By David Winning
SYDNEY–Beach Energy fell to a half-year loss after taking a large impairment charge against its oil and gas fields in the Cooper Basin in central Australia and some exploration assets.
Beach reported a net loss of 345.1 million Australian dollars (US$224.9 million) for the six months through December, compared to a profit of A$207.2 million a year ago. On an underlying basis, which strip out one-time items, Beach’s profit fell by 10% to A$172.7 million.
A weak net profit outcome had been expected after Beach in late January said it intended to impair its assets by A$505 million after tax. The lion’s share of the one-time charge, at A$328 million, was tied to its active fields in the Cooper Basin and was driven by an increase in joint-venture spending there and forecasts for operating costs.
Directors of the company declared an interim dividend of 2 Australian cents a share, in line with the payout a year earlier.
Group revenue rose by 15% to A$953.9 million, boosted by the sale of the first liquefied natural gas cargo from the Waitsia field in Western Australia to U.K. oil major BP and a one-off condensate cargo from the same development. Beach’s output fetched an average oil price of A$142.0 a barrel in the first half, down from A$148.1 a barrel in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Early benefits from Beach’s LNG sales agreement with BP helped to offset a 12% drop in first-half output to 8.8 million barrels of oil equivalent from a year earlier.
“With new gas supply coming to market in 2024 from Kupe, Enterprise, Waitsia and Thylacine West, Beach is poised for an exciting year ahead,” said Brett Woods, who started as Beach’s Chief Executive on Jan. 29.
Write to David Winning at [email protected]
Read the full article here
