Good morning, everybody. My name is Kelsey, and I will be your conference operator for today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Topaz Energy Corp's first quarter 2025 results conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise, and after the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, please press the star followed by the two. Thank you. Mr. Staples, you may begin your conference.
Thank you, Kelsey, and welcome everyone to our discussion of Topaz Energy Corp. results as at and for the period ended March 31, 2025. My name is Marty Staples, and I am President and CEO of Topaz. With me today is Cheree Stephenson, CFO and VP Finance. Before we get started, I refer you to the advisories on forward-looking statements contained in the news release, as well as the advisories contained in the Topaz Annual Information Form and within our MD&A available on SEDAR and our website. I also draw your attention to the material factors and assumptions in those advisories. We'll start this morning by speaking to some recent and first quarter 2025 highlights. After these opening remarks, we'll be open for questions.
Topaz had a strong first quarter marked by several new records achieved, including royalty production, quarterly drilling activity, and our land on our lands and infrastructure revenue. Our board has approved a 3% quarterly dividend increase to CAD0.34 per share, marking our ninth dividend increase and 70% dividend per share growth since inception. Topaz's first quarter royalty production was 22,400 BOE/d, an increase of 10% from the prior quarter and 17% higher than the prior year. Natural gas production increased 13%, and total liquids production increased 4% from the prior quarter. Topaz's first quarter royalty revenue of CAD68.7 million represented 75% of total revenue and generated a 99% operating margin, while first quarter processing revenue and other income achieved a new company record of CAD23.5 million, which was 7% higher than the prior quarter.
During the first quarter, operators spun a new quarterly record of 218 gross wells, 7.3 net, across our royalty acreage, representing 19% of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) drilling activity, which increased significantly from 12% in the first quarter of last year. Drilling activity was diversified across our portfolio with 50 in the Deep Basin, 49 in the Montney, 46 in the Clearwater, 37 in Southeast Saskatchewan and Manitoba, 27 in the Peace River, and 9 across Central Alberta. During the quarter, 191 total gross wells were brought on production, which increased 57% from the prior year. We remain extremely confident in the price resiliency of the plays and the quality of the operators that make up our portfolio, with approximately 93% of our current royalty production volumes generated from five well-capitalized operators.
Based on operator drilling plans, 14-16 rigs will remain active across our royalty acreage through spring breakup, a record level for Topaz, and expect this will increase to 28-30 rigs through the second quarter. Topaz generated first quarter total revenue of CAD 92.2 million, cash flow of CAD 81.7 million, and free cash flow of CAD 80.8 million. Our free cash flow margin increased from 85% to 88% for the first quarter. Cash flow of CAD 0.53 per share and free cash flow of CAD 0.52 per share both increased 13% from prior year. Topaz distributed CAD 50.7 million in quarterly dividends during Q1, representing a 5.2% trailing annualized dividend yield to the first quarter average share price, and generated CAD 30.1 million of excess free cash flow, part of which was allocated to fund the Alberta Montney royalty acquisition, which was completed in January.
Based on our revenue growth, our dividend has been increased, which represents CAD 1.36 per share on an annualized basis, or a 5.9% yield to our current share price. We have reconfirmed our 2025 guidance ranges from 21,000-23,000 BOE/d of average royalty production and CAD88-92 million of processing revenue and other income. Topaz expects to exit 2025 with net debt to EBITDA of 1.2x and generate a 66% payout ratio. As a reminder, our 2025 dividend remains sustainable down to CAD 0 AECO and $55 WTI US, attributed to the fixed revenue provided by our infrastructure portfolio and our hedging contracts in place, which are available in our most recently filed MD&A. We're pleased to answer any questions at this time. Back to you, operator.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now begin the question and answer session. Should you have a question, please press the star followed by the one on your touchstone phone. You will hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press the star followed by the two. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. One moment, please, for your first question. Your first question comes from Michael Harvey from RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Yeah, sure. Good morning. Good morning, guys. Just a couple of, I guess, more broader questions. First, I think you did reiterate the guide, of course, but just be interested in your personal views on how you think activity levels could change throughout the balance of the year and kind of into early next, just given that oil and gas are doing two different things on the commodity level. The second one, just any broader thoughts on the A&D market, availability of deals, and just bid-ask spreads, and any just broad thoughts on how you see that market playing out through the balance of the year as it relates to Topaz would be helpful.
Yeah. Thanks, Mike. Appreciate that. I mentioned in the release that we saw record drilling through breakup of 14-16 rigs, currently sitting at 16 rigs through breakup. Last year, we were kind of peaked out around 9-10 rigs. This is kind of very increased activity from what we would have seen last year. We have not seen any operator direct different drilling plans to the land. We do, without any guidance from, I guess, the biggest operator being Tourmaline, see any change to that. It looks like the drilling is going to continue. End of Q4 last year, we did see some drilling and some DUCs kind of created, but through Q1, we saw a lot of those DUCs actually convert to completions. We did see some inventory build happen.
