Harbour Energy sees production surge on back of blockbuster deal

(Sharecast News) - Harbour Energy posted a spike in annual revenues and production on Thursday, boosted by the $11.2bn acquisition Wintershall Dea's oil and gas assets. The London-listed firm saw production jump 40% to 258,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the year to 31 December, while revenues surged 65% to $6.2bn.

Earnings before interest tax, interest, depreciation, amortisation and exploration costs were 50% higher at $4.0bn.

However, pre-tax losses came in at $93m, compared to pre-tax profits of £45m a year earlier, due to the UK's windfall tax on energy companies. The government raised the levy in October from 35% to 38%, taking the headline rate for the sector to 78%.

The results were in line with expectations.

Linda Cook, chief executive, said: "2024 was a transformational year, with the completion of the Wintershall Dea transaction.

"As a result we achieved a step change in the scale, resilience and longevity of our business, underpinning the potential for material free cash flow generation well into th next decade. At the same time, we delivered another year of solid operational and financial performance."

Harbour agreed to buy Wintershall Dea's oil and gas assets from Germany's BASF and investment firm Letter One in 2023.

The blockbuster deal, which completed last September, has transformed Harbour from a mid-sized UK-focused producer to a global oil and gas business with projects in a host of countries, including Norway, Germany, Libya and Argentina.

Looking to 2025, Harbour said it had made a "good start" to the year.

It continued: "Harbour will benefit from a full year's contribution from the Wintershall Dea assets, resulting in another step up in production, a reduction in unit operating costs and increased cash flow generation.

"In these times of continued geopolitical uncertainty and commodity price volatility, the resilience our more diverse and lower cost portfolio provides is ever more important."

Harbour is currently forecasting 2025 production to come in between 450,000 and 475,000 boepd.

As at 0845 GMT, shares in Harbour were down 10% at 193.05p.