The North Sea oil and gas producer reported a $93 million (c. £72.1m) loss, a significant downturn from the previous year’s $45m (c. £35m) profit.

The company attributed the losses, in part, to the UK government’s Energy Profits Levy, which imposes a 38% levy on North Sea profits. Harbour Energy reported a 108% effective tax rate, up from 93% in 2023. While the Labour government has outlined plans to phase out the tax by 2030, its current impact remains substantial.

Despite the financial setback, Harbour Energy saw a 40% increase in production year-on-year, primarily driven by its £8.7bn acquisition of Wintershall Dea’s assets from BASF. The company also proposed a final dividend of 13.19 cents (c. 10.22p) per share, a marginal increase from the previous year.

Linda Z Cook, Harbour Energy CEO, said: “2024 was a transformational year with the completion of the Wintershall Dea transaction, our fourth significant transaction since 2017.

“As a result, we achieved a step change in the scale, resilience and longevity of our business underpinning the potential for material free cash flow generation well into the next decade. At the same time, we delivered another year of solid operational and financial performance.

“Looking to 2025, we have had a strong start to the year. We continue to prioritise safe and efficient operations, mature our significant 2C resource base and maintain disciplined capital allocation. We remain excited about our future and look forward to realising the potential of our company for all our stakeholders.”