MELBOURNE, Australia--Woodside Petroleum Ltd.'s (WPL.AU) half-year profit fell by 39% after the company was hit by the recent slump in oil prices.

The weakened earnings weighed on the energy company's interim dividend payout--cutting it by 41% from a year ago.

Net profit fell to US$679 million in the six months through June, from US$1.11 billion a year earlier, Woodside said Wednesday.

Stripping out one-time items, including a US$31 million gain the year before on the sale of assets, earnings for the period were 40% lower, also at US$679 million. That was in line with the US$673 median of five broker forecasts compiled by The Wall Street Journal.

Chief Executive Peter Coleman said the company continued to focus on cost-cutting opportunities and efficiency. The company also said it would pay an interim dividend of US$0.66 a share, down from US$1.11 last year.

Australia's largest oil-and-natural-gas producer by output behind mining and energy company BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) last month recorded a 47% fall in second-quarter sales revenue, as production dropped 15% and sales volumes declined by 9.3%--due to the fall in oil-linked gas prices and maintenance at its Pluto liquefied natural-gas plant.

The Perth-based company reiterated on Wednesday that it was targeting production for the year of between 86 million and 94 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

 

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 18, 2015 21:35 ET (01:35 GMT)

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