Noble Energy Q3 Profit More Than Doubles

(RTTNews) - Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) on Tuesday reported a profit for the third quarter that more than doubled from last year, as lower revenues were more than offset by a gain on commodity derivative instruments.

Revenues for the quarter missed analysts' expectations. Looking ahead, the company tightened its sales volume outlook for the fourth quarter.

The Houston, Texas-based independent energy company's net income for the third quarter was $419 million or $1.12 per share, up from $205 million or $0.56 per share in the same quarter last year.

The latest quarter's results include a gain on commodity derivative instruments of $397 million or $1.08 per share, compared to loss of $147 million or $0.41 per share in the year-ago period.

Excluding the impact of asset impairment and other items, adjusted income for the latest quarter was $110 million or $0.28 per share, compared to $361 million or $0.99 per share in the year-ago period.

On average, thirty analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.36 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenues for the quarter declined 8 percent to $1.27 billion from $1.39 billion in the previous-year quarter. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.29 billion for the quarter.

Total operating expenses for the quarter rose 19 percent from last year to $1.04 billion.

Total sales volumes for the quarter averaged 302 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day or Mboe/d, up from 294 Mboe/d in the year-ago period. This represents an increase of three percent compared to the prior year, or 10 percent after adjusting for divested assets.

The increase in sales volumes were due to the company's continued development of the DJ Basin and Marcellus Shale resource plays, as well as an increase in Israel due to higher natural gas demand and deliverability.

Consolidated average realized prices for crude oil and condensate declined 9 percent from last year to $95.55/Bbl, while average realized prices for natural gas rose 5 percent to $3.26/Mcf.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Noble Energy now projects sales volumes in a range of 307 to 327 Mboe/d, consistent with the company's prior expectations after adjusting for the impact of the sale of its Piceance Basin assets. Earlier, the company forecast sales volumes for the fourth quarter to range from 310 to 330 Mboe/d.

The midpoint of the updated sales volume range represents an eight percent absolute increase over the year-ago period.

NBL is trading at $56.37, down $0.01 or 0.02 percent on a volume of 5,817 shares.