Murphy Oil Profit Up 36%

(RTTNews) - Oil and natural gas company Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) said Wednesday after the markets closed that its second quarter profit rose 36% from last year, helped by higher earnings in the U.S. oil and gas business and a gain on sale of two oil and natural gas properties in the United Kingdom.

Income from the company's exploration and production segment rose 28% to $290.2 million in the second quarter, driven by higher oil sales volumes in North America.. The company's worldwide production rose 10% to 207,401 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter from 188,575 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter of last year.

Total crude oil and gas liquids production averaged 135,517 barrels per day in the second quarter, up from 104,012 barrels per day a year ago.

Natural gas sales volumes averaged 431 million cubic feet per day in the second quarter, down 15% from 507 million cubic feet per day in the prior year quarter.

The average sales price of company's worldwide crude oil and gas liquids fell to $91.50 per barrel for the second quarter from $94.33 per barrel in the second quarter of last year.

The company's refining and marketing operations generated income from continuing operations of $72.2 million in the second quarter, down from $80.5 million a year earlier.

The company has announced its plans to sell its U.K. refining and marketing assets. The company has also announced that it plans to separate its U.S. downstream business into a stand-alone, public company during 2013.

The El Dorado, Arkansas-based company reported net income for the second quarter of $402.6 million or $2.12 per share, compared to $291.3 million or $1.52 per share for the year-ago quarter.

The latest quarter results include income from discontinued operations of $70.5 million or $0.37 per share, mainly generated by an after-tax gain of $71.9 million from sale of the Mungo and Monan fields in the United Kingdom during the latest quarter.

Income from continuing operations for the second quarter was $332.1 million or $1.75 per share, compared to $291.3 million or $1.50 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 16 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.54 per share for the second quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the second quarter grew 0.8% to $7.22 billion from $7.16 billion in the same quarter last year. Four analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $7.27 billion for the second quarter.

Looking forward, the company said it expects third quarter production to average about 190,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with similar levels of sales volumes during this period.

In May, Murphy Oil said President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Cossé plans to step down after the completion of the spin off of the company's downstream operations. He will be succeeded by Roger Jenkins, currently the company's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Murphy Oil shares, which have traded in a range of $50.03 to $68.76 over the past year, closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $67.72, up 41 cents, and gained an additional 19 cents or $0.29% in after hours trading.