Premier Oil profits up 17%

Premier Oil PLC today today announced that operating profits grew by 17%, and net profits by 80% in the past year.

In addition, the company plans to drill up to 18 wells this year, with the cornerstone of the programme centring on its offshore Mauritania acreage acquired last year.

In an AGM statement, chairman Sir David John said: “Our cash position is now the strongest your Company has experienced for many years – net debt of nearly a quarter of a billion pounds at the start of 2003 is now net cash.

“We believe that most of our shares are owned by investors looking principally for share price growth. Therefore, in common with many other exploration companies like Premier, we have not paid cash dividends in recent years.

However, he reassured shareholders that Premier Oil is "strongly committed to generating returns to shareholders through capital growth, and when appropriate, to return value to shareholders".

Premier is an independent exploration and production company with gas and oil interests principally in the UK, Pakistan, Indonesia and West Africa.