Woodside Petroluem (WPL), one of the worlds largest oil and gas firms, based in Western Australia, failed to meet broker forecasts with a first half profit announcement.
Woodside posted a $US1.575 billion ($A1.56 billion) net profit for the year to December 31, up 6.9 per cent on $US1.474 billion in the previous corresponding period.
Lower production output for the year was offset by higher oil and gas prices. Plans for the future include expansion of the Pluto liquefied natural gas project, and resolving the problems in East Timor with the Sunrise LNG project.
It’s also on course to consider a final go-ahead for its Browse liquefied natural gas project by mid-2012.
Woodside shares are currently trading at $42.72, after posting a daily high of $43.30 per share in early trading. An interim dividend of $0.55c per share will be paid to shareholders.