Vantage Drilling Intentl

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Vantage Drilling fourth quarter and year-end 2024 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you'll need to press star 1 1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1 1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to Raphael Blattner, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Welcome, everyone, to the Vantage Drilling Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. On the call alongside me today is Ihab Thoma, our CEO. This morning, we released our earnings announcement for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. The earnings release is available on our website at VantageDrilling.com Please note that any comments we make today about our expectations of future events and projections are forward-looking statements pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. We have based forward-looking statements on management's current expectations and assumptions and not on historical facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, our expectations regarding future results, including our liquidity position, future costs and expenses related to upgrades and out-of-service work, as well as contract preparation costs and expenses. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and could cause our actual results to differ materially from the projections made. Vantage does not undertake to update any such statement or risk factor. We refer you to our earnings release and financials available on our website. We have prerecorded our opening remarks and are participating on the call remotely to manage the question and answer session segment of the call. In the event there are issues with sound quality or of a similar nature, please accept our apologies in advance and thank you for your understanding. Now I will hand over to our CEO, Ihab Thoma.

Thank you, Rafael, and welcome, everyone. I am pleased to report on a successful 2024 driven by safe operations and the execution of accretive transactions aligned with our asset light strategy. These included the sale of the Topaz Driller and the Suhana, followed by the two previously announced three-year management agreements and a three-year support service agreement. We also incorporated the joint venture with Total Energies and finalized definitive agreements for the joint venture purchase of the tungsten explorer which the parties signed on january 2nd 2025. finally we successfully listed our shares on the euronext growth platform as required by our senior notes indenture the sale of the jackups triggered a redemption of 184.9 million dollars of the outstanding notes and to ensure sufficient liquidity ahead of the tungsten explorer sale and its planned out of service project We subsequently issued an additional $50 million in senior notes. Additionally, Vantage received $20 million in pre-funding for Tungsten Explorer upgrades requested by Total Energies, which are fully funded by Total Energies and not the joint venture. Lastly, and in line with our asset light strategy and focus on managing third-party assets, I am pleased to report that in early 2025, we signed an agreement with Eldorado Drilling, to market the seventh generation Dorado Drill Ship for operations in various locations. I would now like to take the opportunity to reflect on the full year of 2024, and as usual, I will do so by taking you through our progress in relation to our three corporate goals of one, maintaining our stellar safety and operational performance, two, contracting of our fleet, and three, achieving excellent stakeholder returns. I will begin with our first corporate goal of maintaining our stellar safety and operational performance. From a safety perspective, 2024 was a solid year for Vantage. We had several safety achievements such as having no reported injuries on the Suhana and during the Topaz Driller Shipyard project. In addition, Vantage won two safety awards at the IADC SAPC Safety Awards Program. These were best drilling contractor safety initiative award for our innovative 2D safety alert videos, and best offshore drilling contractor recordable incident rates in the region for 2023. Switching to operations, revenue efficiency for the owned fleet during the fourth quarter 2024 was 90.8%, where the deepwater fleet and the jackup fleet ended at 88.4% and 99.2% respectively. Revenue efficiency for the fleet during the year was 92.8%, where the deepwater fleet ended at 89.9%, and the jackup fleet achieved 98.7%. The lower than historical deepwater revenue efficiency was due to equipment issues on the tungsten explorer, resulting in a number of corrective and preventative actions which were implemented fleet-wide. I want to congratulate the Capella and Sohana teams for their outstanding performance in 2024. achieving operational efficiencies of 98.2% and 99.7% respectively. I'll now walk you through our fleet