Press Release

Record quarterly production exceeds guidance, leads to increased full-year 2023 outlook

Capital investments in quarter were below guidance

Publishes 2023 Sustainability Report and inaugural Climate Risk and Resilience Report

TULSA, OK, Nov. 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE: VTLE) ("Vital Energy" or the "Company") today reported its third-quarter 2023 financial and operating results. Supplemental slides have been posted to the Company's website and can be found at www.vitalenergy.com. A conference call and webcast is planned for 7:30 a.m. CT, Friday, November 3, 2023. Participation details can be found within this release.

Highlights

• Announced three Permian Basin acquisitions adding a combined 53,000 net acres and 150 gross high-value locations (Maple closed October 31; Henry and Tall City are expected to close in early November)
• Reported 3Q-23 net income of $4.9 million, Adjusted Net Income¹ of $95.8 million and cash flows from operating activities of $214.2 million
• Generated 3Q-23 Consolidated EBITDAX¹ of $286.5 million and Free Cash Flow¹ of $91.3 million
• Reported 3Q-23 oil and total production that exceeded the high-end of Company guidance by 1% and 4%, respectively, producing 49.0 thousand barrels of oil per day ("MBO/d") and 101.7 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day ("MBOE/d"), both Company records
• Reported 3Q-23 capital expenditures below the low-end of guidance, investing $158.2 million, excluding non-budgeted acquisitions and leasehold expenditures
• Fortified balance sheet through issuance of $900 million par value of senior unsecured notes and 3,162,500 shares of common stock for combined total net proceeds of $1.04 billion

"Vital Energy delivered across the board in the third quarter," stated Jason Pigott, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We had the powerful combination of higher-than-expected production and lower-than-planned capital investments. These exceptional results translated directly to strong financial performance, driving $91 million of Free Cash Flow."

"Our success has been fueled by our proven strategy of acquiring and efficiently integrating high-value acquisitions," continued Pigott. "This year we have captured five opportunities that increase our scale in the Permian Basin, reduce leverage and generate a highly-competitive Free Cash Flow yield."

¹Non-GAAP financial measure; please see supplemental reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures at the end of this release.

Third-Quarter 2023 Financial and Operations Summary

Financial Results. The Company reported net income attributable to common stockholders of $4.9 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, and Adjusted Net Income of $95.8 million, or $5.16 per adjusted diluted share. Cash flows from operating activities were $214.2 million and Consolidated EBITDAX was $286.5 million.

Production. Consistent with preliminary volumes disclosed in October, Vital Energy's third quarter oil and total production set Company records, averaging 48,996 BO/d and 101,746 BOE/d, respectively. Quarterly outperformance was driven by strong productivity from recently completed wells across the Company's assets. Wells completed by Vital Energy on the recently integrated Driftwood and Forge assets are currently outperforming historical oil production results by 7% and 29%, respectively.

Capital Investments. Total capital expenditures, excluding non-budgeted acquisitions and leasehold expenditures, were lower than anticipated at $158 million, consistent with preliminary amounts disclosed in October. Capital efficiencies were primarily related to savings on facilities investments on recently acquired assets. Vital Energy turned-in-line ("TIL") 10 wells during third-quarter 2023. Investments included $133 million for drilling and completions, $12 million in infrastructure investments (including Vital Midstream Services), $4 million in land, exploration and data related costs and $9 million in other capitalized costs.

Operating Expenses. Lease operating expenses ("LOE") during the period were $7.05 per BOE, slightly higher than expectations, due to the acceleration of high-return workover activity.

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative ("G&A") expenses, excluding long-term incentive plan ("LTIP") and transaction expenses, for third-quarter 2023 were $2.16 per BOE, higher than guidance, primarily related to higher compensation related expenses. Cash LTIP expenses, reflecting price appreciation of Vital Energy's common stock, were $0.29 per BOE. Non-cash LTIP expenses were slightly lower than expectations at $0.28 per BOE.

Liquidity. At September 30, 2023, the Company had no balance on its $1.0 billion senior secured credit facility (with the full $1.0 billion available for future borrowings) and cash and cash equivalents of $590 million.

At November 1, 2023, the Company's senior secured credit facility remained undrawn and cash and cash equivalents were $611 million.

