Oil and gas company Tullow Oil has reported sharp rises in revenue and profits for the first half of this year, helped by high oil and gas prices and its acquisition of Energy Africa.
Revenue jumped to £201.4m from £76.5m in the same period last year, while pre-tax profits were £91.4m, compared with just £17.3m in H1 last year.
The group's acquisition of Energy Africa, completed last year, more than doubled the size of the group, and the company says new management and organisation structures are working well. Tullow produced an average of 57,350 barrels per day, more than double the same period last year, and expects to average 60,000 in the second half.
The first-half results also included three months of production from the Skooner and Ketch assets in the North Sea, which it acquired earlier this year. These helped Tullow to produce record amounts of gas from the UK. It plans to drill a further 10 wells in the North Sea over the next year.
The company said it expected oil and gas prices to remain 'exceptionally strong' for the rest of the year. It has doubled the interim dividend to 1p per share.
Shares in Tullow closed a cent higher at €3.34 in Dublin this evening.
