DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Apache Corp.'s (APA) third-quarter profit fell 63% on lower
commodity prices, although worldwide production grew.
Shares dropped 1% to $92.96 in premarket trading as earnings
were slightly short of analysts' expectations. As of Wednesday's
close, the stock was up 26% this year.
The company produces more oil than natural gas, which has
somewhat helped mitigate the effect of the drastic drop in
commodity prices as crude prices are beginning to rebound.
Apache reported earnings of $442 million, or $1.30 a share, down
from $1.19 billion, or $3.52 a share, a year earlier. Excluding
items such as a deferred-tax impact, income fell to $1.58 a share
from $3.19 a share.
Revenue dropped 31% to $2.33 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.61
a share on revenue of $2.24 billion.
Production jumped 3.4% from the second quarter and 19% from a
year earlier. Apache said it was the first time production
surpassed 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily. Prices for both
oil and gas were well below those a year earlier, but per-barrel
oil prices jumped 12% from the second quarter. That jump came amid
a recent rally in crude oil prices on investor concern over the
weakening dollar. Gas prices, though, fell 0.6% from the second
quarter.
Chairman and Chief Executive G. Steven Farris said the company
was on track to post record production this year and would enter
2010 with strong momentum, including two development projects in
Australia that could boost output by 40,000 barrels of oil per
day.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480;
john.kell@dowjones.com