Revenue, adjusted earnings improve for Jadestone

The AIM-traded firm said unit operating costs slid 9% for the six months ended 30 June, to $25.71 per barrel of oil equivalent, due to the inclusion of the PenMal assets which have a lower operational expenditure per barrel compared to the Australian producing assets.

Adjusted EBITDAX improved 113% to $138.6m, which the board said was primarily due to increased production, higher oil prices and lower one-off project expenditures.

Its net profit after tax totalled $49.5m, compared to $2.5m a year ago.

Operating cash flows before movements in working capital increased 133% to $126.5m, while capital expenditure was down 16% to $13.6m due to the phasing of expenditure in the current second half.

Cash balances totalled $161.6m at period end, up from $48.3m, with no debt outstanding.

The board recommended an interim dividend of 65 US cents per share, up from 59 cents a year ago.

It also noted that on 2 August, it announced the launch of a share buyback programme of up to $25m, confirming that as at 16 September, 4.7 million shares had been acquired at an accumulated cost of $4.9m.

“The company continues to deliver on its growth strategy,” said president and chief executive officer Paul Blakeley.

“In June, we took a final investment decision on the Akatara gas development on the Lemang PSC in Indonesia, with activity at the site now well underway.

“Separately, the acquisition of the outstanding 10% stake in the Lemang PSC is expected to be completed soon.”

Blakeley also noted that in July, the company announced the acquisition of a non-operated interest in the producing Northwest Shelf oil project, offshore Australia, adding that it was making “good progress” towards closing this transaction in the fourth quarter of the year.

“Our strong balance sheet underlines the success of our business model, supporting our planned investments for growth, and while the recent Montara asset incident is unfortunate, we are determined to fix it and deliver the original value proposition vindicating our strategy in the Asia Pacific region.”

At 1010 BST, shares in Jadestone Energy were down 5.07% at 69.3p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.