status, which ties to our second corporate goal of contracting our rigs and securing full fleet utilization. Starting with the jackups, the Suhana had an uninterrupted quarter working for Medco Indonesia, rounding off the year with an impressive rig, non-productive time track record of only 30 hours in 2024. The rig has proven to be a stellar performer for MEDCO, having just over one day of downtime throughout the year and more than 480 days since its last recordable safety incident. The Topaz Driller successfully completed the major shipyard project in Singapore safely, on time, and on budget. This project involved mobilizing the rig from West Africa and upgrading it with multiple offline activity equipment, increasing the quarters to 150 people and completing major maintenance of the equipment. The Topaz Driller completed its contract upgrades in mid-September and successfully started its contract with SIPOC at $125,000 per day in the joint development area of Malaysia and Thailand at the end of September. On October 30, Vantage closed the sale of the Sohana and the Topaz Driller for a total of $190 million. The parties also entered into two three-year management agreements for the sole jackups and a three-year support services agreement for the Emerald Driller. These agreements are expected to generate $7.5 million per year when the rigs are fully contracted. These transactions are a testament to Vantage's commitment to returning value to our shareholders and a forward step in executing on our asset light strategy while further expanding our global alliance with our partner ADES. Switching to Deepwater, the Platinum Explorer continues its cyclical recertifications and upgrades, including the upgrade of the BOP from 5 to 6 rams and meeting the latest API standards. We continue to pursue various suitable opportunities for the rig. Moving on to the Tungsten Explorer, the rig continues its campaign in Congo. The client has exercised the three remaining contractual options, which based on current wells program, will take us into the third quarter of 2025. Upon conclusion of these wells, the rig will be sold to the JV. The 10-year management contract will commence and the rig will undergo an out-of-service period, including periodic maintenance and upgrades prior to mobilization to its next contract under the joint venture ownership. We have also signed a contract for two firm wells and four optional wells in West Africa on behalf of the joint venture, which will be its maiden contract under the new ownership and management structure. This scope will commence directly after the Tungsten Explorer concludes its out-of-service scope in the fourth quarter of 2025, with a firm duration of 160 days and a further optional duration of up to 280 days. Backlog at the end of the year totaled $65.3 million, including $21.3 million for rigs owned by third parties, where the contract is still held by an entity of the VDI Group. In our managed services segment, 2024 was a busy year, and that momentum has carried into 2025. last year we returned the capella to sea drilling q3 and expanded our portfolio with the management agreements for the topaz driller and suhana along with the support services agreement for the emerald driller as i earlier mentioned in 2025 we entered into an agreement with el dorado drilling to market the seventh generation dorado drill ship for drilling opportunities across various locations which is a testament to our strong reputation as a rig manager And we remain focused on expanding our managed services business by adding more rigs to our portfolio. And in that spirit, we have also signed an LOI with a third party to manage the marketing, reactivation, and operations of their vessel for a long-term opportunity. Turning to market dynamics, throughout 2024, we saw a trend of deep water project postponements. And while long-term sentiment remains healthy, we anticipate idle periods for some floater extending into 2026. On the jack up segment, the market remains under pressure caused by the suspended contracts with no clear restart dates. I will move now to our third corporate goal of achieving excellent stakeholders returns. In 2024, we achieved a total EBITDA of $116.9 million. With regards to our cash position, we ended the year with a cash balance of $89.6 million, including $6.2 million in restricted cash, $8.3 million of managed services pre-funded cash, and $20 million pre-funded by Total Energies to support the planned upgrades for the Tungsten Explorer. As previously mentioned, to ensure sufficient liquidity before the Tungsten Explorer's planned out-of-service period, we issued $50 million in new nodes. In conclusion, we remain focused on achieving exceptional safety performance and securing profitable long-term drilling contracts to deliver strong future returns for our stakeholders. With that, I would like to turn the call back over to Rafael to take us through the numbers.

