Africa-focused oil and gas company Afrens profit missed analyst expectations due to lower output as the company said oil production from its Ebok field in Nigeria started in February after months of delays.
p>Africa-focused oil and gas company Afrens profit missed analyst expectations due to lower output as the company said oil production from its Ebok field in Nigeria started in February after months of delays.
The company posted full-year pretax profit of $78.8mn, up from the $0.5mn it made in 2009 but missing a consensus forecast of $143mn according to a Thomson Reuters poll of ten analysts.
Afren said oil production from its key Ebok project started in February, behind its earlier goal of October 2010, but in line with guidance it gave in December, Reuters reported.
Oil production from its main producing field Okoro in Nigeria fell to 16,055 bopd in 2010 from 18,800 in 2009.
The company, which is mainly based in west Africa but which has recently expanded into the east of the continent, forecast production of 40,000 boepd in 2011.
Shares in Afren, which have risen 54 per cent in the last twelve months, closed at £1.64 on Monday, valuing the company at £1.6bn ($2.56bn).
