On Tuesday, Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) discussed first-quarter financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below.
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Summary
Vitesse Energy reported a 7% year-over-year increase in production to 15,962 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with oil contributing 89% of total revenue.
The company closed a Powder River Basin acquisition in early April, expected to add 1,400 barrels per day, funded with equity to maintain balance sheet flexibility.
For Q1 2026, adjusted EBITDA was $33.4 million, with an adjusted net loss of $300,000 due to a $48.2 million unrealized hedge loss.
Vitesse Energy declared a second-quarter cash dividend at an annualized rate of $1.75 per share, with 73% of 2026 oil production hedged at favorable prices.
Management reiterated a focus on disciplined capital allocation, returning capital to shareholders, and maintaining a conservative balance sheet, with no change to previously issued guidance.
Full Transcript
OPERATOR
Greetings welcome to the Vitesse Energy first quarter 2026 earnings call. this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to the Director Industry Relations and Business Development at Vitesse, Ben Mesier. Thank you. You may begin.
Ben Mesier (Director Industry Relations and Business Development)
Good morning everyone and thanks for joining. Today we will be discussing our first quarter 2026 results. Our 10Q and earnings release were released yesterday after market close and an updated investor presentation can be found on the Vitesse website. I’m joined this morning by our CEO and President Jamie Bernard, our CFO Jimi Henderson and Brian Cree, our former President who is with us in a Senior Advisor capacity. Before we begin, please be reminded that this call may contain estimates, projections and other forward looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward looking statements are subject to several risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties can cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Please review our earnings release and risk factors discussed in our filings with the SEC for additional information. In addition, today’s discussion may reference non GAAP financial measures for reconciliation of historical non GAAP financial measures to the most directly GAAP measure. Please reference our 10Q and earnings release. Now I will turn the call over to Vitessea’s CEO and President Jamie Benard.
Jamie Bernard (CEO and President)
Thank you Ben Good morning everyone and thank you for joining today’s call. It’s a privilege to begin my tenure as CEO and President of the Vitesse as of last Friday. I want to thank the group for their hard work getting us to where we are today and I look forward to building on the strong foundation already in place. I want to thank Brian Cree in particular for his commitment to ensuring a seamless handoff and for his continued partnership as a Senior advisor. Through this transition. Vitesse’s primary objective of returning capital to stockholders has not changed. Our board reaffirmed that commitment last week in declaring our second quarter cash dividend at an annualized rate of $1.75 per share. Our fundamental strategy remains consistent disciplined capital allocation towards high rate of return opportunities. This includes organic development of our long duration asset base, purchases of near term development opportunities and accretive acquisitions. We will continue to maintain a conservative balance sheet and hedge at prices that support our dividend. The Powder River Basin acquisition that closed in early April is a good example of that strategy in action. It is accretive in all key financial metrics and funded with equity to preserve balance sheet flexibility. You should expect more of the same discipline going forward. I’ll now turn the call over to Brian Cree to provide more detail on our results and operations.
Brian Cree (Senior Advisor, Former President)
Good morning everyone and thanks Jamie. I’ve been fortunate to serve as President of Vitesse over the past 13 years. We’ve accomplished a great deal together. I’m most proud of the strength of our team and the culture we’ve built. Jamie, you’re in good hands and I look forward to working alongside you through this transition. Production for the first quarter averaged 15,962 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 7% year over year and above our internal expectations. Oil production contributed 89% of total oil and natural gas revenue in the quarter. These results do not yet include any contribution from the Powder River Basin acquisition, which closed in early April. This acquisition is anticipated to add an average of 1,400 net barrels of oil equivalent per day over the remainder of 2026 and was closed without issue for 1.9 million shares of Vitesse common stock. Our underlying asset continues to be developed at a consistent and robust pace. As of March 31, 2026, we had 19.9 net wells in our development pipeline, including 6.2 net wells that were either drilling or completing, and another 13.7 net locations that had been permitted for development. As we previously discussed, 3 and 4 mile development continues to increase across the Williston Basin for Vitessee 72% of our year to date AFES have been for these extended laterals and drilling activity continues to progress further into areas where we hold concentrated acreage positions. As of last week, 67% of the 28 rigs drilling in the Williston were on Vitesse acreage. With the continued hostilities in the Middle east, we have opportunistically layered on additional oil hedges through the end of 2028 at levels supportive to our dividend. For the remainder of 2026, we have approximately 73% of our oil production hedged through swaps and collars with a weighted average floor of $64.68 and ceiling of $67.20 per barrel. We have approximately 50% of our 2026 natural gas production hedged through collars with a weighted average floor of $3.73 and ceiling of $4.91 per MMBtu. Both percentages of hedged oil and natural gas volumes are based on the midpoint of our annual guidance. Thank you for your time. Now I’ll hand the call over to Our cfo, Jimmy Henderson.
Jimmy Henderson
Good morning everyone. Before I get into the first quarter performance, I want to welcome Jamie to the team. I’m excited about the company’s future and look forward to working together. With that, I want to highlight a few items from our financial results for the first quarter of 2026. Please refer to our earnings release and 10Q which were filed last night for any further details. As Brian mentioned, production for the quarter was right at 16,000 boe per day with the 63% oil cut for the quarter, adjusted EBITDA was 33.4 million and we had an adjusted net loss of 300,000 GAAP. Net loss was 42.3 million driven by a 48.2 million unrealized hedge loss. As a reminder, this loss is due to forward prices as of March 31 and is a non cash item. These hedges allow us to lock in the underlying returns as our asset is developed or properties are acquired, which in turn support our dividend and our balance sheet. Free cash flow for the quarter was 12 million after 18.7 million of development capital expenditures net of divestitures. With the Powder River Basin acquisition contributing for the remainder of 2026 and our hedge book now extending through 2028, we remain very well positioned to support our $1.75 annualized dividend. As for the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with total debt of $144.5 million, putting net debt to our trailing twelve month adjusted EBITDA at just 0.82 times. In April, we amended our revolving credit facility expanding availability by 25 million. The elected commitment amount and borrowing base now sit at 275 million with total liquidity before internal cash flows of roughly 130 million. Our previously issued guidance has not changed and incorporates the Powder River Basin acquisition as previously mentioned. We are optimistic that the development pace could increase in the current environment, but at this time, our operators continue to be diligent as we’ve seen through the industry as a whole. In closing, I want to recognize the team’s execution this quarter. Leadership transitions are important moments for any organization, but what ensures continuity is the strength of the people across the business. We are entering this next chapter from a position of strength, fully aligned on strategy and ready to execute. With that, let me now pass the call back to the operator for questions.
OPERATOR
Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press * one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press * two. If you would like to remove your questions from the queue for participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handsets before pressing the * keys. One moment please, while we poll for questions. The first question comes from the line of Jeff Cramp with Nordland Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Jeff Cramp
Morning, everyone. Hey, Jeff. Hey, Jamie. Curious for you with this being your first earnings call and welcome and congrats. If you could just lay out, you know, at a high level, you know, kind of what’s your vision for Vitessa over the coming years and maybe what attracted you to …
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