2024-02-20 23:31

2023 underlying profit $1.42 bln vs $1.49 bln consensus Dividend beats forecasts, but no buyback First gas from Barossa expected in Q3 2025 Feb 21 (Reuters) - Australian gas producer Santos (STO.AX) , opens new tab reported a worse-than-feared 42% drop in annual profit on Wednesday on weaker gas prices and output and flagged it was working to boost its valuation after merger talks failed with bigger rival Woodside. Santos, which only weeks ago stopped merger talks with Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab, reported an underlying profit of $1.42 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, down from $2.46 billion a year earlier. The result missed an LSEG consensus estimate of $1.49 billion, and Santos shares fell as much as 2% in early trade. The result comes as investors push the company to look for ways to revive an anemic share price that missed out on much of the 2022 boom in energy stocks. However the company shed little light on its strategy review. On an investor call, CEO Kevin Gallagher did not rule out a proposal by hedge fund L1 Capital for Santos to spin off its lucrative liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, and said the company was continuing to work with advisers on ideas to improve the share price. "As you saw with the Woodside discussions, we are more than willing and open to consider other opportunities if and when they become available," he said. Santos said work on the subsea infrastructure for its $4.3 billion Barossa gas project off northern Australia would start this quarter after it secured regulatory approval, one of the last regulatory hurdles for a project long-delayed by court battles. First gas is expected in the third quarter of 2025. Full-year results were weighed by weaker oil and LNG prices, which have fallen from the elevated levels seen in 2022 after the Russia-Ukraine war began. Earnings missed forecasts due to higher third-party purchase costs and LNG plant costs, Citi analysts said in a note. The Adelaide-based company declared a final dividend of 17.5 cents per share, taking its full year dividend to 26.2 cents, versus 22.7 cents in 2022. While the dividend was better than expected, analysts had anticipated a share buyback as well using some of the $352 million Santos has received from the partial sale of its stake in the PNG LNG project. This "raises the question if Santos needs to sell down its jewel assets in order to meet shareholder dividend expectations," said Saul Kavonic, energy analyst at MST Marquee. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australias-santos-full-year-profit-plummets-42-weak-commodity-prices-2024-02-20/

2024-02-20 23:12

Feb 20 (Reuters) - The western Canadian province of Alberta on Tuesday declared an early start to wildfire season as a result of an unusually dry and mild winter, allowing the government to put more money and resources into tackling blazes. Canada endured its worst wildfire season on record last year as 18.5 million hectares (45.7 million acres) burned, nearly seven times the 10-year average, according to the federal government. Alberta is also suffering from drought, and there are 52 wildfires still burning in the province from last year as well as 17 new blazes so far in 2024. Wildfire season in Alberta tends to peak in the spring and usually officially kicks off on March 1. The province declared an early start this year to better direct resources to those fires already underway, the provincial government said in a news release. "Alberta is experiencing warmer than normal temperatures and below average precipitation in many areas of the province, leading to heightened wildfire risk," the provincial government said. The official start of the season allows Alberta Wildfire to use additional tools like fire bans and other restrictions to help manage risk. Alberta is Canada's main oil and gas-producing province and output has been severely disrupted in previous bad wildfire years such as 2016, when large parts of the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray was destroyed by flames. The province is also planning to hire an extra 100 firefighters this year, which would add five new 20-person crews. Last year, Canada's roughly 5,500 firefighters were bolstered by hundreds of international firefighters flown in to help tackle the blazes. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/alberta-wildfire-season-starts-early-canadas-mild-winter-persists-2024-02-20/

2024-02-20 23:06

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia's agriculture minister said late on Tuesday that Moscow had completed its initiative of shipping 200,000 metric tonnes of free grain to six African countries, as promised by President Vladimir Putin in July. Russia shipped 50,000 tonnes each to Somalia and the Central African Republic and 25,000 tonnes each to Mali, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe and Eritrea, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev told Putin during a meeting, according to transcript on the Kremlin's website. Putin had promised to deliver free grain to the six countries at a summit with African leaders in July, soon after Moscow withdrew from a deal that had allowed Ukraine to ship grain from its Black Sea ports despite the war Russia has been waging. The deal, known as the Black Sea grain initiative, had helped lower prices on the global market. But Putin argued it was failing to get supplies to the countries in most urgent need. "After the Russia-Africa summit, we have been maintaining relations (with African countries and building cooperation," Patrushev told Putin. "As a result, we were able to deliver this volume of wheat to these countries quite quickly." He also told Putin that Russia expects to export up to 70 million metric tonnes of grain in the 2023-2024 agricultural year. In the previous season, Russia shipped 66 million tonnes worth almost $16.5 billion, he added. The 2023-2024 agricultural year started July 1, 2023, and lasts until June 30, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/russia-says-it-shipped-200000-tonnes-free-grain-six-african-countries-2024-02-20/

