Energy giant Santos has been hammered for its poor performance amid tumbling oil prices and the environmental impact of its Australian operations.
At the company's annual general meeting in Adelaide on Wednesday shareholders repeatedly questioned why it took the company so long to respond to a falling oil price which drove a full-year loss of $2.7 billion.
Chairman Peter Coates said oil fell further and faster than anyone in the industry anticipated.
"We got it wrong, sure... we can't control the oil price but we can control our business," Mr Coates said.
"The board is intent on ensuring Santos emerges from the oil price challenge as a more productive, agile and leaner business."
Santos will hand over at least 40 per cent of net profit to shareholders in dividends as reward in the short term.
Several protesters also spoke out against projects on farming land, the use of coal seam gas (CSG) technologies and claims that the company had destroyed several sacred Aboriginal sites in northern NSW.
"Santos has come in and invaded our lands, our futures ... We are going to fight you tooth and nail for the Pilliga Forest," Narrabri resident and Gomeroi woman Deborah Briggs told the meeting.
Mr Coates said he was proud of the company's environmental track record and unaware of any damage to sacred sites in Narrabri.
"We are not going to be bullied out of the Pilliga," Mr Coates said.
Santos has long faced opposition to its Australian operations, specifically its plans for CSG operations in the Pilliga area in northern NSW.
Newly appointed chief executive Kevin Gallagher also addressed shareholder concern over the company's poor performance.
"This is a disappointing result, but it shows the stark reality that our business must be sustainable in a low oil price environment," Mr Gallagher said.
The way forward for the business was a disciplined approach to cost cutting and a focus on natural gas, he said.
"Natural gas is the only fuel that can deliver reliable, cleaner and affordable energy to the world's major developing economies, including China," he said.
Santos shares closed down 40.0 cents, or 8.7 per cent, at $4.20.
Share
