Adelaide-headquartered Beach said yesterday the results were driven by record production of 9.4 million barrels of oil equivalent during the year.

Total sales increased sevenfold, to 10.55 million boe, with oil and gas sales revenue of $472 million.

The sale of a 10% interest in the Basker Manta Gummy (BMG) asset, for $123 million, also pushed up the record after-tax profit result of $103.3 million.

Revenue reached $566.8 million, more than three times than the 2006 result of $163 million.

Beach achieved these results while also more than doubling its proven and probable (2P) reserves from 36.2 million barrels of oil equivalent to 89.6 MMboe.

Beach managing director Reg Nelson said Beach was ranked fourth in ASX-listed companies – after Woodside, Santos and Origin Energy – in terms of 2P reserves.

“And, at annual production rates of around 10 million barrels of oil equivalent, the reserves to production ratio equates to nine years.”

Without adding any new discoveries, Beach expected to maintain its annual production at 10 MMboe or more over the next three years, he added.

Company chairman Bob Kennedy said a highlight of the year was the company’s admission to the S&P-ASX 200 Index, marking a year of growth and the transformation of Beach into a top Australian mid-cap company.

Kennedy said the rapid increase production and reserves in sales volumes was largely driven by the acquisition of Delhi Petroleum, and the Cooper Basin remained important to Beach.

“The year began with a flush new oilfield discovery at Callawonga,” he said.

“The Cooper-Eromanga Basin delivered yet again. Delhi Petroleum is delivering value to Beach and the company is the second largest reserves owner and producer in the Cooper-Eromanga, after Santos.”

Kennedy said increasing production from its other principal assets, the BMG fields off Victoria and the Tipton West CSM gas fields in eastern Queensland, gave Beach strength, diversity and growth potential.

Going forward, it was reasonable to expect coal seam gas reserves would increase at Tipton West, development of the gas-condensate resource at BMG would be sanctioned and that considerable oil reserves would be delineated through the Cooper oil program and in Beach’s operated areas in the Cooper-Eromanga basins, Nelson said.

“These developments alone should help maintain production while building the reserves base in a material sense,” he said.

Beach said it would pay a 1c per share final dividend which, added to 0.75c per share interim payment, would take the annual dividend to 1.75c per share – a 16.7% increase on the previous year.