Senior secured credit facility and cash balances reflect the application of the Company's net proceeds of $1.04 billion from its issuance of common stock and senior unsecured notes in September 2023. The Company expects to utilize borrowings under the senior secured credit facility and all of its available cash, in the aggregate amount of approximately $765 million, to close previously announced acquisitions and discharge all outstanding 2025 senior notes. Upon the expected closing of all previously announced acquisitions, the elected commitment on the senior secured credit facility will increase to $1.25 billion.

Sustainability

Vital Energy recently published its 2023 Sustainability Report and an inaugural Climate Risk and Resilience Report. Both reports detail the Company’s performance against its sustainability targets. Two Company targets (Scope 1 GHG emissions intensity and methane emissions reductions) were achieved as of year-end 2022, three years ahead of schedule.

Vital Energy was the first Permian operator to receive the third-party TrustWell certification for responsible operations, placing the Company in the top-quartile of U.S. onshore operators. In 2023, Vital Energy expanded this certification to approximately 60% of its gross operated oil production and became the first company to receive the TrustWell Low Methane Rating.

Fourth-Quarter 2023 Guidance

Production. The Company increased its fourth-quarter 2023 guidance for both total and oil production from those initially provided with the acquisition announcements in September. Total production guidance was increased by 3.8 MBOE/d (previously 98.0 - 102.0 MBOE/d), comprised of 0.9 MBOE/d for increased productivity assumptions and 2.9 MBOE/d for earlier transaction closing dates. Oil production guidance was increased by 1.4 MBO/d (previously 46.5 - 49.5 MBO/d), comprised of 0.3 MBO/d for increased productivity and 1.1 MBO/d for earlier transaction closing dates.

Capital Investments. Vital Energy updated its fourth-quarter 2023 capital investment guidance to $175 - $190 million (previously $195 - $210 million, provided with acquisition announcements in September). Lower than expected investments are related to the earlier completion of acquired wells and the impact of including their capital in purchase price adjustments.

The table below reflects the Company's guidance for production and capital investments for fourth-quarter 2023.

The table below reflects the Company's guidance for select revenue and expense items for fourth-quarter 2023.

2023 Outlook

Production. The Company increased its outlook for full-year 2023 production to incorporate higher third-quarter volumes, increased expectations for fourth-quarter 2023 well productivity, and production associated with revised closing date assumptions for recently announced acquisitions.

The table below reflects the Company’s revised outlook for full-year 2023. Volumes associated with recent acquisitions reflect an October 31, 2023 closing date for the Maple acquisition and a projected early November closing dates for the Henry and Tall City acquisitions.

Capital Investments. Vital Energy lowered its full-year 2023 capital investment guidance to $670 - $685 million (previously $665 - 695 million). The improved outlook is related to lower than expected third-quarter 2023 investments, sustainable savings on facilities investments and timing of activity associated with acquisitions, adjusted for projected closing dates.

The table below reflects the Company’s revised outlook for full-year 2023 for capital investments.

^{¹As of August 8, 2023}

Conference Call Details

Vital Energy plans to host a conference call at 7:30 a.m. CT on Friday, November 3, 2023, to discuss its third-quarter financial and operating results and management's outlook, the content of which is not part of this earnings release. A slide presentation providing summary financial and statistical information will be posted to the Company's website. The Company invites interested parties to listen to the call via the Company's website at www.vitalenergy.com, under the tab for "Investor Relations | News & Presentations." Portfolio managers and analysts who would like to participate on the call should dial 800.715.9871, using conference code 9523356. A replay will be available following the call via the Company's website.

About Vital Energy

Vital Energy, Inc. is an independent energy company with headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Vital Energy's business strategy is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas.

Additional information about Vital Energy may be found on its website at www.vitalenergy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any oral statements made regarding the contents of this release, including in the conference call referenced herein, contain forward-looking statements as defined under 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, that address activities that Vital Energy assumes, plans, expects, believes, intends, projects, indicates, enables, transforms, estimates or anticipates (and other similar expressions) will, should or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on management’s current belief, based on currently available information, as to the outcome and timing of future events. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties.

