The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price has been powering ahead since the beginning of the calendar year.
This comes as the price for commodities has surged in recent times following the Russian war in Ukraine.
At Thursday's market close, the energy producer's shares finished 1.1% higher to $8.19 apiece.
When looking at year to date, its shares have risen by almost 30%.
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What's driving the Santos share price higher?
It seems investors are optimistic about the Santos share price, considering its 8% gain over the past month.
Sentiment has strengthened across the sector amid the regional war playing out on Europe's doorstep. With a possible embargo on Russian oil from the West, this could lead to demand further outpacing supply.
In its full year results released in February, Santos reported revenue of US$4.71 billion, up 39% over the prior corresponding period.
The robust performance was driven by production of 92.1 mmboe (million barrels of oil equivalent) and sales volumes of 104.2 mmboe.
Higher oil and LNG (liquified natural gas) prices were realised along with the 3 weeks contribution from Oil Search's assets. The latter added weight to Santos' book on the final stretch of the FY21 period.
Overall, the company posted an underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of US$946 million, up 230% year-on-year.
Santos noted that it expects to ramp up production of 100 to 100 mmboe in the new financial year. Furthermore, sales volumes is forecasted to be in the range of 110 to 120 mmboe.
Santos' dividend yield
Santos paid a fully franked final dividend of US 8.5 cents per share to shareholders in March.
On top of this, the company rewarded shareholders with an interim dividend payment of US 5.5 cents apiece last earnings season.
When factoring in the current share price, this gives Santos a trailing dividend yield of 2.32%.
Santos commands a market capitalisation of roughly $27.79 billion, with more than 3.38 billion shares on its books.
