decreased $8,000 to $8,500 in 2019 from $16,500 in 2018.
Gains on asset sales decreased $593,171 to $18,110 in 2019 from $611,281 in 2018.
Interest income increased $171,704 to $520,319 in 2019 from $348,615 in 2018. This increase was the result of a rise in the average interest rate and an increase in the average balance of cash equivalents and average balance of available-for-sale debt securities from which most of the interest income is derived. The average interest rate increased from 1.56% in 2018 to 1.96% in 2019. The average balance outstanding increased $2,301,327 to $21,347,268 in 2019 from $19,045,941 in 2018.
Provision/(Benefit) for Income Taxes. In 2019, the Company had an estimated income tax benefit of $223,075 as the result of a deferred tax benefit of $292,906 and a current tax provision of $69,831. In 2018, the Company had an estimated income tax provision of $387,880 as the result of a deferred tax provision of $292,221 and a current tax provision of $95,659. See Item 8, Note 6 to the accompanying financial statements for an analysis of the various components of income taxes and a discussion of the federal tax rate change.