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(Alliance News) - Kosmos Energy Ltd on Monday said it swung to a profit in the third quarter of 2019, helped by reduced expenses and higher oil & gas revenue.
For the three months ended September 30, Kosmos posted a USD39.5 million pretax profit, swinging from a USD114.7 million loss the year before.
The bulk of this change was down to a substantial 47% jump in oil & gas revenue to USD357.0 million from USD242.8 million. This resulted in total revenue and other income rising 43% to USD357.0 from USD250.2 million, including a USD7.7 million gain on sale of assets the year before that did not repeat.
Profit was further aided by a 13% drop in total costs & expenses to USD317.5 million from USD364.9 million.
Kosmos noted that its results included a USD27 million mark to market gain relating to oil derivative contracts. As at September 30, Kosmos had hedged 15.1 million barrels of oil, "covering 2019 through 2020 including Brent, WTI, and LLS based hedges".
At the end of the quarter, its liquidity stood at USD704 million and total debt was USD2.15 billion - giving net debt of USD1.93 billion.
Total net production in the period averaged around 68,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Third quarter results include consolidation of Kosmos's Equatorial Guinea results - not previously included - and a full three months of revenue from its Gulf of Mexico acquisition, which closed mid-September 2018.
Chair & Chief Executive Andrew Inglis said: "At current oil prices we expect to deliver the 2019 free cash flow we set out at our capital markets day in February. Our 2019 drilling program in Mauritania and Senegal has increased the gas initially in place to the top end of our 50-100 [trillion standard cubic feet] range. Furthermore, our first infrastructure-led exploration well in Equatorial Guinea was successful and we expect this to further enhance the value of our Equatorial Guinea acquisition."
Kosmos declared a quarterly cash dividend of USD0.0452 per share.
Shares in Kosmos were untraded at 483.25 pence in London on Monday morning.
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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