Baytex Energy Corp. (NYSE:BTE) Q3 2024 Earnings Conference Call November 1, 2024 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Brian Ector - Senior Vice President, Capital Markets and Investor Relations
Eric Greager - President and Chief Executive Officer
Chad Kalmakoff - Chief Financial Officer
Chad Lundberg - Chief Operating Officer

Conference Call Participants

Justin Ho - RBC Capital Markets
Amir Arif - ATB Capital

Operator

Good day, everyone. Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Baytex Energy Corp. Third Quarter 2024 Financial and Operating Results Conference Call. As a reminder, all participants are in a listen-only mode. The conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity for analysts to ask questions. [Operator Instructions] You may also submit questions in writing in any time using the form in the lower section of the webcast frame. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the floor over to Brian Ector, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Brian Ector

Thank you, Jamie. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and thank you for joining us to discuss our third quarter 2024 financial and operating results.

Today, I am joined by Eric Greager, our President and Chief Executive Officer Chad Kalmakoff, our Chief Financial Officer and Chad Lundberg, our Chief Operating Officer who is joining us today from our Houston office.

While listening, please keep in mind that some of our remarks will contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. I refer you to the advisories regarding forward-looking statements, oil and gas information, and non-GAAP financial and capital management measures in yesterday's press release.

All dollar amounts referenced in our remarks are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.

And following our prepared remarks, we will be taking questions from the analysts. In addition, if you are listening in today via the webcast, you'll have the opportunity to submit an online question, and time permitting we will strive to answer your question.

With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Eric.

Eric Greager

Thanks, Brian. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our third quarter 2024 conference call. We're pleased with our third quarter results, which demonstrate continued solid operational performance as well as our commitment to generating meaningful free cash flow and the delivery of strong shareholder returns. During the third quarter, we generated CAD 220 million of free cash flow, returned CAD 101 million to shareholders through the share buyback program and quarterly dividend, and reduced net debt by 5%. Over the last five quarters, we've returned almost CAD 500 million to shareholders. We have bought back 75 million common shares for CAD 387 million, representing approximately 9% of our shares outstanding, and paid total dividends of CAD 92 million. We have also reduced our net debt by 12% over the last four quarters.