Question to Brian Ector on Q1 buyback."Hi Brian
I thought I would reach out to you once again for some guidance on share buybacks as they relate to Q1 2024.
In previous guidance for Q4 2023 you had explained that buybacks in December had been significantly scaled back relative to the previous two months in response to lowered fcf expectations due to the drop in oil prices in the latter part of Q4.
As it stands now for Q1 2024, I have not seen any buy backs reported for the first two months of the quarter and am looking for insight into whether the company has restarted buybacks in March or whether a decision has been made to forego buybacks altogether in Q1 and resume in Q2 when fcf will be stronger relative to Q1.
Thankyou for any clarity you can provide on the matter.
XXXXXXX"
Brians response:
"Hi xxxxxxxxx, yes, that is correct. For 2024, given the timing of our capital expenditures (more heavily weighted to Q1 and Q3) we expect the majority of our free cash flow to be generated during Q2 and Q4, which is when I’d anticipate an increase in buybacks per our framework. There will be no share repurchases during the first quarter but watch for the program to start back up again in April.
Regards,
Brian"