Viper Energy Inc (VNOM) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Viper Energy third quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Viper Energy 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Adam Lawlis, VP of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給今天的第一位發言人，投資者關係副總裁 Adam Lawlis。請繼續。

Thank you, Stephen. Good morning, and welcome to Viper Energy Partners third quarter 2024 call. During our call today, we will reference an updated investor presentation, which can be found on Viper's website. Representing Viper today are Travis Stice, CEO; Kaes Van't Hof, President; and Austen Gilfillian, Vice President.

謝謝你，史蒂芬。早安，歡迎致電 Viper Energy Partners 2024 年第三季電話會議。在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考更新的投資者演示文稿，該演示文稿可以在 Viper 的網站上找到。今天代表 Viper 的是執行長 Travis Stice；凱斯·范特霍夫，總裁；和副總裁奧斯汀·吉爾菲利安。

During this conference call, the participants may make certain forward-looking statements relating to the company's financial conditions, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and businesses. We caution you that actual results could differ materially from those that are indicated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors.

在本次電話會議期間，與會者可能會就本公司的財務狀況、營運績效、計畫、目標、未來績效和業務做出某些前瞻性陳述。我們提醒您，由於多種因素，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性聲明中所示的結果有重大差異。

Information concerning these factors can be found in the company's filings with the SEC. In addition, we will make reference to certain non-GAAP measures. The reconciliations with the appropriate GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release issued yesterday afternoon.

有關這些因素的資訊可以在該公司向 SEC 提交的文件中找到。此外，我們也將參考某些非公認會計準則措施。與適當的公認會計準則措施的對帳可以在我們昨天下午發布的收益報告中找到。

I'll now turn the call over to Travis Stice.

我現在將把電話轉給 Travis Stice。

Thank you, Adam. Welcome, everyone, and thank you for listening to Viper Energy's third quarter 2024 conference call. The third quarter marked a continuation of Viper delivering on its differentiated strategy and value proposition and was highlighted by both continued organic production growth on our legacy asset base and the closing of the Tumbleweed acquisition. As we prepare to head into 2025, we look forward to further delivering on our strategy of consolidating high-quality mineral and royalty assets through a disciplined focused approach.

謝謝你，亞當。歡迎大家，並感謝您收聽 Viper Energy 2024 年第三季電話會議。第三季標誌著 Viper 繼續實施其差異化策略和價值主張，並以我們傳統資產基礎的持續有機生產成長和 Tumbleweed 收購的完成為亮點。在我們準備進入 2025 年之際，我們期待透過嚴格的重點方法進一步落實我們的策略，即鞏固優質礦產和特許權使用費資產。

Looking specifically at current operations, activity remains strong across our acreage position as represented by the substantial amount of work-in-progress and line-of-sight wells, and we continue to benefit from Diamondback's large-scale development of our high concentration royalty acreage.

具體來說，從目前的營運情況來看，我們的油田活動依然強勁，以大量在建井和視線井為代表，我們繼續受益於 Diamondback 對高濃度特許權使用費油田的大規模開發。

Importantly, Diamondback's merger with Endeavor, which closed during the third quarter, only enhanced this alignment as Endeavor was previously the second largest third-party operator on Viper's royalty assets in terms of both production and acreage.

重要的是，Diamondback 與 Endeavor 的合併於第三季度完成，這只增強了這種一致性，因為 Endeavor 以前是 Viper 特許權使用費資產的第二大第三方運營商（無論是產量還是面積）。

Bigger picture, we continue to believe that Viper presents a differentiated investment opportunity with zero capital or operating costs, alignment with a parent operating company that has helped Viper delivered consistent organic growth and a current size and scale that positions us as a strategic consolidator in what remains a highly fragmented minerals and royalty space.

從更大的角度來看，我們仍然相信Viper 提供了零資本或營運成本的差異化投資機會，與幫助Viper 實現持續有機成長的母公司營運公司保持一致，以及當前的規模和規模使我們成為以下領域的策略整合者：礦物和特許權使用費領域仍然高度分散。

In addition to these attributes, our market presence and acquisition strategy has been greatly enhanced now that we are one year post conversion to a Delaware corporation. Looking back 12 months later, we've witnessed a dramatic change in our investor base and trading liquidity.

