Amerisur Resources (AMER) published half-year results on the same day Brent crude closed above $57 (£42) a barrel for the first time since 2015. Improving market conditions for producers – a phrase we use cautiously – is of course good news for investors in the Colombia-based group. The news might have been even more welcome had July’s period of social unrest not slowed down a ramp-up in production from the Platanillo field. Then again, that’s the price for ‘frontier’ drilling.
As it is, the company is guiding for an average of 5,000 barrels per day (bopd) in 2017, down from an initial estimate of 6,000-7,000 bopd. In the first half of the year, Amerisur’s fields yielded 4,475 bopd on average, following an intensive programme of drilling. The outlay on new exploration wells – including the successes at Platanillo-22 and Mariposa-1 – meant cash and cash equivalents fell $13m in the period, partially offset by higher sales prices and a per-barrel operating netback of $29.60, 164 per cent up on 2016. Indeed, one would expect the profit per barrel to increase, so long as oil prices stay above $50 and Amerisur manages to finish the year pumping more than 7,000 barrels a day. Encouragingly, this target exit rate has not been altered by recent events.
On average, analysts now expect pre-tax profit of $16.5m and adjusted EPS of 1.2¢ this year, rising to $46.7m and 2.7¢ in 2018.
| AMERISUR RESOURCES (AMER) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 16.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £200m | |
| TOUCH: | 16.5-16.8p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 33p | LOW: 15p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | N/A | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 17¢* | NET CASH: | $24.4m^ | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2016 | 24.4 | -6.8 | -0.7 | nil |
| 2017 | 38.2 | -1.6 | -0.2 | nil |
| % change | +56 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | n/a | |||
| Payment: | n/a | |||
| £1=$1.35 *Includes intangible assets of $45.9m, or 3.8¢ a share ^Excludes $4.6m restricted cash. | ||||
