Weak oil and gas prices bit Beach Energy’s earnings and shares in the six months to December.
The company, which is partly owned by Kerry Stokes Seven Group Holdings saw a 2% slip in first-half profit but the company also cut its previously upbeat full-year production and earnings forecasts.
The shares closed at $2.31, down 2.5% in a market up nearly 50 points on the day.
Revenue fell 10% to $948.3 million for the December 31 half, with net profit easing to $278.5 million on its smaller interest in the Victorian Otway asset.
Ignoring the sale of 40% of the Otway asset, which completed late in 2019, the underlying net profit was up 9.0%.
Interim dividend was set at an unchanged one cent a share.
The reason for the slide in the share price was the softer production outlook for the full year, with guidance dropping from 27 to 29 million barrels of oil equivalent to 27 to 28 million.
Capital expenditure is now expected to rise to between $875 million to $950 million – up from a previously forecast $750 million to $850 million.
Underlying earnings are now forecast to soften to between $1.275 billion and $1.35 billion, from $1.25 billion and $1.4 billion.