除了這些屬性之外，我們的市場影響力和收購策略在我們轉換為特拉華州公司一年後也得到了極大的增強。 12 個月後回顧，我們見證了投資者基礎和交易流動性的巨大變化。

On this point, Viper was added to the S&P MidCap 400 in September following being added to the Russell 1000 during the second quarter, both of which are milestones that demonstrate the continued execution of our strategy in highlighting the advantage nature of mineral ownership and the unique value proposition that Viper presents within the space as well as in the energy complex more broadly.

在這一點上，Viper 繼第二季被納入羅素1000 指數後，於9 月被納入標普中盤400 指數，這兩個里程碑都表明我們繼續執行我們的策略，強調礦產所有權的優勢性質和獨特的Viper 在空間以及更廣泛的能源綜合體中提出的價值主張。

Operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請開通提問線。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Neal Dingmann, Truist Securities.

尼爾‧丁曼 (Neal Dingmann)，Truist 證券公司。

Travis, my question for you and the team is on your future well activity. Specifically, last quarter, you guys talked about, I think, 81 gross paying wells in the 5.1% royalty interest and then 249 remaining with the 1.1%. So my question is, when you look at your fourth quarter guide of the 29.5 BO per day, and then you think about '25 production. I'm just wondering, is this based on sort of a similar thing versus other operators split? And would you anticipate the royalty interest of either of these changing much next year?

崔維斯，我向您和團隊提出的問題是關於您未來的油井活動。具體來說，我認為，上個季度，你們談到了 81 個總付費油井，收取 5.1% 的特許權使用費，然後還有 249 個油井收取 1.1% 的特許權使用費。所以我的問題是，當你查看第四季度每日 29.5 BO 的指導時，然後你會想到 25 年的產量。我只是想知道，這是否基於與其他運營商拆分類似的事情？您預計明年其中任何一個的特許權使用費會發生很大變化嗎？

This is Austen. So a couple of points on that. Really as it relates to the work in progress and line of sight wells that we disclose. So as you can see kind of in the current stats with activity, we had a pretty material step-up in the work in progress wells on the Diamondback operated side.

這是奧斯丁。關於這一點有幾點。確實如此，因為它與我們披露的正在進行的工作和視線井有關。因此，正如您在當前的活動統計數據中看到的那樣，我們在響尾蛇作業側的正在進行的工作中取得了相當大的進展。

So that's really the legacy Diamondback and legacy Viper acreage, particularly so in Robertson range there and Northeast Martin County. So that's going to drive a lot of the growth that we're going to see over the next two or three quarters.

這實際上是遺留的響尾蛇和遺留的蝰蛇面積，特別是在羅伯遜山脈和東北馬丁縣。因此，這將推動我們在未來兩三個季度看到的大量成長。

And then you kind of on the tailwind of that have a big step up on the line of sight wells coming from the third-party side. So we added about five to six net wells in that bucket from the Tumbleweed acquisition. So we've got a pretty good portfolio effect now kind of following that growth on the Diamondback side.

然後你就可以順風順水地在來自第三方的視線井上邁出一大步。因此，我們在 Tumbleweed 收購的桶中添加了大約五到六個淨井。因此，隨著響尾蛇方面的成長，我們現在取得了相當不錯的投資組合效應。

We're going to see a pretty big step up on the third-party side. So overall, feeling pretty good about activity. And then not to mention as that continues to high grade diet plan post Endeavor and post Tumbleweed, we have a lot of that growth coming in 2026 that we talked about along with the Tumbleweed acquisition.

我們將看到第三方方面取得了相當大的進展。總的來說，活動感覺很好。更不用說，隨著 Endeavor 和 Tumbleweed 後高級飲食計劃的持續發展，我們在 2026 年將迎來大量增長，我們在收購 Tumbleweed 時也談到了這一點。

Look for that activity. And then second question, just quickly on shareholder return and capital allocation specifically. Is the goal to continue to pay out roughly around 85% of cash available for distribution. And I'm just wondering how do you pair this with what you consider to be sort of appropriate debt repayment quarterly?

尋找該活動。然後是第二個問題，具體是股東回報和資本配置。目標是繼續支付大約 85% 左右的可用於分配的現金。我只是想知道您如何將其與您認為適當的季度債務償還相結合？

Yeah, good question. I think the third quarter was a little unique because of the amount of shares added for the Tumbleweed acquisition, particularly a good amount of shares added on October 1, in early Q4. I think what we decided to do as a Board and the management team was to continue to be shareholder-friendly and make our shareholders whole for their participation and ownership of Viper through the third quarter.

