VAALCO Energy Inc. (NYSE: EGY; LSE: EGY) ("
VAALCO"
or the "
Company") today announced that its
newly-expanded Board of Directors formally ratified and approved
the share buyback program that was announced on August 8, 2022 in
conjunction with the pending business combination with TransGlobe.
The Board also directed management to implement a Rule 10b5-1
trading plan to facilitate share purchases through open market
purchases, privately-negotiated transactions, or otherwise in
compliance with Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934. The plan provides for an aggregate purchase of currently
outstanding common stock up to $30 million over 20 months. Payment
for shares repurchased under the program will be funded using the
Company's cash on hand and cash flow from operations.
George Maxwell, VAALCO’s Chief Executive
Officer, commented, "We continue to demonstrate the strong
rationale for the business combination with TransGlobe and, with
our share buyback, are fulfilling the first of the two key
commitments that we made regarding returning meaningful value to
our shareholders on a sustainable basis. We also plan to nearly
double our dividend to $0.25 per share annually beginning in 2023
to fulfil the second commitment. We believe right now is a
particularly opportune time to initiate the buyback program given
the recent market price levels of our equity. We believe that this
is an excellent opportunity to buy our common shares at a
significant discount to their intrinsic value and are a very
attractive investment of our strong cash balance. We believe the
market has not yet incorporated the value that will be created from
the combination of our two companies into a single entity with very
strong cash flow generation capacity and a debt-free balance sheet
with significant cash on hand. We have a premier portfolio of
assets in Gabon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea and Canada which should
allow us to return meaningful cash to our shareholders on a
sustainable basis through dividends, share buybacks and potentially
through special distributions in the future.”
The actual timing, number and value of shares
repurchased under the share buyback program will depend on a number
of factors, including constraints specified in any Rule 10b5-1
trading plans, price, general business and market conditions, and
alternative investment opportunities. Under such a trading plan,
the Company’s third-party broker, subject to Securities and
Exchange Commission regulations regarding certain price, market,
volume and timing constraints, would have authority to purchase the
Company’s common stock in accordance with the terms of the
plan.
The share buyback program does not obligate the
Company to acquire any specific number of shares in any period, and
may be expanded, extended, modified or discontinued at any
time.
About VAALCO
VAALCO, founded in 1985 and incorporated under
the laws of Delaware, is a Houston, USA based, independent energy
company with production, development and exploration assets in
Africa and Canada.
Following its business combination with
TransGlobe in October 2022, VAALCO owns a diverse portfolio of
operated production, development and exploration assets across
Gabon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea and Canada.
For Further Information
|
|
VAALCO Energy, Inc.
(General and Investor Enquiries) |
+00 1 713 623 0801 |
Website: |
www.vaalco.com |
|
|
|
|
Al Petrie Advisors (US
Investor Relations) |
+00 1 713 543 3422 |
Al Petrie / Chris Delange |
|
|
|
Buchanan (UK Financial
PR) |
+44 (0) 207 466 5000 |
Ben Romney / Jon Krinks |
VAALCO@buchanan.uk.com |
Forward Looking Statements
This document includes “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of
historical facts, included in this document that address
activities, events, plans, expectations, objectives or developments
that VAALCO expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in
the future are forward-looking statements. These statements may
include statements related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
production quotas imposed by Gabon, disruptions in global supply
chains, quarantines of our workforce or workforce reductions and
other matters related to the pandemic, well results, wells
anticipated to be drilled and placed on production, future levels
of drilling and operational activity and associated expectations,
the implementation of the Company’s business plans and strategy,
prospect evaluations, prospective resources and reserve growth, its
activities in Equatorial Guinea, expected sources of and potential
difficulties in obtaining future capital funding and future
liquidity, its ability to restore production in non-producing
wells, our ability to find a replacement for the FPSO or to renew
the FPSO charter, future operating losses, future changes in crude
oil and natural gas prices, future strategic alternatives, future
and pending acquisitions, capital expenditures, future drilling
plans, acquisition and interpretation of seismic data and costs
thereof, negotiations with governments and third parties, timing of
the settlement of Gabon income taxes, expectations regarding
processing facilities, production, sales and financial projections;
expectations regarding VAALCO’s ability to effectively integrate
assets and properties it acquired as a result of the business
combination with TransGlobe; expectations regarding future
exploration and the development, growth and potential of VAALCO’s
operations, project pipeline and investments, and schedule and
anticipated benefits to be derived therefrom; expectations of
future balance sheet strength; and other risks described (i) under
the caption “Risk Factors” in VAALCO’s 2021 Annual Report on Form
10-K filed with the SEC on March 11, 2022.
These statements are based on assumptions made
by VAALCO based on its experience and perception of historical
trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other
factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Such
statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond VAALCO’s control. These
risks include, but are not limited to, crude oil and natural gas
price volatility, the impact of production quotas imposed by Gabon
in response to production cuts agreed to as a member of OPEC,
inflation, general economic conditions, the outbreak of COVID-19,
the Company’s success in discovering, developing and producing
reserves, production and sales differences due to timing of
liftings, decisions by future lenders, the risks associated with
liquidity, lack of availability of goods, services and capital,
environmental risks, drilling risks, foreign regulatory and
operational risks, and regulatory changes.
VAALCO management’s expectations with respect to
future dividends, annualized dividends or other returns to
stockholders, including share buy-backs, are forward-looking
statements. Investors are cautioned that such statements with
respect to future dividends and share buy-backs are non-binding.
The declaration and payment of future dividends or the terms of any
share buy-backs remain at the discretion of the Board of Directors
of VAALCO and will be determined based on VAALCO’s financial
results, balance sheet strength, cash and liquidity requirements,
future prospects, crude oil and natural gas prices, and other
factors deemed relevant by the Board of Directors of VAALCO. The
Board of Directors of VAALCO reserves all powers related to the
declaration and payment of dividends. Consequently, in determining
the dividend to be declared and paid on VAALCO common stock, the
Board of Directors of VAALCO may revise or terminate the payment
level at any time without prior notice.
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual
results or developments may differ materially from those projected
in the forward-looking statements. VAALCO disclaims any intention
or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
Inside Information
This announcement contains inside information as defined in
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 on market abuse which is part of UK
domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
(“MAR”) and is made in accordance with the Company’s obligations
under article 17 of MAR.
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