Diversified Energy Company PLC (LSE:DEC, OTCQX:DECPF) said it exited the first half of the financial year with a healthy balance sheet and strong liquidity.
To underline the point, the US oil and gas group upped its dividend 6% to 4.25 cents per share to pay out a total of US$72mln.
This was on the back of a 48% rise in underlying earnings (EBITDA) to US$224mln. It posted a net loss, which included US$1.2bn of non-cash items, of US$935mln.
While its net debt was US$1.1bn, Diversified completed US$970mln of asset-backed securitisation in the first six months at a blended rate of 5.3%. It has liquidity of US$469mln.
The free-cash-flow yield, meanwhile, was 22%.
“Our balance sheet remains healthy as we continue into the second half of 2022 with ample liquidity, cash generation and financing capacity to fund further complementary growth opportunities,” said chief executive Rusty Hutson.
Operationally, the group, which owns wells in Appalachia, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, averaged record daily output of 136,000 barrels of oil equivalent and exited the period at 139,000 barrels.
It said it maintained an industry-leading consolidated corporate decline rate of around 8.5%.
The highly acquisitive group recently closed a US$60mln purchase and is in the process of buying assets worth US$240mln from ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP).
Turning to its environmental plans, Diversified said it had completed 90% of the upstream surveys reporting no detectable methane emissions from 49,000 wells. It also said it was around 40% through its aerial programme.
“This progress is consistent with our 2022 target of around 5-10% methane emissions reduction and with our longer-term 2026, 2030 and 2040 targets,” CEO Hutson said.