(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) () the largest private oil producer in Colombia suspended dividends while swinging to a fourth-quarter loss amid falling crude prices. Shares fluctuated.
Net loss was $1.66 billion or $5.26 loss per share in the October-to-December quarter compared with net income of $140 million or $0.43 per diluted share a year earlier the Toronto-based company said in a statement today.
While net production rose from a year earlier the company shelved a quarterly dividend of $0.165 a share or about $52 million to preserve cash as prices slumped it said.
“Quickly recognizing the impact of a near-halving of oil prices the company commenced actions early in the fourth quarter to make significant adjustments in all areas of the company that will allow it to remain a low-cost operator and weather this pricing environment” chief executive officer Ronald Pantin said in the statement.
Those actions will be reflected in 2015 results he said. The company expects additional midstream assets sales this year and “strong” net production within the targeted range.
Shares were down 1.5 percent at C$2.61 at 10:12 a.m. in Toronto after earlier rising to as high as C$2.75. The stock has lost more than four-fifths of its value in the past six months.
Last week Colombia's state-run said it would not renew a contract in mid-2016 under which Pacific Rubiales operates the Rubiales oil field which accounts for nearly half the Canadian company's total production.
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