30th Apr 2018 16:20
LONDON (Alliance News) - Seplat Petroleum Development Co PLC said on Monday, for the three months ended March 31, it achieved record quarterly revenue from its gas production.
The Nigerian oil and gas company had a net working interest gas production of 158 million standard cubic feet per day which turned in gas revenue of USD40 million, a new quarterly high for the company.
Seplat had a pretax profit of USD59 million for the period after a deferred tax charge of USD24 million. This is a large swing from a pretax loss of USD18 million for the same period last year.
The company's first-quarter was USD181 million with gross profit of USD93 million. Both are large increases from the year before of revenue USD47 million and gross profit USD19 million.
Earnings before income, taxation, depreciation and amortisation was USD116 million which was driven by "higher total production" and higher oil price realisation of USD65.78 per barrel and average gas price of USD2.79 per thousand standard cubic feet per day.
Following a review of its "operational, liquidity and financial position", Seplat has decided to reinstate a dividend for shareholders. The quarter interim dividend will be USD0.05 per share.
CEO Austin Avuru said: "We have made a good start to 2018. Our core production base remains strong and predictable, the gas business has once again set a new record for quarterly revenue contribution and the steps we took to refinance the balance sheet have significantly strengthened our liquidity position and will allow investments to be scaled up. Our debut bond issuance marks another key milestone for the company, widening our long term capital base in support of our growth strategy while also reducing overall borrrowing costs. Looking ahead we will return to drilling in the second half of the year as we re-focus our efforts on the numerous high-margin and short-cycle cash return opportunities we have in our portfolio."
Avuru added: "I am also pleased to report that our strong operational and financial performance has resulted in the board taking the decision to reinstate the dividend for our shareholders. With our capital structure reset and robust free cash flow generation underpinning the business we also have the headroom to capitalise on inorganic growth opportunities as and when they may arise, in line with our price disciplined approach."
Shares in Seplat were up 1.1% to 143.50 pence each Monday afternoon.
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