On Thursday, Vista Energy (NYSE:VIST) discussed first-quarter financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below.
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Summary
Vista Energy reported a 67% year-over-year increase in total production, with oil production reaching 117,000 barrels per day.
Total revenues for the first quarter of 2026 were $694 million, a 58% increase from the prior year, driven by higher oil production despite lower oil prices.
Free cash flow was impacted by non-recurring items, but excluding these, free cash flow would have been nearly neutral.
The company tied in 23 new wells, with significant productivity contributing to increased production forecasts.
Vista Energy updated its annual guidance, increasing production expectations and projecting adjusted EBITDA to benefit from higher oil prices.
Management emphasized the company’s strategy to use additional cash flows from higher oil prices for deleveraging and maintaining a robust cash position.
The company expects to continue benefiting from favorable oil price dynamics, with updated financial metrics reflecting potential scenarios at varying Brent prices.
Full Transcript
OPERATOR
Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Vista’s first quarter 2026 earnings webcast conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speaker’s presentation, we’ll open up for questions. To ask a question during the session you need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised to withdraw your question, please press Star one one again. Please be advised that today’s call is being recorded and I’d like to hand it over to our first speaker, Alejandro Chernikov, Vista Strategic Planning and Investor Relations Officer. Please go ahead.
Alejandro Chernikov (Strategic Planning and Investor Relations Officer)
Thanks. Good morning everyone. We are happy to welcome you to Vista’s first quarter 2026 results conference call. I am here with Miguel Gallucho, Vista’s chairman and CEO Pablo Verapinto, Vista CFO Juan Garobi, Vista’s CTO and Matthias Weisel, Vista COO. Before we begin, I would like to draw your attention to our cautionary statement on slide 2. Please be advised that our remarks today, including the answers to your questions, may include forward looking statements. These forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from the expectations contemplated by these remarks. Our financial figures are stated in US Dollars and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ifrs. However, during this conference call we may discuss certain non IFRS financial measures such as adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income. Reconciliations of these measures to the closest IFRS measure can be found in the earnings release that we issued yesterday. Please check our website for further information. Our company is Asociación Anónima Bursátil de Capital Variable, organized under the laws of Mexico, registered in the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores and the New York Stock Exchange. Our tickers are VISTA in the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores and VIST in the New York Stock Exchange. I will now turn the call over to Miguel. Thanks Ale Good morning and welcome to this earning call. During the first quarter of 2026 we made solid progress in our annual work program on the back of a robust new well productivity. Total production was 135,000 boes per day, up 67% year over year. Oil production was 117,000 barrels per day, an increase of 68% vis a vis the previous year. Total revenues during the quarter were $694 million, 58% above the same quarter of last year. Lifting cost was $4.30 per boe, 8% below year over year. Capital expenditure was $391 million driven by a strong progress in new well activity during any quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $451 million, an interannual increase of 64%. Net income was $108 million, leading to earnings per share of $1 during the quarter. Free cash flow was minus $341 million, impacted by $331 million of non recurring items of which $206 million corresponded to the initiation of BESA operations on a delivery basis. Without these non recurring items, free cash flow in the quarter would have been almost neutral. Finally, our net leveraging ratio at quarter end was 1.7 times adjusted EBITDA. During Q1 2026 we tie in 23 wells, 12 in Baja del Palo Este, four in Baja del Palo Este and seven net wells in La Marga Chica. This represents very good progress compared to our guidance of 80 to 90 wells for the full year. Solid well productivity of the tying wells drove a material production increase from 127.4 thousand boes per day in January to 143.2 thousand boes per day in March. Total production during Q1 averaged 134.7 thousand boes per day. This represents an interannual increase of 67% reflecting organic growth and our largest scale after the acquisition of La Marga Chica. Oil production was 116.7 thousand barrels per day, 68% higher year over year. Gas production increased 62% on an interannual basis in Q1 2026. Total revenues were $694 million, 58% above the