(The Guardian) Woodside profit triples aided by Ukraine war energy price boost
Australia’s biggest gas and oil company Woodside has done very nicely out of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reporting today a full-year net profit after tax of $US6.5bn (or A$9.7bn).
That was up 228% on a year earlier, and includes the proceeds of its takeover of BHP’s oil assets. The main profit driver, though, was soaring global energy prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year earlier.
The disruptions and subsequent sanctions on Russian energy helped push up the “realised price” of Woodside’s production 63% to the equivalent of $US98.40 per barrel of oil.
The market watches most closely the so-called underlying profit, which also rose 223% – or more than triple – to $US5.2bn. Investors were also keen on the dividend payout, which for the full year were $2.53 a share or 87% higher than the previous year.
Woodside as one of the big gas producers has been unhappy about the Albanese government’s invention to place a price cap of $12/gigajoule for domestic supply. Increasingly, though, the worry is what the ACCC is coming to come up with in terms of a mandatory code of conduct, reviews of prices and a “reasonable” price test for future developments.
To that end, the company was keen to state its payments in taxes and royalties had more than tripled in the past year to $A2.7bn.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said in a statement accompanying today’s results: [O]ur tax payments are expected to again increase significantly in 2023.
Investors at least seem cheered by the numbers, with Woodside’s share price recently up about 2.5% to $35.47. The gain was in stark contrast to overall market’s drop of about 1% on concerns about higher inflation – and higher borrowing costs – in the US.
Australia’s biggest gas and oil company Woodside has done very nicely out of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reporting today a full-year net profit after tax of $US6.5bn (or A$9.7bn).
That was up 228% on a year earlier, and includes the proceeds of its takeover of BHP’s oil assets. The main profit driver, though, was soaring global energy prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year earlier.
The disruptions and subsequent sanctions on Russian energy helped push up the “realised price” of Woodside’s production 63% to the equivalent of $US98.40 per barrel of oil.
The market watches most closely the so-called underlying profit, which also rose 223% – or more than triple – to $US5.2bn. Investors were also keen on the dividend payout, which for the full year were $2.53 a share or 87% higher than the previous year.
Woodside as one of the big gas producers has been unhappy about the Albanese government’s invention to place a price cap of $12/gigajoule for domestic supply. Increasingly, though, the worry is what the ACCC is coming to come up with in terms of a mandatory code of conduct, reviews of prices and a “reasonable” price test for future developments.
To that end, the company was keen to state its payments in taxes and royalties had more than tripled in the past year to $A2.7bn.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said in a statement accompanying today’s results: [O]ur tax payments are expected to again increase significantly in 2023.
Investors at least seem cheered by the numbers, with Woodside’s share price recently up about 2.5% to $35.47. The gain was in stark contrast to overall market’s drop of about 1% on concerns about higher inflation – and higher borrowing costs – in the US.
