The Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price fell in February 2023. It dropped by around 1%. This compares to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which fell by around 3%.
This means that Woodside outperformed the ASX in the short term.
It was an eventful month for the business. By 23 February 2023, Woodside was down over 5%. But, on 27 February 2023, the business announced its FY22 result for the 12 months to December 2022. It rose 3.8% in the two trading days to the end of the month, enabling it to deliver outperformance of the ASX 200.
One of the biggest influences on the Woodside share price, and most businesses, is when the latest result is released. The oil price and LNG price can also have a major impact on Woodside shares.
Let's have a look at some of the numbers.
Earnings recap
Woodside reported that operating revenue surged by 142% to US$16.8 billion, which helped a number of profitability metrics.
Operating cash flow improved by 132% to US$8.8 billion. Underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) surged 223% to US$5.23 billion and NPAT grew by 228% to US$6.5 billion. Free cash flow was US$6.55 billion.
It achieved a realised price of $98.4 per barrel of oil equivalent. The unit production cost was only $8.1 per barrel of oil equivalent.
This result was helped by the fact that Woodside completed the merger with the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) petroleum business. That helped Woodside achieve an annual sales volume of 168.9 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Woodside decided to pay a fully franked final dividend of US$1.44 per share, which brought the full-year dividend to US$2.53 per share. The final dividend was increased by 37%, while the full-year dividend was raised by 87%.
In terms of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) price, which makes up a significant part of Woodside's earnings, the LNG price has fallen significantly over the last few months since September.
This impacts the company's ability to make a profit. Extra revenue for the same production largely turns into profit, after paying more tax. A reduction in the price of the commodity largely reduces net profit.
It will be interesting to see what happens next with the LNG price as it could have significant impacts on the Woodside share price and its month-to-month profits.
Outlook for the Woodside share price
Woodside said that its portfolio is "actively positioned to realise the benefit of higher pricing through trading activities."
However, it also said that heightened political tension, rerouting of energy flows and an uncertain energy transition contributed to a period of volatile energy prices.
It also said that global gas markets remain "tight" with current available LNG capacity "unable to meet immediate demand requirements."
Woodside continues to work on projects including initiatives to deliver $400 million in "synergies and value creation" after the BHP merger. It has also progressed the Scarborough and Sangomar projects.
Woodside share price snapshot
Since the start of 2023, Woodside shares are up 4%.
