A plant decorates the booth of Australian petroleum exploration and production company Woodside Energy during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 13, 2023.

Wedoany.com Report-Feb 25, Woodside Energy, a major Australian oil and gas company, announced its smallest annual underlying profit in three years on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. The decline was driven by lower average prices for its products, which dropped to $63.60 per barrel of oil equivalent, a 7% decrease from the previous year. This affected the firm's full-year underlying net profit after tax, which fell to $2.88 billion from $3.32 billion in the prior year. Despite the drop, the result exceeded the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. On a statutory basis, the company’s net profit after tax rose significantly to $3.57 billion, more than doubling last year’s figure.

Global energy markets faced challenges during the year, including disruptions from geopolitical events and weaker demand from key markets like China, which contributed to reduced commodity prices. Woodside, however, kept its 2025 production outlook steady at 186 to 196 million barrels of oil equivalent, anticipating sustained demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Asia Pacific region. Chief Executive Officer Meg O’Neill stated: "With ongoing robust LNG demand forecast for the Asia Pacific region, and near-term structural shortfalls in gas supply forecast for both the east coast and Western Australian markets, Woodside will continue to be a reliable supplier of energy."

The company set its final dividend at 53 cents per share, surpassing the expected 51 U.S. cents but falling short of last year’s 60 cents. Analysts at Citi noted: "The final dividend was also ahead of consensus, which the market should like today." By 11:21 PM GMT, Woodside’s shares traded slightly higher at A$23.48, outperforming the ASX200 index, which declined by 0.7%.

Woodside also confirmed its capital expenditure plans for 2025, projecting between $4.5 billion and $5.0 billion, excluding costs tied to its Louisiana LNG project, acquired in October 2024. The company is moving forward with this initiative, with O’Neill indicating: "We are progressing towards readiness for a final investment decision from the first quarter of 2025 (on Louisiana LNG)." Earlier in February, reports indicated Woodside engaged in discussions with potential partners for the project, including Tokyo Gas, JERA from Japan, and MidOcean Energy, supported by Saudi Aramco.

Despite the profit decline, Woodside’s focus remains on meeting regional energy needs and advancing its LNG projects, aligning with market expectations for steady supply amid fluctuating global conditions.