Edward John Nelson and Gail Christine Nelson v Beach Energy Ltd
COURT OR TRIBUNAL
Supreme Court of Victoria
DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)
25/11/2021
LITIGATION TYPE
Corporate Accountability
SUBJECT MATTER
Shareholder actions
REVIEW TYPE
N/A
SUMMARY
A class action has been brought against shareholders who suffered loss or damage when Beach Energy downgraded its estimates of oil and gas assets in its Western Flank oil field on 30 April 2021, resulting in a fall in Beach Energy’s share price.
In particular, in August 2020, Beach Energy released its FY20 results provided guidance for FY21 that it expected to achieve production of between 26 to 28.5 MMboe and updated its 5-year outlook target, which estimated annual production of 37 to 43 MMboe in FY25 and cumulative free cash flow of $2.1 billion from FY21 to FY25 (the 5-Year Outlook). The company made further representations about its outlook following this release. By 30 April 2021, Beach Energy downgraded its expected FY21 production to 25.2 – 25.6 MMboe and withdrew its 5-year outlook target.
Shareholders allege that the company was or ought to have been aware of factors including largely unsuccessful FY20 exploration and drilling results, declining reserves position in the Western Flank and the reliability of the modelling system to assess reserves.
The class action alleges that Beach Energy engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of section 1041H of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and s 12DA of the ASIC Act 2001 (Cth) and contravened its obligations of continuous disclosure of price sensitive information under the Corporations Act.
CASE DOCUMENTS
Edward John Nelson and Gail Christine Nelson v Beach Energy Ltd
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