Edinburgh-based
Cairn Energy Plc on Tuesday reported a record full year profit of $4.56 billion for 2011 on the back of proceeds from 40 per cent stake sale in its Indian unit to
Vedanta Resources .
However, the company posted an operating loss of $1.1 billion against a $ 298.9 million loss in 2010 as a result of an unsuccessful drilling campaign in Greenland.
Cairn, which had in 2010 reported a profit of $1.08 billion, drilled five exploration wells offshore Greenland in 2010 and five in 2011 without any success.
It said net proceeds of the sale of majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta was about $5.4 billion, allowing a cash return of $3.5 billion to shareholders in February.
Simon Thomson, Chief Executive, Cairn Energy said: "Cairn has delivered on its key objectives for 2011: completion of the sale of 40 per cent of Cairn India, the return of USD 3.5 billion to shareholders and the farm-down of the Pitu block in Greenland to Statoil."
"With full cycle capabilities and balance sheet strength, Cairn is well positioned to create significant value from transformational exploration, within a well balanced portfolio of exploration and production assets," Thomson said.
Cairn has retained a 22 per cent share in Cairn India, following the stake sale to Vedanta.
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