Thank you, Ehab, and welcome everyone. I'll now provide an overview of our financial performance for the quarter and full year ending December 31st, 2024. As of December 31st, 2024, Vantage had approximately $89.6 million in cash. This total includes $20 million from Total Energies to support their planned upgrades for the Tungsten Explorer, $6.2 million of restricted cash, and $8.3 million pre-funded by our managed services customers for near-term obligations. In comparison, as of December 31, 2023, Vantage had $84 million in cash, including $10.8 million of restricted cash and $11.6 million pre-funded by our managed services customers. During the year, we successfully listed on the Euronext Growth Exchange sold two jackups to Addis, and simultaneously entered into two three-year management agreements for the sold rigs and a three-year support services agreement for the Emerald Driller. Additionally, Total Energies and Vantage finalized definitive agreements and incorporated the joint venture, which will purchase the Tungsten Explorer after the conclusion of the current Total Energies campaign in the Congo. The parties signed the agreements on January 2, 2025, and upon the sale transaction closing, Vantage will operate the rig for a period of 10 years with an optional extension of five years. These pivotal transactions underscore Vantage's successful execution of its asset-light strategy, positioning the company as debt-free and financially agile. The sale of the jackups generated net proceeds of $184.9 million, which were used to redeem senior notes, reducing the balance from $200 million to approximately $15 million. To maintain adequate liquidity ahead of the Tungsten Explorers sale, followed by its planned out-of-service period, we issued $50 million in new senior notes at a 97% issue price. We issued these notes under the same indenture terms, which include a 9.5% annual interest rate and a mandatory redemption, at par when the Tungsten Explorer is sold to the joint venture. Working capital for the year ending December 31, 2024 ended at approximately $115.3 million compared to $119.1 million in the previous year. For the fourth quarter, we achieved revenues of approximately $64.4 million compared to $94.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2023. Total revenue for 2024 was $239.3 million compared to $383.1 million in the previous year. The decrease in revenue was primarily driven by the change in fleet activity, including the conclusion of the Platinum Explorer campaign in the first quarter of 2024 and management agreements for the Polaris and the Capella in the first and third quarter of 2024, respectively. The decrease in revenue was partially offset by the full recognition of deferred contract revenues upon the sale of the Topaz Driller, totaling $18.9 million. Revenue efficiency for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 for the owned fleet was 90.8% and 92.8% respectively. Operating costs for the fourth quarter totaled $52.2 million. These were lower compared to $75.2 million in the same quarter of 2023. Operating costs for the year ended 2024 totaled $182.5 million, compared to $290.1 million in 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the previously explained change in fleet activity, and it was partially offset by full recognition of deferred contract cost upon the sale of the Topaz Driller totaling $17 million. General and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of 2024 totaled approximately $6.9 million as compared to $6.2 million for the comparable quarter in 2023. The cost increase is primarily due to costs associated with the joint venture setup and definitive agreements and the Euronext growth listing. General and administrative expenses for the year ended 2024 totaled $25.1 million compared to $21.7 million in the year 2023. The $3.4 million increase was mainly driven by labor costs of $1.9 million, along with $1.2 million in non-cash stock compensation and $1.2 million in professional and legal fees primarily associated with the joint venture setup and definitive agreements and the Euronext growth listing. The increase was partially offset by $900,000 from lower severance costs and the Houston office closure. For the fourth quarter, interest expense was approximately $14 million compared to $5.3 million in the same quarter of 2023. The increase in expense was primarily due to write-off of deferred financing costs from the redemption of senior notes totaling $8.7 million. Interest expense for 2024 was $31.4 million, an increase of $9.8 million from 2023. This was mainly due to the $8.7 million write-off of deferred financing costs from the redemption of senior notes and $2.6 million related to the closed revolving credit facility. The increase was partially offset by $1.5 million in lower interest on the remaining balance. The net result for the fourth quarter and for the year of 2024 was net income of $55.5 million and $27.8 million, respectively attributable to shareholders. Net income was impacted by the gain on sale of the Topaz Driller and Sohana totaling $87 million. Please note, we will post our 2024 annual report to our website later today. And with that, I will now turn the call back over to the operator to begin the Q&A.

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