Pampa Energía S.A.

Pampa Energia posted Q1 adjusted EBITDA of $325 million, up 48% year over year and 41% quarter over quarter. Oil and gas adjusted EBITDA was $104 million, 2.5x last year, while power generation adjusted EBITDA was $144 million, up 11% year over year and 30% sequentially. Production exceeded 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and Rincon de Aranda oil output reached 19,500 barrels per day; lifting costs averaged $6.1 per BOE, gas lifting costs were $0.90 per million Btu, and oil lifting costs fell to below $10 per barrel from $41 a year ago. Capex was $242 million, up 36% year over year, including $163 million in Rincon de Aranda. Free cash flow was negative $404 million, cash and cash equivalents were $677 million, gross debt was nearly $1.9 billion, and net debt was $1.2 billion, implying net leverage of 1.5x LTM EBITDA. Management said it does not give formal guidance, but indicated a parent-company budget of around $1 billion EBITDA and consolidated EBITDA of around $1.3 billion, with free cash flow outflow around $400 million, and said net leverage should stay around 1.5 this year before declining over time.

Gustavo Mariani’s message was that the company is benefiting from a structural step-up in both upstream and power thanks to deregulation and project execution. He emphasized that Pampa is capturing more value from its own gas through self-supply to CCGTs, while Rincon de Aranda is becoming a long-life growth platform with a planned plateau and further upside in the north block. His tone was confident and opportunistic, but he repeatedly framed several initiatives — especially urea and the broader RIGI benefit — as still under evaluation or pending approvals.

Adolfo Zuberbuhler focused on the quarter’s financial execution and the balance sheet. He pointed to $325 million of adjusted EBITDA, $242 million of capex, negative $404 million of free cash flow, $677 million of cash, nearly $1.9 billion of gross debt, and $1.2 billion of net debt, with leverage at 1.5x. He also explained that working capital pressure came mostly from oil hedge collateral, prior-year capex payments, and a small DSO deterioration, and said the company may continue accessing debt markets while leverage trends down as EBITDA grows.

Analysts focused on the economics of the Perito Moreno pipeline award, the path for a second tranche, the impact of the new power framework on margins, working capital and hedge collateral, and capital allocation. Management estimated the first tranche could add roughly $100 million from power generation plus about EUR 50 million to EUR 60 million of EBITDA from E&P, while saying the second tranche depends on what gas distributors leave available. On working capital, management said the increase was mostly collateral and capex-related, not a structural deterioration, and on hedging they said the strategy is to stabilize ramp-up results, with hedge coverage likely declining toward about 50% as production scales.