74 Woodside Petroleum Ltd|Annual Report 2018
DIRECTORS’
REPORT The directors of Woodside Petroleum Ltd present their report
(including the Remuneration Report) together with the Financial
Statements of the consolidated entity, being Woodside Petroleum
Ltd and its controlled entities, for the year ended 31 December 2018.
Directors
The directors of Woodside Petroleum
Ltd in oce at any time during or since
the end of the 2018 financial year and
information on the directors (including
qualifications and experience and
directorships of listed companies held by
the directors at any time in the last three
years) are set out on pages 70–72.
The number of directors’ meetings held
(including meetings of committees of
the Board) and the number of meetings
attended by each of the directors of
Woodside Petroleum Ltd during the
financial year are shown in Table
3
on
page
14
of the Corporate Governance
Statement. For all Board meetings held in
person in 2018, all directors were present.
Details of director and senior executive
remuneration are set out in the
Remuneration Report.
The particulars of directors’ interests in
shares of the company as at the date of
this report are set out on
page 75.
Principal activities
The principal activities and operations of
the Group during the financial year were
hydrocarbon exploration, evaluation,
development, production and marketing.
Other than as previously referred to in
the Annual Report, there were no other
significant changes in the nature of the
activities of the consolidated entity during
the year.
Consolidated results
The consolidated operating profit
attributable to the company’s shareholders
after provision for income tax was
$
1,364
million ($1,069 million in 2017).
Review of operations
A review of the operations of the
Woodside Group during the financial year
and the results of those operations are set
out on pages
1
67
.
Significant changes in the
state of affairs
The review of operations (pages
1–67) sets out a number of matters
that have had a significant eect on the
state of aairs of the consolidated entity.
Other than those matters, there were no
significant changes in the state of aairs
of the consolidated entity during the
financial year.
Events subsequent to end
of financial year
Since the reporting date, the directors
have declared a fully franked dividend.
More information is available in the
‘Dividend’ section below. No provision
has been made for this dividend in the
financial report as the dividend was not
declared or determined by the directors
on or before the end of the financial year.
Dividend
The directors have declared a final
dividend out of profits of the company in
respect of the year ended 31 December
2018 of
91
cents per ordinary share (fully
franked) payable on
20
March 2019.
Type 2018
final
2018
interim
2017
final
Payment
date
20 March
2019
20
September
2018
22 March
2018
Period
ended
31
December
2018
30 June
2018
31
December
2017
Cents per
share 91 53 49
Value $
million 852 496 413
Fully
franked 
The full-year 2018 dividend was 144 cents per share.
Likely developments and
expected results
In general terms, the review of operations
of the Group gives an indication of likely
developments and the expected results
of the operations. In the opinion of
the directors, disclosure of any further
information would be likely to result in
unreasonable prejudice to the Group.
Environmental compliance
Woodside is subject to a range of
environmental legislation in Australia and
other countries in which it operates.
Details of Woodside’s environmental
performance are provided on page 56.
Through its Health, Safety, Environment
and Quality Policy, Woodside plans and
performs activities so that adverse eects
on the environment are avoided or kept
as low as reasonably practicable.
Company Secretaries
The following individuals have acted as
Company Secretary during 2018:
Andrew Cox
BA (Hons), LLB, MA
Vice President Legal and General
Counsel, and Joint Company Secretary
Mr Cox joined Woodside in 2004 and
was appointed to the role of Vice
President Legal in January 2015. He was
appointed Vice President Legal and
General Counsel and Joint Company
Secretary on 1 June 2017.
Warren Baillie
LLB, BCom, Grad. Dip. CSP
Company Secretary
Mr Baillie joined Woodside in 2005 and
was appointed Company Secretary
eective 1 February 2012. Mr Baillie
is a solicitor and chartered secretary.
He is a member of the National Board
and Immediate Past President of the
Governance Institute of Australia.