© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Gastech 2023 participants gather at Australia’s Woodside Energy’s booth in Singapore September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Tan/File Photo
By Sameer Manekar
(Reuters) -Australia’s top oil and gas explorer Woodside (OTC:) Energy’s full-year underlying profit slumped 37% but came in better than expected on Tuesday as lower realised prices for its products offset higher annual sales and production.
Oil and prices softened in 2023 as slowing global growth and a weaker-than-expected economic recovery in China weighed on demand which has affected majority of the energy sector.
“Compared with 2022, 2023 full-year financial statements primarily reflected lower prices across all commodities, partly offset by higher sales volumes,” the oil and gas explorer said.
For the year ended Dec. 31, Woodside received $68.6 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), compared with $98.4 per boe a year ago, while annual sales volume grew 19% to 201.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).
As a result, the energy giant’s underlying net profit after tax came in at $3.32 billion for 2023, below $5.23 billion in 2022. That beat an LSEG estimate of $3.03 billion.
Woodside said that contracts for liquefied natural gas (LNG) continued to be signed with long durations, “signalling confidence in the future strength of the market from both buyers and sellers”.
“Woodside is geographically advantaged to meet the forecast growing demand for LNG in Asia,” it added.
Woodside, which recently scrapped talks of a potential $52 billion merger with smaller rival Santos, announced a final dividend of 60 cents per share, lower than 144 cents apiece declared for 2022.
It maintained its fiscal 2024 production guidance of between 185 and 195 mmboe. It also reaffirmed its capital expenditure guidance of between $5.0 billion and $5.5 billion.
