XTO Energy reports strong quarterly earnings

Posted Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
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By Jack Z. Smith

jzsmith@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — XTO Energy reported impressive third-quarter results today, with strong earnings, record revenues and record production.

XTO, a leading independent natural gas and oil exploration and production firm, posted earnings of $500 million, or 86 cents per share of stock, on revenues of $2.29 billion, only a 4 percent decrease from third-quarter 2008 earnings of $521 million, or 95 cents per share, despite a sharp decline in gas prices in the past year.

XTO has realized higher revenues from its gas production, however, by entering into hedging contracts on the futures market. The company’s third-quarter revenues actually increased 8 percent from $2.13 billion in the third quarter of 2008.

Its third-quarter production soared to the equivalent of 2.95 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, up 23 percent from 2.39 billion a year earlier.

“Notwithstanding volatile natural gas markets, XTO reported another quarter of record production and cash flow, demonstrating our ability to grow efficiently through the cycles,” Chairman Bob Simpson said.

“Looking towards 2010, with about 55 percent of our anticipated production already hedged at $9.62 (per 1,000 cubic feet) we expect to deliver another year of strong financial returns and substantial free cash flow, while generating double-digit production growth.”

XTO CEO Keith Hutton said the company’s 23 percent third-quarter production growth “is a testament to both the strength of our operating teams and the underlying asset base.” The output gain resulted from both drilling new wells and acquisitions made in 2008.

XTO said its Barnett Shale production in North Texas was basically flat at the equivalent of about 610 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

XTO reported strong production results from the Woodford and Fayetteville shale-gas plays in Oklahoma and Arkansas, as well the Freestone Trend in East Texas, the Haynesville Shale in northwest Louisiana and East Texas and the Bakken Shale that underlies portions of North Dakota and Montana.

JACK Z. SMITH, 817-390-7724

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