Epsilon Announces Initiation of Quarterly Dividend and Plan to Repurchase Shares Pursuant to a Normal Course Issuer Bid
HOUSTON, Feb. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Epsilon Energy Ltd. (“Epsilon” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: EPSN) announced today that its Board of Directors approved the payment of a quarterly dividend and authorized a one-year share repurchase program.
Michael Raleigh, CEO of Epsilon, commented, “The company remains in a very strong financial position with significant and growing cash on hand and no debt in an environment of attractive commodity prices for the short to medium term. Accordingly, we believe it is prudent to take the next step in our shareholder return program by initiating a regular quarterly dividend. We will supplement this dividend with the continuation of our Share Repurchase Program as outlined below.”
Approval of Quarterly Dividend
The Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.0625 per common share, payable on March 31, 2022, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 8, 2022. With the initiation of a cash dividend, Epsilon intends to pay regular quarterly dividends, with future dividend payments subject to quarterly review and approval by its Board of Directors. At this quarterly dividend rate, the annual dividend rate for the fiscal year 2022 is $0.25 per share.
One-Year Share Repurchase Authorization
The Board of Directors also authorized the repurchase of up to 1,183,410 of the outstanding common shares, representing 5% of the outstanding common shares of Epsilon, for an aggregate purchase price of not more than US $8.0 million, pursuant to a normal course issuer bid, during the one-year period commencing on March 8, 2022. The program will end on March 7, 2023 unless the maximum amount of common shares is purchased before then or Epsilon provides earlier notice of termination.
Repurchases may be made at management’s discretion from time to time through the facilities of the NASDAQ Global Market. The price paid for the common shares will be, subject to applicable securities laws, the prevailing market price of such common shares on the NASDAQ Global Market at the time of such purchase. The Company intends to fund the purchase out of available cash and does not expect to incur debt to fund the share repurchase program.
Epsilon believes that the market price of its common shares may not reflect their underlying value and the Board of Directors has authorized this initiative because, in the Board’s opinion, the proposed repurchase of common shares constitutes an appropriate use of Epsilon’s funds, and the repurchase of its common shares is one way of creating shareholder value. To the knowledge of Epsilon, no director, senior officer or other insider of the Epsilon currently intends to sell any common shares under the normal course issuer bid. However, sales by such persons through the facilities of the NASDAQ Global Market may occur if the personal circumstances of any such person changes or any such person makes a decision unrelated to these repurchases. The benefits to any such person whose common shares are purchased would be the same as the benefits available to all other holders whose common shares are purchased.
About Epsilon
Epsilon Energy Ltd. is a North American onshore natural gas production and midstream company with a current focus on the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania.
Contact Information:
281-670-0002
Michael Raleigh
Chief Executive Officer
Michael.Raleigh@EpsilonEnergyLTD.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward looking statements. The use of any of the words “believe”, “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, ‘may”, “will”, “project”, “should”, “intend”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and the forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon.
The Company intends to pay cash dividends on a quarterly basis, with future declarations subject to approval by its Board of Directors. The details of any future cash dividend declaration, including the amount of such dividend and the timing and establishment of the record and payment dates, will be determined by the Board of Directors. The decision of whether to pay future cash dividends and the amount of any such dividends will be based on the Company's financial position, results of operations, cash flows, capital requirements, business conditions, the requirements of applicable law, and any other factors the Board of Directors may deem relevant.