2024-02-20 23:00

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) , opens new tab is exploring a sale of Western Midstream Partners (WES.N) , opens new tab, a U.S. natural gas-focused pipeline operator that has a market value of close to $20 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. The divestment would help Occidental, which is backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) , opens new tab, slash the $18.5 billion debt pile it has accumulated because of acquisitions. Occidental inked a deal in December to acquire oil and gas producer CrownRock for $12 billion, an acquisition which would add further borrowing, four years after its $54 billion purchase of peer Anadarko Petroleum. Western Midstream shares closed 5.7% higher at $30.81 on the news, their highest finish since July 2019. Occidental shares dropped 1.6% to $59.56, along with broad declines among energy producers. Occidental owns 49% of Western Midstream and controls the company's operations by also owning its general partner. Western Midstream is structured as a tax-advantaged master limited partnership, and a general partner is its controlling entity. JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab is advising Occidental on how to extract the most value from its ownership of Western Midstream, the sources added. Western Midstream will likely attract interest from most of its major peers, including Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N) , opens new tab, Williams Companies (WMB.N) , opens new tab and Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) , opens new tab, the sources said. It could also appeal to private equity firms and infrastructure funds. The sources cautioned no deal was guaranteed and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Occidental last week reaffirmed its goal of reducing its debt to below $15 billion, while saying divesting land it does not need in the Permian basin would depend on completing its CrownRock deal. Western Midstream said in a statement it was aware of Occidental's interest in selling assets and could not provide further details, directing questions to Occidental. It added that Western Midstream itself was not running a sale process. A spokesperson for Occidental declined to comment. JPMorgan declined to comment. Spokespeople for Enterprise Products, Williams Companies and Kinder Morgan either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Western Midstream has around 16,000 miles of pipelines in its network, as well as processing, treatment and other facilities, with operations predominantly in the Delaware portion of the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico, as well as the Denver-Julesburg basin in Colorado. The Houston-based company was formed by Anadarko in 2007. Occidental set up Western Midstream as a standalone company when it took over Anadarko late in 2019. Dealmaking in the pipeline sector has been picking up as some companies look to cut costs while others seek more access at scale to attractive oil and gas producing regions, including the Permian basin, as well as export facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Last year, ONEOK (OKE.N) , opens new tab bought Magellan Midstream for $18.8 billion including debt, while Energy Transfer (ET.N) , opens new tab took over Crestwood Equity Partners for $7.1 billion including debt at the start of November. Last month, Sunoco (SUN.N) , opens new tab agreed to acquire NuStar Energy (NS.N) , opens new tab for $7.3 billion including debt. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/occidental-explores-18-bln-plus-sale-western-midstream-sources-say-2024-02-20/

2024-02-20 22:46

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Public Storage (PSA.N) , opens new tab on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter funds from operations above Wall Street estimates, as higher rent for its storage units offset falling occupancy. The company reported fourth-quarter core FFO of $4.20 per share, above analysts' estimates of $4.14, according to LSEG data. Demand for storage space has waned from the heights of the pandemic, as people return to offices. However, Public Storage was able to pad its margins with higher rent. The company reported an about 6% rise in its quarterly revenue to $1.16 billion, above estimates of $1.14 billion. The real estate investment trust, which leases out storage spaces on a monthly basis for personal and business use, reported fourth-quarter profit of $2.21 per share, below analysts' estimates of $2.73 per share. Shares of the company were down 1.5% in after-hours trading. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/public-storage-beats-fourth-quarter-ffo-estimates-higher-rent-income-2024-02-20/

2024-02-20 22:37

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Rapt Therapeutics (RAPT.O) , opens new tab said on Tuesday the U.S. FDA had placed on hold two mid-stage trials of the company's drug to treat eczema and asthma, after liver failure was observed in one of the patients. Shares of the San Francisco-based company hit a record low of $8.5 in early trade. Rapt said it was analyzing the patient's history, and called the liver toxicity an "isolated event". The patient had a drug allergy to Dupixent, Regeneron (REGN.O) , opens new tab and Sanofi's (SASY.PA) , opens new tab drug for the conditions, and had also undergone thyroid hormone replacement therapy for an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto's disease, CEO Brian Wong said in a conference call. The patient was reported to have a COVID-19 infection as well during the time of the event, and was using ashwagandha, a herbal supplement known to be associated with liver failure, according to the company. Stifel analyst Alex Thompson said the clinical hold "represents a major setback" for Rapt and could result in "a meaningful delay in trial timelines". Rapt had enrolled about 350 patients across the two mid-stage trials and a previous early-stage study of the drug, zelnecirnon, but no evidence of liver toxicity was observed with any other patient. The company said in November it was expecting to report results of the trial in patients with atopic dermatitis, or eczema, in mid-2024, while it was making progress on enrollment in its asthma study. Following the hold, Rapt will halt dosing of existing patients and stop enrollment of new participants, while it conducts a thorough investigation of the case. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/rapt-therapeutics-says-fda-puts-two-mid-stage-trials-companys-drug-hold-2024-02-20/