AUSTRALIA

Beach makes $79M loss, flags deferments

BEACH Energy has succumbed to the low oil price, reporting a half-year loss after tax of $79.1 mi...

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According to the company, a large driver of the loss was its previously announced $194 million impairment on its Cooper Basin assets and its $30 million charge to its Romanian assets as the company stopped all exploration there.

Underlying net profit for the 2014 half-year period was $72 million, a 54% decrease on the previous corresponding period.

Revenue came to $427 million, a 23% drop on the $557 million reported for the 2013 half-year.

Oil revenue specifically was down $131 million due to lower production, third party volumes and a lower realised oil price, while gas and liquids sales provided a small win, experiencing a boost of 1% to $111 million due to higher sales volumes.

Total net production across all assets during the period was 4.8 million barrels of oil equivalent, reflecting a 3.4% decrease over the previous corresponding period.

The Cooper Basin-focused explorer spent $275 million during the period on exploration and capital which offset its operating cash flow of $136 million.

Cash on hand at the end of the year was $248.6 million.

Looking to the next six months, Beach provided an updated full-year production guidance of 8.9-9.4MMboe. This represents a weighting to the higher end of previous guidance of 8.6-9.4MMboe.

The company said it had identified $55 million worth of potential deferments, representing about 20% of the originally estimated spend for the next six months.

Capital expenditure for the full financial year is expected to be $430-$470 million.

Beach managing director Reg Nelson said that while the company had been challenged by the low oil price, it continued to perform well.

"Operationally, we continue to run our business extremely well," Nelson said.

"While we can't control macro factors such as the oil price, we are the lowest cost operator in the Cooper Basin.

"This, along with our diverse portfolio of oil, gas and gas liquids, positions us well to continue to generate healthy cash operating margins.

"We must not forget that this is also a time when opportunities present themselves. These could include the potential for farm-in to prospective Australian permits, or broader consolidation in the sector."

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