Harbour Energy PLC (LSE:HBR) shares dropped over 13% on Thursday after the oil firm unveiled a wider loss for last year as the UK’s windfall tax wiped out profit.
Post-tax losses grew from $45 million to $93 million in the year to December 31, which Harbour attributed to an effective 108% tax rate in the UK.
Before taxes, profit doubled to $1.2 billion, while free cash flow dropped from $1.0 billion to $0.1 billion, in part on costs related to its takeover of Wintershall Dea.
Having climbed 40% to 258,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2024, production was guided to increase by around 80% over the year ahead due to the acquisition.
“2024 was a transformational year with the completion of the Wintershall Dea transaction,” chief executive Linda Z Cook commented, “looking to 2025, we have had a strong start”.
Shares dropped 13.3% to 185.65p on Thursday.