General risks relating to Vital Energy include, but are not limited to, continuing and worsening inflationary pressures and associated changes in monetary policy that may cause costs to rise; changes in domestic and global production, supply and demand for commodities, including as a result of actions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producing countries ("OPEC+") and the Russian-Ukrainian or Israeli-Hamas military conflicts, the decline in prices of oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas and the related impact to financial statements as a result of asset impairments and revisions to reserve estimates, reduced demand due to shifting market perception towards the oil and gas industry; competition in the oil and gas industry; the ability of the Company to execute its strategies, including its ability to successfully identify and consummate strategic acquisitions at purchase prices that are accretive to its financial results and to successfully integrate acquired businesses, assets and properties, pipeline transportation and storage constraints in the Permian Basin, the effects and duration of the outbreak of disease, and any related government policies and actions, long-term performance of wells, drilling and operating risks, the possibility of production curtailment, the impact of new laws and regulations, including those regarding the use of hydraulic fracturing, and under the Inflation Reduction Act (the "IRA"), including those related to climate change, the impact of legislation or regulatory initiatives intended to address induced seismicity on our ability to conduct our operations; hedging activities, tariffs on steel, the impacts of severe weather, including the freezing of wells and pipelines in the Permian Basin due to cold weather, possible impacts of litigation and regulations, the impact of the Company's transactions, if any, with its securities from time to time, the impact of new environmental, health and safety requirements applicable to the Company's business activities, the possibility of the elimination of federal income tax deductions for oil and gas exploration and development and imposition of any additional taxes under the IRA or otherwise, and other factors, including those and other risks described in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and those set forth from time to time in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). These documents are available through Vital Energy's website at www.vitalenergy.com under the tab "Investor Relations" or through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering and Analysis Retrieval System at www.sec.gov. Any of these factors could cause Vital Energy's actual results and plans to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, Vital Energy can give no assurance that its future results will be as estimated. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. Vital Energy does not intend to, and disclaims any obligation to, correct, update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

The SEC generally permits oil and natural gas companies, in filings made with the SEC, to disclose proved reserves, which are reserve estimates that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions, and certain probable and possible reserves that meet the SEC's definitions for such terms. In this press release and the conference call, the Company may use the terms "resource potential," "resource play," "estimated ultimate recovery" or "EURs," "type curve" and "standardized measure," each of which the SEC guidelines restrict from being included in filings with the SEC without strict compliance with SEC definitions. These terms refer to the Company’s internal estimates of unbooked hydrocarbon quantities that may be potentially discovered through exploratory drilling or recovered with additional drilling or recovery techniques. "Resource potential" is used by the Company to refer to the estimated quantities of hydrocarbons that may be added to proved reserves, largely from a specified resource play potentially supporting numerous drilling locations. A "resource play" is a term used by the Company to describe an accumulation of hydrocarbons known to exist over a large areal expanse and/or thick vertical section potentially supporting numerous drilling locations, which, when compared to a conventional play, typically has a lower geological and/or commercial development risk. "EURs" are based on the Company’s previous operating experience in a given area and publicly available information relating to the operations of producers who are conducting operations in these areas. Unbooked resource potential and "EURs" do not constitute reserves within the meaning of the Society of Petroleum Engineer’s Petroleum Resource Management System or SEC rules and do not include any proved reserves. Actual quantities of reserves that may be ultimately recovered from the Company’s interests may differ substantially from those presented herein. Factors affecting ultimate recovery include the scope of the Company’s ongoing drilling program, which will be directly affected by the availability of capital, decreases in oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas prices, well spacing, drilling and production costs, availability and cost of drilling services and equipment, lease expirations, transportation constraints, regulatory approvals, negative revisions to reserve estimates and other factors, as well as actual drilling results, including geological and mechanical factors affecting recovery rates. "EURs" from reserves may change significantly as development of the Company’s core assets provides additional data. In addition, the Company's production forecasts and expectations for future periods are dependent upon many assumptions, including estimates of production decline rates from existing wells and the undertaking and outcome of future drilling activity, which may be affected by significant commodity price declines or drilling cost increases. "Type curve" refers to a production profile of a well, or a particular category of wells, for a specific play and/or area. The "standardized measure" of discounted future new cash flows is calculated in accordance with SEC regulations and a discount rate of 10%. Actual results may vary considerably and should not be considered to represent the fair market value of the Company’s proved reserves.

This press release and any accompanying disclosures include financial measures that are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), such as Free Cash Flow, Adjusted Net Income and Consolidated EBITDAX. While management believes that such measures are useful for investors, they should not be used as a replacement for financial measures that are in accordance with GAAP. For a reconciliation of such non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable measure in accordance with GAAP, please see the supplemental financial information at the end of this press release.

Unless otherwise specified, references to "average sales price" refer to average sales price excluding the effects of the Company's derivative transactions.

All amounts, dollars and percentages presented in this press release are rounded and therefore approximate.

