Permianville Royalty Trust Reports No Distributable Income and $3 Million Net Loss in Q1 2025

Permianville Royalty Trust reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, revealing a significant decline in profitability compared to the same period in 2024. The Trust recorded no distributable income for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as direct operating and development expenses exceeded cash receipts, resulting in a net loss of approximately $3.0 million. This contrasts with a net profit of $0.2 million reported in the first quarter of 2024. Total revenues for the quarter were $10.6 million, down 7% from $11.4 million in the prior year, primarily due to a decrease in oil sales, which fell by $1.2 million.

The Trust's operational metrics showed mixed results. Oil production volumes slightly decreased to 114,380 barrels from 115,343 barrels year-over-year, while natural gas production surged by 66% to 1,180,460 Mcf. However, the average realized prices for both oil and natural gas declined significantly, with oil prices dropping 11% to $74.59 per barrel and natural gas prices decreasing by 27% to $1.73 per Mcf. The increase in development expenses, which rose by 133% to $7.2 million, was attributed to heightened drilling and completion costs.

In terms of strategic developments, the Trust did not make any regular monthly distributions to unitholders during the first quarter of 2025 or 2024 due to a Net Profits Interest shortfall. However, a special cash distribution of $0.008548 per Trust Unit was declared on March 17, 2025, reflecting the release of previously withheld funds from a property sale. The Trust's corpus decreased to $42.5 million as of March 31, 2025, down from $49.9 million a year earlier, primarily due to the amortization of the net profits interest and cash reserves withheld for expenses.

Looking ahead, the Trust's sponsor indicated that development activity on the underlying properties remained elevated, with capital expenditures increasing by over 130% compared to the same period in 2024. Despite the volatility in commodity prices, the sponsor expects oil-directed capital expenditures in the Permian Basin to decline while gas-directed expenditures in the Haynesville area may remain stable. The Trust continues to maintain a cash reserve for future development expenses, although the outlook remains uncertain due to macroeconomic conditions and potential geopolitical impacts on the energy sector.