- Canadian oil and natural gas stock Baytex Energy (TSX:BTE) announced financial and operational results for its Q3 2024
- Baytex generated production of 154,468 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), a 3 per cent increase from Q3 2023
- The company generated net income of C$185 million ($0.23 per basic share)
- Baytex Energy stock opened trading at C$4.08
Canadian oil and natural gas stock Baytex Energy (TSX:BTE) announced financial and operational results for its Q3 2024.
The results, announced after markets closed Thursday, cover the three and six months ended Sept. 30, 2024.
Q3 2024 financial and operational highlights
- Production: Baytex generated production of 154,468 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), with 86 per cent composing oil and natural gas liquids (NGL). This marks a 3 per cent increase from Q3 2023. Crude oil production, including light oil, condensate, and heavy oil, rose by 2 per cent to average 112,602 barrels per day (bbl/d).
- Per share growth: Production per basic share increased by 10 per cent compared with Q3 2023.
- Exploration and development: The company executed a C$306 million exploration and development program, aligning with its full-year plan, and brought 82 (69.2 net) wells onstream.
- Cash flow: Cash flows from operating activities were reported at C$550 million ($0.69 per basic share).
- Adjusted funds flow: Baytex delivered adjusted funds flow of C$538 million ($0.68 per basic share).
- Net income: The company generated net income of C$185 million ($0.23 per basic share).
- Free cash flow: Free cash flow amounted to C$220 million ($0.28 per basic share), with $101 million returned to shareholders.
- Share repurchase and dividends: Baytex repurchased 17.6 million common shares for C$83 million, at an average price of C$4.68 per share, and paid a quarterly cash dividend of C$18 million ($0.0225 per share) on Oct. 1, 2024.
- Debt reduction: Net debt was reduced by 5 per cent in Q3 2024 and 12 per cent over the past four quarters, bringing it down to C$2.5 billion. The company maintained a strong balance sheet with a total debt to bank earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) ratio of 1.0x.
Operational performance
- Eagle Ford: Production in the Eagle Ford averaged 89,800 boe/d (82 per cent oil and NGL), up from 87,311 boe/d (85 per cent oil and NGL) in Q3 2023. Baytex brought onstream 21 net wells during the quarter, including 17 net operated wells. Year-to-date, the company has brought onstream 58 net wells, including 46 net operated wells.
2024 outlook
Baytex continues to execute its 2024 plan, anticipating full-year production of approximately 153,000 boe/d, within the previous guidance range of 152,000 to 154,000 boe/d. The company expects full-year exploration and development expenditures to be around C$1.25 billion, consistent with its guidance range of C$1.2 billion to C$1.3 billion. Based on year-to-date results and the forward strip for the remainder of 2024, Baytex projects free cash flow of approximately C$570 million ($0.71 per basic share) for the year.
Management’s insights
“During the third quarter we generated $220 million of free cash flow, returned $101 million to shareholders through our share buyback program and quarterly dividend, and reduced net debt by 5 per cent. Over the past 15 months we have repurchased 9 per cent of our shares outstanding,” Baytex’s president and chief executive officer, Eric Greager, said in a news release. “Our third quarter results demonstrate continued solid operational performance as well as our commitment to generating meaningful free cash flow and the delivery of strong shareholder returns. We expect to release our 2025 budget in early December. We are committed to prioritizing free cash flow, and in the current commodity price environment this means moderating our growth profile and delivering stable crude oil production.”
Baytex Energy Corp. is an energy company with headquarters in Calgary and offices in Houston, Texas. The company is focused on the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford area of Texas.
Baytex Energy stock (TSX:BTE) opened trading more than 7 per cent higher at C$4.08. Though it has lost 3.88 per cent since the year began, its share value has risen 2.43 per cent over the past five days.
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(Top photo: Baytex Energy Corp.)