Amplitude Energy Cuts Debt by $200 Million on Record FY26

Amplitude Energy Ltd (OTC: COPJF) reported record FY26 production and revenue with a 12% rise in EBITDAX and a $200 million reduction in debt, offset by exploration write-offs, and its US over-the-counter quote closed at 1.10, up 18.82%, on Aug. 17, 2026.

Amplitude Energy Ltd (OTC: COPJF) has closed its 2026 financial year with the combination gas producers rarely manage in the same breath: record output, record revenue, a double-digit lift in cash earnings and a materially smaller debt pile. On the company’s FY26 earnings call, management pointed to a 12% rise in EBITDAX and a $200 million reduction in borrowings, while conceding that exploration spending during the year had to be written off.

The market read the balance sheet first. Amplitude’s thinly traded US over-the-counter line last changed hands at 1.10, up 18.82% from the previous close of 0.93, as of the last trade on Aug. 17, 2026 at 20:00 GMT. The day range was flat at 1.10 to 1.10 — the signature of a single block clearing in an illiquid foreign-ordinary quote rather than a day of genuine two-way trading. That move came against a softer session for US benchmarks: SPY closed at $772.67, down 0.47%, QQQ at $729.87, down 0.16%, and DIA at $534.19, down 0.49%.

Why the debt line matters more than the production record

Record production and revenue are the headline, but for a mid-cap energy producer carrying project debt, the $200 million paydown is the number that changes the shape of the equity story. Every dollar of gross debt retired does three things at once: it lowers the cash interest bill, it widens the headroom under lending covenants, and it hands the board back discretion over how the next dollar of operating cash flow gets spent — more drilling, or a distribution.

That discretion is the crux for FY27. A producer that has just delivered its best-ever revenue year and simultaneously deleveraged is, in effect, telling the market it can fund growth from within. The alternative narrative — record revenue consumed entirely by capital commitments and interest — is what management appears to be trying to retire alongside the debt.

EBITDAX, the metric management leaned on, is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exploration expense. Oil and gas companies use it precisely because it strips out the lumpy, discretionary cost of drilling wells that may or may not find anything. A 12% rise in EBITDAX therefore describes the performance of the producing asset base, insulated from the drilling programme’s hit rate.

The exploration write-off is the other side of the same ledger

Which brings us to the setback. Amplitude took exploration write-offs in FY26 — the accounting acknowledgement that money spent on wells did not translate into bookable reserves. Under standard successful-efforts accounting, unsuccessful exploration costs go straight to the income statement, so the write-off will depress reported net profit even as EBITDAX climbs.

Investors should treat those two facts as complementary rather than contradictory. EBITDAX up 12% tells you the base business converted record volumes into cash. The write-off tells you the growth options the company was buying with that cash did not, this year, pay off. For a gas producer, the second point compounds over time: reserves deplete as they are produced, and a year without exploration success means the reserve replacement burden shifts onto the following year’s programme or onto acquisitions.

Details of the call were reported by GuruFocus.

What a US investor is actually buying with COPJF

COPJF is an over-the-counter ticker, not a US primary listing. That has practical consequences that get glossed over when a headline percentage move looks dramatic:

• Liquidity is episodic. A day range of 1.10 to 1.10 means the quote moved because one trade printed, not because a market of buyers and sellers repriced the company. An 18.82% single-day gain on an OTC foreign ordinary is far weaker evidence of investor conviction than the same move on a home-market listing.
• Price discovery happens elsewhere. The economically meaningful market for an Australian-domiciled producer is its home exchange, during Australian hours. The US quote is a lagging translation of that, plus a currency effect.
• Spreads and settlement. OTC quotes typically carry wider bid-ask spreads than exchange-listed shares, and the cost of crossing that spread can consume a meaningful share of a small position’s return.

None of that argues against the underlying result. It argues for judging the result on the operating and balance-sheet facts rather than on the tape.

Three things to watch through FY27

First, whether the company converts its lower debt load into a capital-return decision. Deleveraging is only a shareholder event when the freed-up cash flow is allocated — to dividends, buybacks, or a drilling programme with a credible resource target attached.

Second, the shape of FY27 exploration spend. After a year of write-offs, boards typically do one of two things: narrow the programme to lower-risk appraisal near existing infrastructure, or step back and let the balance sheet rebuild. Which path Amplitude takes will tell investors how management weighs reserve replacement against near-term earnings optics.

Third, whether record production can be sustained rather than merely repeated. Record output in a depleting resource business often reflects new wells coming online early in the year; the test is the exit rate and the decline curve, not the annual average.

Set against the wider sector, Amplitude’s FY26 fits a familiar pattern in 2026 energy reporting: producers using strong realised cash flow to shrink debt rather than chase volume, and taking exploration impairments in the same period so the balance sheet resets cleanly. That is a defensive posture, and for a company whose US shares trade by appointment, defence may be the right read. The FY27 guidance and capital-allocation framework are where the growth case has to be made explicit.

Key facts

• Ticker and last price: COPJF — 1.10, +18.82%, last trade Aug. 17, 2026 20:00 GMT
• EBITDAX: Up 12% in FY26
• Debt reduction: $200 million
• Offsetting item: Exploration write-offs taken during FY26

Frequently asked questions

What did Amplitude Energy report for FY26?

Amplitude Energy reported record full-year 2026 production and revenue, a 12% increase in EBITDAX and a $200 million reduction in debt. Management also disclosed exploration write-offs during the year and outlined plans for future growth. Those were the headline items from the company’s FY26 earnings call as reported by GuruFocus.

What does EBITDAX mean and why do energy companies use it?

EBITDAX is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exploration expense. Oil and gas producers favour it because exploration spending is lumpy and discretionary, so excluding it shows how the existing producing assets performed. Amplitude’s 12% EBITDAX rise therefore reflects the base business rather than drilling outcomes.

How did COPJF shares trade?

COPJF, Amplitude Energy’s US over-the-counter quote, last traded at 1.10, up 18.82% from a previous close of 0.93, as of the last trade on Aug. 17, 2026 at 20:00 GMT. The day range was 1.10 to 1.10, indicating a single print rather than active two-way trading.

Why does the $200 million debt reduction matter?

Retiring $200 million of borrowings lowers cash interest costs, increases covenant headroom and restores the board’s discretion over how future operating cash flow is spent. For a producer that has just posted record revenue, it supports the argument that growth can be funded internally rather than through new borrowing or equity.

What is an exploration write-off?

When money spent drilling exploration wells does not result in bookable reserves, that cost is charged to the income statement rather than capitalised on the balance sheet. It reduces reported net profit without reducing EBITDAX, which is why Amplitude could show both a write-off and a 12% rise in cash earnings.

What should investors watch next?

Three items: whether Amplitude converts its lower debt into dividends, buybacks or a funded drilling programme; how it reshapes FY27 exploration spending after the write-offs; and whether record production is sustainable, judged by exit rates and decline curves rather than the annual average figure.

Sources

• Amplitude Energy Ltd (COPJF) (FY 2026) Earnings Call Highlights: Record Production and Revenue, … — GuruFocus

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