Beach Energy books strong cash flows following record annual sales and output
Strong free cash flows have pushed Beach Energy to a positive net cash position ahead of forecast.
Beach Energy logged record annual sales and production volumes for the financial year, pushing it to a net cash position two years ahead of its forecast after the 2018 acquisition of Lattice.
The company (BPT), one of Australia’s largest oil and gas producers, said Wednesday its output rose to 29.4 million barrels of oil equivalent in the year through June, just above the top end of its guidance, and sales topped 31 million barrels for the year.
With strong free cash flows during the final quarter and the sale of a stake in select assets, it swung to a cash position of $172 million at the end of June from net debt of $219m three months earlier and $639m a year prior.
Beach has grown its operations in the Western Flank of the Cooper Basin in South Australia to become the country’s biggest onshore oil producer, and has a portfolio of natural gas assets across five basins supplying Australia and New Zealand. The company is targeting a jump in production to between 30 million and 36 million barrels by fiscal 2023 after buying Origin Energy’s (ORG) Lattice division for $1.6bn, sharply lifting its reserves.
Fourth-quarter sales revenue rose 7 per cent quarter-over-quarter and 6.4 per cent on a year earlier to $501m, while sales were up 2 per cent on-quarter and 1.2 per cent higher on-year at just under 7.7 million barrels in the three months through June.
Quarterly production, however, was down following the sale of stake in assets in southern Australia to O.G. Energy Holdings Ltd., slipping 4 per cent on the previous quarter and 3.6 per cent on a year earlier to just shy of 7 million barrels.
“This is a strong performance, considering we only completed the Lattice acquisition less than 18 months ago,” managing director Matt Kay said, adding the company now had a platform to accelerate investment to grow across its asset portfolio.
The company said it plans to release guidance for fiscal 2020 when it releases its full-year results on August 19.
Beach Energy shares jumped more than 2 per cent in early trade, and were up 5 cents at $2.09 at 10.17am (AEST).
Dow Jones Newswires