New Zealand Oil & Gas has reported a $2.9 million full-year loss with improved production from its Kupe and Maari interests insufficient to offset exploration losses in the first half.
The firm, currently under a takeover offer from its major shareholder, reported a $4.8 million profit a year ago. Excluding the minority holdings in its Cue Energy Resources subsidiary, this year's loss to NZOG shareholders was $7.5 million.
NZOG reported a 21 percent increase in group revenue to $43.3 million in the year to June 30. That was mostly driven by higher sales from its 4 percent stake in the Kupe gas field.
Operating earnings roughly doubled to $15.9 million, buoyed by higher oil prices, $1.1 million in insurance proceeds for repairs to the Maari platform, lower costs and higher second-half production at the Maari oil field.
NZOG said earnings from Kupe climbed to $10.3 million, from $5.6 million a year earlier. Earnings from Melbourne-based Cue, which owns 5 percent of Maari, jumped to $13.2 million from $5.2 million the year before. That included reimbursement of almost $1 million of costs from the Ironbark venture off Western Australia and lower production costs from Cue's Sampang project in Indonesia.