Australia's Beach reports A$721mn write-down in July-December

Australian oil and gas producer Beach Energy on February 12 disclosed a A$721mn ($470mn) write-down in the value of its Cooper Basin assets for the six months ended December 31, 2023 (H1FY2024).

The impairment, amounting to A$505mn after tax, resulted in a statutory net loss of A$345.1mn, in contrast to a profit of A$207mn for the same period the previous year.

The underlying net profit, excluding extraordinary items, reached A$173mn, marking a 10% decline from A$191mn in the corresponding period last year. Beach Energy's production for H1FY2024 was 8.8mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe), representing an 11% year/year decrease. However, sales volumes increased by 5% year/year, reaching 11mn boe.

The company has revised its full-year production guidance, reducing the top end by 1mn boe. The updated range is now anticipated to be between 18mn and 20mn boe.