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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

The smart money: driving shareholder value through better capital allocation

Stephen Reid A B and Frank Decker A
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A Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 225 George St, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: stereid@deloitte.com.au

The APPEA Journal 58(2) 596-600 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ17150
Accepted: 15 March 2018   Published: 28 May 2018

Abstract

As shareholder activism has grown both in its scope and influence, management teams are under increasing pressure to justify their decisions around the allocation of capital – whether it be through dividends, share buybacks, an expansion project, M&A or a greenfield project. However, for the oil and gas sector, much like the mining sector, it has been historically difficult to demonstrate continued excellence in capital decision making. In the past, capital intensive, long-dated projects (multi-billion dollar LNG developments) and large-scale M&A saw returns and pay-offs that were both distant and uncertain. Now, with so much investor scrutiny and focus on short term performance, demonstrated capital discipline is paramount – oil and gas leaders must think very carefully about where they allocate capital. Although they present their own challenges, capital allocation decisions, unlike commodity prices or the macroeconomic climate, are within the control of companies, and if a model can be developed to deliver long-term value, these decisions will position shareholders and their management teams well for the future. This paper will chart the performance of a sample of oil and gas companies against their decisions around capital allocation and cost-reduction. The paper will demonstrate to oil and gas leaders the importance of aligning their organisational strategies and balance sheet investments to create future value for shareholders.

Stephen Reid is a Partner of Deloitte, having worked for Deloitte and an antecedent firm for 30 years. During his career, Stephen has provided clients with corporate finance advice, assessments of financial projections, pre-acquisition due diligence reviews, valuations, structuring advice and feasibility studies in respect of companies operating across a broad range of industries throughout Asia. Stephen is National Valuations Leader, specialising in providing clients with valuation advice for mergers and acquisitions or other commercial purposes. Stephen has led significant valuation assignments for clients such as Santos, Gloucester Coal, Asahi and Elders.

Dr Frank Decker has over 20 years of strategy consulting experience, helping executives in capital-intensive industries with their strategy development, capital allocation, business transformation and market entry agendas. Frank specialises in portfolio management and helps clients to maximise shareholder value by taking a more strategic approach to capital allocation decisions at both business unit and portfolio level.


References

Decker, F., and Soin, A. (2015). Closing the value gap: syncing market value and strategy, http://blog.deloitte.com.au/closing-the-value-gap-syncing-market-value-and-strategy/

Reid, S. (2016). Why are the value of large capital projects routinely overestimated? The APPEA Journal 57, 584.
Why are the value of large capital projects routinely overestimated?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |