Whitecap reports higher Q1 earnings as it works to close $15B Veren deal

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CALGARY — Whitecap Resources Inc., weeks away from closing a $15-billion combination with fellow western Canadian oil and gas producer Veren Inc., has reported a jump in first-quarter profits, revenues and production.

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Chief executive Grant Fagerheim told analysts Thursday that “2025 has started off on the right foot, and we expect to have strong performance to continue through the year.”

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The Calgary-based company had net income of $162.6 million during the first three months of the year, compared with $59.8 million during the same quarter in 2024. That amounted to 27 cents per diluted share, up from 10 cents a year earlier.

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Petroleum and natural gas revenues were $942.2 million versus $868.3 million in the first three months of 2024. Average daily production was just over 179,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day compared with almost 170,000 a year earlier.

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The blockbuster deal with Veren announced in March has received Competition Bureau approval, is set to be voted on by shareholders of both companies on May 6 and is on track to close on May 12.

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Shortly after that, Whitecap aims to update its 2025 financial and production forecasts, Fagerheim said.

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The combined company will continue operating under the Whitecap name and management team. It’s expected to become the seventh-largest Canadian oil company by production, the biggest landholder in the Montney and Duvernay shales in western Alberta and the second-largest oil producer in Saskatchewan.

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Under the all-stock transaction, Veren shareholders are to get 1.05 shares of Whitecap for each Veren share they own.

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“We are very much looking forward to combining these outstanding assets and teams together to create a leading light oil condensate and natural gas producer focused on improving long-term sustainability and profitability to drive superior returns to our shareholders,” Fagerheim said.

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He said Whitecap expects to weather the current weakness in commodity prices, just as it did at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and during the collapse in crude oil prices in 2015 and 2016.

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West Texas Intermediate crude prices have been hovering a little above the US$60 a barrel mark in recent weeks. But analysts have said many Canadian oilpatch firms became leaner in past downturns and now have the financial strength to withstand the current doldrums.

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For its part, Whitecap expects to be able to fully fund its annual base dividend of 73 cents per share with WTI at or below US$50 a barrel.

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“Our strategic priorities as we continue through the current commodity price and market volatility remain unchanged with the focus on balance sheet management and capital discipline,” Fagerheim said.

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“Our management team has been through multiple cycles.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.

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Companies in this story: (TSX: WCP) (TSX: VRN)

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