Tullow drops into the red as H1 write-offs jump

30th Jul 2014 07:58

- H1 loss recorded as write-offs jump- Loss also made on Uganda disposal- Dividend maintained at 4p per shareTullow Oil kept its interim dividend unchanged as it dropped into the red in the first half of 2014, after exploration write-offs more than doubled.Tullow reported a loss before tax of $29m in the first six months of the year, compared with a profit of $486m in the first half of 2013. Losses amounted to 8.3 cents a share, compared with a profit-per-share of 32.2 cents the year before.Exploration costs written off totalled $402m in the first half, up 128% from $176m previously. The company also recorded a $115m loss on a Uganda farm-down.Tullow said that these one-offs were partly offset by a 2% fall in cash operating costs to $15.9 per barrel of oil equivalents (boe).Group revenues fell 6% to $1.26bn in the first half on the back of a 7% fall in sales volumes to 73,200 boe per day linked to last year's disposal of Tullow Bangladesh and certain Gabon assets. The realised oil price per barrel increased by 1% year-on-year to $106.7, but the realised gas price per therm fell 17% to 55.2p.Operating cash flow before working capital fell 11% to $905m. The dividend was maintained at 4.0p for the first half.BC