Aug 25 (Reuters) - Australia's second-largest gas producer Santos STO.AX reported on Monday a 22.3% decline in first-half profit as weaker liquefied natural gas $(LNG)$ and oil prices weighed on earnings.
The energy company, which faces an $18.7 billion takeover bid from a group led by Abu Dhabi's national oil company, posted underlying profit of $508 million for the six months, down from $654 million a year earlier.
(Reporting by John Biju and Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
((Sneha.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com;))