是的，好問題。我認為第三季有點獨特，因為 Tumbleweed 收購增加了股票數量，特別是第四季初 10 月 1 日增加的大量股票。我認為，作為董事會和管理團隊，我們決定要做的是繼續對股東友好，讓我們的股東在第三季充分參與並擁有 Viper。

So the 83% was kind of a one-off. It's 8% higher than the 75% minimum commitment, but we felt it was necessary, particularly for the added 10 million shares in October to make our Q3 investors whole. So sticking with 75%, I think it's a really good number for this business. The base dividend well protected down to $30 a barrel, which is as low as anything in the space. That's going to continue to grow.

所以 83% 是一次性的。這比 75% 的最低承諾高出 8%，但我們認為這是必要的，特別是為了讓我們第三季的投資者完整，在 10 月增加了 1000 萬股。因此，堅持 75%，我認為這對這項業務來說是一個非常好的數字。基本股息得到了很好的保護，低至每桶 30 美元，這是該領域中最低的水平。這將繼續增長。

And our breakeven at Viper is going to continue to decrease as well as we continue to build size and scale and grow this business.

我們 Viper 的損益平衡點將持續下降，同時我們將繼續擴大規模並發展這項業務。

Betty Jiang, Barclays.

蔣貝蒂，巴克萊銀行。

I wanted to talk -- ask about the Endeavour mineral drop-down just given such a significant event for Viper. Can we just talk through the timing and how you're thinking about the funding of that drop? How much debt could you take on at the Viper level? And how does that -- how should we be thinking about Diamondback's share exposure on that mineral activity side and the implication of growth from there?

我想談談 - 詢問關於剛剛考慮到 Viper 如此重要的事件的 Endeavour 礦物下拉列表。我們可以談談時間安排以及您如何考慮這次下降的資金嗎？在毒蛇層級你能承擔多少債務？我們應該如何考慮響尾蛇在礦產活動方面的份額以及由此帶來的成長影響？

Yeah, Betty, good question. I think there are some things we can say as we continue to do a lot of work on the drop-down. I don't think we can give you perfect detail on everything. I think that's going to be up to the two boards to decide cash stock mix. I do think overall, though, both boards and management teams are very aligned that it's not prudent to lever up the sub in exchange for cash upstairs at the parent.

是的，貝蒂，好問題。我認為，隨著我們繼續在下拉式選單上做大量工作，我們可以說一些話。我認為我們無法為您提供一切的完美細節。我認為這將由兩個董事會決定現金股票組合。不過，我確實認為，整體而言，董事會和管理團隊的意見非常一致，認為用子公司的槓桿來換取母公司樓上的現金是不明智的。

So I think you can assume a modest leverage increase that gets paid down very quickly. On the cash side, I also think you can assume that Viper's done a lot of cap raises over the last 1.5 years and has continued to build its float and the ability to raise equity capital in the market and also reward those investors that participated in those capital raises.

因此，我認為您可以假設適度增加槓桿，但很快就會得到回報。在現金方面，我還認為你可以假設 Viper 在過去 1.5 年裡進行了大量的上限提高，並繼續建立其流通量和在市場上籌集股本的能力，並獎勵那些參與這些項目的投資者資本籌集。

We've had three successful deals here over the last year and that momentum is very important for future success. And then I think we also recognize the size of the trade means Diamondback is going to have to take back some equity. But taking back equity has been well rewarded for Diamondback shareholders as well. So I think that mix is going to stay. It's going to be a mix of those three things.

去年我們在這裡達成了三筆成功的交易，這種勢頭對於未來的成功非常重要。然後我認為我們也認識到交易規模意味著響尾蛇將不得不收回一些股權。但收回股權也為響尾蛇股東帶來了豐厚的回報。所以我認為這種混合將會繼續存在。這將是這三件事的混合。

I think there's work to do on value and accretion. And as we said on the Diamondback call, this is the one priority for both businesses to get this done and move on to more corporate development opportunities after that.

