Beach Expects Profit Slump As Floods, Downtime Crimp Output

Beach Energy Ltd. (BPT.AU) on Friday forecast a substantial fall in underlying full year profit after output was stymied by floods in the Cooper Basin and unplanned downtime at the Basker Manta Gummy operation offshore Victoria state.

The oil and gas company expects to post an underlying profit for the year to June 30 of between A$30 million and A$40 million, down from last year's normalized profit of A$64 million.

Bottom line profit will include a A$43 million payment from Arrow Energy Ltd. (AOE.AU), brought to account in the current financial year, if Arrow is bought by Shell and PetroChina as planned, Beach said.

But more than offsetting that gain will be a A$64 million write-off following unsuccessful exploration efforts.

"The specific financial effects of the Cooper Basin floods and Basker Manta Gummy downtime are difficult to quantify, however neither are currently expected to have a significant impact on the 2011 financial year results," Beach said in a statement.

Beach said it has over A$140 million in the bank.

-By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4692; [e-mail]