Past year: ▼ 33%(83.5c – 1.29 AUD)
Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
2 May 2018drilling progress report● Neutral
April report: Lady Bay-1 had gas shows but poor reservoir quality and was abandoned; Tigris-1 was also dry. Mountain Goat-1 found gas pay and Marauder-2 DW1 was cased as a future producer. Ulladulla-1 was still drilling.
1 May 2018director officer appointment● Neutral
Company Secretary Cathy Oster resigned after 13 years; Sheree Ford is interim Company Secretary and General Counsel while an executive search runs.
24 Apr 2018quarterly activities report▲ GoodMajor
March quarter was the first with Lattice: record production of 6.6 MMboe, sales revenue $393m and about $133m free cash flow. Net gearing fell to 29%. FY18 pro forma production guidance narrowed to 26.0-27.0 MMboe and capex cut to $370-400m. Otway farm-down is underway.
17 Apr 2018farm in farm out agreement● Neutral
Cue says BP's option over 42.5% of WA-359-P is extended six months to 25 October 2018, and a permit suspension and extension has been sought as the permit expires 25 April. This keeps open the condition on Beach's Ironbark farm-in; 75% of well funding is conditionally secured.
16 Apr 2018joint venture update▲ GoodMajor
Beach and Senex agreed to move the up to $43m free-carry Beach inherited from Lattice from unconventional gas to western flank oil permits (Senex 60% op, Beach 40%). Lattice's earned gas interest reverts to Senex. Work from early FY19: at least three horizontal development and seven exploration wells.
4 Apr 2018drilling progress report● Neutral
Senex, operator, reports Growler-15 drilled to 3,090 m with 578 m net pay and online 17 March. Marauder-2 found only 8.6 m net sand and was plugged; a sidetrack continues. Beach holds 40%. Duplicates Beach's own report.
4 Apr 2018drilling progress report▲ Good
March report: Stunsail-7 horizontal found 509 m net oil pay, completing the Stunsail development; Growler-15 (578 m net pay) is online. Tirrawarra-89 found 43 m net gas pay. A second gas exploration phase began with Lady Bay-1 drilling. Mostly follows earlier results.
29 Mar 2018other● Neutral
Beach amended its Share Trading Policy, effective 26 March 2018, and lodged it as the ASX rules require. It covers insider trading and closed periods around results and quarterly reports. Administrative; no effect on operations or finances.
22 Mar 2018regulatory community update● Neutral
AWE says the Native Title stage of renewing the L1/L2 licences, which hold the Waitsia gas project (AWE 50% operator, Beach 50% via Lattice), has begun. The licences stay valid meanwhile, and AWE expects renewal within about 12 months, with no delay to Waitsia Stage 2.
7 Mar 2018drilling progress report● Neutral
Senex, the operator, reports that Growler-15, a Birkhead horizontal oil well in ex-PEL 104/111, spudded on 18 February and was drilling ahead at 2,056 m. Beach holds 40%. This duplicates what Beach's own drilling report says.
7 Mar 2018drilling progress report▲ Good
February report: Stunsail-6, the first Birkhead horizontal well on the Western Flank, found 203 m of net oil pay and is due online in Q4 FY18. Kalladeina North-1 found 2.5 m of net pay. Cocinero-5 was dry and abandoned; the nine wells had an 89% success rate.
22 Feb 2018director officer appointment▲ Good
Joycelyn Morton, a former Shell finance executive, joins the board as an independent non-executive director from 21 February 2018 and chairs the Audit Committee. She holds no Beach shares. She fills the gap left by Fiona Bennett's retirement and is the first of the planned female director recruits.
22 Feb 2018listing compliance notice▲ Good
With Joycelyn Morton chairing it, Beach's Audit Committee now complies with Listing Rule 12.7, ahead of the ASX grace deadline of 23 February 2018. This resolves the December non-compliance.
19 Feb 2018half year report● Neutral
First-half FY18 profit was $95.7m, down 7%, and underlying profit was $93.1m, up 5%, on revenue up 14% to $392.6m. Cash stood at $552.2m at 31 December, before Lattice, which is not consolidated. A 1 cent interim dividend was declared.
19 Feb 2018investor presentation● Neutral
Half-year results presentation led by the new executive team, covering the Lattice deal, Cooper Basin operations and the outlook. It repeats the results and guidance already released; no new figures could be confirmed from the text provided.
