8-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) July 29, 2010  

CARBO Ceramics Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Delaware
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

001-15903	72-1100013
(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

575 North Dairy Ashford, Suite 300
Houston, Texas	77079
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)

(281) 921-6400
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Not Applicable
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

     Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 2.02. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

     The following information, including the Exhibit to this Form 8-K, is being furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 — Results of Operations and Financial Condition of Form 8-K. This information is not deemed to be “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is not incorporated by reference into any Securities Act of 1933 registration statements.

     On July 29, 2010, CARBO Ceramics Inc. (“CARBO”) issued a press release, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1, announcing second quarter 2010 earnings.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

     (d) Exhibits.

     Pursuant to General Instruction B.2 of Form 8-K, the following exhibit is furnished with this Form 8-K.

99.1 Press Release, dated July 29, 2010.

2

SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	CARBO CERAMICS INC.
Date: July 29, 2010	By:	/s/ Ernesto Bautista III
		Ernesto Bautista III
		Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

3

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.		Description
	99.1	Press Release, dated July 29, 2010.

4

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

CONTACT: ERNESTO BAUTISTA III, CFO
(281)921-6400

Release #10-10

CARBO CERAMICS INC. ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER 2010 EARNINGS

Conference Call Scheduled for Today, 10:00 a.m. Central Time

• Quarterly revenues of $111.5 million were up 61 percent compared to the prior year

• Quarterly global proppant sales volume of 314 million pounds up 45 percent versus the prior year

• Net income of $18.7 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, for the quarter

• Quarterly dividend was raised for the 10^th consecutive year

HOUSTON (July 29, 2010) — CARBO Ceramics Inc. (NYSE: CRR) today reported net income of $18.7 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, on revenues of $111.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2010.

President and CEO Gary Kolstad commented, “We are pleased with the results for the second quarter. The economic success that our clients have experienced when using our highly conductive proppant in both oil and natural gas plays has helped maintain demand at a high level. Although we were able to marginally draw down from our finished goods inventory during the second quarter, we remain capacity constrained, and as mentioned on last quarter’s conference call, we expect proppant sales volumes to track closely with our production capacity over the next several months. Construction is progressing well on the third 250 million pound production line at our Toomsboro, Georgia facility, and we still expect this line to commence production in November of this year. We continue to see solid revenue growth in the Falcon Technologies business, and were pleased to have announced an 11 percent increase in our quarterly dividend, illustrating the Board of Directors’ confidence in the current and future financial strength of the Company.”

Mr. Kolstad continued, “During the second quarter, our commitment to technology development continued as we expanded our iProp^TM family of detectable proppants with the introduction of CARBONRT^TM, an innovative, environmentally responsible, non-radioactive traceable proppant. In addition, the production of CARBOBOND^TM at our New Iberia resin-coating facility continued the enhancement of our highly conductive proppant suite.”

Second Quarter Results

Revenues for the second quarter of 2010 increased 61 percent, or $42.2 million, when compared to the second quarter of 2009. The Company’s worldwide proppant sales volume totaled 314 million pounds for the second quarter of 2010 and represents a year-over-year increase of 45 percent. North American proppant sales volume increased 42 percent year-over-year, while international proppant sales volume increased 61 percent compared to same period last year.

Operating profit for the second quarter of 2010 increased 101 percent, or $14.5 million, compared to the second quarter of 2009. This increase is due to higher sales volume and an increase in the average proppant selling price, partially offset by an increase in freight costs. Selling, general, administrative and other operating expenses for the second quarter of 2010 increased $3.6 million on a year-over-year basis, largely due to the inclusion of the Falcon Technologies business that was acquired in October 2009 and higher research and development spending.

CARBO Ceramics 2010 Second Quarter Earnings Release
July 29, 2010
Page 2

Net income for the second quarter of 2010 increased 100 percent, or $9.3 million, compared to the second quarter of 2009.

Technology and Business Highlights

• Several operators continued to report excellent production results in both the Bakken and Eagle Ford plays in wells utilizing CARBO’s ceramic proppants. Demand for high quality ceramic proppant in these two plays continues to grow as operators realize the benefits of Economic Conductivity^®, particularly in the presence of multiphase flow.

• CARBOBOND^TM, a resin-coated ceramic proppant, is being successfully deployed in wells and client interest remains high. We continue to ramp up production of this product at our New Iberia resin coating facility.

• CARBONRT^TM, a non-radioactive, environmentally responsible, traceable proppant was successfully introduced during the second quarter. CARBONRT^TM is well positioned to benefit from the increased focus on global environmental stewardship in the oil and gas industry.

