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Investing.com -- Vår Energi shares climbed more than 3% on Wednesday after reporting a first-quarter earnings beat, lower production costs, and stable guidance, while reaffirming a 17% dividend yield.
Net profit for the quarter came in at $453 million, 21% ahead of company-compiled consensus, aided by a drop in opex to $11.6 per barrel of oil equivalent from $13.4/boe in the previous quarter.
The result included a $340 million FX gain and a $23 million impairment, both previously flagged.
Jefferies had expected higher earnings at $590 million, with the difference attributed to a larger-than-forecast tax expense of $826 million.
Average production held steady at 272,000 boe per day, in line with guidance. About 35% of volumes were gas, with roughly 20% of that output hedged at $90/boe for the second and third quarters.
Vår Energi reiterated full-year production guidance of 330–360 kboe/d and remains on track to exceed 400 kboe/d by the fourth quarter, supported by new field ramp-ups.
Among key project updates, Johan Castberg began production on March 31, with 15 of 30 wells completed and plateau output targeted at 220 kboe/d gross.
Halten East came online in mid-March and is expected to peak at 20 kboe/d net later this year. Balder X remains on schedule for a second-quarter start, with the Jotun FPSO already anchored and undergoing commissioning. A final investment decision on Balder Phase VI is expected before year-end.
In the Barents Sea, exploration success continued with the Zagato find, Vår Energi’s third near the Goliat FPSO, lifting total discovered and prospective recoverable resources in the area to over 200 million boe.
Cash flow from operations surged to $1.32 billion, up sharply from $378 million in the prior quarter.
Net debt declined 4% sequentially to $4.84 billion, with leverage steady at 0.8x, excluding $799 million of hybrid bonds classified as equity.
Liquidity stood at $2.7 billion following the successful €1 billion senior note issuance at 3.875%, due 2031.
Dividend guidance was maintained, with a second-quarter payout of $300 million matching the first quarter and translating to an annualised $1.2 billion.
This implies a dividend yield of around 17%, in line with consensus expectations. The company reaffirmed its full-year payout target of 25–30% of post-tax cash flow from operations.
All 2025 guidance points remain unchanged. Full-year capex is projected at $2.3–2.5 billion, including $350 million for exploration and $150 million in abandonment costs.
Operating expenses are forecast at $11–12/boe, with expected second-quarter tax payments around $480 million and full-year tax at $2.66 billion.