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LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Oil producer Soco International reported a 54 percent decline in annual profit after itwas hit by the slump in oil prices, sending its sharesspiralling more than 25 percent lower.
Disappointing drilling results at an offshore Vietnamesewell forced Soco to shift some of its probable reservesestimates into the possible category, the change reducing thecompany's forecast oil reserves.
The company plans to pay a dividend of 10 pence per sharebut investors took fright and the shares tumbled to trade down27.7 percent at 0855 GMT.
Soco, which came under fire last year for wanting to drillfor oil in a national park in Congo, made $152.7 million inpre-tax profit in 2014, compared with $333.3 million theprevious year. Revenue fell to $448.2 million, down 26 percenton 2013.
The company, which had already announced that it was cutting2015 investments by more than 60 percent, said on Thursday itwas delaying the start of drilling work at its MPS Blockoffshore Congo Republic until next year.
"In response to the lower oil prices, we have deferreddrilling the MPS exploration well to 2016 and undertaken severalactions to reduce our general and administration costs," thecompany said in its full-year results statement.
The company's 2015 capital expenditure budget of $90 millionwill largely go to its operations in Vietnam to which it hasallocated around $70 million, it said.
Soco had a cash balance of $166.4 million at the end of lastyear, a position it said it was ready to use for acquisitions ifopportunities arise. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Pravin Char and KeithWeir)