• In April, StrataGen Engineering held a symposium on shale completion strategies. Topics covered by the panel of E&P experts assembled for the workshop included: shale characterization, reservoir modeling of stimulated shale reservoirs, shale pressure diagnostics — evaluation of the reservoir pre-frac and stimulation effectiveness post-frac in horizontal wells and E&P experiences in stimulation shale reservoirs.

Outlook

CEO Gary Kolstad commented on the outlook for the Company stating, “Our near-term outlook on natural gas, like many in the industry, remains cautious given the backdrop of weak natural gas fundamentals. However, we are somewhat encouraged by the price of oil which may keep activity at healthy levels for the second half of 2010. Demand for our products and services is strong, and we continue to anticipate that our ceramic proppant sales volumes will closely match our production capacity for the remainder of the year. As stated previously, we were able to draw down our finished goods inventory in the second quarter, but we do not anticipate being able to replicate this strategy during the second half of 2010.”

Mr. Kolstad continued, “As I previously noted, production on Line 3 at our Toomsboro location is anticipated to begin in November of this year and we are excited to add additional capacity with Line 4, which is expected to be complete in 2011. When combined, these two lines will increase our annual productive capacity by 40 percent or 500 million pounds. We remain committed to our long-term view of continued growth in CARBO’s production capacity to better serve our clients. An additional component for growth will come from our ability to remain a leader in the development of technologically advanced proppant systems. As such, the opening of our new CARBO Technology Center in Houston during the third quarter of this year is a key step in that process, and will allow us to have better collaboration with our E&P end-users in the development of products that enhance Economic Conductivity^® and promote environmental stewardship.”

As previously announced, a conference call to discuss the Company’s second quarter results is scheduled for today at 10:00 a.m. central time (11:00 a.m. eastern). To participate in the teleconference, investors should dial 1-877-317-6789 about 10 minutes before the start time and reference the CARBO conference call. Canada-based callers should dial 1-866-605-3852 and international callers should dial 1-412-317-6789. The conference call can also be accessed by visiting the company’s Web site, www.carboceramics.com.

CARBO is the world’s largest supplier of ceramic proppant for fracturing oil and gas wells; the provider of the world’s most popular fracture simulation software; and a provider of fracture design and consulting services. The Company also provides a broad range of technologies for spill prevention, containment and countermeasures, along with geotechnical monitoring.

CARBO Ceramics 2010 Second Quarter Earnings Release
July 29, 2010
Page 3

The statements in this news release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding our future financial and operating performance, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and estimates, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand and prices charged for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil and natural gas, risks of increased competition, technological, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, the risks of war and international and domestic terrorism, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties described in our publicly available filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

- tables follow -

CARBO Ceramics 2010 Second Quarter Earnings Release
July 29, 2010
Page 4

	Three Months Ended						Six Months Ended
	June 30						June 30
	2010			2009			2010			2009
	(In thousands except per share data)						(In thousands except per share data)
Revenues	$	111,532		$	69,322		$	234,981		$	159,964
Cost of sales		70,291			46,130			151,175			100,788
Gross profit		41,241			23,192			83,806			59,176
Selling, general & administrative expenses		12,058			8,855			25,696			20,354
Start-up costs		384			—			519			—
Operating profit		28,799			14,337			57,591			38,822
Interest income, net		41			116			74			320
Foreign currency exchange (loss) gain, net		(23	)		(205	)		13			(246	)
Other (expense) income, net		(93	)		3			(216	)		178
Income before income taxes		28,724			14,251			57,462			39,074
Income taxes		9,990			4,864			19,736			13,259
Net income	$	18,734		$	9,387		$	37,726		$	25,815
Earnings per share:
Basic	$	0.81		$	0.41		$	1.63		$	1.11
Diluted	$	0.81		$	0.41		$	1.63		$	1.11
Average shares outstanding:
Basic		22,971			23,086			22,969			23,272
Diluted		22,979			23,137			22,978			23,324
Depreciation and amortization	$	6,596		$	6,133		$	13,330		$	12,324

Selected Balance Sheet Information

	June 30, 2010		December 31, 2009
	(In thousands)
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	72,646	$	69,557
Other current assets		160,358		149,313
Property, plant and equipment, net		292,273		270,722
Intangible and other assets, net		10,588		10,104
Total assets		549,388		513,412
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Accrued income taxes	$	75	$	3,609
Other current liabilities		39,308		28,849
Deferred income taxes		24,355		23,638
Shareholders’ equity		485,650		457,316
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	549,388	$	513,412