13 Feb 2018other● Neutral
Beach announces that its half-year results will be released on 19 February 2018, followed by a conference call. Administrative notice only.
7 Feb 2018drilling progress report▲ Good
January report: Stunsail-4 and -5 found oil in the Western Flank development, Kalladeina-3 found 2.5 m of net pay, and Gooranie and Casimir-1 results were positive. Lattice-era Queensland and Cooper interests now appear. The Tintaburra appraisal is complete and the Haselgrove-3 ST1 gas discovery is restated.
31 Jan 2018director officer appointment● NeutralMajor
Beach names its executive team for the enlarged business after Lattice: Dawn Summers (ex-Origin Lattice operations head) becomes COO from 1 February 2018, replacing Mike Dodd in that role (inference). Geoff Barker, Brett Doherty and Lee Marshall join; Kay, Schrull, Engelbrecht and Oster remain.
31 Jan 2018asset acquisition disposition● Neutral
Origin confirms completion of the $1,585m sale of Lattice Energy to Beach, effective from 1 July 2017. Origin will use proceeds to close out $266m of oil forward sales and pay down about $1bn of debt. It expects $220-240m of accounting charges.
31 Jan 2018asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
The Lattice acquisition has closed: Beach paid $1,498m ($1,585m less $87m adjustments), funded by $503m cash and $995m new debt. Beach now has about $135m cash, $995m drawn debt and net gearing under 33%. Ends the pending deal and makes Beach a multi-basin producer.
31 Jan 2018quarterly activities report▲ Good
December quarter: production rose 3% to 2.6 MMboe and revenue rose to $208m on a $97.4/bbl realised oil price. Net gearing at Lattice close is now expected under 33%. Restates the guidance upgrade and the Haselgrove-3 gas discovery; no new major events.
31 Jan 2018production update▲ GoodMajor
Beach raises its standalone FY18 production guidance to 10.6-11.0 MMboe (from 10.0-10.6) and lifts its capex to $255-285m. Pro forma with Lattice, production is 25.5-27.6 MMboe and capex is cut to $405-455m through Lattice project deferrals.
22 Jan 2018auditor change● Neutral
Ernst & Young is appointed Beach's auditor after a tender process and the resignation of KPMG. No reason for the resignation is given in the notice.
11 Jan 2018flow test result▲ GoodMajor
Haselgrove-3 ST1 (PPL 62, Beach 100%) is a new onshore Otway gas field discovery. Sawpit Sandstone flowed 25 MMscfd, limited by tubing size, with 34 m of net pay across two targets. This resolves the earlier stuck-tool sidetrack; an initial production test follows in late January.
10 Jan 2018drilling progress report▲ Good
December report: Largs-1 DW1 is a new gas discovery, completing the first phase of Western Flank gas drilling with four successes from six wells; Squeaky-1 was plugged and abandoned. McKinlay oil campaign finished 6 for 6. Haselgrove-3 ST1 is being prepared for flow testing.
9 Jan 2018security holder rights change● Neutral
About 1.5m executive incentive rights lapsed unexercised under their terms. Issued capital is now 2,276,155,671 ordinary shares (up from ~1.87bn after the entitlement offer) plus a small number of unlisted rights. Administrative.
21 Dec 2017asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
Beach agrees to buy Toyota Tsusho's 5% of the Otway Gas Project and 11.25% of BassGas for undisclosed cash, from existing reserves. With Lattice and Benaris interests, Beach would hold 100% of Otway and 53.75% of BassGas producing assets. Completion is expected early 2018.
19 Dec 2017asset acquisition disposition● Neutral
Origin confirms all conditions for the sale of Lattice Energy to Beach are satisfied, with completion planned for 31 January 2018. Origin keeps recognising Lattice earnings until then. Mirrors Beach's own announcement.
19 Dec 2017asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
All conditions are met for the $1,585m Lattice Energy purchase from Origin; completion will occur on 31 January 2018, with economic exposure back-dated to 1 July 2017. This resolves the main pending approvals and sets a timetable of updates.
19 Dec 2017drilling scheduled▲ Good
Beach is awarded a $6.89m South Australian PACE grant, about half the cost, to drill Dombey-1 in PEL 494 (Beach 70%, Cooper Energy 30%), targeting a 35 Bcf prospect with ~20% chance of success. Drilling is expected in FY19; the grant still needs formal documentation.
