Vermilion Energy - Dividend suspended to protect balance sheet

Vermilion Energy recently reported Q120 production of 97.2kboed and fund flows from operations of C$170m. Even though the company has not observed a direct impact on its operations from COVID-19, results were already affected by the pandemic effects on global energy demand and current low commodity prices. In March, the board reduced the monthly dividend by 50% to C$0.115/share and announced a C$80–100m reduction to the annual capital budget. Subsequently, Vermilion suspended the monthly dividend as a further measure to preserve cash. In light of Q120 results and the current measures implemented, in addition to revised short-term commodity prices expectations, our updated valuation decreases to C$8.8/share from C$9.7/share (down 8%).