Origin Energy Leaves Door Open to Splitting as Debt Targeted
- Company won’t pay final dividend as it focuses on cutting debt
- Shares slide as much as 3.8% in Sydney, trimming gain for year
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Origin Energy Ltd. left the door open to splitting up once its $9 billion debt pile has been further trimmed as it reels from the collapse in energy prices.
Australia’s largest electricity company made the “difficult decision" on Thursday to cancel its dividend for the first time since it was formed in 2000, preferring to concentrate on strengthening its balance sheet by paying down debt after full-year underlying profit plunged 41 percent.