Cabot Oil & Gas Q3 Profit Up 44%, But Results Miss View

(RTTNews) - Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) on Friday reported a 44 percent increase in profit for the third quarter from last year, reflecting higher revenues and production volume.

However, results for the quarter missed analysts' estimates. Looking ahead, the company affirmed its production growth guidance range for fiscal 2015.

The Houston, Texas-based company's net income for the third quarter was $100.79 million or $0.24 per share, up from $69.89 million or $0.17 per share in the year-ago period.

Excluding the effect of selected items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $85.02 million or $0.20 per share, compared to $74.62 million or $0.18 per share in the prior-year period.

On average, thirty analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.22 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Operating revenues for the quarter grew 17 percent to $512.02 million from $435.85 million in the same period last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $515.76 million for the quarter.

The latest quarter's results include gain on derivative instruments of $71.91 million.

Cabot Oil's equivalent production for the quarter grew 24 percent from the same period last year to 132.4 billion cubic feet equivalent or Bcfe.

Natural gas price realizations, including the effect of hedges, declined 9 percent from the year-ago period to $3.06 per thousand cubic feet or Mcf. Oil price realizations, including the effect of hedges, also decreased 9 percent from the year-ago period to $94.79 per Bbl.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2015, Cabot Oil reaffirmed its production growth guidance in a range of 20 to 30 percent.

This production growth range is based on an average gross Marcellus production rate range of 1.8 to 2.0 Bcf per day and an average net liquids production range of 18,000 to 20,000 Bbls per day, of which approximately 88 percent is crude oil.

The company's capital budget for 2015 is $1.53 billion to $1.60 billion.

The company expects to drill 180 to 190 net wells in 2015, including 95 to 100 net wells in the Marcellus Shale and 80 to 85 net wells in the Eagle Ford Shale.

COG is trading at $31.32, down $0.12 or 0.38 percent on a volume of 807,678 shares.