Anadarko Posts Big Loss On Tronox Settlement

(RTTNews) - Oil and natural gas producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) said Monday after the markets closed that it swung to a big first quarter net loss, hurt by a hefty contingent loss related to the Tronox Adversary Proceeding settlement agreement.

However, the company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly revenue.

"Our operating performance during the first quarter was outstanding, delivering record sales volumes that were above the high end of the guidance," said Al Walker, Anadarko Chairman, President and CEO.

Anadarko shares are currently gaining 2.32% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $99.49, down 8 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $73.60 to $103.50.

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2014, the company reported a net loss of $2.7 billion or $5.30 per share, compared to net income of $460 million or $0.91 per share for the year-ago quarter.

The latest quarter results include a contingent loss of $4.018 billion associated with the Tronox Adversary Proceeding settlement agreement and a $946 million gain associated with the sale of a portion of Anadarko's interest in Offshore Area 1 in Mozambique.

Tronox was created in 2005 as a spinoff of the Kerr-McGee Corp. Kerr-McGee was subsequently acquired by Anadarko and Tronox Inc. is the predecessor company of Tronox Ltd. Tronox Inc. filed for bankruptcy in January 2009, and emerged from bankruptcy in February 2011. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the company, along with the U.S. Government, filed suit against Kerr-McGee for its fraudulent transfer of billions of dollars of pre-existing environmental and tort liabilities.

On April 3, 2014, Anadarko announced a $5.15 billion settlement deal with plaintiffs and the U.S. government to resolve all claims against Kerr-McGee.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the first quarter was $639 million or $1.26 per share, compared to $545 million or $1.08 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 31 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.16 per share for the first quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenues for the first quarter rose 50% to $5.84 billion from $3.89 billion in the same quarter last year.

In February, Anadarko entered into a stock purchase agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Ltd. (BRTPF.PK), whereby Anadarko would divest its Chinese subsidiary for $1.075 billion.

First quarter 2014 sales volumes of natural gas, crude oil and NGLs totaled 74 million BOE, compared to 71 million BOE in the first quarter of 2013. The company achieved record daily sales volumes of 819,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Looking forward, the company raised the midpoint of its full-year sales-volume guidance by 3.5 million BOE.