Santos 在上半年利潤下降 19% 後暫停派息，但表示未來前景光明

By David Winning

SYDNEY--Santos trimmed its dividend after half-year net profit fell by 19%, reflecting its challenge in capturing all the benefits of higher energy prices due to teething problems at its big new projects in Australia and Alaska.

Santos reported a net profit of US$355 million for the six months through June, down from US$439 million a year ago. Revenue rose by 1.6% to US$2.62 billion, supported by a big jump in the crude oil price compared to a year ago as the market responded to disruptions to global energy supply resulting from the Middle East conflict.

Directors of the company declared an interim dividend of 11.6 U.S. cents a share, down from a payout of 13.4 U.S. cents a year ago.

Santos had put investors on standby for a relatively soft outcome in July after experiencing setbacks during the final stages of commissioning and rampup of its Barossa natural-gas project in Australia and Pikka Phase 1 project in Alaska. The company also said five equity marketed cargoes were lifted before the end of the second quarter, but that it didn't get receipts until after its fiscal second half began.

The setbacks took a toll on Santos's annual production guidance. Santos last month said it expected to produce between 99 million and 105 million barrels of oil equivalent in the 12 months through December. That represented a downgrade to the company's previous forecast of 101 million-111 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Still, Santos is bullish about its prospects across 2026 as a whole, with Barossa production approaching target levels and Pikka oil output forecast to reach plateau rates in the third quarter. The company expects second-half production to be some 20-30% higher than the first half, with stronger liquefied natural gas pricing and cash flow in the third quarter as most of its LNG contracts reflect sales on a three-month pricing lag.

Chief Executive Kevin Gallagher said on Wednesday that Santos lifted its first crude cargo at Pikka last week. He said current output at Barossa is around 550 million standard cubic feet per day, with this expected to rise to 600 mmscf/day by end of the quarter.

"At steady state production the current cargo cadence is one approximately every eight days, while Darwin LNG delivered 100% plant reliability in the first half," Gallagher said.

Ahead of Santos's result, Analysts signaled they would look through any softness in the first half given the step change in free cash flow and production anticipated in the six months through December and beyond. Consensus forecasts are for a materially higher dividend for the second half, reflecting a stronger operational and financial performance.

"With liquidity of US$3.8 billion and no debt maturities before September 2027, the balance sheet is well positioned to fund disciplined, value-accretive production growth for the future and support our target to reduce net debt by US$2.5 billion by 2030," said Gallagher.

Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 18, 2026 19:42 ET (23:42 GMT)

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