North Sea driller EnQuest (ENQ) managed to drive up full-year production over the course of last year, but a sharp increase in operating costs and an extra $100m (£61m) on the accounting tax charge sent earnings tumbling.
Although EnQuest recorded a small drop in its realised price for crude, revenues were up thanks to a 6 per cent increase in average daily production to 24,222 barrels of oil equivalent (boe). However, profits were held back by sales costs, which climbed nearly a fifth to $541m, and by $25m in administrative expenses, up from $6.7m in the previous year.
The good news is that EnQuest, which last year gave the green light to a £4bn investment in the giant Kraken field east of Shetland, bumped up net reserves by 66m boe to 195m boe. For this year, Enquest expects daily output in the range of 25,000 boe to 30,000 boe (excluding production from Didon in Tunisia, as that acquisition has yet to close). Work is expected on over 15 wells through 2014, including three production wells on Alma/Galia and two production wells at the non-operated Alba field, together with a new production well on Don Southwest. EnQuest is currently assessing results from the Cairngorm appraisal well, with preliminary work suggesting that a commercial-scale reservoir is in place - although its accessibility is still open to question.
ENQUEST (ENQ) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 127.9p | MARKET VALUE: | £1bn | |
TOUCH: | 127.7-127.9p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 148p | LOW: 117p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 9 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 185¢* | NET DEBT: | 26% |
Year to 31 Dec | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | 234 | 11 | 1.9 | nil |
2010 | 583 | 56 | 4.0 | nil |
2011 | 936 | 363 | 7.6 | nil |
2012 | 890 | 403 | 46.2 | nil |
2013 | 961 | 331 | 24.4 | nil |
% change | +8 | -18 | -47 | - |
£1=$1.65 *Includes intangible assets of $239m, or 30¢ a share |