Miguel Galuccio
Analyst · Jefferies
Thanks Ale. Good morning, everyone and welcome to this earnings call. As you know, last week, we announced the acquisition of Petronas Argentina. I am personally thrilled by the consolidation of 50% of La Amarga Chica, a low cost, high return asset which is transformational for Vista providing us with a significant large scale. The acquisition brings material flow in production and substantial EBITDA generation, which will strengthen our cash flow profile going forward. Today, I will first go through the quarterly results, then into the details of the acquisition and its merit and the last I will do a Q&A session. During the first quarter of 2025, we continued to deliver robust growth year-over-year. We also recorded a major milestone with the inauguration of Oldelval Duplicar pipeline, reducing significantly our selling expenses as we scale down the use of [indiscernible] to zero by the end of the third quarter. In Q1 2025, production was 80,900 BOEs per day, an increase of 47% year-over-year. Oil production was 69,600 barrels per day, also 47% year-over-year. Total revenues during the quarter were $438 million, 38% above the same quarter of last year. Lifting cost was $4.7 per BOE, 8% above year-over-year. Capital expenditure was $268 million driven by 16 wells drilled and 10 wells completed during the quarter, plus $49 million in development facilities. Adjusted EBITDA was $275 million, an interannual increase of 25%. Net income was $83 million implying a quarterly EPS of $0.9 per share. Free cash flow was minus $243 million during the quarter as we initiated a year of a very strong growth. And finally, net leverage ratio at quarter end remained strong at 0.84x adjusted EBITDA. During Q1, we recorded another quarter of double-digit in the annual production growth. This reflects a strong performance from our development hub with 49 wells connected in the last 12 months. We tied in 10 wells in the quarter, back loading activity to make better use of all the Oldelval pipeline expansion and minimize trucking expenses. Total production at 80,900 BOEs per day was 47% above the same quarter of last year and as expected 5% below Q4 2024. Oil production was 69,600 barrels of oil per day, 47% above year-over-year. And gas production increased 42% on an interannual basis. In Q1 2025, total revenues were $438 million, 38% higher year-over-year, driven by the strong increase in oil production. On a sequential basis, the relatively lower increase in total revenues compared to the 47% increase in oil production reflects an inventory buildup of 360,000 barrels of oils, which will be reflected in the sales of Q2. Realized oil price was $68.6 per barrel on average, down 2% on an interannual basis, mainly driven by the lower international prices. Export realization prices were $68 per barrel with 43,200,000 barrels of oil during the quarter, twice as much as during the same quarter of 2024. Domestic realization prices were $69.4 per barrel, including volumes sold at export parity. We continue to increase the domestic volumes sold at export parity pricing. During Q1, 78% of our domestic volumes and 90% of our total volumes were sold at export parity. Listing cost during Q1 was $4.7 per BOE, flat on a sequential basis reflecting successful cost control despite the lower volumes and the underlying USD cost inflation. Selling expenses per BOE came down 19% on a sequential basis, driven by savings in truck costs, which totaled $27.7 million, $13.7 million below Q4 2024. The connection of Oldelval Duplicar pipeline during the quarter enabled us to gradually reduce trucking volumes. Importantly, expansion capacity is now fully available. We have incorporated 31,500 barrels of oil per day of pipeline capacity and we forecast not tracking in Q2. Adjusted EBITDA during the quarter was $275 million, 25% higher on an interannual basis and flat compared with Q4 2024. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 5 percentage points on a sequential basis, driven by higher oil prices and lower selling expenses. Driven by the same factors, our netback expanded 9% during the quarter to $37.8 per BOE. During Q1 2025, cash flow from operating activities was $66 million, reflecting an increase in working capital of $59 million, and unbanked payment for metering expansion of $36 million. Cash flow used in investing activities was $310 million, reflecting accrued CapEx of $268 million, an increase of $18 million in working capital and an investment in Vaca Muerta Sur of $29 million. Free cash flow during the quarter was therefore minus $243 million. Cash flow from financing activities was $219 million, reflecting proceeds from borrowings of $341 million and partially offset by the repayment of borrowings of $99 million. Finally, cash at period end was $740 million and our net leverage ratio stood at 0.84x adjusted EBITDA. We will now deep dive into the acquisition of Petronas Argentina, which we announced last week. The purchase price was composed of $900 million in cash, a deferred cash payment of $300 million at zero interest and 7.3 million Vista shares. This payment equates to an NPV of approximately $1.3 billion, leading to a highly accretive acquisition multiples. With this transaction we closed last week, we started the consolidation of 50% of La