Ithaca today reiterated its intention to pay a dividend of US$400mln this year (2023) after an interim payout of US$133mln.
US broker Jefferies notes that is after a small reduction in production guidance due to operational reasons and the impact of the windfall tax or energy profit levy.
The broker also pointed out that at a market cap currently of £1.55bn that implies a 21% dividend yield.
As a result of EPL, North Sea-focused Ithaca said it is scaling back capital spending down by US$100m, largely through deferrals into 2024.
Jefferies believes these deferrals are unlikely to have much of a cash impact at current crude prices nor on the US$400m dividend "target" for financial year 2023.
'Buy' with a 245p share price target is Jefferies' view, but investors seem sceptical that Ithaca will make good on its ‘target’ with the shares down 5% at 147p.