Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) Q2 2024 Earnings Conference Call August 1, 2024 11:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Dion Hatcher - President and CEO
Lars Glemser - VP and CFO
Conference Call Participants
Operator
Good morning. My name is Sylvie, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Vermilion Energy Q2 Conference Call. Note that all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Thank you.
Mr. Dion Hatcher, you may now begin your conference.
Dion Hatcher
Thank you, Sylvie. Well good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us. I'm Dion Hatcher, President and CEO of Vermilion Energy. With me today are Lars Glemser, Vice President and CFO; Darcy Kerwin, Vice President of International and HSE; Brandon McCue, Vice President, North America; and Kyle Preston, Vice President of Investor Relations.
We'll be referencing a PowerPoint presentation to discuss our Q2, 2024 results. Presentation can be found on our website under Invest with Us and Events & Presentations.
Please refer to our advisory and forward-looking statements at the end of this presentation. It describes forward-looking information, non-GAAP measures, and oil and gas terms used today and outline risk factors and assumptions relevant to this discussion.
Production during the second quarter averaged 84,974 boes per day, which was at the top end of our Q2 guidance range of 83,000 to 85,000 boes per day, mainly due to the early startup of our BC Montney battery.
On a year-to-year basis, production increased 2%, or 6% on a per share basis. We generated $237 million of fund flows and $126 million of free cash flow, which was lower than Q1, mainly due to lower realized commodity hedge gains.
During the second quarter, we reduced net debt by a further $38 million to $907 million, and significantly increased our pace of share buybacks, as we transitioned to a payout target of 50% of an annual excess free cash flow.
We repurchased 2.8 million shares during Q2, for total proceeds of $47 million, and also paid at approximately $19 million in dividends for a total return of $66 million, or 62% of excess free cash flow for the quarter. Year-to-date, we have returned $121 million, or 36% of excess free cash flow.
During the second quarter, we also achieved key operational milestones with the startup of the Mica Montney battery in British Columbia, and the SA-10 gas plant in Croatia. This is in addition to the five successful exploration wells from Europe, during the first half of the year. We'll expand on each of these in the upcoming slides.