Amarga Chica at April 15, a material addition to our portfolio. La Amarga Chica expanded 46,000 acres in the core of Vaca Muerta and is right next to Bajada del Palo Este and Aguada Ferral. At our share, we estimate it has an inventory of 200 wells to be drilled, increasing and enhancing Vista's inventory. At our 50% P1 reserves were 140 million BOEs as filed at year end 2023, a significant addition to the 375 million BOEs of P1 reserves booked by Vista. With the 247 wells on production at year end 2025, La Amarga Chica has a solid history of robust well productivity and low lifting costs, very comparable to our development hub. It is also the second largest producing block in Vaca Muerta. Production was 79,500 BOEs per day in Q4 2024, implying that our 50% we have consolidated 39,800 BOEs per day. This leads to a pro forma production of 125,000 BOE per day for such a period, of which 109,000 are old. Petronas Argentina has secured a material amount of transportation and dispatch capacity in the midstream sector. Combining the Vaca Muerta Norte and the Oldelval Duplicar pipeline, we are adding 57,000 barrels of oil per day of field transportation, 90,000 in Oldelval open access, 70,000 in Duplicar and 21,000 in Vaca Muerta Norte. Based on Q4 2024 production data, more than 20,000 barrels per day or around 40% of this capacity was either providing ample room for growth and synergies with our development hub. With this strategic transaction, we are doubling down on Vaca Muerta, increasing our exposure to short cycle low breakeven shell assets. This deal improves our short and medium term cash flow profile as well as our long-term value proposition for shareholders. This constitutes a highly accretive transaction for our shareholders. Adjusted EBITDA of 2x, EBITDA per flowing barrel of $33,000 and price to earnings of 3.8x. The transaction multiples comparable very positively to Vista's own trading metrics. We have consolidated a low cost, high margin cash generating asset. La Amarga Chica lifting cost was $4.1 per BOE in 2024, reflecting a robust operating model and solid well productivity. On pro forma basis for 2024, the acquired company improved our adjusted EBITDA by 61%, strengthening our cash flow profile. On the same basis, adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 3 percentage points from 65% to 68%. The transaction also increases our scale and enhance our portfolio. On a pro forma basis, our total production for Q4 2024 will be 125,000 BOE per day, an increase of 47%. As discussed earlier, P1 reserves and acreage are also significantly enlarged. As per our estimation, La Amarga Chica has an inventory of 200 wells to be drilled at our 50% working interest. We are therefore increasing our inventory by 20%, adding wells located in a premium area of Vaca Muerta, Bajada del Palo Oeste, a region we know extremely well and which has consistently delivered extraordinary value to our company. Based on La Amarga Chica proximity to our development hub, our analysis showed there are very clear synergies we can capture related to sharing facilities, optimizing well placement close to the limit between the blocks, streamlining new well designs and potentially sharing general services. Importantly, the acquired company holds material oil mixing capacity. By adding 57,000 barrels of oil per day of contracted pipeline capacity, we have reached almost 200,000 barrels of oil per day capacity on a pro forma basis, excluding trucks. We are thrilled to be consolidating a high margin, low breakeven asset with very clear synergies with our ongoing operation. Based on the scale and importance of this consolidation, we are currently working on a revised version of our 2025 plan. We are therefore removing our 2025 market guidance and we will present an updated guidance in our Q2 earnings call. I will make some closing remarks before we move on to Q&A. On the operational front, we have made solid progress during the quarter. Production increased 47% year-over-year driven by 49 new wells drilled and connected in the last 12 months. We reached a major milestone as the Duplicar pipeline came online, adding 31,500 barrels of oil per day of oil transportation capacity, materially reducing our selling expenses quarter-on-quarter and fully eliminating trucking volumes after quarter end. Yet the most important achievement was on the M&A front with execution of a transformational deal for our company. Our track record shows that we are a company that cannot add value to its upstream operation as well to business development. With acquired assets, we incorporate flowing production, material EBITDA and cash flow generation, premium new well inventory, [indiscernible] metering capacity and potential synergies at accretive acquisition multiples. Following this M&A transaction, Vista emerged with an improved cash flow profile and higher margins, which is very relevant in the backdrop of a high market volatility and I think more importantly reflects our constructive long-term vision on Vaca Muerta and long-term global oil price fundamentals. Before we move to Q&A, I would like to thank the entire Vista team for their hard work in this quarter. And specifically, I would like to thank the M&A team for their understanding transaction is just concluded. Operator, we can now move to Q&A.