Probably too soon to tell if maintenance programs do get cut, although, I mean, tough oil prices usually make good gas prices, and we do see a gas thesis building here. I think that's the benefit to our portfolio, the diversification, the quality, and when we've historically seen lower activity, we seem to attract capital back to our royalty lands. Like I said, too soon to tell. From an A&D perspective, we have been active looking at things. Nothing's really caught our eye to try to acquire at this point in time. Saying that, I mean, we did do the Logan deal in January. We do expect the facility that we purchased 35% on to be on stream this quarter. They're doing a great job with their now Logan finalizing that facility. We're okay to sit back and wait for the right thing to come along.
If there is some weakness inside market, I think our capital becomes more precious and more needed by operators. Being patient for a quarter or two, and if this price commodity stays light, I think it is actually a benefit for an entity like Topaz.
Appreciate it. Thanks, guys.
Thanks, Mike.
Thank you. Your next question comes from Jeremy McCrea from BMO. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hey, Marty. Just a bit more on your A&D question here. When you're looking at these different transactions, are you more inclined to pick up more infrastructure here at these levels, or do you believe for the rest of the year you're probably going to see more oil and gas rights that come available?
Yeah. I mean, we get this question quite often, Jeremy, and thanks for it. I would say we're indifferent. We look at both infrastructure and royalty. We look where we can to do a hybrid deal. I think that's what sets us apart from our competitors. In the things we've been looking at, it's about half and half right now from an infrastructure and royalty standpoint. We are looking at both parts of that complex, and I would say we're pretty agnostic as to which one we do. It's just got to have the right return and the right quality for Topaz to transact on.
Okay. Thanks.
Thanks, Jeremy.
Thank you. As a reminder, if you do have a question, please press star one. Your next question comes from Jamie Kubic from CIBC. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good morning, and thanks for taking my question. Just curious on the performance in the portfolio through the quarter. Looked like some strong performance in your light oil volumes and then heavy oil volumes down a little bit. Can you just talk a little bit around the makeup of what the drivers were on this side from a portfolio perspective? Thanks.
Yeah. I'll maybe make a quick comment here, and then Sheree can jump in. One thing in particular we saw in the Clearwater was a lot of producers shift into some ingestion wells. Although we did see some of their volume up, I think they're trying to focus on NPV versus IRR, which is actually a benefit for us because areas like Headwater, that's a royalty that we've completely paid out already. If we can get reserves for longer, that's a great news story. You're getting better recovery, more reserves, and lower decline. It's exactly what we want to see in a recipe. I think heavy oil volumes there, Tamarack and Headwater, both been doing a great job. I think Sheree can probably add some more color to those volumes though.
Sure. Hi, Jamie. On the light oil side, we for sure saw some strong performance in the Charger Lake that would have been coming from Tamarack, and also some wells out in southeast Saskatchewan on the FE land. Those are volumes we do not necessarily have as much line of sight on and as much reliance on within the guide. On the heavy oil side, we did see strong performance from both Tamarack and Headwater. They made up the vast majority of the Q1 heavy oil. There was some additional, essentially some compliance revenue recovered in Q4 from other operators. That is why it looks directionally like Q4 versus Q1 is lower. The overall growth, Tamarack, Headwater from the last couple quarters has been 5% and 6% respectively.
Still see really strong performance from those core operators, and then just some additional sort of noise within the quarter-over-quarter analysis.
I see. Okay. That makes sense. Maybe just a quick follow-on. You talked about 72% of new wells drilled at the end of Q1 2025 during the quarter were drilled but not yet completed. Can you just talk a bit about is this a sort of normal rate for you and how you expect volumes to trend on the back of something like that?
Yeah. We still see a good solid backlog of inventory from Tourmaline. We saw them get through a lot of completions this quarter, but a lot of the wells they drilled through the quarter are still yet uncompleted. We see a really strong inventory build-up. We expect, given how it's shaking up this gas thesis and a bit weaker on the oil side, that Tourmaline will remain super active. We can't predict precisely the cadence, but do expect it would emulate like last year from a drilling rate perspective, and that 20-30 would be sort of an earmark for the remainder of the year. As Marty had mentioned, maybe a bit too soon to say, but we do, yeah, expect to see with this gas price environment, stronger, more consistent activity relative to last year as far as the completions go.
When you see some of the scale of these pads, that isn't uncommon though, Jamie. I mean, they're drilling these multi-super pads right now, and you are going to see all the drilling activity take place first, and completions happen after. When you're talking about cycle time of 80% of your time is spent drilling and 20% of your time is spent completions, and those aren't exact percentages, but just kind of use that as some high-level numbers, you are going to see some DUCs kind of build up over time. I think when we saw one of our main operators, Tourmaline, running 18 rigs on a lot of pad development, that is something that can be expected.
Okay. That's a good color. That's all for me. Thank you.
Thanks, Jamie.
Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. Mr. Staples, you may continue.
Okay. Thanks, everyone, and look forward to talking to you in Q2. Take care.
Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude your conference call for today. We thank you very much for your participation, and you may now disconnect. Have a great day.