Trican Well Service Ltd.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Tricon Well Service second quarter 2024, our means results conference call and webcast. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Mr. Brad Fedora, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tricon Well Service Limited. Please go ahead, Mr. Fedora.

Thank you very much for joining us and good morning, everyone. At first, Scott Matson, our Chief Financial Officer, will give an overview of the quarterly results, and then I will provide some comments with respect to the quarter, current operating conditions, and our outlook for the future. We'll then open up the call for questions. We have several members of our executive team here in the room and are available to answer any questions that anybody may have. I'll now turn the call back to Scott.

Thanks, Brad. So just before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements and other information based on current expectations or results for the company. Certain material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing conclusions or making projections are reflected in the forward-looking information section of our MD&A for Q2 2024. A number of business risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements and our financial outlook. Please refer to our 2023 Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31st, 2023 for a more complete description of business risks and uncertainties facing Trican. This document is available on our website and on CDAR. During this call, we will refer to several common industry terms and use certain non-GAAP measures, which are more fully described in our Q2 2024 MD&A. Our quarterly results were released after close of market last night and are available both on CDAR and our website. So with that, I'll do a brief summary of our results for the quarter. My comments will draw comparisons mostly to the second quarter of last year, but I'll also provide a bit of commentary about our quarterly activity and our expectations going forward. Trican's results for the quarter compared to last year's Q2 were generally stronger due to a busier and less severe spring breakup. We saw an increase in operating activity compared to last year as some of our customers completed their programs that they had previously deferred from Q1 of 2024. and other customers accelerated some of their programs that were scheduled for the second half of 2024 in order to mitigate some of the potential summer water constraints and access concerns regarding seasonal forest fires that they've experienced in prior years. Revenues for the quarter were $211.8 million with adjusted EBITDA of $40.7 million or 19% of revenues, both up approximately 20% from last year. Adjusted EBITDAs for the quarter came in at 45.2 million or 21% of revenues. To arrive at EBITDAs, we had back the effects of cash settled share-based compensation recognized in the quarter to more clearly show the results of our operations and remove some of the financial noise associated with the changes in our share price as we mark to market these items. On a consolidated basis, we continue to generate positive earnings, generating 16.2 million in the quarter. translates to $0.08 per share, both on a basic and fully diluted basis. Tritan generated free cash flow of $20.9 million during the quarter. Our definition of free cash flow is essentially EBITDAs, less non-discretionary cash expenditures, which include maintenance capital, interest, current tax, and cash settled stock-based comp. You can see more details on this in the non-GAAP measures section of our MD&A. CapEx for the quarter, totaled $25.9 million. split between maintenance capital of about $14 million and upgrade capital of $11.9 million. Our upgrade capital was dedicated mainly to the electrification of ancillary frac equipment and ongoing investments to maintain the productive capability of Trican's active equipment. Balance sheet remains in great shape. We exited the quarter with positive working capital of approximately $148.4 million, including cash of $36 million. And as anticipated, our cash position decreased compared to year end, with some of the major factors as follows. Working capital decreased by 4.8 million as working capital unwound, combined with the effects of spring breakup on operating activity. Tax payments were a combined 49.6 million. And I would note that 36.4 of that related to our 2023 tax bill that was outstanding, which we telegraphed throughout 2023. The remainder related to our ongoing installment program for 2024. NCIB funding was $43.8 million during the year, $27.2 million in that during the quarter. And our dividend payment was $18.3 million in the year, $9 million for this quarter. With respect to our return of capital strategy, we repurchased and cancelled 6.2 million shares under our NCIB program in the quarter. and subsequent to Q2 of 2024, we've purchased back and canceled an additional 2.4 million shares and continue to be active with our buyback program as we move towards its renewal in October. As noted in our press release, the Board of Directors approved a dividend of 4.5 cents per share, reflecting approximately 8.6 million in aggregate payment to shareholders. This revision is scheduled to be made on September 30th of 2024, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 13th, 2024. And I would note that those dividends are designated as eligible dividends for Canadian income tax purposes. So with that, I'll turn things back to Brad.