(TSX:AAV) CALGARY, AB, April 25, 2024 /CNW/ - Advantage Energy Ltd. ("Advantage" or the "Corporation") is pleased to report 2024 first quarter financial and operating results. Advantage continued to execute on its three-year plan in the first quarter, delivering exceptional well results and expanding our Tier 1 drilling inventory. Since we exited 2023 with net debt below our target range, we were able to enhance shareholder returns in a period of weak commodity pricing with opportunistic, counter-cyclical share repurchases. 2024 First Quarter Financial Highlights Net income of $23.2 million or $0.14/share Cash provided by operating activities of $67.4 million Adjusted funds flow ("AFF")(a) of $65.4 million or $0.41/share ($67.0 million Advantage(b)) Cash used in investing activities was $79.4 million while net capital expenditures(a) were $80.1 million ($76.2 million Advantage(b)) Net debt(a) increased to $280.0 million ($233.1 million Advantage(b)) Repurchased 2.4 million shares (1.5% of the outstanding shares at December 31, 2023) at an average share price of $8.86, returning $21.3 million to shareholders 2024 First Quarter Operating Highlights First quarter average production of 66,020 boe/d (357.4 mmcf/d natural gas, 6,452 bbls/d liquids), an increase of 14% (18% on a per-share basis) over the first quarter of 2023. Liquids production of 6,452 bbls/d (2,630 bbls/d oil, 1,231 bbls/d condensate, and 2,591 bbls/d NGLs), an increase of 12% (17% on a per-share basis) over the first quarter of 2023. Production through the Glacier Gas Plant achieved design capacity of 425 mmcf/d for sustained periods during the quarter. Advantage's operated infrastructure remained reliable through extremely cold weather in January, though third-party outages impacted production modestly. At Glacier, the most recent two wells delivered a total IP30 of 30.2 mmcf/d. Glacier well performance has continued to exceed expectations, and as a result, three drilled and completed wells are currently shut in due to the plant being at capacity. Currently drilling a three-well liquids-focused pad at Wembley targeting two D4 wells and one D3 well. (a) Specified financial measure which is not a standardized measure under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and may not be comparable to similar specified financial measures used by other entities. Please see "Specified Financial Measures" for the composition of such specified financial measure, an explanation of how such specified financial measure provides useful information to a reader and the purposes for which Management of Advantage uses the specified financial measure, and where required, a reconciliation of the specified financial measure to the most directly comparable IFRS measure. (b) "Advantage" refers to Advantage Energy Ltd. only and excludes its subsidiary Entropy Inc. Marketing Update Advantage has hedged approximately 22% of its forecast natural gas production for summer 2024 and has modest hedges through 2025. Advantage only has approximately 8% exposure to AECO this summer through a combination of fixed price hedges and physical market diversification. Looking Forward Elevated North American gas supplies and an abnormally warm winter have resulted in bottom-decile North American natural gas prices, which are expected to continue through the summer. Supply/demand balances are likely to improve substantially by year-end 2024, driving strong contango in the futures curve. In order to adjust to rapidly changing market dynamics, Advantage continuously reviews its capital plan. Each well pad is evaluated for expected shareholder returns at forward pricing, ensuring all capital spending maximizes AFF per share. Significant discretion remains in our 2024 capital program. Additionally, since our well performance continues to exceed expectations, further capital reductions may be possible without impacting our production targets. Development of our Progress plant remains on track with commissioning anticipated mid-year 2025. To maximize shareholder value, Advantage remains focused on growing AFF per share(a) while maintaining a net debt(a) target of $200 million to $250 million.  Advantage's three-year plan is to deliver compounding AFF per share growth via disciplined capital allocation, with annual spending between $220 million and $300 million and production growth capped at 10%. Based on current futures pricing, Advantage estimates capital spending to be approximately 75% of AFF for 2024 and 2025, and all free cash flow will be used for share repurchases. With modern, low emissions-intensity assets, decades of top-tier inventory, and the Glacier carbon capture and sequestration asset, the Corporation continues to proudly deliver clean, reliable, sustainable energy, contributing to a reduction in global emissions by displacing high-carbon fuels.  Advantage wishes to thank our employees, Board of Directors and our shareholders for their ongoing support.  Conference call Advantage's management team will discuss first-quarter 2024 financial and operational results in a conference call and webcast presentation on Friday, April 26, 2024 at 8:00 am Mountain Time (10:00 am Eastern Time). To participate by phone, please call 1-888-664-6383 (North American toll-free) or 1-416-764-8650 (International). A recording of the conference call will be available for replay by calling 1-888-390-0541 and entering the conference replay code 977926#. The replay will be available until May 3, 2024. To join the conference call without operator assistance, you may enter your details and phone number at https://emportal.ink/3PWpLkq to receive an instant automated call back. You may also stream the event via webcast at https://app.webinar.net/Rgk70L75NqO. Below are complete tables showing financial and operating highlights. Financial Highlights   Three months ended March 31 ($000, except as otherwise indicated) 2024 2023 Financial Statement Highlights Natural gas and liquids sales 135,897 145,999 Net income and comprehensive income(3) 23,163 29,719    per basic share (2)(3) 0.14 0.18    per diluted share(2)(3) 0.14 0.17 Basic weighted average shares (000) 160,444 167,311 Diluted weighted average shares (000) 164,129 174,328 Cash provided by operating activities 67,374 105,955 Cash provided by (used in) financing activities 11,883 (58,359) Cash used in investing activities (79,427) (85,590) Other Financial Highlights Adjusted funds flow (1) 65,393 96,833      per boe (1) 10.88 18.50      per basic share (1)(2) 0.41 0.58      per diluted share (1)(2) 0.40 0.56 Net capital expenditures (1) 80,134 116,700 Free cash flow (negative) (1) (14,741) (19,867) Working capital surplus (deficit)(1) 10,408 (12,449) Bank indebtedness 238,578 167,260 Net debt (1) 279,963 204,709 (1) Specified financial measure which is not a standardized measure under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar specified financial measures used by other entities. Please see "Specified Financial Measures" for the composition of such specified financial measure, an explanation of how such specified financial measure provides useful information to a reader and the purposes for which Management of Advantage uses the specified financial measure, and/or where required, a reconciliation of the specified financial measure to the most directly comparable IFRS measure. (2) Based on basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding. (3) Net income and comprehensive income attributable to Advantage Shareholders.   Operating Highlights Three months ended March 31 2024 2023 Operating Production    Crude oil (bbls/d) 2,630 1,731    Condensate (bbls/d) 1,231 1,157    NGLs (bbls/d) 2,591 2,877    Total liquids (bbls/d) 6,452 5,765    Natural gas (Mcf/d) 357,410 314,273    Total production (boe/d) 66,020 58,144 Average realized prices (including realized derivatives)    Natural gas ($/Mcf) 2.86 4.42    Liquids ($/bbl) 80.21 77.77 Operating Netback ($/boe) (1)    Natural gas and liquids sales 22.62 27.90    Realized gains on derivatives 0.70 3.44    Processing and other income 0.36 0.35    Royalty expense (1.52) (3.19)    Operating expense (4.17) (3.44)    Transportation expense (4.23) (4.33)    Operating netback 13.76 20.73 (1) Specified financial measure which is not a standardized measure under IFRS and may not be ...