Back in the world of financials, investors are still waiting on a handful of companies (one of which is the above-mentioned Leucrotta) to file their results for year-end 2021. The wait finally ended this morning for shareholders of Ian Atkinson's Southern Energy Corp. (SOU), down three cents to 73 cents on 270,200 shares. Southern holds gas assets along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Thanks to the low decline rates of its assets, its full-year production averaged 2,100 barrels a day in 2021, barely changed from 2020 despite a complete lack of drilling.
Revenue still nearly doubled to $19.9-million (U.S.) from $10.4-million (U.S.) because of rising gas prices. Net income for 2021 was a lofty $10.0-million (U.S.), though this included a $7.8-million (U.S.) impairment reversal.
It also included a $4.5-million (U.S.) gain on debt retirement. Southern completed various financings in 2021 to help whittle down its debt, though in the process it nearly tripled its share count to 616 million. It rolled back 1 for 8 in December and now has 78 million shares outstanding. Happily, and again reflecting higher gas prices, subscribers in the financings have generally made out well. Southern most recently raised $12.6-million at five cents (or 40 cents postrollback) in November. A subscriber who put in $10,000 then would now have $18,250.
The recent rise also reflects Southern's recent return to drilling for the first time in years. In January of this year, Southern spudded three wells at its core Gwinville field in Mississippi.
It told investors to expect the first production from the wells in April. Today -- perhaps explaining some of today's drop in the share price -- it informed them that it is slightly behind schedule. It will aim for May instead.
Delay aside, president and CEO Mr. Atkinson is undoubtedly pleased to be drilling. Southern previously had not drilled a well since 2017, which means it had not drilled a well since the time he took charge of the company in December, 2018.
That was when he sold Southern his prior promotion, Gulf Pine Energy, which he founded in 2015. Before that, he was a co-founder and senior vice-president of Athabasca Oil Corp. (ATH: $2.40) in the Alberta oil sands. .
He helped take it public at $18 a share in 2010.
One hopes he sold his founder shares quickly, as the following decade was far from kind to Athabasca, whose stock was trading at a mere eight cents by early 2020. Investors who took the plunge then, of course, will be overjoyed by the stock's rally to today's close of $2.40.