Wintershall Dea breaks quarterly production record. Net debt down by a third

German oil and gas company Wintershall Dea has had a record quarterly production in the first quarter of 2021 with 659,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day and reduced its net debt by almost a third.

Wintershall Dea said in its financial results announced on Tuesday that it was on track to deliver on its full-year guidance. The production outlook for the full year is now 620-640 million boe per day.

According to the company, it performed better at all levels year on year – 1Q 2021 versus 1Q 2020.

Average daily production for the quarter came in at 659,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day – a second consecutive quarter above 650,000. Wintershall Dea added that it was done with low production costs by comparison with the rest of the industry, just €3.2 ($3.86) a barrel.

The company claimed that it was able to break two records in one go – Wintershall Dea has never produced such large volumes at such low costs in its history as it did in the first three months of 2021.

With this, the company remains confident that it will be able to deliver full-year production costs below $4.83/boe, trending towards a targeted $4.23/boe in the medium term.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic Wintershall Dea’s underlying business performance remains exceptionally robust and demonstrates strength in the crisis

“Thanks to low production costs, higher production volumes and an overall increase in prices on the commodities market, Wintershall Dea also recorded a sharp improvement in its financial result in the first quarter, increasing EBITDAX by 47 per cent year-on-year and its free cash flow to $482.8 million.

“Wintershall Dea again reduced its production and development capex for this quarter by 28 per cent compared to previous year’s quarter”, the company stated.

The company’s adjusted net income returned to the black with $206.4 million. Last year’s first quarter had an adjusted net loss of $106.2 million. Wintershall Dea also reduced its net debt by almost a third – from $6.9 billion in the first quarter of 2020 to $4.95 billion in this quarter.

Mario Mehren, Wintershall Dea chairman and CEO, said: “We entered 2021 with a great deal of operating momentum, allowing us to deliver record production of 659 mboe/d in the first quarter.

“This strong operational performance combined with a more robust external environment has resulted in a step-change in our financial performance, allowing us to recommence our common dividend”.

Worth noting, the company recommenced the payment of their common dividend with $603.6 million distributed to shareholders in the first quarter and a further $120.7 million due to be distributed in the second.