Lower oil and gas prices and the absence of any large scale asset sales saw the bottom line at Santos trimmed by more than 70% in the year to December 2009.
The company said annual net profit was $434 million, after one off items, compared with the 2008 result of $1.7 billion which was boosted by the $1.2 billion profit from the sale of 40% of its Queensland coal seam gas project to Petronas of Malaysia.
The 2009 result includes a $180 million net profit from asset sales, including 60 % of the Petrel, Tern and Frigate fields to a French group, GDF SUEZ.
Underlying net profit (before one off items) in 2009 was $257 million more than half the $548 million in the prior calendar year.
That was due to the fall in world oil and gas prices last year after they had peaked midway through 2008.
The sharp rise in the value of the Aussie dollar in 2009 didn’t help.
The dollar had been strong up to July 2008, then slumped as the credit crunch and recession pushed oil and gas prices down from their all time highs.
The low oil and gas impacted the 2009 result, cutting sales revenue by $600 million compared to 2008.
As a result, sales revenue fell 21% to $2.2 billion despite higher sales volumes.
Despite the fall in revenue and earnings, the company declared a final dividend of 20c, unchanged from 2008.
That made a total for the year of an unchanged 42c a share.
Chief executive David Knox said in a statement to the ASX all guidance for 2010 issued with the fourth quarter activities report remained unchanged.
Santos 2009 production was 54.4 million barrels of oil equivalent – the same as the prior year and in the middle of its guidance range.
2010 production guidance is between 51 and 54 mmboe.
Production growth will resume in 2011 as the company’s pipeline of new projects, including Reindeer, Kipper and ChimSao, come on stream.
"Looking forward, Santos is very well positioned," Mr Knox said.
"Our focus remains on advancing GLNG to a final investment decision and delivering safe and profitable production from our base businesses in Australia and Asia."
Santos executive vice president and chief financial officer Peter Wasow said Santos continued to maintain a strong balance sheet reinforced by $2.2 billion of cash.
"We are well positioned to execute our transformational growth strategy," he said.
Later in the day Mr Knox told a teleconference that Santos would be selling 9% of its Queensland coal seam gas project (Petronas has 40%) to raise more cash for the project and for its share of the huge PNG LNG project.
Mr Knox told the conference that the company was in talks with two parties about a potential equity sale.
Santos shares fell 1%, or 14c, to $13.47.
The cost of the abortive adventure in the Ballarat goldfields has seen Lihir Gold report a net loss for calendar 2009, despite a record underlying profit and record gold production.
Lihir told the ASX yesterday that it posted a net loss for 2009 of $US234 million, down from the loss of $US111 million in 2008.
That was after a one off after tax impairment charge of $US413 million relating to the miner’s discontinued operation at Ballarat in Victoria.
Lihir is running this asset on a virtual care and maintenance basis and is seeking to sell it.
The cost of the Ballarat adventure is believed to have played a part in the surprise departure of the company’s former CEO, Arthur Hood, last month.
Underlying profit was $US290 million, however, up 57% from $US184 million in 2008 and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped sharply, from $US389 million in 2008 to $US634 million last year.
Lihir said this was a record for the company.
Revenue was $1.0874 billion, up 45% on the prior year, and mine earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 63% to $US634 million.
Lihir said it mined a record amount of gold in 2009 of 1.12 million ounces — the first time, the company said, it had mined more than a million ounces.
The company said it expected to produce between 960,000 and 1,060,000 ounces in 2010, as it had forecast in the 2009 production report last month.
Lihir said its total cash costs per ounce had fallen from $US400 an ounce in 2008 to $US397 an ounce in 2009, while the average price received for gold sold rose by 12% from $US850 an ounce to $US956.
The company said it expected total cash costs per ounce to be below $US450 an ounce in 2010, with costs for its Lihir Island flagship mine in Papua New Guinea and its Bonikro operation in west Africa each to be below $US420 an ounce.
The company will pay a final dividend of 1.5c a share, taking dividend for the full year to 3c a share.
"We aim to maintain or increase the dividend in the future as financial performance permits," the company said in the statement.
It said it ended 2009 with a "strong balance sheet with cash of $474 million at 31 December and total borrowings of just $50 million".
Lihir shares fell 3.4%, or 10c, to $2.79.
And resources sector services group, WorleyParsons, has confirmed a profit warning of last month and posted a 30% fall in first half profit.<
