Tullow Oil share price surges as group hikes production guidance
Company upbeat on prospects despite expected slump in H1 profits
by Kate Smith Wednesday, 01 Jul 2015, 09:28 BST
Shares in Tullow Oil Plc (LON:TLW) have jumped in morning trade in London after the Africa-focused explorer hiked its full-year production guidance. The company, however, signalled that its first-half profits were set for a sharp fall with the company continuing to feel the pressure of the global drop in oil prices.
As of 08:32 BST, Tullow Oil’s share price had gained 2.30 percent to 347.50p, outperforming the mid-cap FTSE 250 index which currently stands 0.72 percent higher at 17,657.14 points. The company’s shares have lost just under 60 percent over the past year, resulting in Tullow’s demotion from the blue-chip FTSE 100 index earlier this year.
Tullow Oil announced in a statement today that it had seen strong oil production in West Africa in the first half of the year, prompting the company to raise its production guidance for the region from between 63,000 and 68,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to between 66,000 and 70,000 bopd. Tullow’s oil fields in West Africa, including Ghana, Gabon and Ivory Coast, account for the majority of the company’s output.
“Our major oil producing assets in West Africa have performed strongly and we have upgraded our 2015 full year production forecast accordingly,” Tullow’s chief executive Aidan Heavey said in the statement, adding that the company had “taken a number of important steps to ensure that Tullow remains on a firm financial footing”.
The oil explorer also updated investors on its financial performance, forecasting first-half revenue of $800 million (£509 million), down from $1.3 billion (£827 million) a year ago. Tullow’s gross profit is expected to have declined to $300 million from $700 million in the first half of 2014, pressured by the ongoing oil price weakness. The mid-cap explorer will publish its first-half results on July 29.
As of 09:31 BST, Wednesday, 01 July, Tullow Oil plc share price is 346.35p.