Chesapeake Energy has quarterly profit vs. year-earlier loss

Chesapeake Energy Corp reported a quarterly profit on Wednesday compared with a year-earlier loss, when the company took a charge related to the value of its hedges.

Chesapeake, said its first-quarter profit was $15 million, or 2 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $71 million or 11 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, company which is searching for a chief executive officer to replace Aubrey McClendon, said its average daily production grew 9 percent to 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day.

(Reporting by Anna Driver; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)