Hess' Q3 net income down to US$298M, from US$1.15B a year ago, as unrest in Libya, shutdowns elsewhere lowered production; revenue down to US$8.73B, from US$8.95B a year ago
Graziela Medina Shepnick
NEW YORK
,
October 26, 2011
(Associated Press)
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Hess Corp. said Wednesday that third-quarter profit fell despite higher oil prices as production fell because of the unrest in Libya and shutdowns elsewhere.
Net income fell to $298 million, or 88 cents per share, compared with $1.15 billion, or $3.52 per share, a year earlier.
The results included write-downs, mostly for non-producing wells, plus a charge for a new U.K. petroleum tax. They also counted gains from the sale of North Sea assets. Without those items, Hess said it would have earned $1.14 per share. That's well short of the $1.41 analysts expected.
Revenue slipped to $8.73 billion from $8.95 billion a year ago. Analysts expected revenue of $9.36 billion, according to FactSet.
The company sold crude oil for an average of $85.81 per barrel, up from $64.81 a year earlier. Natural gas prices were unchanged.
But oil and gas production fell 17 percent. The company said production was hurt by the upheaval in Libya, problems at fields in the Norwegian section of the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and the sale of natural gas assets in the United Kingdom stretch of the North Sea.
Production rose in the Bakken shale formation of North Dakota, Hess said.
Hess shares rose 13 cents to $58.91 in midday trading.
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