我認為在價值和增值方面還有很多工作要做。正如我們在響尾蛇電話會議上所說，這是兩家公司完成這項工作並在此之後轉向更多企業發展機會的首要任務。

I appreciate that. I look forward to more details around that. And my follow-up is thinking through the impact of the Endeavour merger on the visibility Viper has on Diamondback activity. I think the Tumble acquisition really highlighted the power of the symbiotic relationship with Diamondback and providing that visibility out to 2026 onwards. With the Endeavour merger, how much work have you guys done so far? And optimizing the Diamondback activity to give more visibility on the Viper mineral assets?

我很欣賞這一點。我期待更多細節。我的後續行動是思考 Endeavor 合併對 Viper 在 Diamondback 活動中的知名度的影響。我認為 Tumble 收購確實凸顯了與 Diamondback 共生關係的力量，並提供了 2026 年以後的可見性。對於Endeavour合併，到目前為止你們做了多少工作？並優化 Diamondback 活動以提高 Viper 礦產資產的可見度？

Yeah. Better, it's definitely been a work in progress kind of with the Viper land and business development teams, stacking hands with the Diamondback land and planning teams right, to see where Viper owns kind of concentrated interest in undeveloped units and kind of see where those can slide into the pro forma development plan and also how that might impact future acquisition opportunities, which is what we highlighted in the Tumbleweed deal.

是的。更好的是，這絕對是與 Viper 土地和業務開發團隊正在進行的一項工作，與響尾蛇土地和規劃團隊合作，看看 Viper 對未開發單位擁有集中的興趣，並看看這些可以在哪裡幻燈片進入預計發展計劃，以及這可能如何影響未來的收購機會，這就是我們在Tumbleweed 交易中強調的內容。

So kind of I was mentioning to Neil's question, you haven't really seen those show up in either what's classified and what's in progress or line of sight wells yet, just given the lead times on the project side. But it's definitely something that the teams are working on together, and I think would be a toe wind to 2026 and beyond because as we mentioned, Endeavor was previously the second largest third-party operator on Viper -- acreage position. So definitely a sizable opportunity set to kind of high-grade development plans.

當我提到尼爾的問題時，你還沒有真正看到這些內容出現在機密內容、正在進行的內容或視線井中，只是考慮到專案方面的交付時間。但這絕對是各團隊正在共同努力的事情，我認為這將是 2026 年及以後的順風車，因為正如我們提到的，Endeavour 以前是 Viper 上第二大第三方運營商——面積位置。因此，這對於高端發展計畫來說絕對是一個相當大的機會。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Leo Mariani, Roth.

利奧·馬裡亞尼，羅斯。

Totally appreciate that it's going to take some time for you guys to figure out the consideration in terms of cash stock mix for the Endeavor drop-down. But I guess I just wanted to talk about sort of leverage parameters. I mean you did mention you will increase leverage at VNOM somewhat and then attempt to kind of quickly pay that down over time to kind of get back in line. Is there kind of like a max leverage number you think about for VNOM as you're kind of working through some of that math and calculation?

非常感謝你們需要一些時間來弄清楚奮進下拉菜單中現金股票組合的考慮因素。但我想我只是想談談槓桿參數。我的意思是，您確實提到您將在一定程度上增加 VNOM 的槓桿率，然後嘗試隨著時間的推移快速償還債務，以恢復正常。當您進行一些數學和計算時，您是否會想到 VNOM 的最大槓桿數字？

Yeah, Leo, I think 1.5 turns on a pro forma basis seems reasonable. We can debate what oil price that needs to be at, but somewhere around there because you think about the size of the business pro forma and the ability of the business to delever both from either growth or debt paydown is -- it's pretty unique, right?

是的，Leo，我認為預計 1.5 回合似乎是合理的。我們可以討論石油價格需要達到多少，但在附近的某個地方，因為你會考慮到企業的規模以及企業從成長或債務償還中去槓桿化的能力——這是非常獨特的，對吧？

75% of free cash goes to equity, 25% goes to the balance sheet. But at the end of the day, that cash flow stream is 100% free cash unlike an E&P that has a reinvestment rate. So I think a 1.5-ish on a pro forma basis that can come down very quickly makes a ton of sense.