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^{(1) BOE is calculated using a conversion rate of six Mcf per one Bbl.
(2) The numbers presented are calculated based on actual amounts and may not recalculate using the rounded numbers presented in the table above.
(3) Price reflects the average of actual sales prices received when control passes to the purchaser/customer adjusted for quality, certain transportation fees, geographical differentials, marketing bonuses or deductions and other factors affecting the price received at the delivery point.
(4) Price reflects the after-effects of the Company's commodity derivative transactions on its average sales prices. The Company's calculation of such after-effects includes settlements of matured commodity derivatives during the respective periods.}

Non-GAAP financial measures

The non-GAAP financial measures of Free Cash Flow, Adjusted Net Income, Consolidated EBITDAX, as defined by the Company, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Furthermore, these non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP measures of liquidity or financial performance, but rather should be considered in conjunction with GAAP measures, such as net income or loss, operating income or loss or cash flows from operating activities.

Free Cash Flow

Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company defines as net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) before net changes in operating assets and liabilities and non-budgeted acquisition costs, less incurred capital expenditures, excluding non-budgeted acquisition costs. Management believes Free Cash Flow is useful to management and investors in evaluating operating trends in its business that are affected by production, commodity prices, operating costs and other related factors. There are significant limitations to the use of Free Cash Flow as a measure of performance, including the lack of comparability due to the different methods of calculating Free Cash Flow reported by different companies.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) to Free Cash Flow (non-GAAP) for the periods presented:

^{_____________________________________________________________________________
(1) Includes capitalized share-settled equity-based compensation and asset retirement costs.}

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted Net Income is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company defines as net income or loss (GAAP) plus adjustments for mark-to-market on derivatives, premiums paid or received for commodity derivatives that matured during the period, impairment expense, gains or losses on disposal of assets, income taxes, other non-recurring income and expenses and adjusted income tax expense. Management believes Adjusted Net Income helps investors in the oil and natural gas industry to measure and compare the Company's performance to other oil and natural gas companies by excluding from the calculation items that can vary significantly from company to company depending upon accounting methods, the book value of assets and other non-operational factors.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (GAAP) to Adjusted Net Income (non-GAAP) for the periods presented:

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^{(1) Adjusted income tax expense is calculated by applying a statutory tax rate of 22% for each of the periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022.}

Consolidated EBITDAX

Consolidated EBITDAX is a non-GAAP financial measure defined in the Company's Senior Secured Credit Facility as net income or loss (GAAP) plus adjustments for share-settled equity-based compensation, depletion, depreciation and amortization, impairment expense, gains or losses on disposal of assets, mark-to-market on derivatives, accretion expense, interest expense, income taxes and other non-recurring income and expenses. Consolidated EBITDAX provides no information regarding a company's capital structure, borrowings, interest costs, capital expenditures, working capital movement or tax position. Consolidated EBITDAX does not represent funds available for future discretionary use because it excludes funds required for debt service, capital expenditures, working capital, income taxes, franchise taxes and other commitments and obligations. However, management believes Consolidated EBITDAX is useful to an investor because this measure:

• is used by investors in the oil and natural gas industry to measure a company's operating performance without regard to items that can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods, the book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired, among other factors;
• helps investors to more meaningfully evaluate and compare the results of the Company's operations from period to period by removing the effect of the Company's capital structure from the Company's operating structure; and
• is used by management for various purposes, including (i) as a measure of operating performance, (ii) as a measure of compliance under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, (iii) in presentations to the board of directors and (iv) as a basis for strategic planning and forecasting.
  

There are significant limitations to the use of Consolidated EBITDAX as a measure of performance, including the inability to analyze the effect of certain recurring and non-recurring items that materially affect the Company's net income or loss and the lack of comparability of results of operations to different companies due to the different methods of calculating Consolidated EBITDAX, or similarly titled measures, reported by different companies. The Company is subject to financial covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, one of which establishes a maximum permitted ratio of Net Debt, as defined in the Senior Secured Credit Facility, to Consolidated EBITDAX. See Note 7 in the 2022 Annual Report for additional discussion of the financial covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility. Additional information on Consolidated EBITDAX can be found in the Company's Tenth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility, as filed with the SEC on November 3, 2022.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (GAAP) to Consolidated EBITDAX (non-GAAP) for the periods presented:

The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) to Consolidated EBITDAX (non-GAAP) for the periods presented:

Investor Contact:
Ron Hagood
918.858.5504
ir@vitalenergy.com