You may be having difficulty finding the latest share price moves for Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL) this morning.
That's because the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) energy giant is trading under its new name and ASX ticker today, Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS).
Image source: Getty Images
When was the name change revealed?
The company officially announced the rebranding last Friday. This came on the heels of shareholders' sweeping approval of Woodside's proposed merger with BHP Group Ltd's (ASX: BHP) petroleum business.
98.66% of the submitted votes were in favour of the merger. The company expects the merger to be complete by 1 June.
Are Woodside Energy and Woodside Petroleum different?
The new name reflects not just the pending merger with BHP's petroleum assets, but also the company's plans to play a major role in the global energy transition.
Commenting on the reasoning behind the rebranding at last week's annual general meeting, chair Richard Goyder said the company "aims to thrive in the energy transition as a low-cost, lower-carbon energy provider".
According to Goyder, the name change was made "to better reflect our long-term strategic direction and anticipated portfolio evolution through the energy transition".
Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill lauded the proposed merger with BHP's petroleum arm, saying, "The merger is an opportunity for Woodside to increase its contribution to the world's growing energy needs and build the scale, resilience and diversity to thrive through the energy transition."
She also reflected on the company's strong performance and commitment to emissions reductions.
On the financials, O'Neil noted, "We generated an operating cash flow of US$3.8 billion, a 105% increase from 2020, strengthening our balance sheet and financial position. We finished the year with more than US$6 billion of liquidity and also maintained our investment-grade credit rating."
And on the environmental front, O'Neil added:
We have near- and medium-term targets to reduce our net equity Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2025 and 30% by 2030, in support of our aspiration of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Our 2021 net equity Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions were 10% below the 2016-2020 gross annual average and on course to achieve our 2025 target.
Woodside share price snapshot
Woodside shareholders have enjoyed some strong returns this year, with shares up 27.9% in 2022 amid rocketing energy costs. By comparison, the ASX 200 is down 5.9% year-to-date.
