Half-year net profit for New Zealand Oil & Gas has almost halved due to the cost of exploration and the relinquishing of a permit.
The listed oil and gas explorer reported a 48 percent drop in net profit to $4 million for the six months to December, compared with $7.6 million last year.
The company says the drop in profit was a result of the exploration costs for the unsuccessful Matuku drill and relinquishing the Kanuka permit in offshore Taranaki.
The explorer's operating profit, which includes exploration costs, rose 13 percent to $31.4 million, compared with $27.8 million.
Operating costs rose 16 percent to nearly $25 million and its exploration spend more than doubled to nearly $24 million.
New Zealand Oil & Gas chief executive Andrew Knight said the firm is delivering on growth ambitions and hitting exploration targets.
The company will pay an unchanged dividend of 3 cents a share.