previous year driven by a solid increase in oil production which more than offset lower oil prices. Oil exports more than doubled year over year reaching 7.2 million barrels in the quarter representing 67% of our total sales volume. Realized oil price in Q1 was $60.10 per barrel on average, down 12% on interannual basis and up 2% on a sequential basis in both cases driven by Brent, we sold 100% of oil volumes at equipment parity prices both domestically and internationally. Higher oil prices owing to work in Middle east has a minor impact in Q1 revenues as we have mostly locked in March prices when the conflict started in February 28th. We expect higher oil prices to significantly boost adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow during Q2 2026 and onwards. In Q4 lifting cost was $4.30 per boe, 8% below the same quarter of last year reflecting our low cost asset base fixed cost dilution. As we continue to gain scale selling expenses were $3.80 per boe, down 41% on interannual basis, mainly driven by the elimination of oil tracking as of then of Q1 2025. Adjusted EBITDA during the quarter was $451 million, 64% higher interannually, mainly driven by the consolidation of 50% working interest in La Marga Chica and organic production growth in our core development hub which more than offset lower oil prices. On a sequential basis. Adjusted EBITDA increased 2% driven by higher realized oil prices. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 65% up 3 percentage points compared to the same quarter of last year driven by lower export duties, selling expenses and lifting costs which offset lower oil prices. In Q1 2026. Cash flow from operating activities was $86 million mostly impacted by two one off negative items. First, a working capital impact of $206 million as a consequence of of ramping up our trading operation which move a large part of our export from FOB to deliver basis and at a higher Brent price. Second, an outflow of $46 million corresponding to a tax payment in Mexico which has been booked in previous quarters. Cash flow used in investing activities was $427 million reflecting accrued CapEx of $391 million, a decrease in CapEx related working capital of $53 million and the $80 million deposit related to the Equinor acquisition. As a result, free cash flow was minus $341 million during the quarter net of the working capital one off impacts and the equinor deposit. Recurring free cash flow was minus $10 million during the quarter. These impacts were expected and do not change our positive free cash flow forecast for the year including payment to Equinor. Additionally, as we will show in the following slide, free cash flow is forecast to be materially higher than our original expectations. Cash flow from financing activities were $118 million driven by proceeds from borrowings for $590 million, partially offset by the repayment of borrowings for 130 million and the interest payments of $27 million. Finally, our cash position remains very strong standing at $615 million. At the end of the quarter our net leveraging ratio stood at 1.7 times adjusted EBITDA. Today we are updating our annual guidance to reflect the impact of robust production performance as well as a more contracted view of oil prices based on the solid progress of our new well campaign with 23 tying to date and robust productivity, we are increasing our full year production guidance from 140,000 to 143,000 boes per day, more than a million barrels of oil equivalent for the year. Importantly, our CAPEX guidance remains unchanged. We forecast to spend between 1.5 and $1.6 billion of capex in 2026. Considering the current oil price volatility, we are showing different scenarios for Q2 through Q4 75, 85 and $95 Brent. Based on this new production and oil price assumptions, we are forecasting a material increase in our financial Metrics. In the $85 per barrel scenario, our adjusted EBITDA guidance increased to $2.6 billion, an improvement of $700 billion from our previous guidance. Assuming $95 Brent for Q2 through Q4, adjusted EBITDA will be $2.9 billion and at $75 Brent it will be $2.3 billion. Our 2026 free cash flow guidance increase to $700 million. Assuming our best case of $85 Brent in Q2 through Q4, this is half a billion dollars more than in the original guidance. Assuming $75 for the same period, free cash flow for the year will be $400 million, whereas at $95 it will be $1 billion of free cash flow for the year. This updated guidance does not reflect the closing of Equinox Argentina acquisition. Last week we completed all the conditions precedent to close the transaction. We expect closing to occur in early May and guidance will be updated probably after on a preliminary basis. After consolidating the acquired Asset, we forecast 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to increase to $3 billion assuming $85 Brent for Q2 to Q4. To conclude this call and before we move to Q and A, I will make some closing remarks. Solid execution of our annual work program delivered material production growth during the quarter …
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