Woodside cops hefty revenue hit ahead of crucial AGM

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Energy large Woodside has copped a hefty deed to its first-quarter revenue, with little state prices, a driblet successful production, and attraction issues putting the brakes connected Australia’s largest lipid and state company.

Woodside’s gross for the 4th ending March 31 clocked successful astatine $US2.97 cardinal ($4.65 billion), 31 per cent weaker than the $US4.3 cardinal gross of the aforesaid 4th past year, arsenic the planetary state markets proceed to instrumentality to mean pricing aft the spike caused by Russia’s penetration of Ukraine 2 years ago.

CEO Meg O’Neill presented Woodside’s results conscionable 5 days earlier its important AGM.

The mean terms paid by Woodside’s customers of $US63 (per tube of lipid equivalent) for the 4th was 25 per cent little than the $US85 of 1 twelvemonth ago.

Woodside main enforcement Meg O’Neil said connected Friday that accumulation guidance for the afloat twelvemonth was unchanged.

More of Woodside’s state volition beryllium sold successful Western Australia aft the authorities authorities extended support for state from the Pluto tract to beryllium processed astatine Woodside’s adjacent North West Shelf plant. The deal, which lasts until December 2025, has doubled the magnitude of state that cannot beryllium exported from 15 to 30 per cent.

The merchandise of the statement details comes arsenic Australia’s astir gas-dependent authorities faces an unfamiliar shortage this decade. A authorities parliamentary enquiry into WA’s state policy, which heard ample users telephone for little exports, is expected to merchandise its recommendations successful the adjacent fewer months.

Perth-based Woodside, valued astatine $54.3 billion, is forging up with large projects to boost longer-term production. The Sangomar lipid task disconnected the seashore of Senegal is 96 per cent complete, with the archetypal accumulation scheduled for mid-year.

In WA, Woodside has started drilling the Scarborough state field, and the archetypal modules of processing instrumentality person arrived astatine the Pluto state plant, which is being expanded to treble its capacity.

“Overall, the Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 projects were 62 per cent implicit astatine the extremity of the archetypal quarter, and we stay connected people for archetypal LNG [liquified earthy gas] cargo successful 2026,” O’Neill said.

The quarterly update comes days up of a fiery yearly wide meeting, wherever Woodside is facing a imaginable rejection of its clime program contempt spending 2 years burnishing its clime credentials. Investors delivered a grounds 49 per cent nary ballot connected the program successful 2022.

“Feedback arising from our engagement with investors and stakeholders reflects the challenges and complexities of navigating the vigor transition,” O’Neill said.

Three of the 4 biggest proxy advisers that usher investors connected however to ballot – CGI Glass Lewis, Institutional Shareholder Service and the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors – person told investors to ballot down Woodside’s caller clime plan, which was released successful February.

CGI Glass Lewis besides recommends shareholders cull Woodside’s seat Richard Goyder’s re-election.

Woodside shares fell 1.5 per cent to $29.00 erstwhile trading opened connected Friday.

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