Jadestone Energy swings to profit as revenue surges

Jadestone Energy swung to a pretax profit during the third quarter after the oil and gas developer's revenue leapt.

Over the three months ended 30 September, as oil prices climbed, sales revenue jumped 52.8% year on year to £32.7m, which was also 72.8% higher than in the second quarter.

The fully listed company swung to a profit before tax of £3.2m from a loss of £3.9m in the second quarter, £19.8m in the first half of the year and £3.6m in the third quarter last year.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter stood at £45.6m, up from £10.5m at the same point last year.

Paul Blakeley, president and chief executive at Jadestone, said: "This was a transformational quarter for Jadestone, and one that represents great progress in adding significant value for our shareholders through deployment of our stated strategy. Our progress in Q3 has delivered a resilient business, with an even stronger balance sheet, low debt, and a steady stream of cash generation."

Year-on-year production dropped by 22.4% to 306.1m barrels of oil equivalent, while production was halted for inspections and maintenance at the Montara Assets project, which is located offshore in Australia and was acquired by Jadestone on 28 September.

"I am delighted to have completed our acquisition of the Montara Assets just before quarter end, which has resulted in a three-fold increase in the size of our business. Our ability to layer in high quality inorganic opportunities is a key strand in the Jadestone strategy, and Montara is testament to the deep opportunity set we see in the Asia Pacific region," Blakeley said.

Production at Montara is expected to recommence in early December, while the project will begin to be fully operated by Jadestone after regulatory approvals in the first half of next year.

Jadestone hedged half of Montara's production for two years at an average price of $72/bbl and approximately two thirds of the swapped barrels in 2019 and 2020 have upside price participation via purchased calls with strike prices set at US$80/bbl for 2019 and US$85/bbl for 2020.

Jadestone’s shares were up 1.40% at 36.30p at 0953 GMT.