An expansion into Oman has bolstered Kistos’s portfolio of producing assets, while elevated oil and gas prices supported its earnings.
But higher investment spending, rising debt, and a production hit in the last quarter appear to have curtailed demand for the shares on Monday, which fell 6%.
The company, which produces oil and gas in the UK, Netherlands and Norway, said it completed the acquisition of two Omani licence blocks in September, with a third expected by year-end. Including Oman, its pro forma earnings for the first nine months reached about $280m. It benefited from strong, unhedged prices, realising $95 a barrel for oil.
Production over the nine months averaged around 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, dipping to 18,500 in the third quarter due to planned maintenance, including a turnaround at its Jotun vessel in Norway. Kistos maintained its full-year production guidance of 19,000 to 21,000 barrels a day, supported by new wells coming online.
The expansion came at a cost to its balance sheet, with net debt rising to $101m from $23m three months earlier, after the Oman completion payment, capital spending and debt repayments.
The company said it continued to look for further acquisitions across its core regions.