Crescent Point Energy to pay special dividend after blockbuster profit

Crescent Point Energy Corp., once one of the busiest oil dealmakers in North America, signalled Wednesday that it hasn’t lost its appetite for buying up oil and gas assets despite having focused in recent years on organic growth and shoring up its balance sheet.

In announcing its third-quarter earnings, the Calgary-based oil producer said it would reward shareholders with a special dividend after reporting a net profit of $466.4 million in the third quarter — a significant increase over the $77.5 million reported during the same period last year.

The special dividend of 3.5 cents per share will be payable to shareholders of record as of Nov. 4, and comes on top of the company’s regular quarterly dividend of eight cents per share.

Average production for the quarter was 133,019 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), up from the third quarter in 2021 and in line with analyst forecasts.

Crescent Point, which had a reputation as a dealmaker prior to 2017, also faced questions from investors during a quarterly earnings call Wednesday about the company’s plans for deploying profits over the coming months.

The oil producer said it would hold fast to its promise to dedicate 50 per cent of free cash flow to shareholder returns through buybacks and dividends — with the remaining 50 per cent going toward growth.

“If there’s other things out there that make sense for us to look at, we certainly would, whether it’s an acquisition or a bit of a land pickup here and there,” CEO Craig Bryksa said. “With us maintaining that 50 per cent of that discretionary cash flow, it gives us the ability to then invest within the business.”

Crescent Point also announced an anticipated 2023 capital budget of between $1 billion and $1.1 billion — an increase over the budget it announced for 2022, which had previously been pegged between $875 million and $900 million and revised to $950 million thanks to higher inflation.

The company provided some new insight into its five-year outlook, suggesting it will reach 145,000 boe/d by 2027, largely built on growth in its Kaybob Duvernay play. Crescent Point acquired additional lands in the area for $87 million during the third quarter.

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“We are returning a meaningful amount of capital back to our shareholders for the third quarter as a result of our strong financial and operational performance,” said Bryksa in a statement earlier Wednesday.

“In addition, we bolstered our resource base through a land acquisition during the quarter while also advancing other operational initiatives to further enhance our long-term sustainability. Our 2023 and five-year outlook are expected to generate significant excess cash flow and returns for shareholders, further building on our continued execution.”

• Email: mpotkins@postmedia.com | Twitter: mpotkins

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