Santos reported first-half net profit of $355 million and underlying profit of $397 million for the six months, on sales revenue of $2.6 billion and EBITDAX of $1.6 billion. First-half production rose 3 percent on the prior corresponding period to 45.6 mmboe. Santos called the period one of transition, as the Pikka project began production and Barossa continued through commissioning and ramp-up, supported by strong performance from the base business.
Free cash flow from operations
Free cash flow from operations was $378 million. Santos attributed the figure to strong base-business performance, offset by commissioning costs at Barossa and Pikka, the timing of cargo liftings around 30 June, and a Papua New Guinea under-lift position of about 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company said these effects are expected to unwind early in the second half as production increases and the under-lift position reverses.
| Metric | First half 2026 |
|---|---|
| Production | 45.6 mmboe, up 3% |
| Sales revenue | $2.6 billion |
| EBITDAX | $1.6 billion |
| Net profit after tax | $355 million |
| Underlying profit | $397 million |
| Free cash flow | $378 million |
Dividend and balance sheet
The board declared an interim dividend of US 11.6 cents per share, unfranked, totalling $377 million. Santos said the payout is consistent with its capital allocation framework and its view of full-year performance. Gearing stood at 23.2 percent excluding operating leases, or 28.1 percent including them. The company reported liquidity of $3.8 billion and no debt maturities before September 2027.
Pikka and Barossa move into production
Pikka achieved first oil in May, moved to continuous production in June, and Santos lifted its first crude oil cargo in August 2026. Chief executive Kevin Gallagher said production is expected to build toward an 80,000 bbl/d gross plateau late in the third quarter, and that the drilling program is "consistently beating technical limits" on time and cost per well.
Barossa delivered seven cargoes by the end of June and five more since 1 July, and is currently producing around 550 mmscf/d. Gallagher said output is planned to rise to around 600 mmscf/d by the end of the quarter, and that at steady-state production the cargo cadence would be about one every eight days. Darwin LNG ran at 100 percent plant reliability in the first half. Gallagher said second-half production is expected to be 20 to 30 percent higher than the first half.
Cooper Basin and Papua LNG
Santos took a final investment decision on the Moomba Central Optimisation project in the Cooper Basin, targeting more than $600 million in capital and operating cost savings over the life of Central Fields, and up to $3 a barrel off Cooper Basin unit production costs. The investment is backed in part by a prepayment on a gas sales agreement to supply 200 petajoules of domestic gas to the South Australian Strategic Gas Reserve from 2030 to 2040.
The Papua LNG project remains on track for a final investment decision targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, with Santos aiming to fund at least 60 percent of it through project financing facilities. The company's Moomba carbon capture and storage project has stored around 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent since start-up. Santos also reported its best personal safety result on record for the half, with no lost-time injuries and no Tier 1 process safety incidents.
