However, the company had some good news for the markets in regards to its balance sheet. Despite a big fall in cash flow, the company reported a net profit of $446 million for 2001, down slightly on the record 2000 figure of $487 million, however, it was at the top end of market expectations.
The company put this down to record oil production of 55.7 million barrels as well as the weak Australian dollar, which lifted the price of oil to $45.53 a barrel. The group's share price finished 7c higher to close at $6.02 at time of writing.
The energy company said it plans to spend $160 million on exploration and appraisal drilling with the aim of delivering around the twice the mean resource of 67 million barrels of oil equivalent Santos discovered last year.
