Key points:
- Harbour Energy shares rose 3.6% on the latest operations update.
- The oil and gas firm’s revenues surged despite lower selling prices.
- In addition, the company expects to be debt-free next year. Is it a buy?
The Harbour Energy PLC (LON: HBR) share price rose 3.64% after releasing a trading update for the past nine months to 30 September 2022. The oil and gas company’s revenues surged to $4.1 billion with an average selling price of $80/bbl and gas prices of 86 pence/therm.
The company’s realised oil prices were much lower than the average Brent crude price of $105/bbl and NBP gas price of 209 pence/therm. The company’s lower realised hedging activities drove prices by its customers, who had locked in lower prices before oil and gas prices skyrocketed.
Also read: Oil Trading Guide – How To Trade Oil.
Harbour Energy also noted that its daily production rose 27% to 207,000 barrels of oil, with its full-year production expected to come in at the upper half of its target range of 200,000 – 210,000 barrels daily.
The company expects to generate free cash flows of $2 to $2.2 billion after paying $700 million in taxes. However, the firm said its tax liability had risen to $900 million, with $400 million being attributed to the recently approved UK Energy Profits Levy, a windfall tax on the profits generated by UK oil companies.
Harbour Energy expects to be debt free in 2023 after clearing the $1.1 billion debt it expects to have at the end of this year. In addition, the company has returned $500 million to its shareholders this year through dividend payments and a share buyback program.
Linda Z Cook, Harbour Energy’s CEO, commented: “Harbour is delivering operationally with higher production volumes and lower costs, supported by improved efficiency and our capital investment programme. We also remain focused on reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions and advancing our two UK CCS opportunities, Harbour-led Viking CCS in England and Acorn in Scotland. Our company is proud to be the UK’s largest oil and gas producer and, through the combination of these activities, contributing meaningfully to domestic energy security while at the same time working to help realise a shared ambition of UK leadership in CO2 capture and storage.”
Harbour Energy shares have risen 10.82% this year and could be headed higher in future if oil prices rally higher.
*This is not investment advice.
Harbour Energy share price.
The Harbour Energy share price rallied 3.64% to trade at 398.5p, rising from Wednesday’s closing price of 385.10p.