75% 的自由現金用於股權，25% 用於資產負債表。但歸根結底，該現金流是 100% 的自由現金，與具有再投資率的勘探與生產不同。因此，我認為預計 1.5 左右的分數可以很快下降，這是非常有意義的。

I think with Viper's increased size and scale, we're starting to get more attention from the rating agencies appropriately so, moving up the rating scale and improving our overall cost of capital. So Viper is going to be a big business with a lot of free cash.

我認為，隨著 Viper 規模的擴大，我們開始適當地獲得評級機構的更多關注，從而提高評級規模並改善我們的整體資本成本。因此，Viper 將成為一家擁有大量現金的大企業。

And I think we have a goal of this business being a comp to mid-cap E&Ps as the E&P universe continues to shrink. There's less and less Permian pure plays. Well, look at this business called Viper with no CapEx, but exposure to some of the best rock in North America and the best operators in North America.

我認為，隨著勘探與生產領域的不斷縮小，我們的目標是使該業務成為中型勘探與生產公司的競爭對手。二疊紀的純粹活動越來越少。好吧，看看這個名為 Viper 的企業，沒有資本支出，但接觸到了北美一些最好的搖滾樂和北美最好的運營商。

Okay. That makes a lot of sense for sure. And obviously, just looking at the Endeavor deal, obviously, it looks like it will be the largest transaction in Viper history. Obviously, the plan will be to pay down debt shortly after that.

好的。這肯定很有意義。顯然，只要看看 Endeavor 交易，顯然，這將是 Viper 歷史上最大的交易。顯然，該計劃將是在那之後不久償還債務。

But you guys also mentioned that this will just continue to increase the size and scale of VNOM and maybe make the company in an even better position to do more consolidation over time. So just kind of curious if the drop happens sometime in the first part of '25, do you envision that VNOM will be in a position to look at other deals as we get later on in '25?

但你們也提到，這將繼續增加 VNOM 的規模和規模，並可能使公司處於更好的位置，隨著時間的推移進行更多整合。因此，我有點好奇，如果這種下降發生在 25 年上半年的某個時候，您是否認為 VNOM 將能夠在 25 年晚些時候考慮其他交易？

And you obviously have a nice multiple advantage, I think, versus the other public equities in the mineral space. But just wanted to see if you could give us kind of an update on how do you think about other deals post drop? And do you think there's still a lot out there available? And what's the landscape for other deals in the space?

我認為，與礦產領域的其他公共股票相比，您顯然擁有良好的多重優勢。但只是想看看您是否可以向我們提供有關您如何看待放棄後其他交易的最新資訊？您認為還有很多可用的嗎？該領域其他交易的前景如何？

Yeah. I mean I think certainly, the business has been rewarded this year and rightfully so. And while I won't comment on specific opportunities, I will say that there is a larger opportunity set out there for high-quality mineral assets to be consolidated. I'll also say that our unique size and structural advantages that we offered Tumbleweed caught the attention of a lot of significant mineral holders around the basin that recognize that Viper can raise a good amount of cash, but also give them something in the form of like we gave the OpCo units where they can defer taxes and still essentially hold an interest in mineral rights, but in a public setting where they can get liquidity.

是的。我的意思是，我認為當然，今年的業務得到了回報，這是理所當然的。雖然我不會評論具體的機會，但我會說，優質礦產資產的整合存在著更大的機會。我還要說的是，我們提供的 Tumbleweed 獨特的規模和結構優勢引起了盆地周圍許多重要礦產持有者的注意，他們認識到 Viper 可以籌集大量現金，但也可以給他們一些形式的東西就像我們給OpCo 單位提供的，他們可以推遲納稅，並且本質上仍然持有礦權權益，但在公共環境下他們可以獲得流動性。

So I think those deals sparked a lot of interest. We're going to be picky. I think we have a very unique market position, and we don't take that for granted.

所以我認為這些交易引起了很多人的興趣。我們會變得挑剔。我認為我們擁有非常獨特的市場地位，我們並不認為這是理所當然的。

I am showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn it back to Travis Stice, CEO, for closing remarks.

我目前沒有提出任何進一步的問題。現在我想請執行長 Travis Stice 發表結束語。

Thank you again to everyone participating in today's call. If you have any questions, please contact us using the information provided.

再次感謝參加今天電話會議的所有人。如果您有任何疑問，請使用提供的資訊與我們聯絡。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的會議。這確實結束了該程式。您現在可以斷開連線。