Australian LNG player Santos reported a 37 percent drop in its first-half profit due to lower oil and gas prices.
Underlying profit dropped to $801 million in the January-June period of this year from $1.27 billion in the same period in 2022, Santos said on Wednesday.
Santos reported record profit in 2022 due to high liquefied natural gas prices and increased PNG LNG position after the merger with Oil Search.
In July, Santos said its sales revenue dropped by 18 percent to $1.33 billion in the second quarter due to lower LNG sales volumes, and lower commodity prices for all products.
The independent LNG producer said on Wednesday that its production of 45 million barrels of oil equivalent in the first half also fell 13 percent from the same period in 2022.
Also, the company’s statutory net profit after tax of $790 million fell 32 percent year-on-year.
The company’s board has resolved to pay an interim dividend of 8.7 cents per share unfranked ($283 million), 14 percent higher than the corresponding prior period interim cash dividend.
Managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said Santos has delivered “strong” free cash flow of $1.1 billion and underlying earnings in the 2023 first half, despite an “ever-changing macro environment.”
He said the company remains focused on executing its strategy to “backfill and sustain our existing infrastructure, decarbonize, and develop our Santos Energy Solutions division.”
“Our goal is to strike the right balance between disciplined and phased major project spend, returns to shareholders, and investment in new energy solutions to meet customer demand,” Gallagher said.