Origin Energy has posted a 17-fold jump in underlying profit, raised its full year outlook and announced a bigger-than-expected dividend, according to Reuters.
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The impressive profit increase comes on the back of major shareholder AustralianSuper’s rejection of the $9.39 per share bid led by Brookfield.
“We expect Origin’s strong first half performance to carry over into the second half,” CEO Frank Calabria said in a statement.
“I am confident in Origin’s prospects and believe we are uniquely positioned to capture value from the energy transition.”
Origin reported underlying profit of $747 million for the six months ending December 31, compared with $44 million a year ago. While all segments grew, the result was driven by a resurgence in energy markets, which includes power generation and energy retailing.
Origin raised its full year guidance to between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion, up from its prior forecast of between $1.30 billion and $1.70 billion.
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Origin declared an interim dividend of 27.5 Australian cents per share, up from 16.5 Australian cents last year and ahead of the consensus 20 Australian cents per share cited by UBS.
